The Silent Wife by ASA Harrison – review

The slow, murderous disintegration of a marriage is all too believable in ASA Harrison's first – and final – novel, writes Alison Flood

Easy Money – review

Double-crossing and muddied morality are rife in a relentless Swedish crime thriller brought to the UK by fan Martin Scorsese, writes Philip French

Henning Mankell: ‘I shall not miss Wallander’

Now that Henning Mankell has consigned his gloomy detective to a care home, what next for the master of Scandi-noir? Well, a novel about a young Swedish brothel madam in Mozambique, actually

Best holiday reads 2013

From classic novels to recent releases, writers and critics tell the Observer which books they'll be cramming into their suitcases this summer

Ben Affleck in line for David Fincher’s Gone Girl adaptation

Actor to star as Nick, who becomes a suspect in his wife's disappearance, in film of Gillian Flynn's bestselling novel

The Sea of Innocence by Kishwar Desai – review

Slack editorialising kills the tension in a topical tale of rape and murder in India, writes Adam Mars-Jones

The Counselor: first trailer for new Ridley Scott film released

Watch Michael Fassbender, Brad Pitt and Javier Bardem in new thriller based on Cormac McCarthy's debut screenplay

The top 10 classic spy novels

From Joseph Conrad to John le Carré, intelligence historian Rhodri Jeffreys-Jones picks the fiction that best reveals the secrets of espionage

The Other Typist by Suzanne Rindell – review

A noirish thriller about mistaken identity set in the roaring 20s lacks the necessary tension and subtlety to be a success, writes Lucy Scholes

Joyland by Stephen King – review

Stephen King's fairground-set mystery is an intriguing coming-of-age story masquerading as a crime thriller, writes Alison Flood

Stella Rimington: the day I met the KGB

The former MI5 chief turned novelist discusses over lunch with Tim Adams her strangest meal ever, the state of the secret services – and the advantages of owning a dog

The Devil and the River by RJ Ellory – review

In his first thriller since the 'sock-puppet' scandal, RJ Ellory conjures up genuine chills with voodoo, murder and gothic southern dynasties, writes Alison Flood