# mystery & detective (blogs) — RSS Amplifier Recent posts from the 2 feeds in the RSS Amplifier directory that cover mystery & detective. Page: Feed: --- ## [Book Review: The Silver Fish by Connor Martin](https://www.criminalelement.com/book-review-the-silver-fish-by-connor-martin/) _2026-08-21 · Doreen Sheridan · Criminal Element_ Once Dani Moreau realized that her life of privilege meant that she was better off than the vast majority of the world’s populace, she began looking for a way to make that right. Not through charitable work, as other people in her position might do, but by flinging herself body and soul into investigative journalism.… ## [Cool Machine: A Novel by Colson Whitehead](https://www.criminalelement.com/cool-machine-a-novel-by-colson-whitehead/) _2026-08-21 · Janet Webb · Criminal Element_ Colson Whitehead’s Cool Machine grabbed me from the epigraph, “It’s harder to find a good coffee table than it is to fall in love.” Whitehead is a Picasso of prose, painting pages with ebullient word-pictures. Cool Machine follows Crook Manifesto , which comes after Harlem Shuffle : they comprise the Harlem Trilogy . Ray Carney is the main… ## [Jennifer Hillier on Seaside and Heart of Glass](https://www.criminalelement.com/jennifer-hillier-on-seaside-and-heart-of-glass/) _2026-08-20 · Jennifer Hillier · Criminal Element_ Dear Readers, I first wrote about Seaside – a fictional beach town – in a thriller I published back in 2015. It was loosely inspired by the summers I spent in a small lake town about three hours north of Toronto. For a city kid like me, a small town was a whole different world.… ## [Book Review: The Enigma Challenge by S.C Godfrey](https://www.criminalelement.com/book-review-the-enigma-challenge-by-s-c-godfrey/) _2026-08-17 · Jeff Ayers · Criminal Element_ Writing for the first time as S.C. Godfrey, Sierra Godfrey blends action, intricate puzzles, globe-trotting settings, and romance into one thrilling package. At a cryptology conference in Madrid, Zoe Wilder finally breaks things off with her boyfriend Eric, who’s also her boss and refuses to accept it’s over. While studying the bronze Angel Caído statue… ## [Page to Screen: Pop. 1280/Coup de Torchon](https://www.criminalelement.com/page-to-screen-pop-1280-coup-de-torchon/) _2026-08-14 · Brian Greene · Criminal Element_ Sometimes an especially compelling story can be told in a novel or movie when pretty much all of the characters are morally irredeemable. We all love a literary or cinematic hero for whom we can root, even if it can be said that they are anti-heroes. But can we stay engrossed in such tales if… ## [Book Review: The Beginning of Everything by Charles Salzberg](https://www.criminalelement.com/book-review-the-beginning-of-everything-by-charles-salzberg/) _2026-08-14 · John Valeri · Criminal Element_ Charles Salzberg is a man of words. As an acclaimed novelist, journalist, and writing instructor, he has been selling, and shaping, stories for decades. His five-book series featuring Henry Swann was nominated for a Shamus Award (for Best First PI Novel for Swann’s Last Song ), while his standalone novel, Second Story Man , won the Beverly… ## [Featured Excerpt: Murder Unabridged by P. J. Nelson](https://www.criminalelement.com/featured-excerpt-murder-unabridged-by-p-j-nelson/) _2026-08-14 · Crime HQ · Criminal Element_ 1 There’s a certain lazy delight to be had from a sunset in Enigma, Georgia. Thin clouds drifted in the pale winter sky. A bird, only one, was singing in a bare sycamore tree near the gazebo where I was sitting. The tree had turned blue, and I couldn’t quite understand that. All the sky… ## [Book Review: A Killer in the Family by Amin Ahmad](https://www.criminalelement.com/book-review-a-killer-in-the-family-by-amin-ahmad/) _2026-08-13 · Doreen Sheridan · Criminal Element_ Ali Azeem comes from money, but not the kind of family money you can really compare to the immense wealth of global real estate tycoon Abbas Khan. When Abbas and his wife approach Ali’s parents about potentially arranging Ali’s marriage to their younger daughter Maryam, Ali decides to just grin and bear it, as he’s… ## [Book Review: The Midnight Show by Lee Kelly & Jennifer Thorne](https://www.criminalelement.com/book-review-the-midnight-show-by-lee-kelly-jennifer-thorne/) _2026-08-12 · Doreen Sheridan · Criminal Element_ I’m not even that much of a fan of late-night comedy shows, but this mystery novel, about a variety program modeled on Saturday Night Live , had me in a total chokehold from start to finish. Presented as a collection of documents – interview transcripts, journal entries and magazine articles among them – this highly absorbing… ## [Cooking the Books: All Aboard For Murder by Ellen Byron](https://www.criminalelement.com/cooking-the-books-all-aboard-for-murder-by-ellen-byron/) _2026-08-12 · Doreen Sheridan · Criminal Element_ Former Hollywood script writer Dee Stern is now part owner, with her ex-husband and still best friend Jeff Cornetta, of the family-friendly Golden Motel located in the tiny hamlet of Foundgold, California. Like most of the other locals, they’re looking forward to the festivities celebrating the birthday of Angus Sprockles, and not just because it… ## [Crush Every Threat in Real Time (Sponsored)](https://crawlproof.com/a/gUhWKk4MXQkW) _2026-08-12 · **Sponsored**_ One agent for real-time detection, exposure tracking, and active defense. ## [Gritty Girls Get It Done](https://www.criminalelement.com/gritty-girls-get-it-done/) _2026-08-11 · Archer Sullivan · Criminal Element_ Annie Gore, the Appalachian-born and Louisville-based Private investigator at the heart of The Witch’s Orchard and Brimstone Hollow , is described by readers with one word more than any other: gritty. And it’s true. She’s resolute and plucky. She eats like a horse, throws a mean punch, habitually gets dressed out of the laundry basket, and… ## [Featured Excerpt: The Riddle Maker by Bruce Borgos](https://www.criminalelement.com/featured-excerpt-the-riddle-maker-by-bruce-borgos/) _2026-08-08 · Crime HQ · Criminal Element_ Prologue July 26, 1953 Short Creek, Arizona Before dawn, the earth was still quiet, except for the soft breathing of a few sleepers, the creaking of wooden porches, and somewhere the low hum of hymns. Outside the schoolhouse, children played, bare feet on dirt, a dog barking, a rooster crowing somewhere beyond the fences. Inside,… ## [How to outline a novel](https://uzmajalaluddin.substack.com/p/how-to-outline-a-novel) _2025-02-25 · Uzma Jalaluddin · Uzma’s Substack_ Or at least, a few suggestions that have worked for me ## [How to write a mystery](https://uzmajalaluddin.substack.com/p/how-to-write-a-mystery) _2025-02-06 · Uzma Jalaluddin · Uzma’s Substack_ What I learned from writing my debut mystery, DETECTIVE AUNTY (out May 6, 2025, from HarperCollins and HarperCollins Canada) ## [Cover reveal for my debut mystery, "Detective Aunty"! Out May 6, 2025](https://uzmajalaluddin.substack.com/p/cover-reveal-for-my-debut-mystery) _2025-01-17 · Uzma Jalaluddin · Uzma’s Substack_ Detective Aunty will be published by HarperCollins...and a little bit about the art of covers. ## [How to revise a book-shaped thing](https://uzmajalaluddin.substack.com/p/how-revise-a-book-shaped-thing) _2024-12-12 · Uzma Jalaluddin · Uzma’s Substack_ (without losing your mind) ## [Becoming a published author threw me into an existential spiral](https://uzmajalaluddin.substack.com/p/becoming-a-published-author-threw) _2024-11-25 · Uzma Jalaluddin · Uzma’s Substack_ The random gifts of getting what you want ## [Welcome to my substack!](https://uzmajalaluddin.substack.com/p/welcome-to-my-substack) _2024-11-11 · Uzma Jalaluddin · Uzma’s Substack_ A place where I'll share publishing and other news, writing tips and strategies, and maybe some advice. Plus book recommendations and other things I love! Let's chat.