‘Nobody in Tesco buys spy books by women’: how female authors took on the genre
Publishing’s long established boys’ club in espionage fiction is having its cover blown by a new school led by Stella Rimington, Manda Scott and Charlotte Philby
In brief: On the Up; How to Be an Activist; The Silent Patient – reviews
Alice O’Keeffe’s debut novel warms the heart, Vanessa Holburn offers a guide to protest, and Alex Michaelides’s thriller builds suspense beautifully
A Good Man by Ani Katz review – sordidly gripping
A man struggles to come to terms with how his perfect life has gone so badly wrong, but how credible is his story?
The most exciting movies of 2020 – blockbusters
Maverick swoops back on screen, Ghostbusters comes back to life and the 25th Bond film arrives (finally) in next year’s impressive array of big-budget knockouts
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
The Street: the 1940s African American thriller that became a huge bestseller
Marketed as a tale of vice and violence in Harlem, Ann Petry’s novel The Street sold more than a million copies – and gave a voice to black women, writes Tayari Jones
The best thrillers of 2019 – review roundup
Death in the outback, kidnap and medieval mysticism
Sex and violence: what has changed for women since In the Cut?
In the two decades since Susanna Moore wrote her ‘hot and scary’ novel, women’s sexuality is still used against them. She talks to Olivia Sudjic about misogyny and desire
The best recent crime novels – review roundup
The Sound of Her Voice by Nathan Blackwell, Nothing Important Happened Today by Will Carver, The Vanished Bride by Bella Ellis, Death in the East by Abir Mukherjee, The Honjin Murders by Seishi Yokomizo
In Brief: Rabbits for Food; Nazi Wives; Wakenhyrst – review
A writer’s spell in a psychiatric hospital and the women at the top in Hitler’s Germany
Agent Running in the Field review – Brexit fuels John le Carré’s fury
The master storyteller’s latest is spiced up with political references but the ultimate enemy stays the same
Fearless, free and feminist: the enduring appeal of Jack Reacher
From Kate Atkinson to Haruki Murakami, the fast-paced Jack Reacher books have a host of obsessive fans. As a new thriller is released, we investigate the magnetism of Lee Child’s antihero
Anna Krien, Charlotte Wood, Chris Hammer and others on what they’re reading in October
Plus, Elliot Perlman’s tour through dark humour, Kate McClymont’s jaw-dropping true crime and Heather Rose’s alarming visions of the future
The best recent thrillers roundup – review
A workplace affair that ends in murder, neighbourly obsessions, the horrors of life on the street. Plus a new case for Jack Reacher
Joker – the incels, the incitement, the ending: discuss with spoilers
Joaquin Phoenix’s cackling baddie is unleashed today – here’s your chance to talk about whether Todd Phillips is trolling us, or if his film deserves all the Oscars it can get