Reading group: Why The Maltese Falcon is built to last
Sam Jordison: The powerful prose and plot, the morality and the smouldering Spade … There are many reasons why Dashiell Hammett’s detective novel is such a classic
PD James remembered by Richard Coles
Richard Coles: the crime writer was courteous and perspicacious – and alert to the gap between what was said and what was done
The best thrillers of 2014
A murder mystery in a girls’ boarding school, the welcome return of Hercule Poirot and Philip Marlowe, and Lauren Beukes’s truly disturbing crime chiller. By Alison Flood
December’s Reading group: The Maltese Falcon by Dashiell Hammett
Sam Jordison: This month, we’ll be investigating a book that is generally agreed to be a true classic. Will we agree?
PD James remembered by Nigel Williams
Author Nigel Williams remembers his friend, the queen of crime fiction, who died last week
PD James obituary
Crime writer whose poet-detective Adam Dalgliesh featured in a series of bestsellers
The 100 best novels: No 62 – The Big Sleep by Raymond Chandler (1939)
Raymond Chandler’s hardboiled debut brings to life the seedy LA underworld – and Philip Marlowe, the archetypal fictional detective, writes Robert McCrum
YouGov Profiles: like books? You must have a cat
… unless you like Martin Amis, in which case you’re a dog man, according to a fascinating ‘audience segmentation tool’ for marketing departments
The Burning Room by Michael Connelly review – a cold case hots up for Harry
Michael Connelly’s 19th Harry Bosch novel is a clever, classy page-turner, writes Alison Flood
Lamentation by CJ Sansom review – a new chapter for Shardlake
Tudor lawyer Matthew Shardlake’s sixth outing builds to a shocking climax, writes Stephanie Merritt
CJ Sansom: a bestselling mix of Tudor history and mystery
Profile: As the eagerly awaited sixth Shardlake novel hits the shelves, Britain’s fascination with the unlikely Tudor detective – and all things doublet and hose – shows no sign of diminishing
John Mullan on The Black Dahlia – Guardian book club
1940s Los Angeles is a hotbed of greed, addiction, violence and corruption for James Ellroy’s detective, on the trail of a real-life murder, writes John Mullan
How nylons changed literature
Moira Redmond: Stockings were once a marker of a character’s class and aspirations. Then came the nylon revolution. Celebrate 75 years of sheer genius by sharing your highlights of hosiery in fiction
Books to Die For review – passionate advocacy for gems of crime fiction
This compendium of essays by crime writers of their favourite books in the genre is often personal and always fascinating, writes Stephanie Merritt
Sherlock Holmes: dispelling the myths
We think we know all about Conan Doyle's immortal detective, with his pipes, dressing-gown and cocaine – but do we really, asks Sam Leith