Crime Fiction Links of the Week for May 31, 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, Death Valley, Dept. Q, Mission Improssible: The Final Reckoning, Tornado, Karate Kid: Legends, The Better Sister and much more.
 

Crime fiction in general: 

• CrimeReads shares ten new crime novels coming out this week,   
• Criminal Element shares mysteries and thrillers coming out this June. 
• Criminal Element shares new mysteries and thrillers to enjoy this summer. 
• Sara Driscoll shares crime novels set in New York City. 
• Freya Sampson shares eight mystery novels to read if you want to solve a mystery
• Naomi Kaye shares great mystery books for elementary schoolers
• Laura Leffler shares seven historical crime novels that explore the dark underbelly of the art world
• Nova Ren Suma talks about outlaw women in crime fiction
• Keith Roysdon profiles Robert Bloch.  

 

Film and TV:  

• Cath Clarke calls Amongst the Wolves a bloody and uneven Irish gangster thriller 
• Phil Hoad calls Hello Stranger an interactive thriller that lacks cinematic bite
• Saloni Gajjar discusses the accents of the various characters in MobLand.
  
• David Smith calls the true crime documentary Cold Case: The Tylenol Murders a terrifying, twisty unsolved mystery
• Diana Keng shares her thoughts on the latest episode of Leverage: Redemption. 
• Paul Hirons shares his thoughts on A Murder At The End Of The World  
• C.T. Phipps shares his thoughts on the speculative thriller Paradise. 
• Caroline Siede shares her thoughts on the latest episode of Duster. 
• Melody McCune declares that Yellowjackets lets women be angry. 
• Lee Hollis lists twenty TV shows about families solving crimes together.
• Olivia Rutigliano praises Anthony Anderson's performance in The Departed
• Saloni Gajjar interviews Noah Hawley, creator of Fargo and Alien Earth.  
• Composer Alf Clausen, primarily known for his work on Tne Simpsons, has died aged 84.  
• Actress Loretta Swit who appeared in many TV shows in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s, has died aged 87. 
   

 Comments on season 2 of Poker Face: 

• Noel Murray shares his thoughts on the latest episode of Poker Face. 
• Melody McCune shares her thoughts on the latest episode of Poker Face. 
  

 

Comments on Death Valley: 

• Lucy Mangan calls Death Valley a cosy, witty joy
• Lacy Baugher-Milas calls Death Valley a witty cozy crime drama  
• Paul Hirons shares his thoughts on Death Valley. 
• Paul Hirons introduces the cast and characters of Death Valley.
  
• Ryan Gilbey interviews Timothy Spall, star of Death Valley.
  

 

Comments on Dept. Q:

• Lucy Mangan calls Dept. Q an excellent crime drama and a grimy, gothic treat
• Tim Lowery calls Dept. Q a prickly-cop drama that shows promise
• Paul Hirons shares his thoughts on Dept. Q. 

 

Comments on Mission Impossible: The Final Reckoning: 

• Haley Zapal declares that Mission Impossible: The Final Reckoning somehow has the militaristic scope and shock-and-awe factor of a 1990s Michael Bay movie, but without the actual emotion of a Michael Bay movie
  
• Lorinda Donovan shares a spoilerish review of  Mission Impossible: The Final Reckoning.
• Rory Doherty shares a spoilerish discussion of Mission Impossible: The Final Reckoning. 
• Keith Nelson Jr. ranks the Mission Impossible movies based on the impossibility of the mission. 
  
• Justin Carter wonders what the future of Hollywood action films is after Mission Impossible: the Final Reckoning.

 

Comments on Tornado:

• Andy Crump calls Tornado an unconventional yet winning spin on the samurai story  
• Jim Vorel calls Tornado an attractive thriller that reaches too hard for genre cred 

 

Comments on Karate Kid: Legends: 

• Andrew Lawrence calls Karate Kid: Legends a charming throwback sequel  
• Jesse Hassenger declares that Karate Kid: Legends introduces young audiences to the joy of training montages 
• Brianna Zigler calls Karate Kid: Legends a punch reboot. 

 

Comments on The Better Sister:

• Rachel Aroesti calls The Better Sister a glossy thriller full of gorgeous interiors … and death 
• Manuel Betancourt calls The Better Sister a whodunnit with too many subplots 

 

Writing, publishing and promotion: 

• Nicola Dinan talks about writing characters based on herself 
• Jason Powell explains how working as a firefighter ignited his passion for storytelling 
• Lincoln Michel shares a defense of adverbs. 
• Locus interviews literary agent Lee O'Brien.

 

Awards:

• The shortlist for the 2025 CWA Dagger Awards has been announced 
• The longlist for the 2025 Davitt Awards has been announced.
• The winners of the 2025 Awards of Excellence in Canadian Crime Writing have been announced. 

 

Interviews: 

• Louisa Emelino interviews Denise Mina. 
• Sophia Nguyen interviews Megan Abbott. 
• CrimeReads interviews Deanna Raybourn and Jesse Q. Sutanto 
• Vaseem Khan and Abir Mukherjee interview Jeffery Deaver. 
• Lucy Knight interviews Jeanine Cummins
• Lizz Schumer interviews Gillian Flynn.  
• Lacy Baugher-Milas itnerviews Antonia Hodgson.  
• Garrick Webster interviews Timothy Jay Smith
  
• Garrick Webster interviews Andrew Raymond. 
• Victoria Selman interviews Clare Leslie Hall and Guy Morpuss
• Paula Gail Benson interviews Art Taylor and Tara Laskowski  
• Kevin Canfield interviews Rich Cohen. 

 

Reviews:

• Lesa Holstine reviews Hidden Nature by Nora Roberts
  
• Mary Picken reviews Nightshade by Michael Connelly
  
• Robin Agnew reviews Making a Killing by Cara Hunter 
• Ali Karim reviews Never Flinch by Stephen King 
• Matthew Jackson reviews Never Flinch by Stephen King  
• Jen Lucas reviews Exit Wounds by Neil Broadfoot 
• Gwen Moffat reviews The White Crow by Michael Robotham  
  
• Mary Picken reviews The Chemist by A.A. Dhand
• Sonja van der Westhuizen reviews The Grown-Up by Saskia Noort, translated by Jai van Essen
• Adam Colclough reviews Innocent Guilt by Remi Kone
  
• Marlene Harris reviews Night and Day by Anna Hackett
• Doreen Sheridan reviews Famous Last Words by Gillian McAllister 
• Marlene Harris reviews Final Taste by M.L. Buchman
  
• BOLO Books reviews Summerhouse by Yiğit Karaahmet, translated by Nicholas Glastonbury.  
• Jen Lucas reviews We Live Here Now by Sarah Pinborough
  
• Doreen Sheridan reviews Broken Country by Clare Leslie Hall 
• Ali Karim reviews Broken by Jon Atli Jonasson   
  
• Raven Crime Reads reviews The Darkest Winter by Carlo Lucarelli translated by Joseph Farrell 
• In Search of the Classic Mystery Novel reviews Made For Murders by Peter Tremayne 
• Doreen Sheridan reviews Fagin The Thief by Allison Epstein  
• In Search of the Classic Mystery Novel reviews The Mysterious Double Death Of Honey Black by Lisa Hall 
  
• Joseph B. Hoyos reviews A Poisonous Silence by Jenny Adams
• Carla Schantz reviews Bodies and Battlements by Elizabeth Penney.
• Lesa Holstine reviews Bodies and Battlements by Elizabeth Penney.
  
• Marlene Harris reviews Marble Hall Murders by Anthony Horowitz 
• Mandie Griffiths reviews Murder On The Marlow Belle by Robert Thorogood
  
• Joseph B. Hoyos reviews Serial Killer Support Grroup by Saratoga Schaefer 
• Carla Schantz reviews The Potting Shed Murder by Paula Sutton.
  
• Carla Schantz reviews A Cyclist’s Guide to Villains and Vines by Ann Clair.
• Mandie Griffiths reviews Smoke and Murders by J.L. Blackhurst 
• In Search of the Classic Mystery Novel reviews A Mumbai Murder Mystery by Meeti Shroff-Shah 
• Doreen Sheridan reviews Death By Chocolate Pumpkin Muffin by Sarah Graves and tries a recipe from the book. 
  
• Lesa Holstine reviews The Diva Poaches a Bad Egg by Krista Davis
• Marlene Harris reviews A Study in Black Brew by Marie Howalt 
  
• BOLO Books reviews Whistle by Linwood Barclay 
  
• Blue Book Balloon reviews A Granite Silence by Nina Allan 
• Niall Harrison reviews A Granite Silence by Nina Allan  
  

 

Classics reviews:

• Kate Jackson revisits the 1933 mystery The Body in the Silo by Ronald Knox   
• Happiness is a Book revisits the 1946 suspense novel  Go Down, Death by Sue Brown Hays
• Dave Hook revisits the 1949 spy novel Atomsk: A Novel of Suspense by Cordwainer Smith  
• Kate Jackson revisits the 1955 suspense novel Beast in View by Margaret Millar  
• B.V. Lawson revisits the 1957 Chief Inspector Martineau.police procedural The Midnight Plumber by Maurice Procter.
• William Boyle revisits the 1958 crime novel  The Getaway by Jim Thompson. 
• Sandy Ferber revisits the 1964 James Bond spy novel You Only Live Twice by Ian Fleming  
• Martin Edwards revisits the 1981 thriller Sunspot by Desmond Lowden 
• Lesa Holstine revisits the 1992 Mrs. Pargeter mystery Mrs. Pargeter’s Pound of Flesh by Simon Brett. 
  
• Lesa Holstine revisits the 2006 Sheriff Dan Rhodes mystery A Mammoth Murder by Bill Crider

 

Con and event reports:

• Liv Little reports about the Calabash Literary Festival in Treasure Beach, Jamaica. 
• Frank Catalano shares ten tips for moderating panels.  
• Tom Gauld shares a cartoon about choosing your seat at a literary event.  
  

 

Research: 

• Nicholas Chrastil reports that a law firm in Birmingham, Alabama, used AI in a case involving violence in Alabama's prison system, whereupon the AI made up fake citations. 
• Joseph Cox reports that the CIA used to run a Star Wars fan site as a covert communication tool. 
  

 

Free online fiction: 

• "Compound 1080" by George C. Glasser in Mystery Tribune.
• "Red Vase" by Kenneth Pobo in The Five-Two. 

 

Trailers and videos: 

• Watch a trailer for The Thursday Murder Club. 
• Watch a trailer for The Waterfront.
• Watch a trailer for Smoke. 
• Watch a trailer for Grenfell: Uncovered.