Crime Fiction Links of the Week for August 30 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 the new The Rainmaker, Caught Stealing and much more.
 

Crime fiction in general: 

• CrimeReads shares ten new crime novels coming out this week,    
• Sam Wiebe discusses the connections between nature and crime fiction writing 
• Sarah Driscoll talks about crime fiction and the dark side of social media. 
• Peter Rosch shares five novels on the dark allure of our inner (and outer) demons 
• Haley Gelfuso finds unexpected parallels between medieval monks and modern spies. 
• Donna Leon shares her appreciation for the Lew Archer mysteries by Ross Macdonald. 
• Kate Jackson shates tips from Agatha Christie mysteries for avoiding wrongful arrest. 
• Rick Pullen talks about The Twisted Women's Book Club, an anthology crime novel written by fourteen different authors.
• Tom Tivnan reports that children's book author Julia Donaldson has become the first author to break the NielsenIQ BookScan 50-million-unit barrier  
• The Guardian remembers Greg Iles   

 

Film and TV:  

• Olivia Rutigliano lists recent crime TV series to stream this weekend. 
• Haley Zapal calls Honey Don't! very gay, very B-movie and very noir. 
• Lucy Mangan calls Atomic an intense uranium smuggling thriller with non-stop suspense. 
• Paul Hirons calls Hostage a gripping, escapist political melodrama done the Netflix way.
• Catherine Bray calls Derelict a low-budget crime drama that is a diamond in the rough 
• Catherine Bray praises the performances of Ella Balinska and Rob Delaney in the science fiction thriller The Occupant.  
• Lacy Baugher Milas calls Playing Nice an aggravating yet compulsively watchable thriller. 
• Olivia Rutigliano talks about the environmental anxiety of the film adaptation of The Sisters Brothers 
• Paul Hirons shares his thoughts on season 1 of Smoke. 
• Garrick Webster shares his thoughts on season 2 of the Welsh crime drama The Light in the Hall: Still Waters 
• Peter Bradshaw talks about the return of the high class crime movie.
• Ryan Gilbey profiles Pierce Brosnan, former James Bond as well as star of Remington Steele, The Thursday Murder Club and many others.  
• Vince Keenan takes a look at Danny DeVito's work as a director of crime movies. 
• Brian Davids interviews David DiGilio, screenwriter of The Terminal List and Tron Ares.   
• Paul Hirons revisits the 1994 humorous crime series Due South. 
• Radheyan Simonpillai revisits the 1995 action comedy Bad Boys.
• William Hughes reports that Dexter: Original Sin has been cancelled in favour of Dexter: Resurrection. 
• Actor and screenwriter David Ketchum, best known for playing Agent 13 in Get Smart, has died aged 97. 
• Actor Jerry Ader, best known for his appearances in The Sopranos, The Good Wife, Northern Exposure, Quantum Leap and many others, has died aged 96. 

  

Comments in The Rainmaker: 

• Diana Keng shares her thoughts on episode 1 of The Rainmaker.
• Diana Keng shares her thoughts on episode 2 of The Rainmaker.

 

Comments on Caught Stealing:

• Peter Bradshaw calls Caught Stealing a violent, chaotic and highly enjoyable crime flick 
• Jesse Hassenger calls Caught Stealing Darren Aronofsky's funniest film, even if it still turns bleak 
• Abby Olcese calls Caught Stealing an entertaining late August trifle from Darren Aronofsky 

 

Writing, publishing and promotion: 

• Tim Lebbon talks about creating villains. 
• S.J. Fleet explains how they went from writing non-fiction to legal thrillers. 
• Cerys Davis reports that the AI company Anthropic has agreed to a settlement in the class action lawsuit brought against them by multiple writers whose books were pirated to train Anthropic's large language model. 
• Annelise Levy also reports about the settlement of the class action lawsuit against Anthropic AI. 
• Sophia Stewart reports that US National Endowment for the Arts’ 2026 Creative Writing Fellowships have been cancelled due to the Trump government pulling funding. 
• Steven Poole lists twenty frequently banned books.

 

Awards:

• The finalists for the 2025 Ngaio Marsh Awards have been announced. 
• The winners of the 2025 Silver Falchion Awards have been announced. 

 

Interviews: 

• Kevin Canfield interviews Eli Cranor.
• John B. Valeri interviews Karin Slaughter. 
• E.B. Davis interviews Alyssa Maxwell. 
• Debbi Mack interviews Howard Kaplan 
• Paul Burke interviews Alex Gerlis.
• Shane Whaley also interviews Alex Gerlis. 
• Writer's Fun Zone interviews Lisa Towles. 

 

Reviews:

• Mary Picken reviews The Other Side of Fear by Douglas Skelton 
• Jen Lucas reviews Blood Like Ours by Stuart Neville 
• Doreen Sheridan reviews Salt Bones by Jennifer Givhan 
• In Search of the Classic Mystery Novel reviews Deadly Remains by Kate Ellis 
• Joseph B. Hoyos reviews Shades of Mercy by Bruce Borgos  
• Kevin Tipple reviews Throwing Shadows by Claire Booth 
• Joseph B. Hoyos reviews Silent are the Dead by D.M. Rowell 
• Jen Lucas reviews Watching You by Helen Fields  
• Marlene Harris reviews Before and After by Anna Hackett  
• Jen Lucas reviews The Cut by Richard Armitage 
• In Search of the Classic Mystery Novel reviews The Cut by Richard Armitage  
• Sandra Mangan reviews The Cut Throat Trial by S.J. Fleet  
• Jen Lucas reviews The Cut Throat Trial by S.J. Fleet 
• Doreen Sheridan reviews The Confessions by Paul Bradley Carr 
• Doreen Sheridan reviews The Locked Ward by Sarah Pekkanen 
• Ali Karim reviews Whistle by Linwood Barclay
• Garrick Webster reviews Hard Rokk Murder by Mark S. Bonta.  
• Joseph B. Hoyos reviews Mississippi Blue 42 by Eli Cranor 
• Kevin Tipple revews The Blue Horse by Bruce Borgos 
• Robin Agnew reviews The Girl in the Green Dress by Mariah Fredericks.
• Paul Burke reviews The House at Devil’s Neck by Tom Mead 
• Mandie Griffiths reviews Evil In High Places by Rory Clements 
• Marlene Harris reviews Lethal Pursuit by Will Thomas
• Carla Schantz reviews Death at an Irish Village by Ellie Brannigan.
• Doreen Sheridan reviews Solid Gold Murder by Ellen Byron and tries a recipe from the book 
• Carla Schantz reviews Claws Out by Cate Conte.
• Doreen Sheridan reviews Laying Down The Latte by Ellie Alexander and tries a recipe from the book.
• Sonja van der Westhuizen reviews Mortal Zin by Diane Schaffer 
• Doreen Sheriden reviews Very Dangerous Things by Lauren Muñoz 
• Blue Book Balloon reviews The Burning Stones by Antti Tuomainen, translated by David Hackston
• Kevin Tipple reviews Crimeucopia – A Load Of Balls, edited by John Connor. 
• Kate Jackson reviews Agatha Christie: A Very Short Introduction by Gill Plain  

 

Classics reviews:

• B.V. Lawson revisits the 1876 suspense novel One Night's Mystery by May Agnes Fleming
• Martin Edwards revisits the 1931 Dr. Priestley mystery The Hanging Woman by John Rhode. 
• Kate Jackson revisits the 1955 mystery Death of a Stray Cat by Jean Potts
• In Search of the Classic Mystery Novel revisits the 1958 Kitty Palgrave mystery Death Of A Peeping Tom by Belton Cobb 
• James Davis Nicoll revisits the 1963 anthology Stories of Suspense, edited by Mary E. MacEwen  
• Happiness is a Book revisits the 2003 Lord Edward Corinth and Verity Browne historical mystery Dangerous Sea by David Roberts  

 

Con and event reports:

• Jen Lucas looks ahead at the 2025 Bloody Scotland crime fiction festival in Stirling, Scotland.

 

Research: 

• George Pritchard talks about the trial of Charles Manson and his followers in August 1970.
• Darcie Wilde takes a look at some of the crimes committed by members of the British royal family. 
• Ellie Brannigan explores what happened to the Irish crown jewels. 

 

Free online fiction: 

• "A Funny Name" by Gregory Meece in Mysteryrat's Maze Podcast.
• "Give and Take" by Angela McClintock in The Five-Two. 
  
  
  

Trailers and videos: 

• Watch a trailer for Murder before Evensong 
• Watch a trailer for The Woman in Cabin 10. 
• Watch a trailer for The Monster of Florence.