Crime Fiction Links of the Week for February 8, 2025

It's time again for Crime Fiction Links of the Week, our weekly round-up of interesting links about crime fiction from around the web, this week with Love Hurts, Out There, Bring Them Down, Dexter: Original Sin, Apple Cider Vinegar, the latest on the sexual abuse allegations against Neil Gaiman, tributes to David Lynch and much more.
 

Crime fiction in general: 

• CrimeReads shares ten new crime novels coming out this week,  
• Gabino Iglesias shares his favourite recent crime novels. 
• Molly Odintz shares her favourite international crime novels for February 2025.
  
• Paul French takes a look at crime fiction set on Fiji. 
• Nicholas George explains how not to get murdered on a walking holiday in the English countryside  
• Andrew Welsh-Huggins lists seven iconic lone wolf protagonists in crime novels and thrillers.
  
• Neena Viel shares five crime novels featuring exhausted black women.
  
• Steve Wick explains how a real life 1954 murder which remained unsolved for more than thirty years inspired his latest crime novel.
  
• Lou Armagno celebrates the 100th anniversary of Charlie Chan.
• Mark Coggins discusses the time Raymond Chandler spent in San Francisco in 1919.
  

 

Comments on the sexual abuse allegations against Neil Gaiman:

• Dominic Patten reports that Neil Gaiman and Amanda Palmer have been sued by their erstwhile victims. 
• Jessa Crispin declares that Neil Gaiman und Amanda Palmer are an industry problem.
  
• Kayti Burt reports about how fans of Neil Gaiman respond to the sexual abuse allegations against him.
• Ella Creamer reports that DC Comics has pulled an omnibus edition of the Sandman spin-off Death in response to the allegations against Neil Gaiman.

 

Film and TV: 

• Germain Lussier calls Cobra Kai one of the greatest sequels ever. 
• Pete Volk calls Take Cover a sniper thriller with an excellent gimmick
• Phil Hoad declares that the non-linear structure of the thriller Scarlet Winter tries to be Memento, but doesn’t gather the narrative shards into a compelling whole.
• Martin Edwards calls The Castaways a thriller series that didn't outstay its welcome 
• Jim Borel calls  The Things You Kill a cerebral thriller.
  
• Max Gao calls The Hunting Party a derivative crime drama.
• Leslie Felperin calls Beyond the Borders a timely tragedy-flecked thriller
  
• Chris Jenkins shares his thoughts on the latest episode of Astrid: Murder in Paris. 
• Melody McCune shares her thoughts on the latest episode of Harley Quinn.   
• Germain Lussier interviews Scott Derrickson, director of The Gorge
• Xan Brooks interviews Robert De Niro, star of Zero Day and many others. 
  
• Michael Hogan interviews several actors about their shocking TV deaths.
• Martin Edwards revisits the 2001 spy movie Spy Game.  
• Nathan Rabin revisits the 2020 satirical thriller The Hunt. 
• Olivia Rutigliano wonders why Michael Myers knows how to drive a car, considering he spent fifteen years in an asylum in the 1978 slasher movie Halloween  
  
• Diana Keng reports that season 3 of The Night Agent is currently in production and that Fola Evans-Akingbola will return as Agent Chelsea Arrington
  

 

Tributes to David Lynch:

• Mark Kermode shares a tribute to David Lynch.
• Garrett Martin declares that Twin Peaks: The Return was an unlikely and perfectly timed miracle, when it came out in 2017. 
• Kali Wallace revisits David Lynch's 1977 surrealist movie Eraserhead. 
  
• Emma Madden reports that the death of David Lynch, which can be partly attributed to his smoking habit, has scared smokers into quitting. 

 

Comments on Love Hurts:

• Jacob Oller calls Love Hurts endearingly cheesy.
  
• Ryan Gilbey calls Love Hurts a gloatingly gory mob romantic comedy  
• Frank Scheck calls Love Hurts a Valentine’s-themed action thriller not worth swooning over
• Matthew Jackson calls Love Hurts a partial mess fighting valiantly to be a decent movie  
• Brian Davids interviews Ariana DeBose, one of the stars of Love Hurts.
  

 

Comments on Out There:

• Paul Hirons shares his thoughts on episodes 3 and 4 of Out There. 
• Paul Hirons shares his thoughts on episodes 5 and 6 of Out There.
  

 

Comments on Dexter: Original Sin: 

• Paul Levinson shares his thoughts on episode 7 of Dexter: Original Sin.
• Paul Levinson shares his thoughts on episode 8 of Dexter: Original Sin.
  

 

Comments on Bring Them Down: 

• Peter Bradshaw calls Bring Them Down an over-the-top revenge thriller from Ireland. 
• Natalia Keogan calls Bring Them Down a satisfying thriller from Ireland.
  

 

Comments on Apple Cider Vinegar:

• Lucy Mangan calls Apple Cider Vinegar a fast, witty and furious dramatisation of the life of influencer and fake health guru Belle Gibson
• Saloni Gajjar calls Apple Cider Vinegar a fraudster drama with very little bite  

 

Writing, publishing and promotion: 

• Valerie Valdes explains why The Artist's Way never worked for her. 
• Nicholas Harvey explains how to balance technical jargon with reader engagement
  
• William Boyle talks about writing a modern novel steeped in kitchen-sink realism 
• Sarah Manavis reports that Jane Austen's novels are being reissued with new covers to appeal to young female readers.
  
• Victoria Strauss reports about a new scam targeting writers. 
• Camestros Felapton reports about a conflict between the SFF publishers Baen Books and Ark Press. 
• Publishers Weekly reports that several literary organisations have issued a joint statement decrying Donald Trump's latest anti-trans executive order.
  
• Ella Creamer reports that publishers have sued the state of Idaho over library book bans.
  
• Jim Milliot reports that a new report by the US Copyright Office addresses whether AI works can be copyrighted. 
• Marina Hyde notes that its hilarious that OpenAI complains that China stole its large language models to create its own AI chatbot DeepSeek, when OpenAI's ChatGPT has used copyrighted works without authoritsation fr its training. 
• Pat Saperstein reports that Nicholas Cage has spoken out against AI.
  
• Alexandra Alter reports that Onyx Storm by Rebecca Yarros has become the fastest-selling adult novel in twenty years
• Ella Creamer reports that the popularity of romantasy is driving growing SFF sales in the UK.

 

Awards:

• The finalists for the 2025 Agatha Awards have been announced.
• The finalists for the 2025 Derringer Award For Best Anthology have been announced.
• The winners of the 2025 Saturn Awards have been announced.  
• Emma Creamer reports that the Giller Prize has dropped its sponsor Scotiabank in response to anti-Israeli pressure groups. 
  

 

Interviews: 

• Paul Burke interviews Dame Stella Rimington.
  
• Debbi Mack interviews Gregg Hurwitz. 
• Rick Pullen interviews Lee Goldberg.
• Vaseem Khan and Abir Mukherjee interview Jonathan Whitelaw
• Alan Petersen interviews Jerri Williams.
• Aunt Agatha's interviews R.P. O’Donnell:
• Garrick Webster interviews R.O. Thorp. 
• Rachel Gallaher interviews Kirsten Sundberg Lunstrum
  
• Lauren Daley interviews Tova Mirvis.
  
• Lisa Haselton interviews Luis Figuerdo
  
• Scott Simon interviews Robert Littell. 
• Crime Wave interviews Scott Turow.  
  

 

Reviews:

• Lesa Holstine reviews Bonded in Death by J.D. Robb 
  
• Marlene Harris reviews Bonded in Death by J.D. Robb 
• Doreen Sheridan reviews Locked In by Jussi Adler-Olsen
  
• Lesa Holstine reviews Stone Certainty by Simon R. Green
• Mandie Griffiths reviews Prey by Vanda Symon
• Jen Lucas reviews The Eleventh Grave by Rachel Amphlett
  
• Lesa Holstine reviews The Killing Plains by Sherry Rankin 
• Sonja van der Westhuizen reviews Vantage Point by Sara Sligar 
• The Hard Word reviews We Are Watching by Alison Gaylin.
  
• Fully Booked reviews Bye Bye Baby by Fiona McIntosh. 
• Craig Sisterson reviews Notes on a Drowning by Anna Sharpe 
  
• Mary Picken reviews Famous Last Words by Gillian McAllister  
• Mike Parker reviews Tell Me What You Did by Cater Wilson 
• In Search of the Classic Mystery Novel reviews You Are Fatally Invited by Ande Pliego 
  
• Lesa Holstine reviews Kills Well with Others by Deanna Raybourn
• Seattle Book Mama reviews Open Season by Jonathan Kellerman
  
• Matt Pechey reviews Head Cases by John McMahon.
• BOLO Books reviews Head Cases by John McMahon.
• Mary Picken reviews Beautiful Ugly by Alice Feeney.
• Doreen Sheridan reviews Assume Nothing by Joshua Corin
  
• Marlene Harris reviews A Bird in the Hand by Ann Cleeves
• Vicki Weisfeld reviews The Oligarch’s Daughter by Joseph Finder 
• Beth Kanell reviews The Oligarch’s Daughter by Joseph Finder
  
• Jen Lucas reviews The Inheritance by Trisha Sekhlecha
• Fresh Fiction reviews The Inheritance by Trisha Sekhlecha
  
• Tzer Island reviews Dead Money by Jakob Kerr
  
• Doreen Sheridan reviews Imposter Syndrome by Joseph Knox 
• Marilyn Brooks reviews The Weekend Guests by Liza North.
  
• The Quick and the Read reviews The Bookseller by Tim Sullivan
• Ben Boulden reviews The Mailman by Andrew Welsh-Huggins  
• Janet Webb reviews A Gentleman of Sinister Schemes by Grace Burrowes
• Vicki Weisfeld reviews The Queen of Fives by Alex Hay 
• Aubrey Nye Hamilton reviews An Excellent Thing in a Woman by Allison Montclair 
• Doreen Sheridan reviews The Turnglass by Gareth Rubin 
• Lesa Holstine reviews A Slant of Light by Kathryn Lasky
• Mary Picken reviews Helle's Hound by Oskar Jensen 
• Mandie Griffiths reviews A Serpent In The Garden by Howard Linskey
  
• Robin Agnew reviews No Comfort for the Dead by R.P. O’Donnell. 
• Marlene Harris reviews Beast of the North Woods by Annelise Ryan 
• Ah, Sweet Mystery! reviews Loose Lips by Kemper Donovan 
• Jen Lucas reviews The Marlow Murder Club by Robert Thorogood 
• Joseph B. Hoyos reviews Death at an Irish Wedding by Ellie Brannigan
• Doreen Sheridan reviews Star-Crossed Egg Tarts by Jennifer J. Chow and tries a recipe from the book.
  
• Joseph B. Hoyos reviews Booked for Murder by P.J. Nelson
   
  

 Classics reviews:

• Ah, Sweet Mystery! revisits the 1932 Charlie Chan mystery Keeper of the Keys by by Earl Derr Biggers
• Crossexamining Crime revisits the 1938 Sheriff Peter Bounty mystery Death Under the Moonflower by Todd Downing  
  
• George Pelecanos revisits the 1941 noir novel The Black Curtain by Cornell Woolrich.
  
• Crossexamining Crime revisits the 1946 Doan and Carstairs mystery Oh, Murderer Mine by Norbert Davis  
• Happiness is a Book revisits the 1958 Flaxborough Chronicles mystery Coffin, Scarcely Used by Colin Watson 
• Martin Edwards revisits the 1963 suspense novel Kilo Forty by Miles Tripp.
  
• Joe Kenney revisits the 1973 Shaft blaxploitation crime novel Shaft Has A Ball by Ernest Tidyman
  
• Joe Kenney revisits the 1975 The Liquidator men's adventure novel Invitation To A Strangling by R.L. Brent
  

 

Con and event reports:

• The National reports that Ian Rankin will become the first guest programmer of the Bloody Scotland International Crime Writing Festival in Stirling, Scotland.
  
• Andrew Pulver reports that the beloved Prince Charles Cinema in London, UK, is at risk of closure due to a greedy landlord wanting to redevelop the site.
  
• Alfie Packham shares audience memories of the Prince Charles Cinema in London, UK, which is under threat of closure.

 

Research: 

• Suzanne Nelson explains why spies must be great storytellers.
• Alison Gaylin talks about the lure of conspiracy theories.
  

 

Free online fiction: 

• "A Pyre For Two by River" by J. Myers in Guilty
• "What You Want for Valentine’s Day?" by Pamela Ebel in Punk Noir Magazine. 
  
• "Meet Me at the Railroad Tracks" by Kathryn Prater Bomey in Punk Noir Magazine. 
• "The Plight of Man" by Peter Bertlessen in Punk Noir Magazine.
  
• "I Know Some Ghosts" by Joseph Hirsch in Mystery Tribune.
• "The Clown-Head Gumball Machine" by Casey Stegman in Shotgun Honey.
  

 

Trailers and videos: 

• Watch a trailer for season 6 of Cobra Kai.
• Watch a trailer for Happy Face.