Five of the best crime and thrillers of 2021
Final novels from John le Carré and Andrea Camilleri, dark psychological debut Girl A and more
The best recent thrillers – review roundup
A post-Covid murder mystery, a puzzle in the mountains of India and a fictional take on the spy cops scandal are among this month’s crop
Cain’s Jawbone: how crime novel’s puzzling plot still keeps us guessing
In 87 years, only four readers have solved the fiendish murder mystery devised by former Observer crossword setter Edward Powys Mathers
Diaries and Notebooks by Patricia Highsmith review – sex, booze and cold-blooded murders
These philosophical, sometimes grumpy journals, unearthed after the doyenne of suspense fiction’s death, shine a light on her dual identities, the contempt she felt for other people and her erotic misadventures
Top 10 books about Calcutta
From Jhumpa Lahiri to Amit Chaudhuri, these novels and histories portray a teeming, paradoxical city – and its diaspora – that is a world unto itself
Bed-hopping, martinis and self-loathing: inside Patricia Highsmith’s unpublished diaries
From her carefree 20s and countless affairs, to literary success and later-life bigotry and rancour, the author’s extraordinary diaries reveal a woman determined to chart her own course
Murder Isn’t Easy: The Forensics of Agatha Christie by Carla Valentine review – science and skullduggery
Mortuary technician Valentine reveals how advances in crime-fighting made their way into Christie’s novels
The best recent thrillers – review roundup
Hillary Clinton makes her debut with a tightly plotted tale of political intrigue, plus new work by Julia Dahl and astronaut Chris Hadfield
Top 10 true crime novels
Adding an intense layer of meaning to well-known facts, authors including Truman Capote, Kate Summerscale and Gordon Burn raise this genre far above its grubby reputation
Final Inspector Montalbano novel, finished years ago, is published in UK
Andrea Camilleri was determined that his crime series could not be continued by another writer, leaving concluding novel with his publisher long before his death in 2019
The 20-page rule: how much time should you give a devastatingly boring book?
Novelist Mark Billingham advises readers to angrily launch a book across the room after 20 non-gripping pages – but almost 40% of people will keep going right to the end
Robert Richardson obituary
Crime writer who drew on his experience as a Fleet Street journalist to colour his thrillers
Harlem Shuffle by Colson Whitehead review – a delicious heist novel
The double Pulitzer winner turns to crime with a tale of 1960s New York gangsters, rendered with superbly observed, affectionate, page-turning brio
Richard Osman’s second book is one of the fastest-selling novels since records began
The Pointless presenter’s second crime novel, The Man Who Died Twice, has sold 114,202 copies in its first week on sale
The best recent crime and thrillers – review roundup
The Dark Remains by William McIlvanney and Ian Rankin; Apples Never Fall by Liane Moriarty; Winter Counts by David Heska Wanbli Weiden; The Whistleblower by Robert Peston; and The Wrong Goodbye by Toshihiko Yahagi