The artists’ artist: Crime writers
Five crime writers nominate their favourite living author in their field
Once upon a life: Margie Orford
In 1985, the crime writer Margie Orford was thrown in jail by South Africa's apartheid police. Here she tells of the brutal experience that turned her from an idealistic student into a traumatised young woman
Mark Billingham: my greatest mistake
It was actually his fictional hero who dissed Phil Collins, but the best-selling crime writer got the blame
Anders Breivik massacre will change crime writing, says author
Jo Nesbø says his country's reaction to the killings made him proud to be Norwegian
Neil Cross: ‘I don’t get on with novelists’
The creator of TV's top cop show Luther, Neil Cross has written a spin-off novel. He tells Euan Ferguson about his odd childhood, and why he is mistaken for a psychopath
When writers are confronted by a national trauma…
Nordic crime writers have long occupied a critical role in the national debate on extremism, writes Brian Oliver. How will they respond to the Utøya massacre?
Elizabeth Mackintosh: woman of mystery who deserves to be rediscovered
Writing as Josephine Tey or Gordon Daviot, this all but forgotten novelist has influenced writers from Stephen King to Sarah Waters and was a friend of John Gielgud, writes Robert McCrum
Murder, intrigue and rolled trouser legs … help us write a crime novel
Duncan Campbell and ... you: A new crime novel has been co-written by 26 authors. Can you help us write a Comment is free thriller?
Blue Monday by Nicci French –review
The husband-and-wife writing team introduce a new star – psychotherapist Frieda Klein – in a dark tale of child abduction, writes Alison Flood
Ben Affleck tipped to direct Tell No One remake
Director of The Town reportedly attached to new version of 2006 French thriller, adapted from Harlan Coben's crime novel
The case for courtroom drama
Tim Kevan: The structure of legal proceedings are perfectly suited to compelling drama – most potently when the subject is injustice
Gil Scott-Heron obituary
Poet, jazz musician and rap pioneer who used mordant lyrics to express his views on politics and culture
Crime roundup – reviews
The End of the Wasp Season by Denise Mina, Sympathy for the Devil by Howard Marks, The Hypnotist by Lars Kepler and The Hollow Man by Oliver Harris
Why we all love a Victorian murder
James McCreet: Sexual repression, dark alleys, great detectives, ornate prose. No wonder the 19th century is our template for crime fiction
Top 10 female detectives
Jess McCabe: With Zen axed because of the slew of male detectives cluttering up BBC1, it's time for the ladies to step forward – in the footsteps of these classic female crime-fighters