The third book to feature the eponymous detective is a whydunnit not a whodunnit.
Academic rigor, journalistic flair
Articles on Crime fiction
Displaying 1 - 20 of 51 articles
Agatha Christie never explicitly said so, but many of her Belgian detective’s character traits could be interpreted as being autistic.
Crook Manifesto confounds expectations only insofar as it is unprecedented for Colson Whitehead to repeat himself.
The story of Anne Hamilton-Byrne’s cult The Family has been told in a non-fiction book and documentary, a novel, In the Clearing, and now a Disney+ series. What can stories like this teach us?
Crime fiction’s place-specific exploration of justice seems ideally suited to Indigenous authors wanting to explore historical and contemporary issues.
Renowned YA author Vikki Wakefield delves into the complex pressures of motherhood with her first adult novel – a psychological thriller.
Tracey Lien’s debut novel investigates a murder of a model student in a Cabramatta restaurant. Anh Nguyen Austen says it brilliantly conveys the complexities of the Vietnamese refugee experience.
A panoramic tale and an in-depth character study, Iris immerses its readers in a world of impoverishment and struggle.
Heat 2, the literary sequel to Michael Mann’s classic cops-and-robbers film, is weird. Would it stand alone as a novel? Possibly not. But reading it is an incredibly pleasurable experience.
Many think of crime fiction as a predominantly English and American phenomenon, but the genre is thriving internationally, breaking rules and exploring pressing issues.
Do we read crime novels because we know what is right and wrong, or for guidance through a world that appears ‘all grey’? The books of lawyer-turned-writer Dervla McTiernan prompt such questions.
A true hoax provokes. It questions cultural biases, shattering conventions. But the curious case of the three men writing as a female author Carmen Mola does none of this.
Criminal reads to warm your autumn nights.
There’s something disturbing about a story tracking a character’s mental decline for thrills. Happily, Paula Hawkins’ new novel, A Slow Fire Burning, joins a genre of books bucking this trend.
Just when you think you’ve had enough of detectives behaving badly, along comes Claire DeWitt. She is, frankly, a beautifully written mess.
Created by a prolific French author, Inspector Jules Maigret observes without judgement and moves like a chameleon between social classes.
Christie used her Belgian sleuth to unpick ideas of England and Englishness.
Sure, she has quirks. But TV detective Vera is no amateur. And Brenda Blethyn’s embodiment of her evokes a strong sense of place.
The Inspector Morse prequel series reveals a less certain younger detective, finding his feet but not yet set in his ways.
Kevin Brophy’s favourite detective — Kurt Wallander — has aged just ahead of him, made mistakes and lived vividly.
Top contributors
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Associate Professor, School of Languages, Literatures, Cultures and Linguistics and Fellow of the Australian Academy of Humanities, Monash University
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Honorary Research Professor, The University of Melbourne
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Kevin John Brophy is a Friend of The Conversation.
Emeritus Professor of Creative Writing, The University of Melbourne
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Senior Professor of Communication and Media Studies, University of Wollongong
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Associate Professor of Media, Macquarie University
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Associate Professor, Department of Literary Studies in English, Rhodes University
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Senior Lecturer – Criminal Law, Procedure, Digital Criminology, University of Sydney
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Senior Lecturer in Social Work, University of Salford
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Visiting Senior Fellow in English and Creative Writing, University of Suffolk
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Associate Professor in Media and Journalism, University of Notre Dame Australia
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Lecturer, Creative Writing, University of Technology Sydney
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Professor of Criminology & Public Policy, University of Brighton
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Principal Lecturer, Social Care and Social Work, Manchester Metropolitan University
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PhD Candidate and Casual Academic, The University of Queensland
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Professor of Criminology, University of Leeds
