Bestselling writers know that image counts
John Dugdale: Robert Langdon, Harry Potter, Lisbeth Salander – you can picture them instantly. Visually memorable characters are making a welcome comeback to crime and thriller novels
Garlic, Mint, & Sweet Basil: Essays on Marseilles, Mediterranean Cuisine, and Noir Fiction by Jean-Claude Izzo – review
This evocative collection of essays from the French crime writer is a paean to the life, cities and food of the Mediterranean, writes PD Smith
Rereading Stephen King, chapter 20: Skeleton Crew
James Smythe: Three stories in this collection of truly terrifying tales impressed me so much I stole the concepts for my own writing – and I'm not the only author to do so
The Shining Girls by Lauren Beukes – review
Lauren Beukes's time-travelling thriller is a wild, brutal ride through 20th-century Chicago, writes Alison Flood
Mud director Jeff Nichols: ‘Mark Twain bottled what it felt to be a child’
River adventure movie Mud unleashes the spirit of Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn. Director Jeff Nichols talks about how he brought his watery yarn to life, writes Andrew Pulver
John Grisham to publish A Time to Kill sequel
Author's next thriller Sycamore Row will see heroic lawyer of Grisham's 1988 bestseller 'fight for justice' once again
The thriller that invites you to run a mile in Roger Bannister’s shoes
Paul Collicut's graphic novel The Murder Mile was inspired by the split second in 1954 when John Landy looked over his left shoulder and Roger Bannister passed him on the right
Slow Fade by Rudolph Wurlitzer – review
This raucous story of an egomaniacal film director – thought to be based on Sam Peckinpah – is shot through with death, from the hippy trail to Hollywood, says Sophia Martelli
A Delicate Truth by John le Carré – review
John le Carré's latest tale of bungling spooks and government cover-ups finds him back on top form, writes Robert McCrum
The City of Devi by Manil Suri – review
A love triangle, a religio-racial apocalypse and an action thriller jostle for attention in Manil Suri's ambitious new novel, writes Adam Mars-Jones
Under Your Skin by Sabine Durrant – review
Sabine Durrant's first thriller is a flawless picture of a perfect life unravelling, writes Alison Flood
Have 40 years of mobile phones given literature bad lines?
John Dugdale: They may have made communication easier, but they have laid waste to many fictional devices
Who says that men make the best spooks?
Robert McCrum: The appointment of the first female head of America's National Clandestine Service proves that spying isn't particular to one sex
Silent Saturday by Helen Grant – watch the trailer
This trailer for teen thriller Silent Saturday sent a genuine shiver up our spines. What do you think?
Robert Redford lined up for Captain America: The Winter Soldier
Actor's role as M-style senior agent in superhero sequel would be Redford's first comic-book film to date