Crime Fiction Links of the Week for June 20, 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 Cape Fear, tributes to Marcia Lucas and Anthony Stewart Head 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. 
• CrimeReads shares the best true crime books for June 2026.  
• Liz Mineo attempts to analyse why mysteries are so popular.  
• Alison Gaylin shares her favourite recurring characters from mysteries and crime fiction. 
• Jessica Payne talks about antiheroines, gender and the rise of female pyschopaths in fiction
• Asia Macckay lists five mysteries that skewer the worlds of wellness and self-help 
• Allison Brennan explains why she loves stories that unfold in a single day or less.  
• Lindsey Kent shares five great novels that read like bad trips, fever dreams or reality warps   
• Paul Doiron shares an interactive map of the setting of his Mike Bowditch crime novels. 
• Liza Tully explains how the 1964 children's novel Harriet the Spy encouraged a generation of writers

 

Film and TV:  

• Jacob Oller calls The Furious one of the most fluid and satisfying action movies in recent memory.  
• Ben Rosenstock shares his thoughts on the latest episode of Cape Fear.  
• Jacob Oller calls Unidentified a terribly tedious murder mystery from Saudi Arabia. 
• Emma Brockes interviews Sandra Oh, star of Killing Eve.  
• Josh Spiegel shares his appreciation for Columbo.  
• Radha Vatsal revisits the 2002 crime thriller Internal Affairs.  
• Olivia Rutigliano revisits the 2006 crime comedy Psych.  
• Winston Cho reports that Matlock writer John Lowe is sueing CBS Television over racist and sexist remarks in the writers room.  

 

Comments on I Will Find You:

• Saloni Gajjar calls I Will Find You a contrived, almost offensive thriller.
• Sarah Dempster declares in respect to I Will Find You that if you've seen one Harlan Coben adaptation, you've seen them all. 

 

Comments on season 2 of Sugar:

• Cheryl Eddy shares her thoughts on season 2 of Sugar.  
• Jack Seale calls Sugar a luxurious labyrinth of noir 

 

Comments on The Death of Robin Hood: 

• Jacob Oller declares that The Death of Robin Hood reckons with myth but stays on the surface. 
• Caroline Siede revisits the 1938 The Adventures Of Robin Hood and finds that it still holds up. .

 

 Writing, publishing and promotion: 

• Ruthanna Emrys talks about finding inspiration beyond books.
• Holly Beretto profiles the Murder by the Book mystery bookstore in Houston, Texas. 

 

Awards: 

• The shortlist for the 2026 Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year Award has been announced. 
• The winners of the 2026 Fingerprint Awards have been announced. 
• The longlist for the 2026 Davitt Awards has been announced. 
• The winners of the 2026 Lambda Literary Awards have been announced. 
• The finalists for the 2026 TCA Awards have been announced. 
• Crime fiction writer Peter James has been awarded the Order of the British Empire 

 

Interviews: 

• Tim Shipman interviews Brad Thor. 
• Deborah Kalb interviews Danielle Postel-Vinay a.k.a. Danielle Trussoni. 
• Deborah Kalb interviews Kate Khavari. 
• Deborah Kalb interviews Claudia Gray. 
• Harold Schechter and Lauren Oliver interview each other.  
• Vaseem Khan and Abir Mukherjee interview David Goodman. 
• Garrick Webster interviews Percival Hoover and J. Kushley
• Garrick Webster interviews Larrian Gillespie. 
• Authors on the Air interviews Robert Bailey.  
• Authors on the Air interviews Connie Berry. 
• Grace Topping interviews M.A. Monnin. 
• House of Mystery interviews Caitlin Rother. 
• D.P. Lyle and Kathleen Antrim interview Jonathan Santlofer. 
• Howard Lovy interviews Michael Maloof. 

 

Reviews:

• Jen Lucas reviews The Pinnacle by Abir Mukherjee 
• In Search of the Classic Mystery Novel reviews The Pinnacle by Abir Mukherjee 
• Kevin Tipple reviews Murder by Design by Lee Goldberg 
• Jen Lucas reviews The Secrets We Hide by Karin Slaughter 
• Jen Lucas reviews The Truth About Ruby Cooper by Liz Nugent 
• In Search of the Classic Mystery Novel reviews The Killer In Room Five by Sam Holland  
• Sandra Mangan reviews The Long Isle by Andrew Raymond 
• Joseph B. Hoyos reviews Storm Tide by Paul Doiron 
• Mandie Griffiths reviews The Rising Tide by Sam Lloyd  
• Jen Lucas reviews Against The Tide by G.D. Wright  
• Sonja van der Westhuizen reviews The Secrets from the Deep by Satu Rämö, translated by Kristian London.
• Paul Burke reviews Skyring Water by Louis and Beau L’Amour
• Lesa Holstine reviews The Bookseller by Tim Sullivan 
• Jen Lucas reviews The Defence by Rob Rinder 
• Tony R. Cox reviews  Some Sort of Justice by Peter Grainger 
• Lesa Holstine reviews Rescue Me by Andrew Welsh-Huggins
• Ali Karim reviews Buckeye by Patrick Ryan  
• Doreen Sheridan reviews The Diva Hosts A Murderer by Krista Davis and tries a recipe from the book. 
• Ali Karim reviews The Hotel Manager's Guide to Murder by Erlendur Arason 
• Kate Jackson reviews The Ending Writes Itself  by Evelyn Clarke  
• Esmay Rosalyne reviews A Murder Most Fungal by Adrian M. Gibson 
• Martin Edwards reviews The Fantastic Detective Notebook by Gary Lovisi 
• Martin Edwards reviews Agatha Christie's London by Tina Hodgkinson. 

 

Classics reviews: 

• Kate Jackson revisits the 1944 mystery Measured for Murder by Babs Lee 
• B.V. Lawson revisits the 1945 YA mystery The Rising of the Moon by Gladys Mitchell
• Kate Jackson revisits the 1945 spy thriller The 17th Letter by Dorothy Cameron Disney  
• Martin Edwards revisits the 1964 mystery Frame-Up by Andrew Garve. 
• Martin Edwards revisits the 1964 mystery The Royston Affair by D.M. Devine. 
• B.V. Lawson revisits the 1967 mystery Shroud of Canvas by Isobel Lambot. 
• Scott Adlerberg revisits the 1984 noir novel Tough Guys Don't Dance by Norman Mailer. 
• In Search of the Classic Mystery Novel revisits the 1995 DI Joanna Piercy mystery Killer On The Moors a.k.a. Winding Up The Serpent by Priscilla Masters  
• Lesa Holstine revisits the 2016 Hugo Marston mystery The Paris Librarian by Mark Pryor

 

Con and event reports:

• Charlotte Higgins reports about the literary festival Book Arsenal in Kyiv, Ukraine. 

 

Research: 

• Steven Morris reports about a series of arson attacks on caravans and camper vans in Glastonbury, UK.

 

Free online fiction: 

• "Chew" by Garrett Alexander in Shotgun Honey.
• "Rudy Giuliani Mutters During His Last Rites" by Chad Parenteau.in The Five-Two. 
• "ICE Solves the Line Delay Dilemma at Major Airports" by Robert Cooperman.in The Five-Two. 
  
  

Trailers and videos: 

• Watch a trailer for season 2 of Ludwig.