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How The History of Nuclear Violence Shapes Our PresentShakespeare’s “What’s Past is Prologue” suggests that history shapes our present and offers insights into the future. But what...
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The Age of the “Feminist ‘American Psycho'” Has ArrivedThe lack of women serial killers in fiction is often a source for 90s-style feminist outrage—an extreme version of “anything you can do, I...
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In Pursuit of the Lizard People, and the Dangerous Conspiracy Theories That Led to the 2020 Nashville BombingBy the time I could get to downtown Nashville in July 2021, I assumed there wouldn’t be any lingering traces of the explosion. When I told...
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When Writers Fall in LoveIn the James Brooks film As Good As It Gets , a star-struck fan asks the misanthropic romance novelist Melvin Udall (Jack Nicholson),...
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Colson Whitehead on Blaxploitation Cinema, Sidney Lumet’s New York, and His Own Harlem TrilogyI’m on the record with all my lavish praise for what Colson Whitehead is doing, which is nothing short of a monument to crime fiction—and...
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How Layers of History Add a Rich Flavor to Contemporary MysteriesLike many readers, I love a good historical mystery. A mystery that unlocks secrets of the past, reveals a forgotten story, or sheds light on...
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On Asylums, Mental Illness, and Controlling Women’s EmotionsIn 2019, I was just digging into what would become my fourth historical novel. Set in 19th century Pari’s infamous Salpêtrière asylum, it follows...
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Masculinity, Queerness, and Hope in Crime FictionI didn’t set out to write a crime novel. I mean, I did. Obviously. A book isn’t the sort of thing that just happens by accident. But I never...
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7 Crime Books Featuring Special Events Going Off the RailsWe do love our special events—birthday parties, weddings, family reunions, and such. These happenings give us a chance to acknowledge important...
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The Nuclear “What-If” Option in Fiction“There is nothing more dangerous than security” – Sir Francis Walsingham, spymaster to Queen Elizabeth I of England In 1988, I read The Last...
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An Unsettling Conversation with Samuel Little, America’s Most Prolific Serial KillerCALIFORNIA STATE PRISON, LOS ANGELES COUNTY, CALIFORNIA AUGUST 2018 California State Prison, Los Angeles County, is located in the city...
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I’d Rather Commit A Murder Than Write OneMy cleaner berated me last week: “Why do you leave me with nothing to do?” Yes, readers, the sad truth is that I would rather clean my toilets...
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9 Unforgettable Novels About Protagonists Returning HomeWhen I was younger and hungry for escape, I was naively surprised to learn that over a third of Americans have never moved away from their...
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Giving a Detective Series New LifeLet’s say you have a successful series of detective novels, anchored by a core set of well-established characters — a private detective, his...
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8 Unforgettable Thrillers with Beach Settings“Whistle!” my friend Mel told me as we pushed our way down the overgrown trail to the beach, surfboards under our arms. “What?” I asked,...
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Meagan Lucas’s Dark New Fiction: “I Was Tired of Hiding the Ugly”In 2019, Meagan Lucas floored me with her debut novel Songbirds and Stray Dogs , a gritty tale of one woman’s fight for survival amidst...
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Cool Down With Some Scorching ThrillersIf there is one truth in this life, it’s this: in Texas, it’s hot as hell in the summer. Scorching, unrelenting, and punishing, summertime calls...
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The Murder Case in Arden Of Faversham, the Greatest Shakespearean-Era Play You’ve Never Heard OfPenned by an unknown hand towards the end of the sixteenth century, Arden of Faversham is the first surviving drama based on an actual domestic...
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John Milas On Writing A Haunted House Novel Set During WartimeWhen I first wrote about my experience in the Marines as a college student, the work was unreadable. The fiction, poetry, and creative nonfiction...
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The Birth of Salon Kitty, Wartime Berlin’s Premier Brothel and Nazi Spy TrapSS-Gruppenführer Reinhard Heydrich had an idea. It was not an unusual event, for the feared head of Nazi Germany’s...
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In Praise of the Crafty Hortense ManciniIn a completely fictional world, characters can be designed to suit your plot. But in my historical fiction (the Hunt & Hooke novels,...
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The Most Haunted Movies in Hollywood HistoryFor almost as long as Hollywood has existed, there have been stories about cursed movie productions. From the freaky weather that threatened to...
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Psychological Thrillers and the Concept of HomeWhat does home turn into when a stranger steps inside? Have you ever considered yourself a trespasser? In many ways, all of us are. The setting...
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Seven Thrillers In Which Friendships Are ThreatenedOne of the things I love most about thrillers is that the stakes are always so high—never more so than when the mystery or conflict threatens a...
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Five Stories Featuring Bad Guys You Love to Root ForSome readers hate ‘unlikeable characters.’ But I love them. Well, let’s be clear: I love complicated, charismatic, devious, utterly compelling...
