Why am I passionate about this?

I am a storyteller and I conceived The Life of Crime as the ‘life story’ of a fascinating and truly diverse genre. I’ve always been intrigued by the ups and downs of literary lives, and the book explores the rollercoaster careers of writers from across the world. The chapter endnotes contain masses of trivia and information, as well as some original research, that I hope readers will find enjoyable as well as interesting. But The Life of Crime isn’t an academic text. It’s a love letter to a genre that I’ve adored for as long as I can remember.  


I wrote

The Life of Crime: Detecting the History of Mysteries and Their Creators

By Martin Edwards,

Book cover of The Life of Crime: Detecting the History of Mysteries and Their Creators

What is my book about?

In this ground-breaking history of crime fiction, Martin Edwards traces the evolution of the genre from the eighteenth century to…

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The books I picked & why

Book cover of Bloody Murder

Martin Edwards Why did I love this book?

I’ve read Bloody Murder more times than any other non-fiction book. The first edition made a huge impression on me. Symons introduced me to countless fascinating authors and books (many of them obscure) which I’d never heard of and which have given me endless reading pleasure. Symons’ opinions were, and remain, controversial, and his disdain for ‘humdrum’ writing from the ‘Golden Age’ between the wars has attracted much criticism, some of it sensible, some of it over-the-top. His belief that the ‘detective story’ had metamorphosed into the ‘crime novel’ was eloquently argued, but I think mistaken. Today’s readers have just as much of an appetite for an entertaining, well-crafted puzzle as ever. But never mind the flaws; this elegantly written book remains as influential as it is indispensable.

By Julian Symons,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Bloody Murder as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

This history of the various forms and masters of the mystery genre follows the trail through the first pinnacle of detection in the Master Detective stories of the 1930s up to the present


Book cover of Murder for Pleasure: The Life and Times of the Detective Story

Martin Edwards Why did I love this book?

Haycraft was an American commentator and this survey of the history of crime writing up to the Second World War is soundly written and sympathetic. Interestingly, he believed that the locked room puzzle was played out and that authors should avoid it, whereas this type of mystery has enjoyed a significant revival in recent years. Predicting how crime writing will evolve in the future is fraught with danger! Inevitably, Haycraft’s focus was mainly on American and British crime fiction. The limited number of translated mysteries in those days meant that the global reach of crime writing, and the achievements of authors whose first language is not English, has long been under-estimated. Only now is this problem being addressed.   

By Howard Haycraft,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Murder for Pleasure as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

"Genuinely fascinating reading."—The New York Times Book Review
"Diverting and patently authoritative."—The New Yorker
"Grand and fascinating … a history, a compendium and a critical study all in one, and all first rate."—Rex Stout
"A landmark … a brilliant study written with charm and authority."—Ellery Queen
"This book is of permanent value. It should be on the shelf of every reader of detective stories."—Erle Stanley Gardner
Author Howard Haycraft, an expert in detective fiction, traces the genre's development from the 1840s through the 1940s. Along the way, he charts the innovations of Edgar Allan Poe, Wilkie Collins, and Arthur Conan…


Book cover of Locked Room Murders

Martin Edwards Why did I love this book?

This is a fun book. The late Bob Adey’s passion for locked-room puzzles and his extraordinary breadth of reading shines through. After a discursive history of this type of detective story, he lists over two thousand novels and stories and the ‘impossible crime’ elements within them. A separate section listing all the solutions is not only enlightening but highly entertaining. A recent updated edition by Brian Skupin evidences the enduring appeal of ‘miraculous mysteries.’ 

Book cover of Twentieth Century Crime & Mystery Writers

Martin Edwards Why did I love this book?

During my twenties, I supplemented my understanding of crime writers past and present by studying the essays, bibliographies, and authors’ comments in this weighty tome. It’s a first-rate reference book, packed with information. Reilly was responsible for the first two editions and I was delighted to be asked to contribute essays myself to the third and fourth editions.

By John Reilly (editor),

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Twentieth Century Crime & Mystery Writers as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Twentieth-Century Crime Fiction aims to enhance understanding of one of the most popular forms of genre fiction by examining a wide variety of the detective and crime fiction produced in Britain and America during the twentieth century. It will be of interest to anyone who enjoys reading crime fiction but is specifically designed with the needs of students in mind. It introduces different theoretical approaches to crime fiction (e.g., formalist, historicist, psychoanalytic, postcolonial, feminist) and will be a useful supplement to a range of crime fiction courses, whether they focus on historical contexts, ideological shifts, the emergence of sub-genres, or…


Book cover of The Oxford Companion to Crime and Mystery Writing

Martin Edwards Why did I love this book?

I dreamed for many years of writing a book about crime fiction. I’m primarily a crime novelist, but so was Julian Symons, and the experience of writing fiction is invaluable when discussing other writers and understanding what they were trying to do. I approached Oxford University Press, with a view to producing a Companion about the genre, comprising essays by writers including myself. This led to a fruitful meeting with an OUP editor and novelist, Michael Cox, but the project was stillborn when his American colleagues had commissioned just such a book, to be edited by Rosemary Herbert. Rosemary invited me to contribute twenty-odd essays to her Companion, and I found the work of my fellow contributors (including Symons) a delight to read.

By Rosemary Herbert (editor), Catherine Aird (editor), John M. Reilly (editor) , Susan Oleksiw (editor)

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Oxford Companion to Crime and Mystery Writing as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

This companion is a one-volume, alphabetically arranged encyclopedia exploring the full range of literature suggested by the title. The 672 articles range from brief factual pieces to longer synthetic treatments of topics of central thematic interest.


Explore my book 😀

The Life of Crime: Detecting the History of Mysteries and Their Creators

By Martin Edwards,

Book cover of The Life of Crime: Detecting the History of Mysteries and Their Creators

What is my book about?

In this ground-breaking history of crime fiction, Martin Edwards traces the evolution of the genre from the eighteenth century to the present, offering a brand-new perspective on the world’s most popular form of storytelling. He draws on his experience as an award-winning novelist to capture the breadth and complexity of crime writing in a study that is both authoritative and eminently readable. Crime fiction is being read more widely read than ever, and The Life of Crime detects the methods of crime authors and the ups and downs of their literary lives with insight, compassion, and wit. This definitive distillation of more than two centuries of extraordinary books and authors into one coherent history is an extraordinary feat and makes for compelling reading.

Book cover of Bloody Murder
Book cover of Murder for Pleasure: The Life and Times of the Detective Story
Book cover of Locked Room Murders

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Draakensky: A Supernatural Tale of Magick and Romance

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Book cover of Draakensky: A Supernatural Tale of Magick and Romance

Paula Cappa Author Of Draakensky: A Supernatural Tale of Magick and Romance

New book alert!

Why am I passionate about this?

Author

Paula's 3 favorite reads in 2024

What is my book about?

A murder. A wind sorcerer. A dark spirit.

On Draakensky Windmill Estate, magick and mystery rule. Sketch artist Charlotte Knight is hired to live on the estate while illustrating poetry under the direction of the reclusive spinster, and wind witch, Jaa Morland—who believes in ghosts. Charlotte quickly encounters the voice of a ghost and a sinister figure lurking in the shadows. 

Charlotte takes refuge in Marc Sexton, a charismatic local with knowledge of Celtic magick—who wears a silver wolf amulet around his neck. With his dark secrets of the Otherworld and his magickal powers, they delve into a world of…

Draakensky: A Supernatural Tale of Magick and Romance

By Paula Cappa,

What is this book about?

A murder. A wind sorcerer. A dark spirit. On Draakensky, magick dictates destiny.

The Chief of Police discovers an elderly woman dead in the Mianus River. There is a ghost who resides here and flings its words through the spinning air. River magic too, streams across Draakensky Windmill estate, conjuring a secret in Bedford, New York.

Sketch artist Charlotte Knight arrives on Draakensky to a bright opportunity. She is hired to illustrate the poetry of Rainer Maria Rilke under the direction of Jaa Morland, the recluse spinster of Draakensky. Jaa, a believer in ghosts, instructs Charlotte to ‘draw the ghosts.’…


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