The best recent crime and thrillers – review roundup
The Impossible Thing by Belinda Bauer; The Frozen People by Elly Griffiths; Victorian Psycho by Virginia Feito; The Inheritance by Trisha Sakhlecha; The Weekenders by David F Ross
The Stepford Wives at 50: a compelling idea in search of a better movie
The 1975 adaptation of Ira Levin’s influential sci-fi thriller has its share of unnerving moments but its brainwashed housewives concept is still in search of a better vehicle
ChatGPT, can you write my new novel for me? Och aye, ye preenin’ Sassenach
Let’s see if AI can take the faff – the actual writing bit – out of penning a Shakespearean thriller with a Scottish villain
The Naming of the Birds by Paraic O’Donnell review – Victorian gothic
The pursuers become the pursued in this tale of vulnerable children, society murders and an irascible detective
The People Before review – house holds terrible secrets in efficient rural-set thriller
A family seek a fresh start but their new home isn’t the haven of tranquility they were hoping for in this interesting but predictable thriller
‘Am I a Cyclopian monster?’ How masked writer Uketsu went from asparagus videos to literary sensation
He gained fame in Japan posting surreal videos of meat, veg and even ears. Then he tried writing – and soon had three bestsellers in the Top 10. As one now reaches the English-speaking world, we meet the faceless phenomenon
Unfinished Business by Shankari Chandran review – page-turning political thriller from Miles Franklin winner
The award-winning author has hit a more commercial note with this nuanced thriller about a CIA agent investigating the assassination of a journalist in Sri Lanka
Blackwater Lane review – medieval mansion is the star in haunted house stalker thriller
A teacher becomes increasingly paranoid as she roams around her fabulous home and gardens in this flimsy adaptation of BA Paris’s novel The Breakdown
Crime and thrillers of the month – review
Nicci French’s latest gem; an unsettling brainteaser from Japanese enigma Uketsu; the tensions that mar the maiden voyage of an airship; and a sojourn on a scary Scottish island
The best recent crime and thrillers – review roundup
Havoc by Christopher Bollen; Strange Pictures by Uketsu; Ghosts of Rome by Joseph O’Connor; Murder Mindfully by Karsten Dusse; The Day of the Roaring by Nina Bhadreshwar
Harlan Coben says ‘quite a bit of tragedy’ in his 20s made him a better writer
Bestselling author and Netflix producer said extensive early experience of grief was ‘very cruel but effective teacher’
‘It’s like having an affair’: Blackadder, the Beatles, Gavin & Stacey … the chemistry of successful writing duos
The long-awaited return of Ruth Jones and James Corden’s hit BBC sitcom represents the latest in a long line of successful creative duos. An author who writes with her husband examines why partnerships work so well
‘Perfect for winter nights’: the best crime novels to read at Christmas according to Ian Rankin, Bella Mackie and more
From Maigret to Sherlock Holmes and Miss Marple, authors choose the whodunnits they love to hunker down with at this time of year
Lost story by Cape Fear author John D MacDonald published for first time
The Accomplice, a noir tale found by Strand editor Andrew Gulli, considers the temptation of a grocery clerk
Alison Flood’s best crime and thrillers of 2024
This year’s pulse-quickening picks include the tense finale of Attica Locke’s Highway 59 series, Mo Hayder’s frightening last work and a fresh murder mystery from Richard Osman