Crime Fiction Links of the Week for September 27, 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 5 of Slow Horses, Task, Wayward, The Hack, Dead of Winter, tributes to Claudia Cardinale, the suspension of Jimmy Kimmel and much more.
 

Crime fiction in general: 

• CrimeReads shares ten new crime novels coming out this week,   
• Criminal Element shares new crime novels coming out in October. 
• Michelle Chouinard shares seven mysteries and thrillers set in San Francisco, California. 
• Katie Tietjen explains why Boston, Massachussetts, is the perfect setting for a crime novel. 
• Paul French shares crime novels set in Chengdu, China.
• Ed Simon talks about Miguel de Cervantes' years of slavery in Northern Africa and how they influenced his fiction.  

 

Film and TV:  

• Leslie Felperin calls Riff Raff a star-stuffed crime comedy 
• Catherine Bray calls All the Devils Are Here a cottage-bound crime drama 
• Paul Hirons calls The Guest the TV equivalent of an airport thriller 
• Phil Hoad reports that Detective Conan: One-Eyed Flashback juggles byzantine intrigue, spies and cop rivalries with stylish flair   
• Leslie Felperin calls Mission Alarum a dreadful spy thriller that shames cinema itself 
• Hannah J. Davies notes that true crime documentaries shouldn’t be as entertaining as Cocaine Quarterback. 
• Benjamin Lee declares that Predators discusses the troubling history of paedophile-hunting TV shows 
• Paul Hirons shares his thoughts on the period crime drama The Breslau Murders 
• Melody McCune shares her thoughts on the latest episode of season 5 of Only Murders in the Building.  
• Diana Keng shares her thoughts on the latest episode of The Rainmaker. 
• Olivia Rutigliano shares her favourite movies where a party at an estate leads to murder. 
• Keith Roysdon takes a look at Elmore Leonard and Robert B. Parker's crime TV legacies 
• Sean David interviews Michael Dudikoff, star of the American Ninja movies and many others.  
• Rebecca Liu interviews Sandra Oh, star of Killing Eve, Can I Get a Witness?, Grey's Anatomy and many others.  
• Steve Rose interviews Chris Sarandon, star of The Princess Bride, Fright Night, Dog Day Afternoon, Child's Play, A Nightmare Before Christmas and many others. 
• Rich Pelley interviews Nick Offerman, star of The Last of Us, Sovereign and many others. 
• Todd Gilchrist revisits the 1969 James Bond movie On Her Majesty's Secret Service,  
• Paul Hirons revisits the 2008 crime drama The Mentalist. 
• Nadeem Badshah reports that Noel Clarke, who played Mickey Smith in Doctor Who and wrote and starred in Kidulthood, has been arrested in his home in London, UK.  

  

Tributes to Claudia Cardinale:

• Italian actress Claudia Cardinale, star of Cartouche, The Pink Panther, Once Upon a Time in the West, The Leopard and many others, has died aged 87. 
• Jordan Mintzer remembers Claudia Cardinale. 
• Peter Bradshaw remembers Claudia Cardinale and notes that Hollywood just couldn't do her justice. 
• Greg Whitmore shares photos of Claudia Cardinale's long career. 

 

Comments on season 5 of Slow Horses: 

• Diana Keng shares her thoughts on season 5 of Slow Horses.
• Diana Keng shares her thoughts on episode 1 of season 5 of Slow Horses. 
• Paul Hirons shares her thoughts on episode 1 of season 5 of Slow Horses.  
• Hannah J. Davis calls season 5 of Slow Horses a TV mess and the worst season yet. 
• Paul Hirons ranks the Slow Horses characters according to spy skills.
• Paul Hirons shares a Slow Horses personality quiz. 

 

Comments on Dead of Winter: 

• Jim Vorel calls Dead of Winter an ice cold senior citizen thriller  
• Tara Bennett declares that all you need to know about Dead of Winter is that Emma Thompson battles Judy Greer on the frozen tundra 

 

Comments on Task: 

• Caroline Siede shares her thoughts on the latest episode of Task.
• Paul Hirons shares her thoughts on the latest episode of Task. 

 

Comments on The Hack: 

• Rachel Aroesti calls The Hack a spectacular, sprawling documentary drama about the phone-hacking scandal
• Lucy Mangan declares that in spite of the shocking source material, The Hack makes for remarkably dull TV. 
• Paul Hirons shares his thoughts on the first episode of The Hack. 
• Daniel Boffey interviews David Tennant, star of The Hack. 

 

Comments on Wayward: 

• Lucy Mangan calls Wayward an eerie thriller about teen runaways  
• Saloni Gajjar calls Wayward a creepy mini-series. 
• Lacy Baugher Milas calls Wayward a twisty thriller. 

 

Comments on the suspension of Jimmy Kimmel:

• Steve Vertlieb talks about the silencing of Jimmy Kimmel and Stephen Colbert.  
• Dan Gilroy, writer of Andor, speaks out about the suspension of Jimmy Kimmel and the boycotts organised by viewers. 
• Tom Tapp reports that actress Tatiana Maslany, star of She-Hulk and Orphan Black, and other actors have called for boycotting Disney properties following the suspension of Jimmy Kimmel. 
• Erica Gerald Mason shares actor Patton Oswalt's comments about the suspension of Jimmy Kimmel 
• Cynthia Littleton and Brian Steinberg discuss that there are discussions going on between Disney/ABC and Jimmy Kimmel's representatives to find a solution and bring back Jimmy Kimmel Live.  
• Peter White reports that following pressure and boycotts, Jimmy Kimmel Live will return this Tuesday.  
• Dominic Patten shares some background on the negotiations that brought back Jimmy Kimmel Live. 
• Adrian Horton and Anna Betts report that Jimmy Kimmel called the attempt to silence him "unamerican" in his return to the airwaves.  
• Inspired by the suspension of Jimmy Kimmel, Jesse Hassenger chronicles how Disney first found and then lost its backbone. 
• Eric Berger reports that Disney is raising the prices for its streaming services in the wake of the boycotts and cancellations that followed the suspension of Jimmy Kimmel. 

 

Writing, publishing and promotion: 

• Rebecca Kanner explains how to surprise everyone with your plotting... even yourself. 
• Guy Windsor lists three tips for writing sword fights. 
• Joan O'Leary discusses the parallels between fiction writing and television production
• Leslie Budewitz discusses how maps, cast lists, epigraphs and recipes can add to your fiction. 
• Molly Templeton talks about collecting favourite sentences. 
• Claire Kirch reports that actor and reading activist LeVar Burton has been named indie bookstore ambassador by the American Association of Booksellers. 
• Miranda Bryant is concerned that young people in Finland are chosing to read in English over their mother tongue. 
• Joe Stein talks about the Anthropic AI settlement. 
• Jim Milliot shares an update on the Anthropic AI settlement. 
• Nathalie op de Beeck lists eight book banning court cases in the US to watch.

 

Awards:

• The winners of the 2025 Barry Awards have been announced. 
• The winners of the 2025 Ngaio Marsh Awards have been announced. 
• The winners of the 2025 Ned Kelly Awards have been announced. 
• The shortlist for the 2025 Booker Prize has been announced.  
• The recipients of the 2024 Elliot Cades Award for Literature have been announced.
• The winners of the 2025 Alberta Book Publishing Awards have been announced.  

 

Interviews: 

• Ali Karim interviews Joseph Finder. 
• Jill Amadio interviews Mary Keliikoa 
• Paul Burke inteviews Guy Hale, 
• Garrick Webster interviews Kit Fielding. 
• Deborah Kalb interviews Karen Dukess. 
• Jeff Spry interviews astronaut and writer Chris Hadfield.
• Vauhini Vara interviews John J. Lennon. 
• Kevin Canfield interviews Joshua Sharpe. 

 

Reviews:

• Kerry Hood reviews Clown Town by Mick Herron  
• Gayle Surrette reviews Framed in Death by J.D. Robb 
• Lesa Holstine reviews The Hunter by Tim Sullivan 
• Jen Lucas reviews A Lethal Legacy by Guðrún Guðlaugsdóttir, translated by Quentin Bates 
• Runalong the Shelves reviews No One Hears The Last Shot by Lavie Tidhar  
• Jen Lucas reviews 59 Minutes by Holly Seddon 
• Ali Karim reviews The Oligarch's Daughter by Joseph Finder  
• Doreen Sheridan reviews Doll Parts by Penny Zang 
• Raven Crime Reads reviews The Winter Warriors by Oliver Norek, translated by Nick Caistor
• Jen Lucas reviews The Winter Warriors by Oliver Norek, translated by Nick Caistor 
• Robin Agnew reviews A Bitter Wind by James R. Benn. 
• Robin Agnew reviews The Sisterhood by Tasha Alexander. 
• Carla Schantz reviews Lady Darling Inquires After a Killer by Colleen Gleason. 
• Erin Britton reviews The Christmas Clue by Nicola Upson 
• Blue Book Balloon reviews The Crooked Medium's Guide to Murder by Stephen Cox 
• Marlene Harris reviews A Murderous Business by Cathy Pegau 
• Margaret Agnew reviews Murder in Miniature by Katie Tietjen.
• Dave Bradley reviews The Creeping Hand Murder by Maureen Johnson and Jay Cooper 
• In Search of the Classic Mystery Novel reviews A Matrimonial Murder by Meeti Shroff-Shah  
• Jen Lucas reviews Murder In The Winter Woods by Katie Gayle 
• In Search of the Classic Mystery Novel reviews Murder At The Wild Haggis Bookshop by Jackie Baldwin 
• Lesa Holstine reviews The Killer Question by Janice Hallett 
• Doreen Sheridan reviews Icing On The Murder by Valerie Burns and tries a recipe from the book.
• Lesa Holstine reviews Earl Grave Tea by Gretchen Rue 
• Gayle Surrette reviews No Rest for the Wicked by Rachel Louise Adams
• Carla Schantz reviews A Tour to Die For by Michelle Chouinard.
• Marion Deeds reviews Stone & Sky by Ben Aaronovitch  

 

Classics reviews: 

• Kate Jackson revisits the 1945 mystery The Immaterial Murder Case by Julian Symons
• Sandy Ferber revisits the 1948 crime novel Wisteria Cottage by Robert M. Coates 
• Martin Edwards reviswits the 1971 mystery Words for Murder Perhaps by Edward Candy. 
• In Search of the Classic Mystery Novel revisits the 1977 locked room mystery Invisible Green  by John Sladek 
• Lesa Holstine revisits the 1983 police procedural A Perfect Match by Jill McGown  
• Kate Jackson revisits the 1986 mystery Death at Deepwood Grange by Michael Underwood 
• B.V. Lawson revisits the 1998 crime fiction anthology Murderous Schemes, edited by J. Madison Davis and Donald Westlake 

 

Con and event reports:

• Ella Creamer reports about an author event featuring Mick Herron and Richard Osman in London, UK.

 

Research: 

• Tom Lechem reports that the US Department of Homeland Security, ICE and other US government agencies have used Pokemon characters and imagery to promote their raids on suspected illegal immigrants - without permission by Nintendo. 

 

Free online fiction: 

• "Suicide Dreams" by Tom Peer in Mystery Tribune. 
• "Ma Didn't Make Brownies" by Roy Dorman in Punk Noir Magazine  
• "Father Michaels by J.D. Clapp in Punk Noir Magazine 
• "The Promise" by Jon Park in Punk Noir Magazine.
• "The Pink Balloon" by Carol White in Punk Noir Magazine  
• "Murder at the Royal Albert" by Gerald Elias in Mysteryrat's Maze Podcast. 
• "At First Avenue and 97th Street" by Elisabeth Frischauf in The Five-Two. 
  
  

Trailers and videos: 

• Watch a trailer for Sheriff Country. 
• Watch a trailer for The Hand That Rocks the Cradle 
• Watch a trailer for The Beast In Me.
• Watch a trailer for season 2 of the new Matlock.
• Watch a trailer for 9-1-1 Nashville