Older Features
An archive of past features in mystery, thriller, crime, horror, and other suspense-related genres.
Aliens in Thrillers
Recurring themes of the extraterrestrial thriller genre
Sports Thriller Books
How Ian Fleming’s Goldfinger was actually a sports thriller
Worlds of Horror
Six Terrifying Horror Locales
Medicine in Thrillers
Two Doctors who have the Right Prescription
Tropes in Sci-fi Thrillers
Tropes as Guideposts and Obstacles
Religiosity in Fiction
Cults, Religion, and the Sci-Fi Thriller
Urban Fantasy Detectives
The allure of urban fantasy detective stories
Folk Horror of Thailand
The ghosts, spirit shrines, and horror of Thailand
Mysteries, Conspiracies, and Thrillers
What makes a conspiracy thriller?
Lesser-Known Crime
Mystery and Crime Sites You May Not Have Heard Of
The Women of Femmes Noir
Modern Noir Part II
Paranormal Mysteries & Thrillers
A Librarian’s Approach to Reading Paranormal Mysteries and Thrillers
Bad Endings
Bad Endings, the Bain of the Reader … and Diner
The Psychic Sleuth
Five outstanding psychic mystery books
Horror Puppets
Rods, Strings, Blood, and Bones
The Crime Fiction Novella
Six experts discuss the form’s creativity, craft, and market
Maritime Thrillers
Why we love thrillers set on the water
The Fantasy Thriller
How A SONG OF ICE & FIRE shaped the genre
Thrills in Paradise
Why the Tropics are Ripe for Thrillers
Unlikeable Characters
Should characters in thrillers be likeable?
Crime and Tech
Has Technology Killed The Crime Novel?
Crime Noir
Anatomy of a Crime Noir
The YA Mystery Category
Where did the YA Mystery Genre Come From?
Modern Noir
Why We Need a “Femmes Noir” Genre
Mystery Waves
The mystery and suspense of surfing
Serial Killers
The three classifications of serial killer
Suspense in Sci-Fi
Gripped by Sci-Fi Suspense
New England Mysteries
Rural New England: A Perfect Place for a Mystery
Horror and Nihilism
How nihilist philosophy permeates horror fiction
Police in Crime Fiction
Are police still the good guys?
Historical Horror
The past, present, and future of historical horror
Myth & Mystery
Using Mythology to Forge Great Mystery
L.A. Film Noir
7 Essential L.A. Film Noir Movies of the Modern Era
The Hybrid of Fantasy and Horror
The dark-fantasy horror of Lord of the Rings
Modern Conspiracy Thrillers
How have conspiracy thrillers changed in the past decade?
Thriller Book Club Questions
10 Book Club Questions for a Thriller
Serial Killers and Us
Through the distorted looking glass
Mystery Quotes
Mystery authors on mystery novels
The Military Thriller Genre
What makes a military thriller, and why they’re beloved
Best Books of 2022
The top 10 mystery, thriller, crime, horror and suspense books of 2022
Martial Arts in Thrillers
The appeal of martial arts in action thrillers
Killer Handwriting
What Makes a Killer? Handwriting reveals the truth.
The Balance of Romantic Suspense
Suspense and romance as equal companions in the novel
Edgar Allan Poe
Three overlooked detective stories by the father of detective fiction
Small Town Thrillers
The psychological suspense of thrillers set in small towns
Rogue Police in Thrillers
Why “police as villains” resonates with readers
Psychological Thriller Book Covers
What Makes A Good Thriller Cover?
Supernatural Detectives
Ten Supernatural Thrillers that are Also Great Detective Stories
Characteristics of Spy Fiction
What makes for a great espionage thriller
Evolution of Conspiracy Thrillers
How the genre has adapted to change
Sci-fi Suspense
The difficulty of achieving suspense in science fiction
Private Eye Fiction
All I Really Need to Know I Learned from Private Eye Fiction
The Bad Girl I Lock Away
On the appeal of domestic thrillers
Cozy Mystery History
The Evolution of the Cozy Mystery Genre
Humor in Mysteries
Humor in the Mystery and Suspense Genres
Women in Psychological Suspense
Five Morally Ambiguous Women in Psychological Suspense
What Is A Slasher Horror?
The origins of slasher horror, current state, and future of the genre
Cold War Thrillers
Seven Classic Cold War Thrillers Made in America
Why We Love Thrillers
A Psychological Perspective on Why We Love Thrillers
Popularity of Domestic Thrillers
Why are domestic thrillers all the rage?
Political Mysteries
When the Thirst for Power Leads to Murder
Mystery and Landscape
How Landscape Propels the Mystery
Beach Thrillers
Ten beach thrillers that deserve a spot in your tote bag this summer
Mystery Book Club Questions
10 Questions to Get the Conversation Going
Mexican Thrillers
Why Mexico is the perfect setting for a thriller
Firefighter Thrillers
A look at the relatively new subgenre of firefighter thrillers
Financial Thrillers
In Search of the Great Financial Thriller
Psychological Thriller Settings
Why an idyllic setting is perfect for a psychological thriller
The Call of Romantic Suspense
How the genre can pull us from the doldrums of the modern world
Amateur Detectives in the Clergy
The Appeal of the Cleric as Amateur Sleuth
The Motive of Motherhood
Why the PTA is a setting of suspense
Detective Stories of the 1920s
Did the 1920s Give Birth to Modern Detective Fiction?
Wilderness Mystery Books
Why Wilderness Mystery Books Rivet Us
Middle Grade Mysteries
Five great sleuths in recent middle grade mysteries
Near-Future Books
Four books about technologies that will transform our society
Thriller Short Stories
How thriller writers have found a path to greatness through short stories
Death in the Apocalypse
Top 10 Ways To Die In The Apocalypse
Arson in Mysteries and Thrillers
Arsonists as Suspects or Relatable Characters
The Mystery Reader
Why mystery readers are some of the most intelligent and engaged
Cats in Mysteries II
Karin Slaughter, Paula Munier and Victor DiGenti on cats in mysteries
Cats in Mysteries
Authors Slaughter, Munier, DiGenti and Cobb on felines in mysteries
Cars in Thrillers
The open road of the thriller, and the vehicles that take us down
Why Read Thrillers?
Why we love crime thrillers and psychological thrillers
Suspense Roundtable
A roundtable with eight of the best voices in suspense
YA Apocalyptic Thrillers
Why We’re Hooked on YA Apocalyptic Thrillers
Obsession in Horror
The Female Stalker
Agent of Duty
Federal agents in political thrillers
The Sexiest Thrillers Ever
Nine books and book-to-film adaptations that will leave you gasping
The Amateur Sleuth at Work
Five Professions of Cozy Mystery Protagonists
History with a Side of Murder
The rules that shape a historical mystery
The Conspiracy Thriller
A short history of the conspiracy thriller, from 1907 to the present
Offbeat World War Two Thrillers
Nine World War Two thrillers that don’t follow the usual storylines
Cross-Genre Thrillers
How the best thrillers defy genre
Secrets and Suspense
Why secrets are an important part of the story
Corporate Thrillers
Five Elements of a Gripping Corporate Thriller
Villains of Romantic Suspense
Nine villain types that prowl the romantic suspense genre
The Horror Thriller
Five key elements of a horror thriller
The Criminal Profiler
Forensic Psychologists in Crime Fiction
European Crime Thrillers
Four dark thrillers that will knock you sideways
The Future and the Writer
How sci-fi thriller writers create the future
Techno-Horror of the Future
Six movies we’ll be watching in the year 2050
‘Final Girls’ in Slasher Horror
The Top 5 “final girls” in slasher horror who survived to the end
Amateur Sleuth Heroines
Six strong, inquisitive, female amateur sleuths
Forensics in Fiction
A history of forensics in crime fiction
Supernatural Procedurals
Police Procedurals and the Supernatural Thriller
The Best John Carpenter Movies
The top 10 greatest films by horror director John Carpenter
Revenge and the Thriller
Why we love (and need) revenge in fiction
Black Ops in Thrillers
Elements of Black Ops in Fiction
The Best Kidnap Thrillers
Five of the all-time best kidnap thrillers from a lifetime movie buff
Character-Driven Mysteries
Three authors whose detectives propel their mysteries
Psychological Suspense Settings
PART II – Evil in the countryside
Alien Invasion Movies
Tropes and techniques of alien invasion movies
Sci-fi Conspiracy Thrillers
The nine best sci-fi conspiracy movie thrillers of all time
Military in Sci-fi Thrillers
How the movie Aliens got it right
Riverdale Time Jump
Riverdale’s Time Jump Mystery is Exactly What We Need
Prison Escape Thrillers
Why the greatest escapism starts with a life behind bars
Romantic Suspense Tropes
Five Tantalizing Tropes of Romantic Suspense
Island Books
Popular Island Tropes in Suspense and Thriller Novels
Elements of a Legal Thriller
The six elements of a great legal thriller
Thrillers in Rome
Historical thrillers set against the backdrop of ancient Rome
Nazis in Thrillers
How the Nazi “brand” makes for an ideal baddie
Romance and the Detective
The Elements of a Great PI Story with Romance
The Appeal of Slasher Horror
Five reasons we love the slasher horror genre
Overlooked Domestic Thrillers
Three Overlooked Domestic Thrillers from the Mid-Twentieth Century
Fantasy Horror Books and Film
A beginner’s guide to the fantasy horror genre
Isolation and Madness
Driven mad by loneliness, cabin fever, separation, and isolation
Dogs of Crime Fiction
Five Breeds and their Roles in Great Crime Fiction
Assassination Thrillers
Our fascination with assassinations in fiction
Offbeat Detectives
Eight unusual detectives of crime fiction, and why we love them
Domestic Thriller Love Triangles
What you need to know about domestic thriller love triangles
PI Questions Answered
Answers to nine frequently asked questions about PIs in books & film
Life, Death & the Medical Thriller
A comparison of three of the best medical thrillers
Supernatural Detective Fiction
The best supernatural detective stories in books, tv, and movies
Detectives vs Police
In praise of the most interesting figures of the mystery genre
Solitary Thrillers
The 5 loneliest thrillers and why they’re so good
The Female Hero
Elements of a Great Female Lead in Mysteries and Thrillers
The Appeal of Legal Thrillers
Why readers are perpetually hungry for courtroom fiction
Modern Military Thrillers
The (R)evolution of the military thriller genre
Castle, Damsel, Horror, Bride
The characteristics and history of Gothic suspense
Spy Thriller Books-to-Movies
The best film adaptations in the espionage thriller genre
Paranormal Thrillers
A brief overview of the paranormal thriller genre
Noir and the Private Detective
How the hard-boiled PI exists within and beyond noir
Horror Dolls
The Evolution of the ‘Creepy Doll’ Horror Trope
Amateur Sleuth Detectives
Six types of detectives in the amateur sleuth genre
Best World War 2 Fiction
The best World War 2 books, movies, and tv
Young Adult Mystery and Suspense
Ten Twisty YA Mysteries, Thrillers, and Whodunits
Houses of Horror
The role of the house in suspense fiction
Classic Mystery Novels
Three classic novels you might not think of as mysteries
Intense Crime Thrillers
Five Heart-Pounding Crime Thrillers to Read Right Now
Political Thriller Movies
The best political thrillers that were books before they were films