Features
Lisa Lutz: The Last of the Spellmans?
Everyone's favorite family of private eyes returns—for now.
by Cheryl Solimini
Building Your Book Collection, Part 4: Judging Value
Value can be very subjective, but there are some rules.
by Nate Pedersen
Getting Graphic
A talk with Karen Berger, the founder of the influential Vertigo line of graphic novels.
by Ed Gorman
My Must Read: Killing Floor by Lee Child
Great plots, compelling prose, and Child's singular take on the classic knight-errant myth made Jack Reacher an instant folk hero.
by Marcus Sakey
Cara Black: Je M'Appelle Noir
Black's Aimée Leduc novels about a Parisian police detective are a Franco-American triumph.
by Tom Nolan
Killers, Crooks & Desperados: 5 Great Gangster Movies
Beginning with D.W. Griffith's The Musketeers of Pig Alley in 1912, gangsters have captivated movie audiences. Here are five terrific examples.
by Charles L.P. Silet
The Murders in Memory Lane: Donald Westlake
The long-delayed publication of an early noir novel by the late Donald Westlake raises questions about what might have been.
by Lawrence Block
What's Happening With Michael A. Kahn...
The author of the Rachel Gold legal thrillers is himself a high-powered lawyer—but he's finally had time to write the eighth in the series.
by Brian Skupin
Departments
At the Scene
by Kate Stine
Our Readers Recommend
by Mystery Scene readers
New Books Essays
by Maria Hudgins, John Vorhaus, Barbara Fister, Vicki Delany, and Gail Lynds
Child's Play: Books for Young Sleuths
by Roberta Rogow
What About Murder? Reference Books Reviewed
by Jon L. Breen
Small Press Reviews: Covering the Independents
by Betty Webb
Gormania!
by Ed Gorman
Short & Sweet: Short Stories Considered
by Bill Crider
Very Original: Paperback Originals Reviewed
by Lynne Maxwell
"For me, the books I read were the call—the call to adventure, to thinking, to acknowledging other points of view. But to complete the ritual, I needed to respond."
I am surrounded by books. Every room, every space in my large, sprawling 1750s house is full of books...
Our history and experiences can define us, inspire our actions, and as writers impact our words and stories. Mine most definitely has: my father was a small-time gangster. Really.
"My ah-ha moment came when I read The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald.... That was it for me – I was off to the races."
Nietzsche once wrote, “There is always some madness in love. But there is also always some reason in madness.”
"Mystery books were daring and exciting, firing up my imagination and making me yearn to become a girl detective or even a secret agent. They also empowered me to make up impromptu ghost stories around the campfire for my Girl Scout troop and sneak into the cemetery at night on a dare."
Fire and Ashes, the latest Angela Richman Death Investigator mystery, is an exploration of a fatal fire. To research this novel, Viets delved into the devastating consequences of junk science and arson investigations.
