Sinister obsession
David Mckie: A splenetic outburst by Conan Doyle reveals just how differently left-handed batters were once viewed.
Catherine Sampson’s top 10 Asian crime novels
Sampson’s latest novel, The Pool of Unease, is set in Beijing, where the author has lived for many years. Here she chooses her top 10 crime novels set in Asia
Women innocent of crime fiction charge
Ian Rankin's claim that female writers - particularly lesbians - produce the most violent fiction is very inaccurate, and very insulting.
Murder she wrote – and plenty of it: Denise Mina on her career
Denise Mina’s Garnethill and Paddy Meehan novels are dark but compelling. She tells us what inspires her.
The mean fields of crime fiction
I'm on a crime spree in Harrogate - but you can call off the cops, it's only a literary festival.
The plot thickens as crime writer Patricia Cornwell takes ‘cyberstalker’ to court
· Best-selling novelist fears for safety over web jibes· Libel case defendant accused of 'jew hating'
From cellar to bestseller
Just four months after her escape, Natascha Kampusch is now being exploited by Girl in the Cellar, an intrusive rush-job, says Killian Fox.
Back to the mean streets
Scott Turow's old-school collection, The Best American Mystery Stories 2006, shows little sign of a new wave in crime fiction, says John Williams.
The sage of Sicily
Andrea Camilleri writes crime stories that shift effortlessly from the comic to the grotesque. Paul Bailey on the late flowering of an Italian phenomenon.
The Hammett of Havana
His award-winning crime novels feature transvestites, crooked officials and moralising newsreaders. For some critics, it's too dark a picture of Cuba. But, Leonardo Padura tells Duncan Campbell, his work reflects the reality of his country.
Ellroy’s dark places
James Ellroy talks to Steve Rose about the film of The Black Dahlia and his mother's death.
Hurrah for MI5, saviours of Blighty
Emily Stokes isn't convinced by Stella Rimington's latest foray into the world of espionage, Secret Asset.
A brush with the law
In 1998, bored lawyer Kenneth Walton tried to sell a fake painting on eBay. Boosted by pretend bids from a friend, the price rose to $135,805. Then the FBI knocked at the door. Dan Glaister reports.
Whip hand
Stuart Jeffries: After Dick Francis took a tumble in the final seconds of the Grand National in 1956 he stopped racing and became a writer. Now, after a six-year break, he's writing again.
Stealing beats borrowing
Rose George: Selfishness is trumping sharing as £150m worth of books are filched from local libraries every year.