History of Mystery
Crime and the City: Portsmouth and the Isle of Wight
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Portsmouth – known to the locals as “Pompey” – is, and has been for centuries, England’s largest Royal Navy base, 75 miles south of London in the country of…
60 Years of ‘The Spy Who Came in From the Cold’
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–Adapted from a Center For Fiction conversation between Joseph Kanon and Paul Vidich, November 9, 2023 The Spy Who Came in From the Cold was published in September 1963…
What Really Went On Between Coppola and Sheen in that Hotel Room During the Filming of Apocalypse Now?
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Late in July 1976, the Coppolas returned to the Philippines. Sofia was enrolled in first grade at a Chinese school where no one spoke English (“Francis said it would…
Agatha Christie’s Most Romantic Murder Mysteries
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A closed circle of dubious personalities gather in one house at the invitation of a mysterious host. They hide tragic secrets, financial disasters, and desperate ulterior motives as they…
The Backlist: Alex Finlay and Polly Stewart Revisit ‘I Am Pilgrim,’ by Terry Hayes
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Everyone who has ever tried to write crime fiction understands the importance of pacing. It’s not enough to have a plot that sounds exciting on the jacket copy—getting the…
1987: The Thrilling-est Year in Hollywood History
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Recently, I saw an article that claimed that 1999 was the best year in Hollywood history. Then another claimed it was…1971? I beg to disagree. It is my belief…
My First Thriller: Joseph Finder
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Joe Finder must have thought he knew the secrets to selling a book. His first, a work of nonfiction, Red Carpet: The Connection Between the Kremlin and America’s Most Powerful…
What Spy Fiction Taught Me About Breaking the Rules
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As a kid, I broke what I like to think was a normal amount of rules. There was the time in kindergarten when we were sitting on the rug…
The Many Poisons of Crime Fiction
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For all of recorded history, poisons have been a means of death, both deliberate and accidental. Greek philosophers, kings, emperors, actresses, scientists, mathematicians, and more were felled by lethal…
Elizabeth Hand on Playwriting, Haunted Houses, and Shirley Jackson
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This interview has been edited for clarity and concision. A Haunting on the Hill is now available from Mulholland Books. Olivia Rutigliano: I’m so excited because this is the…