Features

Guest column: TF Muir on Tartan Noir

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Not long ago, the town of Stirling hosted Bloody Scotland, a literary festival dedicated to the one of the country’s finest exports: crime fiction. Tartan noir has arguably become as well known as Scotch whisky. But how can we account for the disproportionate success of…
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Features

CIS: Revisiting Maigret

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Classics in September — Let’s proceed to Place des Vosges in Paris. Here, in a modest flat on the second floor, Commissaire Maigret lives in quiet marital harmony with his wife Henriette. She is cooking his dinner or knitting, while he dreams of growing tomatoes…
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Features

Interview: Sara Sheridan

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The Edinburgh-based author Sara Sheridan has produced a raft of critically acclaimed novels spanning contemporary and historical fiction, along with books for children and teens. So, it was only a matter of time before she turned her hand to crime. Brighton Belle, the first instalment…
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Features

CIS: The Grifters revisited

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Classics in September — Most people probably associate The Grifters with the 1990 film directed by Stephen Frears and starring John Cusack, Anjelica Huston and Annette Bening. But the script, penned by veteran crime writer Donald E Westlake, was adapted from a story by Jim…
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Features

CIS: Sherlock Holmes and A Study in Scarlet

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Classics in September — Written in 1886, A Study in Scarlet was the first of four novels and 56 short stories by author Arthur Conan Doyle featuring Sherlock Holmes. It is said that the character of Holmes was inspired by Dr Joseph Bell, a renowned…
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Features

CIS: Interview with Otto Penzler

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Classics in September — Surely there are few people on the planet who are more knowledgeable on the topic of crime fiction than Otto Penzler. The American author, editor and publisher won an Edgar Award back in 1977 for co-writing the Encyclopedia of Mystery and…
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Features

Interview: Barbara Nadel

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Barbara Nadel trained as an actress and worked in mental health before taking up her pen and becoming one of the UK’s leading crime writers. She received the CWA’s prestigious Silver Dagger award for Deadly Web, one of her excellent İkmen and Süleyman novels set…
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