CrimeReads Brief: Week of December 8, 2018

THIS WEEK: In 2001, Steven Soderbergh’s Ocean’s 11 premieres.

• • On the long-suppressed story of Patricia Douglas, who sued MGM studios after being raped at a studio party in 1937, only to be silenced by the powerful corporation. | Vanity Fair
  • Time to find out who made the list for the best reviewed crime, mystery, and thriller releases from 2018. | Book Marks
  • “Suicidal intentions could play a role in more than a third of all police shootings.” What happens when a police officer encounters a suicidal subject and doesn’t shoot? | Pro Publica
  • 20 rare crime books that we think would make pretty great gifts this holiday season, plus some guidance on which of your family and friends you should give these gems to. | CrimeReads
  • Wondering what to watch this weekend? We rounded up all the best (or, you know, most entertaining) crime and mystery films now streaming in December 2018. | CrimeReads
  • “Nowhere is discredited science more alive than in crime fiction.” Andrew Case on how crime fiction helps perpetuate a belief in junk science. | CrimeReads
  • Mary Jordan is reminded of a murder she wrote about in the 1980s, one that involved the Defense Department, the mob, and an investigation that left plenty of questions unanswered. | The Washington Post
  • Ezekiel Boone recommends five classic thrillers that feed our already quite reasonable fears of technology gone haywire, from Frankenstein to Jurassic Park. | CrimeReads
  • LS Hawker with a look at five modern crime films with truly memorable soundtracks, from Zodiac to Ocean’s 11. | Criminal Element
  • Mette Ivie Harrison on what it means to write a Mormon mystery for a national audience without sacrificing the complexities of community. | CrimeReads
  • Meghan Scott Molin looks at the enduring appeal of flawed, yet powerful heroes in crime fiction and in comics. | CrimeReads
  • Val McDermid on serendipity, a buried motorbike, and staying open to inspiration after writing 32 novels. | CrimeReads
  • Authors, critics, editors, and booksellers from around the crime community share their favorite books of 2018. | CrimeReads
  • “Do the arrival of these parodies signify a turning point for the true crime genre?” On the parody podcasts skewering true crime’s tropes. | Ozy
  • The CrimeReads editors recommend the very best new crime and mystery fiction for December, with a few special gifts from Scotland. | CrimeReads
  • With no spoilers whatsoever—seriously—Molly Odintz manages to rank and critique the 10 best endings in crime and mystery fiction from 2018. | CrimeReads
  • Tana French’s Dublin Murder Squad series is headed to premium cable with a new series in the works from Starz, slated for a 2019 debut. | Starz
  • From the judging books by their covers department, our editors choose the 20 best book covers from the crime and mystery world in 2018. | CrimeReads
  •  Christopher Sandford takes a look at the many inspirations for Sherlock Holmes, from keen observationist Dr. Joseph Bell to Conan Doyle himself. | CrimeReads
  • When Men Write Women and Women Write Men: Jonathan Lethem and Jane Ciabattari look at five books with first-person narrators written across genders. | Book Marks
  • Comedy requires a moral viewpoint, so humor and tragedy go together very well in crime novels.” Christopher Fowler on the tricky business of balancing comedy and mystery. | CrimeReads
  • Bryan Gruley on falling in love with small towns as a reporter, and the challenges posed by writing about small towns in crime fiction. | CrimeReads
  • Karen Berger on publishing Anthony Bourdain’s final novel, and Bourdain’s lifelong passion for dark comics, “the bastard child of publishing.” | CrimeReads
  • Dawn Ius looks at trends in the world of military thrillers, and how authors are keeping up with new technologies and new attitudes toward war. | The Big Thrill
  • Crime novels make the best travel guides. Peter Gadol rounds up 7 books that take the reader on a journey and show “the city from another, often troubling perspective.” | CrimeReads
  • CrimeReads podcast columnist Emily Rose Stein breaks down all the best new crime podcasts of 2018. | CrimeReads
  • Time to put on your thickest socks, pour some hot chocolate, and dig into that pile of cozies perfect for the long winter nights to come. | Bustle

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