What would a person have to do in order to get a one year jail sentence in the California penal system. [more inside]
posted on Feb 15, 2008 - 18 answers

I need to read something in Spanish. I want excellent writing, with involving plots, and it must be in print. Good detective fiction perhaps? [more inside]
posted on Aug 6, 2007 - 22 answers

Know any good horror/crime fiction? [more inside]
posted on Oct 11, 2006 - 27 answers

Can you libel someone in fiction if you don't use their name? If I were to write a story based on a real murder, in which anyone from my home town would instantly recognize the source, can an acquitted murderer sue me? [more inside]
posted on Jul 27, 2006 - 18 answers

I'm a pretty dedicated reader, but one of the genres I haven't explored much is classic crime/noir fiction. (I do love James Ellroy, but that's about all I've read.) I know that the big guns are Dashiell Hammett, Raymond Chandler, and Jim Thompson. Any suggestions as to which titles to start with (The Maltese Falcon, The Thin Man, and The Grifters all come to mind first, of course, because of the films), as well as other authors to consider? I'd also be happy to entertain suggestions of really high quality true crime, though my hunch is that In Cold Blood is probably unbeatable.
posted on Mar 30, 2005 - 42 answers