Britain’s queen of crime: Martina Cole
Martina Cole writes from the criminal's point of view. That's why Erwin James, a former lifer, found her characters so familiar – and why he was scared of meeting her
Our Kind of Traitor by John le Carré
John le Carré offers a familiar game of doubles that's not without its faults, says Tim Adams
Geoffrey Burgon obituary
Composer of television and film scores for Brideshead Revisited and Monty Python, as well as many concert and stage works
Agatha Christie gets death cake tribute from Jane Asher
Actress and baking star creates 'assault on the senses' in honour of the thriller writer's 120th anniversary
An economy kept afloat by mafia cash is not just the stuff of Le Carré thrillers
Jonathan Freedland: Until we find the political will, the establishment will be happy to ignore the dirty crimes behind today's dazzling fortunes
From Stieg Larsson to Trainspotting: the best modern literary book tours
You've read the decade's hottest books. Now visit the locations
The Girl Who Played With Fire: is the Millennium trilogy still burning bright?
Ben Child: Does the Swedish film adaptation of Stieg Larsson's source trilogy impress with its gritty realism, or does it scream TV movie?
Could playing the anti-Bond be the best career move Daniel Craig’s ever made?
Ben Child: The actor has decided to play a mild-mannered leftwing radical journalist in the US version of The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo. Genius or madness?
Ten of the best dragons in literature
John Mullan on 10 of the best fire-breathing, treasure-guarding - or tattoed - dragons in literature
Doctor now? Can James Bond modernise?
Alison Flood: He won't give plot clues, but Jeffery Deaver will give his 007 novel a contemporary setting. Can it work? Tell us what you think
Guardian book club: Bret Easton Ellis’s American Psycho
Sam Jordison: Critics savaged the book when it first came out in 1991 – but they didn't appreciate that serial killer Patrick Bateman is one of the funniest comic creations since Bertie Wooster
Anna Chapman and the ‘Russian spies’ no match for the steely cold war agents
The media has tried to make Moscow's suburban undercover agents glamorous. Well they're not
The Twilight Saga: Eclipse
Andrew Pulver: Rampaging hormones and overwrought teen yearning … but the third Twilight movie is a well-constructed revenge plot thriller
The iPhone apps throwing light on best-selling books
Authors such as Iain Banks and Martina Cole are increasingly supplementing book releases with apps full of bonus material
Gary Oldman tipped as lead recruit in Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy film
British actor set to play John Le Carré's cold war hero George Smiley in Tomas Alfredson's film