Bloody Murder: From the Detective Story to the Crime Novel: A History

A history of the genre which is very good. But the greater value of this publication is that it gives a long time crime novel reviewer's brutally honest opinion of what he has read. And boy oh boy has he read a lot in eighty years! It will be a great time saver for those who want to spend their precious time reading only the best, what qualifies to be called literature. Interesting to see the criticisms he had about many raved about writers such as Thomas Harris, James Ellroy, Andrew Vachss and others who managed to sell so much. Unfortunately this guide was finished around 1990 so there is nothing about writers making their first appearance in the last 20 years. But still a valuable reference.