Italian authors’ invasion is set to conquer the crime fiction lists
TV series based on Michael Dibdin's Aurelio Zen novels heads assault on the dominance of Scandinavian detective sagas
1222 by Anne Holt – review
The acerbic sleuth Hanne Wilhelmsen, snowed in on a Norwegian mountainside, would surely recognise her debt to Hercule Poirot, says Alison Flood
Are Stieg Larsson and Dan Brown a match for literary fiction?
Novelist Edward Docx argues that genre fiction can't compete with works of true literary merit
Why do we think the butler did it?
Nate Pedersen: This plot formula has the unusual distinction of being a cliché of mystery writing without ever having been widely used
Can Hard Case Crime solve the mystery of digital era publishing?
Sam Jordison: This small imprint might have all the ingredients necessary for survival – a distinctive look, a smart logo and a clear direction
Britain’s queen of crime: Martina Cole
Martina Cole writes from the criminal's point of view. That's why Erwin James, a former lifer, found her characters so familiar – and why he was scared of meeting her
Stephen J Cannell obituary
Prolific TV writer and producer behind the hit show The A-Team
Talking About Detective Fiction by PD James – review
PD James's brief history of detective fiction is told with style and humour, says Edmund Gordon
DCI Banks: the case of the literary TV detectives
Maxim Jakubowski: The new ITV series is part of a wave of small-screen adaptations – which other literary sleuths would you like to see on television?
The Anatomy of Ghosts by Andrew Taylor
Alison Flood admires a murder mystery in an 18th-century Cambridge college
The Hilliker Curse: My Pursuit of Women by James Ellroy
James Ellroy's high-octane strut through his sexual history leaves Julie Myerson tired and unsatisfied
An economy kept afloat by mafia cash is not just the stuff of Le Carré thrillers
Jonathan Freedland: Until we find the political will, the establishment will be happy to ignore the dirty crimes behind today's dazzling fortunes
Faithful Place by Tana French
A dark, creepy Dublin is the setting for one of the best thrillers this year, writes Alison Flood
Real-life tragedies for real-life cash
Darragh McManus: Writing books based on actual atrocities like the Holocaust or the Josef Fritzl case can lead to fame and fortune. But is it right?
Let’s start a comedy crime wave
Richard Asplin: The exhortation to 'write what you know' stops us finding the mirth in misdemeanours. Write what you like instead