Crime Fiction Links of the Week for April 5, 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 MobLand, Daredevil: Born Again, season 3 of Yellowjackets, the future of James Bond, British authors versus AI, the implosion of NaNoWriMo, tributes to Ken Bruen, Val Kilmer and Richard Chamberlain and much more.
 

Crime fiction in general: 

• CrimeReads shares seven new crime novels coming out this week,  
• Criminal Element share their most anticipated crime novels and mysteries for April 2025.  
  
• Gabino Iglesias shares his favourite recent crime novels and thrillers 
• Molly Odintz shares new international crime fiction to check out this spring.
  
• CrimeReads shares upcoming LGBTQ crime novels. 
• Keith Roysdon rememebers the heyday of the men's adventure magazines in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s. 
  
• Olesya Lyuzna shares her favourite journalist sleuths in crime fiction. 
• Sara Foster shares five thriller about mothers fighting for their children.
  
• Katie Tallo shares five haunting thrillers about someone disappearing on a camping trip
  
• Rachel Ekstrom Courage shares darkly feminist YA books.
• Naomi Kaye takes a look at Central and East European characters in Agatha Christie's work. 
  

 

Tributes to Ken Bruen:

• Irish crime fiction writer Ken Bruen has died aged 74.
• Peter Handel remembers Ken Bruen.
  

 

Film and TV: 

• Peter Bradshaw calls Restless a psycho-thriller that is very nearly a decent film but is let down by a script that goes completely awry
• Alex Lei calls Gazer a throwback thriller that is stuck looking backwards 
• Paul Hirons declares that the crime drama Protection plays it a little too safe. 
• Camestros Felapton shares his thoughts on The Residence.
  
• Erin Underwood shares her thoughts on Black Bag. 
• Arturo Serrano shares his throughts on the Japanese paranormal mystery TV show A.A.R.O.
• Lara Rosales shares her thoughts on the latest episode of The Equalizer. 
• Paul Hirons shares his favourite Australian crime dramas of all time. 
• Paul Hirons shares his favourite roles played by John Simm 
• Paul Hirons shares his favourite episodes of the British crime drama Grace.
  
• Gabriel Tate interviews Charlie Brooker, creator of Black Mirror.
  
• Dan Larsen revisits the 1983 cartoon series Inspector Gadget.   
• Paul Hirons revisits the 2006 true crime drama See No Evil: The Moors Murders

 

Comments on MobLand:

• Jack Seale calls MobLand a gangster drama so cartoonish you could dismiss it as crass twaddle.
• Stuart Heritage calls MobLand a gangland drama that’s a total throwback to the 1990s 
  

  Comments on Daredevil: Born Again:

• Leah Schnelbach shares her thoughts on “Art for Art’s Sake”, the latest episode of Daredevil: Born Again. 
• Jarrod Jones shares his thoughts on  “Art for Art’s Sake”, the latest episode of Daredevil: Born Again. 
• Justin Carter shares his thoughts on “Art for Art’s Sake”, the latest episode of Daredevil: Born Again.  

 

  Comments on season 3 of Yellowjackets:

• Jen Lennon shares her thoughts on the latest episode of Yellowjackets.
• Melody McCune shares her thoughts on the latest episode of Yellowjackets.
• Natalie Zutter shares her thoughts on the latest episode of Yellowjackets. 

 

Comments on the future of James Bond: 

• Maddy Mussen interviews Helen Mirren about the profound sexism of James Bond.
• Peter Bradshaw agrees that James Bond is profoundly sexist, but that a female villain could bring the character into the twenty-first century.
  

 

Tributes to Val Kilmer:

• Val Kilmer, best known for his roles in Willow, Top Gun, Batman Forever, The Saint, Real Genius, Tombstone, Heat, Top Secret and many others, has died aged 65.
• Peter Bradshaw remembers Val Kilmer.
  
• Alan Evans remembers Val Kilmer. 
• Justin Carter remembers Val Kilmer.
  
• The Guardian shares photos from Val Kilmer's career.
  

 

Tributes to Richard Chamberlain:

• Richard Chamberlain, best known for his roles in The Three Musketeers, The Count of Monte Cristo, King Solomon's Mines, The Towering Inferno, Shogun, The Thorn Birds, Doctor Kildare and many others, has died aged 90.
• Ronald Bergan shares an obituary for Richard Chamberlain. 
• Mark Lawson calls Richard Chamberlain the original hot priest. 

 

Writing, publishing and promotion: 

• J.R. Dawson explains what Disney's imagineers taught her about worldbuilding.
  
•  Gideon P. Smith shares some tips for successfully talking to the press about the plot of your book.
• SFWA announces their current board of directors.
  
• The UK Society of Authors shares a report about authors' views on using their works for AI training.
• Ella Creamer reports that British authors are calling for the UK government to hold Meta accountable for copyright infringement for AI training. 
• Ella Creamer reports that authors are protesting against illegally using their books for AI training outside Meta's office in London, UK. 
• Eric Berger reports that several rightwing groups in the US are pushing for banning books they consider obscene from libraries.
• National Novel Writing Month is shutting down after a slew of controversies. 
• Ella Creamer reports about the closure of the NaNoWriMo website and the many controversies that preceded it.
• Tim Jonze explains how NaNoWriMo showed him that he could write a book and that he hopes its spirit will live on.

 

Awards:

• The finalists for the 2025 Derringer Awards have been announced.  
• The finalists for the 2025 Fingerprint Awards have been announced.
  
• The winners of the 2024 Australian Romance Reader Awards have been announced.
• The winners of the BBC Audio Drama Awards have been announced.   
• The winner of the 2025 Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award has been announced.
  

 

Interviews: 

• The Guardian interviews Anthony Horowitz
  
• Emma Brockes interviews Hallie Rubenhold.
• Elizabeth Held interviews Deanna Raybourn.
  
• Vaseem Khan and Abir Mukherjee interviews Stig Abell.
  
• Suspense Magazine interviews Chris Bohjalian. 
• Marshal Zeringue interviews Bryan Gruley.
  
• Debbi Mack interviews Brenda Chapman. 
• Lisa Haselton interviews Lee Upton.
  
• Darcy Kelly interviews Tricia Voute.
  

 

Reviews:

• Mary Picken reviews The Shadow by Ajay Chowdhury
• Jen Lucas reviews The Spy by Ajay Chowdhury
  
• Kirkus reviews The Reluctant Sheriff by Chris Offutt.
  
• Mary Picken reviews The Rest Is Death by James Oswald
• Janet Webb reviews Dead Man’s List by Karen Rose
  
• Lesa Holstine reviews Easeful Death by Cynthia Harrod-Eagles 
• Lesa Holstine reviews Not Dead Yet by Jeffrey Siger 
• Jim Motavalli reviews The Last Visitor by Martin Griffin.
• In Search of the Classic Mystery Novel reviews Nobody’s Fool by Harlan Coben  
• She Treads Softly reviews Nobody’s Fool by Harlan Coben  
  
• Kathy Martin reviews The Big Fix by Holly James 
• Mike Parker reviews The Get Off by Christa Faust 
  
• Blu Gilliand reviews The Get Off by Christa Faust
  
• Jen Lucas reviews The Return of Frankie Whittle by Caroline England
• Ray Palen reviews White King by Juan Gómez-Jurado
  
• Mary Picken reviews Bad Blood by Sarah Hornsley
• Monnie Ryan reviews Saltwater by Kathy Hays.
  
• Rob Merrill reviews Killer Potential by Hannah Deitch  
• Mandie Griffiths reviews The Cost by Morgan Cry
  
• Jen Lucas reviews Nine Hidden Lives by Robert Gold
  
• Tzer Island reviews Friends Helping Friends by Patrick Hoffman
• Pam Guynn reviews The Unlucky Ones by Hannah Morrissey
• Fully Booked reviews The Cambridge Siren by Jim Kelly. 
• Erin Britton reviews Helle’s Hound by Oskar Jensen
  
• Marlene Harris reviews The Railway Conspiracy by John Shen Yen Nee and S.J. Rozan 
• Doreen Sheridan reviews To Catch A Spy by Mark O’Neill
  
• Fully Booked reviews Miss Burnham and the Loose Thread by Lynn Knight. 
• Jen Lucas reviews Death and Other Occupational Hazards by Veronika Dapunt 
• Sandra Mangan reviews Everyone in the Group Chat Dies by L.M. Chilton
  
• Doreen Sheridan reviews Dead Post Society by Diane Kelly and tries a recipe from the book.
  
• Carla Schantz reviews The Next Deadly Chapter by V.M. Burns,
• Carla Schantz reviews A Spirited Blend by Lauren Elliott. 
• In Search of the Classic Mystery Novel reviews Death In The Dressing Room by Simon Brett  
• Steve Donoghue reviews Story of a Murder: The Wives, the Mistress, and Dr. Crippen by Hallie Rubenhold
• Anthony Quinn reviews Story of a Murder: The Wives, the Mistress, and Dr. Crippen by Hallie Rubenhold 
• Kathryn Hughes reviews Story of a Murder: The Wives, the Mistress, and Dr. Crippen by Hallie Rubenhold 
  

 

Classics reviews:

• Crossexamining Crime revisits the 1935 mystery Murder on the Aphrodite by Ruth Barr Sanborn 
• Crossexamining Crime revisits the 1943 Perry Mason legal mystery The Case of the Drowsy Mosquito by Erle Stanley Gardner 
  
• Lesa Holstine revisits the 1951 caper novel To Catch a Thief by David Dodge
• Doreen Sheridan also revisits the 1951 caper novel To Catch a Thief by David Dodge 
• In Search of the Classic Mystery novel revisits the 1951 Desmond Merrion mystery Beware Your Neighbour by Miles Burton a.k.a. John Rhode. 
  
• Happiness is a Book revisits the 1952 Arthur G. Crook mystery Miss Pinnegar Disappears by Anthony Gilbert
• Paperback Warrior revisits the 1970 adventure novel Congo by W.A. Ballinger. 
• Martin Edwards revisits the 1991 suspense novel Bother at the Barbican by Guy Cullingford.
• Stephen Eoannou revisits the 2008 historical crime novel The Hotel Dick by Axel Brand,
  

 

Con and event reports:

• Pooja Mitra reports about the 2025 Kolkata Crime Writers’ Festival in Kolkata, India.
  
• Ayo Onatade shares the program of the 2025 Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival in Harrogate, Yorkshire. 
• Ayo Onatade shares the program of the 2025 CrimeFest in Bristol, UK. 
  
• Promoting Crime Fiction shares the program for the 2025 Capital Crime festival in London, UK.
• Germain Lussier shares his fifteen favourite things he saw at the 2025 CinemaCon in Las Vegas, Nevada.
  
• Martin Edwards shares his experiences at the Deadly festival dedicated to women crime writers at the British Library in London, UK.
  
• Brent Lang reports that a Mission: Impossible exhibition is coming to the Museum of the Moving Image in Astoria, New York.
  
  

 Research: 

• Lisa Olsen talks about the so-called Candy Man serial killer case which took place in Houston, Texas, in the 1970s.

 

Free online fiction: 

• "Can’t Stop. Won’t Stop" by Robert Mammone in Shotgun Honey.
• "Justice Served" by Vinnie Hansen in Tough.
• "River of Ash" by Tom Barlow in Tough.
  
  

Trailers and videos: 

• Watch a trailer for Sherlock and Daughter.
  
• Watch a trailer for series 7 of Black Mirror.
• Watch a trailer for Karate Kid: Legends. 
• Watch a trailer for The Naked Gun.