Features
On the Rise, and Fall, and Uncontainable Rebellion of Cyberpunk
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There once lived a man who was naked, raving, and could not be bound. According to the Gospel: “He tore the chains apart and broke the irons on his feet.” It turns out (spoiler) he was possessed. The demons were exorcised and cast out of the man. Lacking a human host, the demons possessed an…
6 Creepy Novels Featuring Murder Houses
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There’s something beautiful about ugliness. We all have it simmering under the surface. But we make damn sure not to show it. Why? In my debut, The Stranger Upstairs, Sarah Slade is a popular influencer who struggles with a dark side. Her marriage is falling apart and her career is on a knife’s edge. She…
A Roundtable Discussion on Dark Academia
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Darkened libraries, exclusive elite schools, looming Gothic towers, charismatic professors, illicit affairs, the tang of autumn in the air… rivalries and obsessions that lead to murder. Why is dark academia such a thought-provoking and alluring genre? That’s exactly what these six authors are trying to answer in today’s round-up. Layne Fargo, “The Ravages”: I started writing…
A Reading List of Badass Covens
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I’ve always been enamored with witches. Be it Roald Dahl’s child-hating witches, the Wicked Witch of the West, or Bony Legs with her iron teeth, the ferocity and power of witches always captured my attention. To witness a woman who was magical and powerful and not only knew it but unapologetically embraced it felt revolutionary….
The Off-Broadway Play Dracula: A Comedy of Terrors Is Cute, Not-So-Bloody Fun
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Gordan Greenberg and Steve Rosen’s new play Dracula: a Comedy of Terrors, now open at New World Stages, is production is replete with playful contradictions. Despite the presence of the word “terrors” in the title, there’s nothing too grisly to worry about. After all, the fanged teeth featured in the logo for the show are…
Reflections on The Shadow of the Wind, Carlos Ruiz Zafón’s Classic Biblio-Mystery
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Like many great novels, the book you are about to read is one whose every page is imbued with the art of storytelling. Its first five words, ‘I still remember the day’, spoken by the narrator, Daniel Sempere, open the door to what will soon expand into a complex world of both mystery and realism,…
Queer Crime Fiction Coming Out This Fall
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With the exuberance of Pride Month in June, it’s easy to get excited about new queer crime fiction in the summer months. But, with shortening days, ubiquitous Pumpkin Spice lattes, and of course, Halloween—arguably the queerest holiday of the year—the fall is the perfect time to pick up a mystery or thriller exploring the complex…
The Enduring Appeal of the Christiesque ‘Closed Circle’ Crime
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The first crime novels I ever read were by Agatha Christie. I was probably about thirteen at the time and I remember being blown away by how clever she was. The way she could hide her killers in plain sight, or contrive a plot as deviously intricate as Murder on the Orient Express, or manipulate…