Tired of the rain? Sick of crime in the streets? Take on both at once with an “Umbuster,” an umbrella with brass knuckles for a handle. This product has been around for a while, but I only heard about it this morning (that’s me, always late to the party—probably because I can’t find my umbrella!)…
Here in NYC, the Transit Authority has adopted the slogan: “If you see something, say something.” That is, if you notice someone leaving a bag or package on a bus or train, tell the cops as it may contain a bomb or the like. But there’s something else people leave behind that may also be…
There’s not much that can tempt me to read a young adult novel. (If you don’t believe me, just check out the post I wrote on the topic over at our sister site, Heroes and Heartbreakers.) But I’ll read anything Harlan Coben writes, so I put aside my qualms and snatched Shelter up as soon…
In the fifites, sixties and seventies, before the move to cheap plastic with paper stickers glued on, lunchboxes provided a glimpse into American culture. If you don’t believe me, the fact that just a couple of years ago the Smithsonian had a lunchbox exhibit should convince you. My school served lunch, so I had no…
For many years, The Smoking Gun has been publishing booking photos of celebrities. It’s all public record, but it does seem a bit like kicking someone when they’re down. How sorry we feel for the perpetrators, of course, has a great deal to do with what they are arrested for. Still and all, these celebrities…
Do you wear your fandom on your sleeve? On your wrist? In your ears? Pick your favorite classic mystery writer or character and do an Etsy search and I can pretty much guarantee you’ll be surprised by the results. Like Agatha Christie? You can have an e-reader cover, pins, earrings, pendants, teacups, even Christmas tree…
A while back, Jason Goodwin wrote a post here on Criminal Element about crime fiction as travel writing. He concentrated on series authors, who have the space to go into detail on various cities, but I also appreciate a book that takes me multiple places in a single read. This is the case with The…
Here’s what I learned from TV: if you’re a guy and you go to med school, you’ll probably end up saving lives; if you’re a woman, you’ll probably end up cutting up corpses. Seriously. You can’t swing a dead body in the world of crime television without hitting a female Medical Examiner. At first…
I admit it. I didn’t love Tess Gerritsen’s Ice Cold, and I was nervous that I might be about to lose a favorite author. But with the ninth in her Rizzoli & Isles seris, The Silent Girl, she’s returned to the realistic dialogue and strong sense of place that has always made me look forward…
The Internet has been all a-twitter (if you’ll excuse the pun) about Amazon’s two new publishing imprints, first Montlake Romance and then Thomas & Mercer, a mystery and thriller imprint. Most of the buzz, naturally, comes from authors wondering what these new venues might mean for them, but I am intrigued by what they mean…
