Long Bright River by Liz Moore review – startlingly fresh
A novel about a killer targeting sex workers amid America’s opioid crisis offers a memorable portrait of devastation
Nora Roberts: ‘I could fill all the bookstores in all the land’
Her 220 novels – from crime to romance to suspense – have sold 500m copies around the world. Her secret? Early morning Diet Pepsis and an eight-hour day
Reading group: which Georges Simenon book should we read in February?
Adored by writers from André Gide to Muriel Spark, Simenon was astonishingly prolific. Help us choose which of his novels we should read
The best recent thrillers – review roundup
Ageless children and a trio of women taking over a PI firm
Liz Moore: ‘It made a big impression to know early what addiction was’
Long Bright River portrays the blight of addiction in Philadelphia and in a troubled family. The novelist explains how her own experience informed its story
Lee Child letting go of his creation is a tale told by other bestsellers
The Jack Reacher author says he will hand on his character to his brother – following other writers who have surrendered their stories
The best recent crime and thrillers – review roundup
Your House Will Pay by Steph Cha; The Aosawa Murders by Riku Onda; Our Fathers by Rebecca Wait; Long Bright River by Liz Moore; and A Dark Matter by Doug Johnstone
Top 10 books about trouble in Los Angeles
Novelist Steph Cha chooses books that reflect the tensions and flashpoints of her diverse, uncontainable home town
Jo Nesbø: ‘We should talk about violence against women’
The Norwegian author of the Harry Hole detective series on Tom Jones and his soft spot for a crime cliche
Don Winslow and Stephen King offer $200K if White House holds a press briefing
Writers promise charity donations if press secretary agrees to ‘do her job’ and field journalists’ questions after 300-day hiatus
MC Beaton obituary
Crime fiction writer who created the detectives Hamish Macbeth and Agatha Raisin
MC Beaton, multimillion-selling author of Agatha Raisin novels, dies aged 83
Scottish writer, who also created detective Hamish Macbeth, did not take kindly to her ‘cosy crime’ reputation
The best recent crime novels – review roundup
Silver by Chris Hammer, A Madness of Sunshine by Nalini Singh, Beyond Recall by Gerald Seymour, The Christmas Egg by Mary Kelly and The Lammisters by Declan Burke
‘I exposed the dirty laundry of gay life’: The Lure, the thriller that shocked America
Felice Picano’s controversial story of a serial killer in New York was a huge hit in 1979 – but may also have provoked an armed attack on his home. Forty years on, he talks about his novel
Top 10 dinner parties in fiction
From Arthurian feasts to awkward moments with Ian McEwan and mealtime at the Macbeths, these miniature dramas are literary staples. Tuck in