Crime Fiction Links of the Week for May 23, 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 In the Grey, Jack Ryan: Ghost War, Maximum Pleasue Guaranteed and much more.
 

Crime fiction in general: 

• CrimeReads shares ten new crime novels coming out this week.
• Laura Wilson shares her favourite recent crime novels and thrillers.  
• Molly Odintz shares her favourite debut crime novels of May 2016. 
• Molly Odintz shares her favourite international crime novels coming out in May 2026 
• The Guardian shares their 100 best novels of all time with little love for crime novels.   
• Kate Jackson shares her ten favourite standalone mysteries.  
• Rachel Moore lists thrillers set in far-flung locations.  
• Karina Kilmore shares five great mysteries set in Australia and New Zealand 
• Natalie Lemle shares five literary suspense novels set in Italy  
• Paul French takes a look at crime novels set in Cologne, Germany.  
• Natalie Zina Walschots explains why villains are often more interesting than heroes.  
• Leslie Baird talks about surveillance in society and fiction
• Joanne Rock talks about suspense and the allure of masked characters 
• Diane Josefowicz recommends six mysteries featuring miniatures, effigies and tiny scenes 
• Naomi Kaye takes a look at crime in the Star Wars Legends novels.   
• Historical mystery writer Alan Bradley has died aged 87.  

 

Film and TV:  

• Radha Vatsal shares new crime shows to watch this weekend.  
• Camestros Felapton calls The Sheep Detectives a cross between a standard cosy mystery, Untitled Goose Game, Knives Out and Babe 
• Phil Harrison calls series 2 of Death Valley a cheery Welsh cosy crime series that is as gentle as a pillow 
• Rora Doherty calls The Samurai And The Prisoner a delightful samurai Columbo.  
• C.T. Phipps shares his thoughts on season 2 of Daredevil: Born Again. 
• Peter Bradshaw calls Eagles of the Republic a seductive thriller about corruption and compromise in post-Mubarak Egypt 
• Peter Bradshaw calls Minotaur a scorching noir intrigue amid the Ukraine war 
• Martin Edwards shares his thoughts on the suspense movie Hallow Road.  
• Ellery Weil laments the rise of anachronisms in historical dramas.  
• Radha Vatsal revisits the 1969 political thriller Z.  
• Keith Roysdon revisits the 1986 noir film At Close Range  
• Radha Vatsal revisits the 2017 true crime film All the Money in the World. 
• Martin Edwards revisits the 2019 thriller The Intruder.  
• Rich Pelley interviews Bob Odenkirk, star of Better Call Saul and Normal.  
• Chinese Trinidadian actress Jacqueline Chan, best known for her roles in The World of Suzie Wong, Without a Grail, The Saint and many others, has died aged 91

 

 Comments on In the Grey:

• Jesse Hassenger calls In the Grey Guy Ritchie's contractually mandated annual caper movie.
• Eric Goldman calls In the Grey a deathly dull would-be action thriller that feels three times the length of its 97-minute run time.  

 

Comments on Jack Ryan: Ghost War:

• Jesse Hassenger calls Jack Ryan: Ghost War  a mostly unexciting and rather low-rent feature-length adventure
• Monica Castillo calls Jack Ryan: Ghost War a straightforward spy movie without excitement or intrigue, like a training exercise to keep John Krasinski busy 

 

 Comments on Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed:

• Rhik Samadder calls Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed a superbly twisty thriller.
• Brian Tallerico declares that Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed almost fulfills the promise of its title 
• Lucy Mangan calls Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed a totally bingeable thriller that will glue you to your seat 

 

Writing, publishing and promotion: 

• Corrine Kumar explains how walking and dictating mixed up her writing routine.
• Jason Collins explins how the Timbuktu manuscripts informed his worldbuilding.  
• Emily Temple reports that Nobel laureate Olga Tokarczuk apparently used AI to write her latest novel.
• Literary Hub reports that Olga Tokarczuk has responded to the controversy over her reputed use of AI and declares that she did not use AI to write her latest novel. 
• James Davis Nicoll talks about his favourite used bookstores.  
• Jim Milliot shares an update on the Anthropic AI settlement.  

 

Awards: 

• The finalists for the 2026 Barry Awards have been announced. 
• The shortlist for the 2026 McDermid Debut Award has been announced.  
• The winner of the 2026 Spotted Owl Award has been announced.  
• The winners of the 2026 ITW Trailblazer Awards have been announced. 
• The finalists for the 2026 Maine Literary Awards have been announced.  
• The winners of the 2026 Minnesota Book Awards have been announced.  
• Clayton Davis notes that the Oscars' new diversity rules would not have disqualified a single Best Picture winner or finalist since 1927.  

 

Interviews: 

• John Parker interviews John Connolly. 
• Victoria Selman interviews Anna Bailey and Tariq Ashkanani 
• Deborah Kalb interviews Kim Sherwood.   
• Alan Petersen interviews James Grady.  
• Garrick Webster interviews Toni Viola. 
• Marshal Zeringue interviews Carmela Dutra.  
• Hassan Tarek interviews Howard A. Rodman.  

 

Reviews:

• Cathy Akers-Jordan reviews The Brothers McKay by Craig Johnson.
• Sharon Richardson reviews The Bone Mother by Suzy Aspley  
• Mary Picken reviews A River Red with Blood by John Connolly 
• Joseph B. Hoyos reviews Redbelly Crossing by Candice Fox
• Lesa Holstine reviews Ironwood by Michael Connelly 
• Sandra Mangan reviews Ironwood by Michael Connelly 
• Vicki Weisfeld reviews Echoes of the Lost by Cindy Brown 
• Mike Parker reviews The Wrong Man by Chris McDonald 
• Doreen Sheridan reviews The Midnight Taxi by Yosha Gunasekera 
• Runalong the Shelves reviews Stop Dead by Katrin Juliusdottir, translated by Larissa Kyzer 
• Adam Colclough reviews No Way Out by Max Connor   
• Doreen Sheridan reviews Ours Is A Tale Of Murder by Nora Murphy 
• Vicki Weisfeld reviews You Can Tell Me by Melinda Leigh
• Jen Lucas reviews Body of Lies by Jo Callaghan  
• Lara Feigel reviews Hunger and Thirst by Claire Fuller 
• Jen Lucas reviews Holy Island by L.J. Ross
• Marlene Harris reviews Never and Always by Anna Hackett 
• Jen Lucas reviews Sleuths by Samantha Moody 
• Janet Webb reviews Robert B. Parker’s Booked by Alison Gaylin  
• Cathy Akers-Jordan reviews Dungeons and Danger by Elizabeth Penney.
• Lesa Holstine reviews Deadly Cairns by Joana Snowdon 

 

Classics reviews: 

• Happiness is a Book revisits the 1924 Chief Inspector Pointer mystery The Eames-Erskine Case by A. Fielding  a.k.a. Dorothy Fielding 
• Erin Britton revisits the 1935 mystery The Unicorn Murders by Carter Dickson 
• In Search of the Classic Mystery Novel revisits the 1940 mystery Death At Dyke’s Corner by E.C.R. Lorac  
• Happiness is a Book revisits the 1957 Inspector Littlejohn mystery Murder in High Provence by George Bellairs 
• Kate Jackson revisits the 1978 Bernie Rhodenbarr heist novel The Burglar in the Closet by Lawrence Block 
• B.N. Lawson revisits the 1984 Homer and Mary Kelly mystery Emily Dickinson is Dead by Jane Langton.  
• Martin Edwards revisits the 1988 crime novel Dead Heat by Martin Russell. 
• Jen Lucas revisits the 2010 David Raker mystery Chasing The Dead by Tim Weaver 
• Mandie Griffiths revisits the 2017 DCI Daley thriller Well of the Winds by Denzil Meyrick

 

Con and event reports:

• Neda Ulaby reports about the Robowar event in Detroit, Michigan.  

 

Research: 

• Sean Williams profiles Mako Nishimura, the only female Yakuza. 
• Nicholas Byrne reports that a statue of Monty Python co-founder Terry Jones in Colwyn Bay, UK, has been vandalised only days after it was set up.  
• Tod Parry reports that a metal detectorist has found a golden signet ring that once belonged to the Sheriff of Nottingham. 

 

Free online fiction: 

• "New Friends" by David Milner in Punk Noir Magazine. 
• "Hegseth" by Tony Dawson.in The Five-Two. 

 

Trailers and videos: 

• Watch a trailer for series 11 of Grantchester.  
• Watch a trailer for Lanterns.  
• Watch a trailer for Spider-Noir.   
• Watch a trailer for Victorian Psycho.