Top 10 Christmas crime stories
From Dashiell Hammett to Agatha Christie and PD James, the festive season has inspired some of fiction’s finest criminal minds
Will Dean: ‘The whole book came to me between midnight and 6am’
The Tuva Moodyson author on his tense new thriller The Last Thing to Burn and why he has abandoned the UK for life in the Swedish woods
‘I’ve never felt less festive’: the art of writing Christmas novels, 365 days a year
Drinking sherry, bingeing Downton Abbey ... how authors keep up the spirit of the season, even when writing during heatwaves and a nightmarish Christmas
Alanna Knight obituary
Prolific author of romantic and crime fiction, and active supporter of new Scottish writing
How writing saved my life – twice
After being mugged, crime author Chris Whitaker found himself unable to cope with the trauma. Putting his thoughts down on paper helped – then disaster struck again
Ian Rankin to complete William McIlvanney’s final novel The Dark Remains
Due out next year, the novel will see the Rebus creator fill out notes for another Laidlaw mystery left by the revered Scottish crime writer on his death in 2015
Arthur Calder-Marshall, the forgotten author Orson Welles almost made famous
A gifted writer blessed with impeccable connections, he has nonetheless remained in the shadows, eclipsed by accidents and grander egos
Best crime and thrillers of 2020
From hard-hitting debuts and gritty mysteries to a cosy caper and a swashbuckling maritime puzzle
Val McDermid: ‘The Mermaids Singing felt like a narrative emergency’
The award-winning crime writer on how the plot of the novel that became ITV’s hit series Wire in the Blood arrived, fully formed, while she was driving on the M6
Library ebook lending surges as UK turns to fiction during lockdown
Charity says ebooks borrowing up 146% from March to August, with crime thrillers popular
Top 10 underrated Agatha Christie novels
On the centenary of the godmother of crime fiction’s debut, Sophie Hannah - author of the new Poirot mysteries - picks her favourite lesser-known gems
The best recent thrillers – review roundup
A hate crime with a twist, supernatural forces at sea, a parent’s worst nightmare and Jack Reacher returns
The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman review – cosy crime caper
In the Pointless creator’s bestselling debut, amateur sleuths in an upmarket retirement village investigate a murder a bit too close to home
Happiness, a Mystery by Sophie Hannah review – solving the most profound puzzle
The crime writer sifts through theories on happiness from life coaches and philosophers, and has an epiphany
JK Rowling’s new thriller takes No 1 spot amid transphobia row
Troubled Blood, written as Robert Galbraith, has faced criticism for including a killer who dresses in women’s clothes, but has recorded strong first-week sales