Crimespree Magazine

Comic Review; Batman Tales: Once Upon A Crime

Do you love Batman and the Batfamily? You’ll want this gorgeous comic. Do you love L’il Gotham? You’ll want it even more.

This is, frankly, the best thing DC has produced since Rebirth.

And I am just a little excited about.

Derek Fridolfs enjoys writing these stories thematically and chose fairy tales to wrap around the Bats. Artist Dustin Nguyen’s watercolor work truly makes this…

Five Movies That Inspire Novelists

When I’m looking for writing inspiration, first and foremost I’ll turn to my bookshelf. But second? I’ll turn to my television. Movies and prose fiction are close relatives, in my opinion, and there’s much that writers can learn from their silver-screen counterparts.

Here are five movies that have inspired my own fiction in one way or another, and some of the lessons they’ve taught me.

Ther…

Jon Thoughts: Bonding. James Bonding.

Ian Fleming’s first James Bond novel was published in 1953. He would eventually write twelve novels and two collections of short stories.  After his death in 1964, other authors would carry on the franchise, most notably John Gardner and Raymond Benson, who wrote numerous books.

Ian Fleming

The popularity of the character is due to a number of factors, the most obvious being he films. John…

INTERVIEW WITH C. M. GLEASON

Murder At The Capitol (Lincoln White House Mystery Book 3)

C. M. Gleason

Kensington Pub.

January28th, 2020

Murder At The Capitolby C. M. Gleason is a unique historical mystery.  With a superb ability to combine famous and admired historical figures with characters of her own, Gleason masterfully creates a suspenseful and informative story.  The characters created bring to life…

BOOK REVIEW KNOT ON HER LIFE

Knot On Her Life (Q Quilting Mystery Book 7)

Mary Marks

Kensington Pub.

July 30th, 2019

Knot On Her Life by Mary Marks is a cozy mystery with a different perspective.  Some would think that a story with quilts could not make a good mystery, but Marks is able to stitch everything together. She is one of a few mystery authors who has a Jewish protagonist.

The author explained why she…

Friday Reads & Crimespree Giveaway: NOW YOU SEE THEM by Elly Griffiths

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Put CONTEST in the subject line. Please include your address in the body of the email

NOW YOU SEE THEM by Elly Griffiths from our friends at Crimespree MagazineThe new book in the Magic Men series, NOW YOU SEE THEM is a wild mystery with detective Edgar Stephens and the magician Max Mephisto, as they investigate a…

INTERVIEW WITH LISA GARDNER

When You See Me by Lisa Gardner is a home run.  This book has four female heroines stepping up to the plate, working together to solve a town’s murders. What makes it extra-special is that it brings together three characters: Boston Homicide Detective D.D. Warren, FBI special agent Kimberly Quincy and recovering torture victim turned vigilante Flora Dane.

FBI Special Agent Kimberly Quincy and…

Headline authors for CrimeFest – one of Europe’s biggest crime fiction conventions – have been announced. 

The 2020 convention sponsored by Specsavers is hosted from 4 to 7 June at the Mercure Bristol Grand Hotel and will feature icon of the genre, Lynda La Plante, the award-winning author of more than 30 internationally bestselling novels.

Photo by Gemma Day

La Plante was a pioneer with…

THIS WEEK’S FRIDAY READS & CRIMESPREE GIVEAWAY: THE POISON GARDEN BY ALEX MARWOOD

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THE POISON GARDEN by Alex Marwood A new novel of insidious secrets and chilling revelations surrounding a mysterious cult–the latest gripping psychological thriller from Alex Marwood

When nearly one hundred members of The Ark, a…

INTERVIEW WITH JOSEPH FINDER

HOUSE ON FIRE by Joseph Finder brings back private investigator Nick Heller. This story of greed and family dynamics follows the relatives who have a vested interest in a pharmaceutical company that manufactures Oxycontin and Oxycodone.  Finder brilliantly explores how these drugs can be addicting, but also shows the other side, those patients that need the pills to cope with their pain.

The…

THIS WEEK’S FRIDAY READS & CRIMESPREE GIVEAWAY: THE LOOK-ALIKE by ERICA SPINDLER

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THE LOOK-ALIKE by Erica Spindler From Erica Spindler, the New York Times bestselling author of THE OTHER GIRL and JUSTICE FOR SARA comes THE LOOK-ALIKE, a thrilling psychological drama about a woman who believes she escaped a brutal…

5 Things I Learned from Writing Crime Fiction

THE LOOK-ALIKE is my twenty-third, full length suspense novel. I’ve written in other genres, but my life’s work has been devoted to crime fiction: thriller, romantic suspense, woman in jeopardy, supernatural thriller, police procedural, mystery, and with THE LOOK-ALIKE, the domestic thriller as well. I’ve explored them all, often threading together elements of the various sub-genres.

Twenty-th…

INTERVIEW WITH PETER ROBINSON

MANY RIVERS TO CROSS by Peter Robinson brings back beloved DCI Detective Alan Banks.  Robinson seems to be the master of the “who done it,” while covering subject matters that are relevant.

This second book in a trilogy takes over where the first book, CARELESS LOVE,left off. Zelda, a super recognizer, is working with law enforcement to identify those in the sex trafficking trade from Eastern…

Kia ora and haere mai; hello and welcome to the fifth edition of Māwake Crime Review. On a regular basis I’ll be featuring great crime writers and crime novels from beyond the borders of North America and Europe.

Bringing you superb crime writing from around the world!

Kia ora and haere mai; hello and welcome to the fifth edition of Māwake Crime Review, an initiative we began at Crimespree in 2018. On a regular basis I’ll be featuring great crime writers and crime novels from beyond the borders of North America and Europe. For those new to this column, Māwake is a word from the Māori language (the…

INTERVIEW WITH DEBRA H. GOLDSTEIN

Too Bites Too Many (Sarah Blair Mystery Book 2)

Debra H. Goldstein

Kensington Pub.

Sept 24th, 2019

A new series, Sarah Blair Mysteries, is a fast-moving, intriguing plot set in the world of food. Readers should probably read the books in order, One Taste Too Many and then Two Bites Too Many. These first two books have the main protagonist, Sarah Blair, trying to defend family members…

THIS WEEK’S GIVEAWAY: MANY RIVERS TO CROSS BY PETER ROBINSON

To be entered in the drawing, send an email to:  [email protected]

Put CONTEST in the subject line. Please include your address in the body of the email.

MANY RIVERS TO CROSS by Peter RobinsonPeter Robinson, the acclaimed author of the bestselling series Stephen King calls “the best now on the market,” returns with a gripping, emotionally charged mystery in which the revered detective…

INTERVIEW WITH JAYNE KRENTZ

The Vanishing (Fogg Lake Book 1)

Jayne Krentz

Berkley Pub

Jan 7th, 2019

The Vanishing by Jayne Krentz is an action-packed story that relies heavily on the paranormal.  The psychic element adds to the suspense along with murder, conspiracies, and a kidnapping.

The story opens fifteen years earlier where two teenage girls, Catalina Lark and Olivia Dayton witness a murder in a cave. …