An insight into a popular yet complex genre that has developed over the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. The volume explores the contemporary anxieties to which crime fiction responds, along with society's changing conceptions of crime and criminality. The book covers texts, contexts and criticism in an accessible and user-friendly format.
Investigate 100 of the world's most notorious crimes, including the Great Train Robbery, the Lindbergh kidnapping, and the murders of serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer. Were the perpetrators delusional, opportunist, or truly evil? Find out what really happened and how the cases were solved. Discover conmen with sheer verve, such as Victor Lustig who "sold" the Eiffel Tower to scrap dealers in 1925, adrenaline-fuelled escapes, and mind-bending exploits of pirates, kidnappers, and drug cartels. The Crime Book demystifies malware, cybercrimes, and Ponzi schemes and sets out the terrifying ploys of mass murderers from 16th-century Elizabeth Báthory who drained young girls' blood to the more recent exploits of Rosemary and Fred West. Like a virus, crime mutates and adapts. The Crime Book explains how pivotal moments in history opened up new opportunities for criminals, such as the smuggling of alcohol during the American Prohibition era. It also charts developments in justice and forensics including the Innocence Project, which used DNA testing to exonerate wrongly convicted convicts. It examines how the forces of law and order have fought back against crime, explaining ingenious sting operations such as tracking down the jewel thief Bill Mason and the final capture of murderer Ted Bundy. With a foreword from bestselling crime author Cathy Scott, The Crime Book is an enthralling introduction to humanity's darker side. Series Overview: Big Ideas Simply Explained series uses creative design and innovative graphics, along with straightforward and engaging writing, to make complex subjects easier to understand. These award-winning books provide just the information needed for students, families, or anyone interested in concise, thought-provoking refreshers on a single subject.
*WINNER OF THE CWA SHORT STORY DAGGER WITH THE TRIALS OF MARGARET BY L. C. TYLER* In honour of multi award-winning author Peter Lovesey, the members of the Detection Club have written twenty-two twisty - and twisted - short stories that will take you on a journey from cosy English towns to the glaciers of Iceland and the glittering towers of Dubai. The collection is edited by current Detection Club president Martin Edwards and features stories from Ann Cleeves, Simon Brett, Andrew Taylor and several other best-loved crime authors. The Detection Club was founded by the crème de la crime of British crime writing in 1930 and its members included Agatha Christie, Dorothy L. Sayers, Anthony Berkeley and the Club's first president, G. K. Chesterton. The Detection Club was a way for crime writers to get together, socialise and discuss ideas, a tradition that continues to this day. Authors include: Ann Cleeves - Simon Brett - Andrew Taylor - Len Deighton - Peter Lovesey - Michael Jecks - Michael Ridpath - Kate Ellis - Ruth Dudley Edwards - Alison Joseph - L. C. Tyler - Catherine Aird - David Roberts - David Stuart Davies - Janet Laurence - Liza Cody - Martin Edwards - Kate Charles - John Malcolm - Marjorie Eccles - Michael Z. Lewin - Susan Moody
It provides English-language readers with easy access to the history and development of German-language crime fiction for the first time. Contains a chronology of German-language crime fiction. Key dates, developments and texts are presented in a tabular form at the beginning of the volume. This is a unique selling point (new to the series) and provides the reader with an ‘at a glance’ overview of the volume. an introductory chapter that provides a comprehensive overview of the development of German-language crime and its key concepts and trends from the nineteenth century to the present day (including East German, Turkish-German, Jewish-German and regional crime). The chapter can be read as a standalone, but also acts as a gateway to the volume’s chapters. The chapters provide the reader with a wealth of information about key areas of crime fiction from around the German-speaking world. an annotated bibliography of published and online resources. This will be particularly useful for scholars in the field. a map of the German-speaking world that allows readers to see the majority of different geographical regions discussed in the volume.
Key Concepts in Contemporary Popular Fiction represents an invaluable starting point for students wishing to familiarise themselves with this exciting and rapidly evolving area of literary studies. It provides an accessible, concise and reliable overview of core critical terminology, key theoretical approaches, and the major genres and sub-genres within popular fiction. Because popular fiction is significantly shaped by commercial forces, the book also provides critical and historical contexts for terminology related to e-books, e-publishing, and self-publishing platforms. By using focusing in particular on post-2000 trends in popular fiction, the book provides a truly up-to-date snapshot of the subject area and its critical contexts.
The Routledge Companion to Crime Fiction is a comprehensive introduction to crime fiction and crime fiction scholarship today. Across 45 original chapters, specialists in the field offer innovative approaches to the classics of the genre as well as ground-breaking mappings of emerging themes and trends. The volume is divided into three parts. Part I, Approaches, rearticulates the key theoretical questions posed by the crime genre. Part II, Devices, examines the textual characteristics of crime fiction. Part III, Interfaces investigates the complex ways in which crime fiction engages with the defining issues of its context – from policing and forensic science through war, migration and narcotics to digital media and the environment. Rigorously argued and engagingly written, the volume is indispensable both to students and scholars of crime fiction.
Key Concepts in Contemporary Popular Fiction represents an invaluable starting point for students wishing to familiarise themselves with this exciting and rapidly evolving area of literary studies. It provides an accessible, concise and reliable overview of core critical terminology, key theoretical approaches, and the major genres and sub-genres within popular fiction. Because popular fiction is significantly shaped by commercial forces, the book also provides critical and historical contexts for terminology related to e-books, e-publishing, and self-publishing platforms. By using focusing in particular on post-2000 trends in popular fiction, the book provides a truly up-to-date snapshot of the subject area and its critical contexts.
Provides a lively introduction to what is both a wide-ranging and hugely popular literary genre. Accessible and clear, this comprehensive overview is the essential guide for all those studying crime fiction.
This unique and timely book presents nine compelling essays on contemporary crime fiction, bringing innovative and fresh perspectives to the analysis of this most popular and vibrant literary genre. Investigating contemporary crime fiction and the critical debates surrounding its reception and production, the introductory chapter sets the scene for the chaptersâ (TM) analyses of distinct crime fiction topics, themes and authors. These topics include the experimental detective narrative, race and ethnicity, historical crime fiction, domestic noir, feminism and crime, environmental crime, and the poetics of place. Authors examined here range from Ian Rankin, Gillian Flynn, Val McDermid, Denise Mina, Robert Galbraith, Nancy Bilyeau, and Martha Grimes, to Tana French, Dale Furutani and J.G. Ballard, to name but a few. Informed by the latest critical debates and theoretical perspectives in the field, this volume presents an invaluable source of information and criticism on crime fiction for students, researchers and academics alike.
"The Rue Morgue Murders" is a pioneering tale in the mystery genre, in which detective Auguste Dupin uses his acute observation and logic to solve a brutal double murder in Paris, revealing a surprising and unusual outcome.
