KindlePrintReviews

Marple: Twelve New Stories

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While Agatha Christie eventually grew tired of Hercule Poirot, describing him as ‘an egocentric creep’ and devising a deeply divisive ending for him, she retained her affection for the far more personable Miss Jane Marple. From her first appearance in The Tuesday Night Club, a…
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Features

CIS: Crime classics on the box

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Classic crime novels have been a source of rich pickings for TV writers and producers since the days of good old black and white. They can provide a solid foundation for a beloved, long-running and essentially faithful set of programmes (think Poirot), or a stepping stone for…
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KindleReviews

Mr Bazalgette's Agent by Leonard Herrick

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The British Library’s dedication to publishing new editions of lost and forgotten crime fiction is an affirmation of the genre’s importance to the UK’s literary heritage. Mr Bazalgette’s Agent, originally published in 1888, is a concise, captivating novel written in diary form that arrives in…
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Features

CIS: The first female detectives

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We’ve just been celebrating the 123rd birthday of Agatha Christie, who created spinster sleuth Miss Marple in 1926. But if you thought Marple was the first female literary detective – albeit, an amateur – you might be surprised to learn you were out by several…
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Features

Are crime novels killing short stories?

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While the crime novel is in rude health with huge sales for contemporary genre authors, what about the short story? It’s true that labyrinthine crime plots have always suited the novel – although Golden Age writers penned shorter novels than today’s chunky bestsellers – but…
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