Crime Fiction Links of the Week for May 10, 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 season 2 of Poker Face, The Equalizer, Fight or Flight, Donald Trump's war on foreign films and much more.
 

Crime fiction in general: 

• CrimeReads shares ten new crime novels coming out this week,   
• Gabino Iglesias shares a look at some new crime novels.
• Sue Hincenbergs talks about how crime fiction is so often inspired by a need for money
  
• Alison Goodman talks about the rise of older women amateur sleuths
• Paul French shares crime fiction set in Perth and Western Australia. 
• Aditya Mani Jha reports about the current wave of Indian crime fiction.
• Molly Odintz shares four crime novels featuring murders in museums.
  
• Paul Vidich talks about Len Deighton and the spy novel. 
• Paul Vidich also shares his favourite spy novels by Len Deighton. 
• David Reamer reports about Dashiell Hammett's time as a soldier stationed in Alaska during WWII. 
• Connor Salter discusses what the FBI Knew about William Lindsay Gresham
  
• Nick Brooks shares five reasons why YA thrillers are leading the revolution
  
• Ella Creamer wonders whether the world really needs more male novelists. 
• Spencer Kornhaber worries about the decline of western culture
• Martin Edwards remembers Peter Lovesey.
  

 

Film and TV:  

• Jay Snow declares that season 3 of Criminal Minds: Evolution starts well but crosses a line it can never come back from 
• Matt Donato calls Shadow Force a generic romantic action thriller that barely casts a shadow at all
• Benjamin Lee calls Sharp Corner a smart, darkly compelling thriller
  
• Phil Hoad calls Peg o’ My Heart a Lynchian thriller from Hong Kong.  
• Diana Keng shares her thoughts on the latest episode of Leverage Redemption.
  
• Dave Bradley shares his thoughts on the Spanish crime drama Memento Mori. 
• Paul Hirons shares his thoughts on the futuristic courtroom drama The Trial.
  
• Steve Rose calls the documentary Backlash: The Murder of George Floyd a timely, human-scale recap of momentous times
• Saloni Gajjar interviews Carrie Preston and Jonathan Tolins, star and showrunner of Elsbeth. 
• Cheryl Eddy revisits the 1998 X-Files episode "Folie à Deux".
• Jacob Oller revisits the 2009 action film Fast & Furious.
• Paul Hirons revisits the 2016 psychological thriller Thirteen.
  
• Connie Chang reports about "fix it" fanfics which fix traumatic endings and scenes in movies and TV shows. 
• Matt Stevens reports about the prop company History for Hire in Hollywood, California.
  
• Ben Blatt wonders whether New York offering tax credits to film and TV productions is a good use of taxpayers' money.

 

Comments on season 2 of Poker Face: 

• Rebecca Nicholson calls season 2 of Poker Face a seriously funny whydunnit caper with a stellar cast.
• Rachel Aroesti calls season 2 of Poker Face a fun detective show that is painfully close to being a classic
  
• Garrett Martin declares that Poker Face‘s fine second season doesn’t quite live up to its first 
• Noel Murray declares that Poker Face's season-two premiere feels like a speedrun through everything that worked so well back in 2023.
  
• Daniel Fienberg calls season 2 of Poker Face so-so. 
• Melody McCune shares her thoughts on episode 1 of season 2 of Poker Face. 
• Melody McCune shares her thoughts on episode 2 of season 2 of Poker Face. 
• Melody McCune shares her thoughts on episode 3 of season 2 of Poker Face.  
  

 

Comments on The Equalizer:

• Lara Rosales shares her thoughts on the season 5 finale of The Equalizer.
• Rick Porter reports that The Equalizer has been cancelled.
  

 

Comments on Fight or Flight:

• Chloe Walker calls Fight Or Flight a dreadful action and praises the performance of Josh Hartnett. 
• Rory Doherty calls Fight or Flight a crazy B-movie ride that runs out of fuel

 

Comments on Donald Trump's war on foreign films:

• The Guardian reports that Donald Trump has announces 100% tariffs on movies ‘produced in foreign lands in a bid to "save" Hollywood.
• Jesse Hassenger declares that  Trump’s attack on the film industry is a sign of xenophobic contempt
• Peter Bradshaw declares that Trump’s talk of film tariffs makes no sense, but is already doing damage – to Hollywood
• Andrew Pulver declares that  Trump’s movie tariffs are designed to destroy the international film industry
• Michael Savage and Edward Helmore report that various film industry officials warn that Trump’s foreign film tariffs could ‘wipe out’ the UK movie industry.
• Andrew Pulver shares reactions from the British film industry to Donald Trump's latest tariff plans.
  
• Steven Zeitchik wonders whether Donald Trump wants to save or screw Hollywood. 
• Andrew Pulver reports that Donald Trump has allegedly softened his stance on tariffs.
  
• Katie Kilkenny and Alex Weprin share Jon Voight's plan to "save" Hollywood.    
• Jesse Hassenger chronicles how Jon Voigt went from counterculture star and Oscar winning actor to rightwing Trump supporter.

 

Writing, publishing and promotion: 

• Nicole Jarvis explains how chronic pain made her a better writer.
• Mattea Kramer talks about crafting nested tales

 

Awards:

• The finalists for the 2025 Anthony Awards have been announced.
  
• The nominations for the 2025 Tony Awards have been announced.
  

 

Interviews: 

• Sarah Weinman interviews Kate Summerscale
  
• Tracey Devlyn interviews R.G. Belsky and Bonnie Traymore  
• Lenny Picker interviews Antonia Hodgson.
  
• Frank Zafiro interviews Adam Plantinga. 
• Garrick Webster interviews Jurica Pavičic 
• Jenny Bartoy interviews Liann Zhang.
  
• Scott Simon interviews Jason Bailey.

 

Reviews:

• Mary Picken reviews The Girl in Cell A by Vaseem Khan 
• Jen Lucas reviews The Man Made Of Smoke by Alex North
  
• Marlene Harris reviews The Museum Detective by Maha Khan Phillips
  
• Joseph B. Hoyos reviews Cold Burn by A.J. Landau 
• Pam Guynn reviews Shadow of the Solstice by Anne Hillerman 
• Jen Lucas reviews South of Nowhere by Jeffery Deaver
  
• Michelle Carpenter reviews This Is Not a Game by Kelly Mullen
• Kirkus reviews The Poet's Game by Paul Vidich. 
• Adam Colclough reviews The Ethical Assassin: A Vigilante's Memoir by William Ferraiolo 
  
• Jane Simon Ammeson reviews Bearer of Bad News by Elisabeth Dini.
  
• Jane Simon Ammeson reviews Julie Chan Is Dead by Liann Zhang.
• Fully Booked reviews Death on Wolf Fell by Nick Oldham.
  
• BOLO Books reviews Death on the Island by Eliza Reid.
• Janet Webb reviews Dead Money by Jakob Kerr
  
• Matt Pechey reviews All June Left Behind by Karen Grose
  
• Mary Picken reviews Human Remains by Jo Callaghan
• Maggie Boyd reviews Parents Weekend by Alex Finlay   
• John Parker reviews The Children of Eve by John Connolly 
  
• Tzer Island reviews The Children of Eve by John Connolly
  
• Jen Lucas reviews Green Shoots by Mark L. Fowler 
• The Crime Segments reviews The Lizard by Domenic Stansberry 
• Lynne Patrick reviews Isolation Ward by Martine Bailey  
• In Search of the Classic Mystery Novel reviews The Serial Killer’s Party by Amy Cunningham
• Jen Lucas reviews Central Park West by James Comey
  
• The Quick and the Read reviews The Penthouse by Catherine Cooper
• Rebecca Hughes reviews The Tenant by Freida McFadden.  
  
• Lynne Patrick reviews Viper in the Nest by Georgina Clarke
  
• Sara Townsend reviews Litany of Lies by Sarah Hawkswood 
  
• The Quick and the Read reviews The Art of a Lie by Laura Shepherd-Robinson
• Robin Agnew reviews A Fatal Necessity by Marjorie Eccles.
• The Quick and the Read reviews The Death of Shame by Ambrose Parry
• Lesa Holstine reviews A Death on Corfu by Emily Sullivan 
• Robin Agnew reviews  A Poisonous Silence by Jenny Adams.
• Carol Westron reviews Murder at St Paul’s Cathedral by Jim Eldridge
  
• Vicki Kondelik reviews A Fashionably French Murder by Colleen Cambridge.
• Marlene Harris reviews A Fashionably French Murder by Colleen Cambridge 
• In Search of the Classic Mystery Novel reviews A Very Lively Murder by Katy Watson
• BOLO Books reviews How to Have a Killer Time in DC by Sam Lumley. 
• Carolyn Scott reviews The Retirement Plan by Sue Hincenbergs
• Sabriya Imami reviews Detective Aunty by Uzma Jalaluddin.
  
• Robin Agnew reviews Detective Aunty by Uzma Jalaluddin.
• Mandie Giffiths reviews Three Card Murder by J.L. Blackhurst
• Peter Handel reviews Fair Play by Louise Hegarty 
• Doreen Sheridan reviews Scone Cold Dead by Maddie Day and tries a recipe from the book.
  
• Marlene Harris reviews The Amalfi Curse by Sarah Penner 
• Ian Mond reviews Sleeper Beach by Nick Harkaway
  
• The Hard Word reviews Sleuths Just Wanna Have Fun: Private Eyes in the Materialistic Eighties, edited by Michel Bracken
  

 

Classics reviews:

• Crossexamining Crime revisits the 1935 mystery Murder In Oils by John Newton Chance
  
• Sandy Ferber revisits the 1961 James Bond spy novel Thunderball by Ian Fleming
• Martin Edwards revisits the 1963 Hugh Gordon mystery Death in Ambush by Susan Gilruth 
  
• Lesa Holstine revisits the 1986 Mrs. Pargeter mystery A Nice Class of Corpse by Simon Brett 
  

 

Con and event reports:

•  Bill Koenig reports about Gatherall at Goldeneye, a James Bond event at Ian Fleming's former home in Jamaica.
• Lesley Gray Streeter reports about the A Million Lives Book Festival in Baltimore, Maryland, which turned out to be an unmitigated disaster.
  

 

Research: 

• Steph Post shares an overview of murders committed during voyages of exploration 
• Cy Neff reports that an AI generated video of a murder victim from Arizona has appeared in court to address his killer. 
  
• Maya Yang reports that Audrey Backeberg who went missing in 1962 aged 20, has been found alive and well.
• Jamie Grierson reports that an NHS employee has won 30000 GBP of compensation after a co-worker compared her to Darth Vader. 
  

 

Free online fiction: 

• "Good Guy with a Gun" by Vincent Marshall in Shotgun Honey.
• "Trouble, Start to Finish" by Keith Roysdon in Shotgun Honey.
• "The 28th" by Mark Stasenko in Future Tense Fiction.
  
  

 Trailers and videos: 

• Watch a trailer for Art Detectives.
• Watch a trailer for Dept. Q.