Crime Fiction Links of the Week for February 7, 2026

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 Send Help, season 2 of The Night Manager, Astrid: Murder in Paris, tributes to James Sallis and Catherine O'Hara and much more.
 

Crime fiction in general: 

• CrimeReads shares ten new crime novels coming out this week.
• Molly Odintz shares her favourite mysteries, crime novels and thrillers coming out in February. 
• Leodora Darlington shares five great thrillers by black writers
• W.M. Akers lists detectives who are in happy relationships. 
• Paul French takes a look at crime fiction set in Osaka, Japan.
• Callie Kazumi shares five great Japanese mysteries and horror novels
• Kaira Rouda explains why Palm Springs, California, is the perfect setting for suspense 
• Wendy Walker talks about the echoing trauma of psychological thrillers 
• Matthew F. Jones shares five great claustrophobic crime novels  
• Allison LaMothe shares a brief history of detectives drinking or taking drugs in crime fiction 
• Jennifer Brody talks about wellness, cults and crime fiction 
• Joe Battaglia shares his favourite sports-themed thrillers. 
• Marisa Walz lists the most unhinged women in crime fiction (that she would still invite to brunch) 
• Danielle Girard talks about her podcast The Killer Women where she interviews female crime writers. 
• Jeffrey Siger discusses his love for Sherlock Holmes and how he came to write a new Sherlock Holmes novel. 
• David Barnett reports that Neil Gaiman claims that the sexual assault allegations against him are the result of a smear campaign. 
• Mystery writer Michael G. Jacob, one half of the Michael Gregorio writing team, has died aged 77. 

 

Tributes to James Sallis: 

• Meredith G. White shares an obituary for James Sallis. 
• J. Kingston Pierce remembers James Sallis.
• Adrian McKinty remembers James Sallis. 
• Locus remembers James Sallis. 
• Arley Sorg shares an interview with the late James Sallis. 

 

Film and TV:  

• Olivia Rutigliano lists new crime TV series to watch this weekend. 
• Brian Tallerico shares his thoughts on the latest episode of Hijack. 
• Jenna Scherer declares that The 'Burbs has a charming ensemble but a dragged-out plot 
• Lucy Mangan calls The Investigation of Lucy Letby a sensationalist documentary which isn’t what this awful case needs  
• Ryan Gilbey interviews Wagner Moura and Kleber Mendonça Filho, star and writer/director of The Secret Agent.
• Róisín Lanigan interviews Lisa McGee, creator of How to Get to Heaven from Belfast  
• Paul Hirons revisits the 2009 crime series Whitechapel. 
• Jake Kanter reports that according to a new report, the BBC should avoid "clunky colour-blind casting" and "preachy anti-colonial storylines" in shows like Doctor Who and various Agatha Christie adaptations.  

 

Comments on The Night Manager:

• Sian Cain calls season 2 of The Night Manager a TV triumph.
• Paul Hirons shares his thoughts on the season 2 finale of The Night Manager. 

 

Comments on Send Help: 

• Matt Schimkowitz declares that Sam Raimi delivers another grim punchline with Send Help
• James Whitbrook reports that Iron Lung beat the documentary Melania at the box office and narrowly came in second to Send Help.  

 

Comments on Astrid: Murder in Paris: 

• Chris Jenkins shares his thoughts on episode 1 of season 5 of Astrid: Murder in Paris.
• Chris Jenkins shares his thoughts on episode 2 of season 5 of Astrid: Murder in Paris. 

 

Tributes to Catherine O'Hara:

• Canadian actress Catherine O'Hara, best known for her roles in A Nightmare Before Christmas, Beetlejuice, Home Alone, The Last of Us, Schitt's Creek and The Studio, has died aged 71. 
• Benjamin Lee remembers Catherine O'Hara. 
• Jesse Hassenger remembers Catherine O'Hara. 
• Germain Lussier remembers Catherine O'Hara. 
• Ryan Gilbey shares an obituary for Catherine O'Hara. 
• Justin Carter shares tributes to Catherine O'Hara from former co-stars. 
• Jim Hedge shares photos from Catherine O'Hara's lengthy career. 

 

Writing, publishing and promotion: 

• Molly Templeton explains what you can do to support your favourite authors and books. 
• Sam Spratford reports that the Washington Post is shuttering its books section amid widespread layoffs  
• Zach Rabiroff interviews Greg Ketter of DreamHaven Books in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

 

Awards: 

• The finalists for the 2026 Derringer Awards have been announced.
• The finalists for the 2026 ITW Thriller Awards have been announced. 
• The finalists for the 2026 Pulp Factory Awards have been announced. 

 

Interviews: 

• Paul Burke interviews Simon Beckett. 
• Vaseem Khan and Abir Mukherjee interview Louise Welsh
• Deborah Kalb interviews Robert Dugoni. 
• John Valeri interviews Wendy Walker 
• John Charles interviews Elizabeth Camden 
• Authors on the Air interviews Wendy Walker. 
• Garrick Webster interviews Andrew Lowe. 
• Crime Time interviews Simon Lewis. 
• Lisa Haselton interviews Terrence P. Dwyer. 

 

Reviews:

• Lesa Holstine reviews Stolen in Death by J.D. Robb 
• Jen Lucas reviews What Evil Hides by Rachel Amphlett  
• Marlene Harris reviews Make It Out Alive by Allison Brennan 
• Mandie Griffiths reviews The Final Vow by M.W. Craven
• Lesa Holstine reviews A Study in Secrets by Jeffrey Siger
• Tony R. Cox reviews The Silent Twin by Jen L. Crow  
• Ali Karim reviews The Dangerous Stranger by Simon Mason   
• Jen Lucas reviews The Bedroom Murders by Mark L. Fowler 
• Alex Brown reviews All of Us Murderers by K.J. Charles.  
• Marlene Harris reviews The Case of the Murdered Muckraker by Rob Osler  
• Kate Jackson reviews A Pretender’s Murder by Christopher Huang
• In Search of the Classic Mystery Novel reviews The Edge Of Darkness by Vaseem Khan 
• Marlene Harris reviews Fire Must Burn by Allison Montclair 
• Jen Lucas reviews A Bad, Bad, Place by Frances Crawford 
• Marlene Harris reviews Homemaker by Ruthie Knox and Annie Mare 
• Joseph B. Hoyos reviews Death in the Countryside by Maria Malone
• Joseph B. Hoyos reviews The Curious Case of the Poisoned Professor by Lucy Connelly 
• Kate Jackson reviews Big Bad Wool by Leonie Swann  
• Carla Schantz reviews A Spirited Supper at Dundoon Castle by Darci Hannah.
• Jen Lucas reviews Greedy by Callie Kazumi

 

Classics reviews: 

• In Search of the Classic Mystery Novel revisits the 1902 Sherlock Holmes mystery The Hound Of The Baskervilles by Arthur Conan Doyle 
• Happiness is a Book revisits the 1948 mystery Murder with Relish by Guy Cullingford 
• Happiness is a Book revisits the 1958 Inspector Herbert Swinton mystery Wax Flowers for Gloria by Pat Flower 
• Martin Edwards revisits the 1971 suspense novel The Late Bill Smith by Andrew Garve 

 

Crowdfunding:

• Dean Wesley Smith is looking for funding for four essential indie publishing books.

 

Con and event reports:

• In Search of the Classic Mystery Novel reports about the 2026 Stockport Noir festival 
• Joy Kluver shares the guest list and some program highlights of the 2026 Theakston’s Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival in Harrogate, Yorkshire.
• Ayo Onatade reports that Denise Mina will be the guest programmer for the 2026 Bloody Scotland Festival in Stirling, Scotland. 
• Denise Petski reports that the Museum of the Moving Image in New York City will host an exhibition dedicated to The Sopranos. 

 

Research: 

• Isabelle Schuler talks about the horrors and contrasts of the seventeenth century

 

Free online fiction: 

• "Peppermint Barking" by Jane Limprecht in Mysteryrat's Maze Podcast.
• "The Swerve" by Athos Kyriakides in Yellow Mama. 
• "Break the Cycle: A Fibonacci Poem" by F.I. Goldhaber.in The Five-Two.
    

Trailers and videos: 

• Watch a trailer for series 2 of Bergerac. 
• Watch a trailer for series 3 of The Capture.
• Watch a trailer for Ready Or Not 2: Here I Come.  
• Watch a trailer for War Machine (not the Marvel character).