At last fall's Bouchercon, we asked mystery authors Rhys Bowen and Lauren Henderson to talk about the perception that the "cozy" mystery gets no critical respect. During a panel on transgression and taboo, Lauren stated that writing a cozy is perhaps the most transgressive thing one can do in crime fiction today, and she elaborates on that thought in this video interview. Rhys, who doesn't like the term "cozy" (and neither do we; we think the mystery fiction landscape is much, much more diverse than the cozy vs. noir distinction would imply), is a little bit tired of having her...

[dropcap]D[/dropcap]o you know your funny mysteries? Prove it! In The Hot Rock, by Donald Westlake, Murch lives with his mother. What do they like to listen to? Sharyn McCrumb’s Edgar-winning Bimbos of the Death Sun takes place at what kind of convention? “Edmund Crispin” was the pseudonym for composer Bruce Montgomery. For what successful series of lowbrow English movies was he somewhat embarrassed to have written the scores? Bernie Rhodenbarr, hero of Lawrence Block’s “The Burglar Who…” series, owns a second-hand bookshop and supplements his income with the occasional spot of larceny. What does his best friend do for a...

[dropcap]I[/dropcap] dunno about you, but this time of year – with the icy chill still shivering in the air, piles of frozen slush making the sidewalks treacherous and slippy, Spring about eleven years away and nothing to do but diet and tot up the holiday bills – is always a bit of a bummer for me. Blotto #2 to the rescue! Seriously, other than re-reading Wodehouse (and don’t think I won’t!) I can’t think of many better antidotes to the seasonal glums. And who doesn’t dig a discount? Add to Stack And if you’ve still got the blues? Here’s a...

[dropcap]I[/dropcap]t’s no accident that “Chicago” is set in the 1920s: That decade (fueled, perhaps, by bathtub gin and the gangland violence with which it did the foxtrot) was an absolute hotbed of crime. Which of the mysteries and dastardly deeds listed below did not occur in the 1920s: The kidnapping of Aimee Semple McPherson Ruth Snyder’s “Double Indemnity murder” The disappearance of Judge Crater The murder of Bobby Franks by Leopold and Loeb The Cottingley Fairies hoax The Saint Valentine’s Day Massacre The kidnapping of the Lindbergh Baby The Piltdown Man hoax The disappearance of Agatha Christie The execution of...

[dropcap]I[/dropcap]f steamy August offers the “dog days” of Summer, what are Winter’s icy equivalents? No matter: It’s gray and chilly, and we could use a nice warm chuckle. Simon Brett to the rescue! You may know and love his “Charles Paris” series, but if you have yet to discover his latest, the Blotto and Twinks series, do we have a treat for you. We're about to go to press on the fourth title in that series (Blotto, Twinks and the Bootlegger's Moll, set mostly in Chicago during the Prohibition, which is a hoot and a half and has already started...