Crime Fiction Links of the Week for March 21, 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 the 2026 Academy Awards, Dead Man's Wire, Gone, Ready or Not 2: Here I Come, tributes to Len Deighton, Chuck Norris and Nicholas Brendon and much more.
 

Crime fiction in general: 

• CrimeReads shares ten new crime novels coming out this week.
• Laura Wilson shares a round-up of her favourite recent crime novels and thrillers. 
• Molly Odintz shares her favourite international crime novels coming out in March 2026. 
• CrimeReads shares fourteen new true crime books coming out this spring 
• Randy L. Barnett shares true crime books set in Chicago, Illinois. 
• Elle Cosimano lists ten crime novels featuring female duos 
• Benjamin Stevenson talks about fair play mysteries and the "gamification" of crime fiction 
• Susan Walter talks about locked room mysteries. 
• C.L. Miller recommends five crime novels where objects and houses remember 
• Stacie Ramey shares her favourite cozy mysteries featuring magic.
• Joanna Margaret talks about the current gothic romance boom 
• J.R. Thornton shares five true crime books featuring forgers, fraudsters and con artists 
• Alex Dueben shares his appreciation for Robert Arthur Jr.'s Three Investigators series  
• Erin Britton shares a guide to Richard Osman’s Thursday Murder Club series. 
• Garrick Webster reports that IDW has announced a new range of crime comics.  
• Greg Herren remembers Lauren Milne Henderson 

 

Tributes to Len Deighton: 

• British spy fiction author Len Deighton has died aged 97. 
• Mike Ripley shares a personal tribute to Len Deighton.  
• Mike Ripley shares an obituary for Len Deighton. 
• William Grimes shares an obituary for Len Deighton. 
• Tim Johnson shares an obituary for Len Deighton. 
• Martin Edwards remembers Len Deighton. 
• Bill Koenig remembers Len Deighton. 
• Chris Connor remembers Len Deighton. 

 

Film and TV:  

• Dwyer Murphy shares new and returning crime shows to watch. 
• Jacob Oller calls Normal another crotchety action romp 
• Jacob Oller calls Over Your Dead Body a dark, disconnected action-comedy 
• Lucy Mangan calls Imperfect Women lots of fun … if you lower your expectations enough 
• Cath Clarke calls Apnas a slick British-Asian crime drama 
• Brian Tallerico shares his thoughts on the latest episode of Dark Winds. 
• Chris Jenkins shares his thoughts on the latest episode of Astrid: Murder in Paris. 
• Paul Hirons shares his thoughts on the last two episodes of season 2 of Ellis. 
• Paul Hirons shares his thoughts on the latest episode of The Capture. 
• Saloni Gajjar interviews Jason Bateman, David Harbour and Linda Cardellini, stars of DTF St. Louis.  
• Mark Lawson interviews Martin Clunes, star of Power: The Downfall of Huw Edwards. 
• Peter Bradshaw revisits the 1989 Hong Kong action film The Killer. 
• Martin Edwards revisits the 1989 political thriller Scandal. 
• Jamie Graham revisits the 1990 crime movie Point Break.
• Paul Hirons revisits the 1992 crime drama Between The Lines 
• E.A. Jackson revisits the 2001 crime drama Law and Order: Criminal Intent. 
• Nick Kolakowski ranks all the actors who have played Richard Stark's Parker. 
• Jamie Blanks, director of Urban Legend, Valentine, Storm Warning, Long Weekend, Crawlspace and others, has died aged 54.  

 

Tributes to Chuck Norris:

• Actor and martial artist Chuck Norris, best known for his roles in The Way of the Dragon, Delta Force, Missing in Action, Walker: Texas Ranger, Good Guys Wear Black, Lone Wolf McQuade, Firewalkers, Sidekicks, Invasion USA, The Expendables and many others, has died aged 86.  
• Peter Bradshaw remembers Chuck Norris. 
• Andrew Pulver remembers Chuck Norris. 
• Owen Myers shares photos from Chuck Norris lengthy career. 

 

 Tributes to Nicholas Brendon: 

• Actor Nicholas Brendon, best known for playing Xander in Buffy: The Vampire Slayer, has died aged 54. 
• Maanvi Singh remembers Nicholas Brendon. 
• Justin Carter remembers Nicholas Brendon.  

  

Comments on Dead Man's Wire: 

• Peter Bradshaw calls Dead Man’s Wire a surreal true-crime thriller   
• Fiona Sturges interviews Cary Elwes, star of The Princess Bride, Dead Man's Wire, Robin Hood: Men in Tights, Saw and many others.

 

Comments on Gone: 

• Paul Hirons shares his thoughts on episode 3 of Gone.
• Paul Hirons shares his thoughts on episode 4 of Gone. 

  

Comments on Ready or Not 2: Here I Come:

• Benjamin Lee declares that Ready or Not 2: Here I Come offers even more screaming, running, swearing and exploding rich people and expands mythology we didn’t need expanded  
• Andy Crump declares that Ready Or Not 2: Here I Come once again paints the walls with the Satanic one percent.
• Cheryl Eddy declares that Ready or Not 2: Here I Come offers gory fun but doesn’t quite level up    

 

Writing, publishing and promotion: 

• Joshilyn Jackson talks about creating a fictional sister
• Writers Who Kill shares their favourite crime or writing reference books. 
• Publishers Weekly reports that a US judge ruled that Tracy Wolff did not plagiarise her YA romantasy series Crave in spite of superficial similarities to an unpublished manuscript by Lynn Freeman. 
• Emma Loffhagen reports that Grammarly has removed an "AI expert" review feature mimicking real life writers after a massive backlash

 

Awards: 

• The finalists for the 2026 Barry Awards have been announced. 
• The finalists for the 2026 Lambda Literary Awards have been announced.  
• The winners of the 2026 Academy Awards have been announced with some love for Sinners, KPop Demon Hunter and Frankenstein and lots of love for One Battle After Another. 
• The winners of the 2026 Razzie Awards have been announced.  
• Cora Buhlert shares her thoughts on the 2026 Academy Award winners.

 

Interviews: 

• D.P. Lyle and Kathleen Antrim interview Sandra Brown. 
• Rick Pullen interviews John Grisham. 
• Paul Burke interviews Neil Lancaster. 
• House of Mystery interviews Brad Meltzer. 
• Vaseem Khan and Abir Mukherjee interviews M.K. Oliver  
• Barbara Peters interviews Rhys Bowen and Clare Broyles 
• Garrick Webster interviews Alex Gerlis.
• Garrick Webster interviews Sarah Yarwood-Lovett
• Authors on the Air interviews Kat Rosenfield. 
• Alan Petersen interviews Maria Frankland. 

 

Reviews:

• Sonja van der Westhuizen reviews Sharks by Simone Buchholz, translated by Rachel Ward. 
• Marlene Harris reviews The Shadow Carver by Nadine Matheson  
• Mary Picken reviews reviews The Dark Heart by Neil Lancaster  
• Jen Lucas reviews A Good Night To Kill by Amen Along 
• Blue Book Balloon reviews Reaper by Vanda Symon
• Jen Lucas reviews Reaper by Vanda Symon 
• Doreen Sheridan reviews Divine Ruin by Margot Douaihy 
• Mike Parker reviews Caller Unknown by Oliver Johnson 
• Blue Book Balloon reviews The Murder Pool by Stella Blómkvist, translated by Quentin Bates  
• BOLO Books reviews Murder Will Out by Jennifer K. Breedlove. 
• Robin Agnew reviews Missing by E.A. Jackson  
• Jen Lucas reviews Son by Thomas Enger and Johana Gustawsson 
• Janet Webb reviews Children of the Savage City by Elizabeth Heider  
• Doreen Sheridan reviews The Undead by Svetlana Satchkova  
• Sandra Mangan reviews The Truth About Ruby Cooper by Liz Nugent   
• Mary Picken reviews The Truth About Ruby Cooper by Liz Nugent  
• Jen Lucas reviews Based On A True Story by Sarah Vaughan 
• Joseph B. Hoyos reviews Midnight in Memphis by Thomas Dann
• Robin Agnew reviews The Star from Calcutta by Sujata Massey.
• Lesa Holstine reviews The Harvey Girl by Dana Stabenow 
• In Search of the Classic Mystery Novel reviews The American Suspect by Jim Kelly  
• Lesa Holstine reviews Murder at Martingale Manor by Jodi Taylor
• Lesa Holstine reviews The Primrose Murder Society by Stacy Hackney 

 

Classics reviews: 

• Happiness is a Book revisits the 1929 mystery The Medbury Fort Murder by George Limnelius 
• Kate Jackson revisits the 1933 mystery Death Over Newark by Alexander Williams 
• B.V. Lawson revisits the 1955 Arthur G. Crook mystery The Black Stage by Anthony Gilbert  
• Kate Jackson revisits the 1956 mystery The Double Turn by Carol Carnac  
• Kate Jackson revisits the 1958 mystery A Gentleman Called by Dorothy Salisbury Davis 
• Martin Edwards revisits the 1962 mystery Doctors Also Die by D.M. Devine.
• Happiness is a Book revisits the 1963 mystery Florentine Finish by Cornelius Hirschberg 
• Mandie Griffiths revisits the 2003 Thorne thriller Lazybones by Mark Billingham 

 

Con and event reports:

• Ella Creamer shares a round-up of news from the London Book Fair in London, UK. 
• Priya Bharadia reports that Rydal Mount and Gardens, the former home of poet William Wordsworth, in Ambleside, UK, will remain open to the public.  

 

Research: 

• The Guardian reports that Kouri Richins who wrote book on grief after her husband’s death was found guilty of murdering him

 

Free online fiction: 

• "Tiger Girl" by Alice Kinerk in Punk Noir Magazine. 
• "Until We Have Forgotten Them" by Paul Radcliffe in Yellow Mama.
  
  

Trailers and videos: 

• Watch a trailer for Wild Horse Nine.