THIS WEEK: In 1952, Ian Fleming began work on his first spy novel (Casino Royale), while at his house (“Goldeneye”) in northeast Jamaica.
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- “The privileged don’t get it….because they don’t have to. For most of them, there never is a reckoning. The Witch Elm offers us a brilliant take on this dreary truth.” | The Nation
- Jack Vance won the 1961 Edgar Award for Best First Novel – but he’d already published several novels before his win. Hector DeJean investigates an Edgar Awards mystery. | Criminal Element
- “Serious violence is both an everyday occurrence and an open secret at Glen Mills and has been for decades”: on the violent underpinnings of a seemingly picture-perfect reformatory. | The Inquirer
- YA thrillers are on the rise. Jeff Giles guides us through the new landscape of young adult crime writing. | The New York Times
- Talking with M.D. Marie about a comic that tells “a classic crime drama and murder mystery that examines the broken elements of our criminal justice system.” | Criminal Element
- Titan Comics and Hard Case Crime are bringing cult crime favorite, Ms. Tree, back into print for the first time in over twenty years. | Hollywood Reporter
- “There’s a real appetite right now for stories about the struggles that women have faced both now and in the past.” A look at how thrillers are tapping into the power of #MeToo. | The Guardian
- Charles Finch on bringing Victorian England alive, prequel mysteries, and Shakespeare’s first job in London, minding horses. | Criminal Element
- “Iceland is one of the safest countries in the world. This is annoying for me as a crime writer…” Yrsa Sigurdardottir on the new wave of Scandinavian thrillers. | Crime by the Book
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- “It seems like every day I’m forced to decide whether to re-plot my story, so my fiction is still fiction…” Lee Goldberg on how to write thrillers when crime fiction keeps becoming reality. | CrimeReads
- “It’s a town that’s been knocked down, made fun of, stereotyped, blood-typed and written off.” Stephen Mack Jones on Detroit, crime fiction, and working class heroes, interviewed by Dwyer Murphy. | CrimeReads
- From surgical nightmares to espionage gone awry, we rounded up February’s most gripping debuts. | CrimeReads
- Travel from Paris to the South of France with these 9 mysteries, recommended by Deborah Lawrenson. | CrimeReads
- “Dick Francis was a master of the first line, the first paragraph, the first page.” Neil Nyren on the many racetrack mysteries of Francis, jockey turned bestselling author. | CrimeReads
- “The word ‘twist’ exerts a strange power over crime fiction addicts like me.” Sophie Hannah recommends 15 mysteries with ingenious, yet sensible “twists.” | CrimeReads
- From crime epics to fugitives on the run, The Real Book Spy’s Ryan Steck rounds up the best new thrillers hitting shelves this February. | CrimeReads
- A look at the best international crime fiction headed to the US this month, with new thrillers from Argentina, Brazil, and across Scandinavia. | CrimeReads
- “In his lifetime, Himes might’ve given up on college, women and trying to be a nice guy, but he never quit writing.” Michael Gonzales on the life and legacy of Chester Himes. | CrimeReads
- American Presidents can’t stop reading thrillers and mysteries, just like us. A look at the POTUS of yesteryear and their favorite works of crime fiction. | CrimeReads
- Paul French looks at the thriving crime scene of Johannesburg and the many authors reinvigorating the “krimi” for South African readers. | CrimeReads
- “A crime like this is vanishingly rare in real life, so why has it become so endemic in fiction?” Cara Hunter on the trope of the cellar captive. | CrimeReads
- Attorney and crime writer James Grippando guides us through a half-century of lawyers in literature and examines how the role has been defined and redefined. | CrimeReads
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