The Association Blog

The small screen seems to attract serial killer narratives like a magnet, whether in the form of true crime documentaries like Night Stalker, shows that engage directly with serial killer lore (think Mindhunter), or ones that feature serial killers as primary or secondary plot devices (Dexter is a good example, or even The Mentalist on CBS, a show which introduced me to this subgenre as a teenager). In spite of their popularity, I try hard to avoid them. Serial killer narratives have their own tropic elements, most of which make me deeply uncomfortable. ​

Love can drive you crazy, right? What better way to celebrate the most romantic day of the year than to indulge in stories of love gone very, VERY wrong?

​This month on the Association Blog, our team has put together a list of our top ValenCrimes reads that range from power couples of crime fiction to fatal attractions and dangerous liaisons. 

And so it is Christmas… we would like to wish a very Merry Christmas to our wonderful delegates! Let’s hope 2022 brings more promise than 2021 (and, of course, the unspeakable 2020).

We thought we would put together a list of quality crime fiction recommendations to indulge over the festive season for those Christmas lovers (and Grinches!) What’s your favourite Christmas Crime binge?  

She gave us intricate plots, red herrings, and iconic detectives in the form of Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple—born on this day in 1890, Agatha Christie is credited with revolutionising the mystery genre. Her first novel, The Mysterious Affair at Styles (1920) which celebrated its hundred and first birthday this year, was written after a bet with her sister Madge and inspired by the Belgium refugees in the wake of the first world war. Four years and six rejections later, the novel was published—earning her the meagre price of twenty-five pounds for her pains.

Though the plot revolves around a murder at a hunting weekend set in the British countryside, the aspect of the crime itself seems to move into the periphery of the narrative, allowing space for the actual central theme of the film: the many characters and their interclass relations. ​American director, Robert Altman, boldly claimed: “I don’t call it a whodunit so much as I call it a who cares whodunit” (Altman and Fellowes) when describing his film, Gosford Park (2001), which combines the genre of British heritage films with the classic whodunit narrative (Dalrymple 2). Indeed,  as viewers, we might sympathize with this quote when considering the critical social undercurrent of the narrative. 

To celebrate the 128th Birthday of Dorothy L. Sayers, we've asked Dr. Eric Sandberg to give us a glimpse into the life and legacy of this prolific writer and critic, and her wider impact on one of the most fruitful periods in the history of crime fiction.

The next volume in the prestigious McFarland Companions to Mystery Fiction series is now available for preorder. Dorothy L. Sayers: A Companion to the Mystery Fiction by Eric Sandberg (no. 11 in the series) looks at the life and work of the creator of sleuths Lord Peter Wimsey and Montague Egg.