Crime fiction

Crime fiction is a genre of fiction that deals with crimes, their detection, criminals, and their motives. It is usually distinguished from mainstream fiction and other genres such as science fiction or historical fiction, but boundaries can be, and indeed are, blurred. It has several sub-genres, including detective fiction (including the whodunnit), legal thriller, courtroom drama, and hard-boiled fiction.

Availability of crime novels

Quality and availability

As with any other entity, quality of a crime fiction book is not in any meaningful proportion to its availability. Some of the crime novels generally regarded as the finest, including those which are regularly chosen by experts as belonging to the best 100 crime novels ever written (see bibliography), have been out of print ever since their first publication, which often dates back to the 1920s or 30s.

Related Topics:
Out of print - 1920s - 30s

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The bulk of books that can be found today on the shelves labelled "Crime" consists of recent first publications usually no older than a few years — books which may or may not some day become "classics"; books which will either be remembered (and reprinted) for a long time to come or forgotten (and not available) tomorrow.

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Classic bestsellers

In other words, the books which are most readily available are those published over the last few years, whether they are selling well or not.

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In addition, a handful of authors have achieved the status of "classics", which means that all or at least most of their novels can be had anywhere anytime.

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A case in point is Agatha Christie, whose mysteries, originally published between 1920 and her death in 1976, are available in both British and U.S. editions practically wherever you go. But also lesser known authors who are still producing books have seen reprints of their earlier works.

Related Topics:
Agatha Christie - 1920 - 1976

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One example is Val McDermid, whose first book appeared as far back as 1987; another is Florida-based author Carl Hiaasen, who has been publishing books since 1981, all of which are readily available.

Related Topics:
Val McDermid - 1987 - Florida - Carl Hiaasen - 1981

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Forgotten classics

On the other hand, English crime writer Edgar Wallace, who was immensely popular with the English readership during the early decades of the 20th century (and who achieved fame in German-speaking countries due to the many B movies made in the 1950s, 60s, and 70s which were based on his novels), had almost been forgotten in his home country until House of Stratus eventually started republishing many of his 170 books around the turn of the millennium. Similarly, the books by the equally successful American author Erle Stanley Gardner (1889–1970), creator of the lawyer Perry Mason, which have frequently been adapted for film, radio, and TV, were only recently republished in the United Kingdom — books such as The Case of the Stuttering Bishop (1937), The Case of the Green-Eyed Sister (1953), etc.

Related Topics:
Edgar Wallace - B movie - 1950s - 60s - 70s - Erle Stanley Gardner - 1889 - 1970 - Perry Mason - The Case of the Stuttering Bishop - 1937 - The Case of the Green-Eyed Sister - 1953

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Even television adaptations are not enough to save some authors. Gladys Mitchell rivalled Agatha Christie for UK sales in the 1930s and 1940s but only one of her 66 novels remains in print despite a

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BBC television series of the Mrs. Bradley Mysteries in 1999.

Related Topics:
BBC - Mrs. Bradley Mysteries

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Revival of past classics

From time to time publishing houses decide, seemingly at random, to revive long-forgotten authors and reissue one or two of their better-known novels. Apart from Penguin Books, who for this purpose have resorted to their old green cover and dug out some of their vintage authors, Pan started a series in 1999 entitled "Pan Classic Crime", which includes a handful of novels by Eric Ambler, but also American Hillary Waugh's Last Seen Wearing .... In 2000, Edinburgh-based Canongate Books started a series called "Canongate Crime Classics", in which they published John Franklin Bardin's The Deadly Percheron (1946) — both a whodunnit and a roman noir about amnesia and insanity — and other novels. For some strange reason, however, books brought out by smaller publishers like Canongate Books are usually not stocked by the larger bookshops and overseas booksellers.

Related Topics:
Penguin Books - 1999 - Eric Ambler - Hillary Waugh - Last Seen Wearing ... - 2000 - Edinburgh - John Franklin Bardin - The Deadly Percheron - 1946 - Whodunnit - Roman noir - Amnesia - Insanity

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Sometimes older crime novels are revived by screenwriters and directors rather than publishing houses. In many such cases, publishers then follow suit and release a so-called "film tie-in" edition showing a still from the movie on the front cover and the film credits on the back cover of the book — yet another marketing strategy aimed at those cinemagoers who may want to do both: first read the book and then watch the film (or vice versa).

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Recent examples include Patricia Highsmith's The Talented Mr. Ripley (originally published in 1955), Ira Levin's Sliver (1991), with the cover photograph depicting a steamy sex scene between Sharon Stone and William Baldwin straight from the 1993 movie, and, again, Bret Easton Ellis's American Psycho (1991). Bloomsbury Books on the other hand have launched what they call "Bloomsbury Film Classics" — a series of original novels on which feature films were based.

Related Topics:
Patricia Highsmith - The Talented Mr. Ripley - 1955 - Ira Levin - Sliver - 1991 - Sharon Stone - William Baldwin - 1993 - Bret Easton Ellis - American Psycho

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This series includes, for example, Ethel Lina White's novel The Wheel Spins (1936), which Alfred Hitchcock — before he went to Hollywood — turned into a much-loved movie entitled The Lady Vanishes (1938), and Ira Levin's (born 1929) science fiction thriller The Boys from Brazil (1976), which was filmed in 1978.

Related Topics:
Ethel Lina White - 1936 - Alfred Hitchcock - Hollywood - The Lady Vanishes - 1938 - Ira Levin - 1929 - The Boys from Brazil - 1976 - 1978

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Older novels can often be retrieved from the ever-growing Project Gutenberg database.

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