The Rap Sheet

02/11/2025

Shortlisted contenders for Ireland's 2025 Crime Fiction Book of the Year award.
https://therapsheet.blogspot.com/2025/11/cast-your-irish-ayes-here.html

01/11/2025

Also to be mentioned: Reading fiction allows you to escape into another world--one where love, comfort, and patience might be in greater supply. (Via my good friend Ali Karim.)

01/11/2025

This seems like a book that's appropriate for October 31!

Invisible Men , edited by Basil Davenport (Ballantine, 1960). With a title that immediately brings to mind H.G. Wells’ haunting science...

31/10/2025

9 Nail-Biting Narratives for Halloween.
https://www.washingtonindependentreviewofbooks.com/features/9-nail-biting-narratives-for-halloween

"We know: Nothing is more terrifying right now than the day’s headlines. But still. If you’d rather tuck into some fictional frights this Halloween, here’s a handful to get you started!"

31/10/2025

Recalling Orson Welles' panic-provoking (or not) dramatization of "The War of the Worlds."

With Halloween nigh upon us, I am reminded of one of the most outlandish modern stories linked to this annual celebration. Yes, I’m talkin...

31/10/2025

Because who doesn't love a good fright every October 31?

Main Theme: “Summer Thunder, Summer Rain” Composed and performed by Thomas McNulty Sounds and effects by MacBook Pro. Library. Some Graphics Courtesy of Foot...

31/10/2025

The first of two Halloween-related YouTube videos from Tim McNulty.

7 Haunting Halloween Books to Tingle Your Spine!Main Theme: “Summer Thunder, Summer Rain” Composed and performed by Thomas McNulty Sounds and effects by MacB...

31/10/2025

26/10/2025

Among the most interesting recent crime and thriller releases are works by Tim Sullivan, Sophie Hannah, Lee Goldberg, Louise Penny, Aaron Philip Clark, and Sherry Thomas.

Critiquing some of the most interesting recent crime, mystery, and thriller releases. Click on the individual covers to read more. ...

24/10/2025

The Rap Sheet's latest wrap-up of crime-fiction news includes notes about the 2025 Petrona Award winner, Publishers Weekly's favorite mystery and thriller novels of the year, the return of Ted Danson's "A Man on the Inside," and much more.
https://therapsheet.blogspot.com/2025/10/passing-word-around.html

24/10/2025

"The author and former spy revisits a spy classic with Polly Stewart."

I’ve met enough crime writers in the past decade to say confidently that a lot of us don’t have much experience with the things we’re writing about. We might know a lot about trauma and injustice, …

23/10/2025

In his second "Book Into Film" essay, Randal S. Brandt compares the 1944 noir flick "Phantom Lady" (favorably, we can say) with its source material: Cornell Woolrich's 1942 novel of the same name.

(Editor’s note: This is the second installment in a series comparing noteworthy crime, mystery, and thriller novels against their Hollywood...