How do police departments use/search partial license plate information in their investigations? Or incomplete information about cars generally? [more inside]
posted by Admiral Haddock on Apr 18, 2013 - 5 answers

Seeking recommendations for (non-American/British) crime novels that also serve as interesting social commentary [more inside]
posted by 1901gunner on Dec 2, 2012 - 17 answers

Help me identify a book I read in the mid-90's! All I remember about it is that it was a crime novel, about a guy on death row, and the big surprise at the end of the book is that he and his lawyer (an ostensibly straight married man) wind up having some kind of sexual encounter before the client is executed. At least I think that is what happened - I could be making up some of the details. But hopefully this is enough to go on - thanks, book sleuths!
posted by Neely O'Hara on Jun 1, 2012 - 3 answers

I know everybody asks this (and I've read through the previous questions looking for recommendations), but what should I watch next? Preferably on Netflix or Hulu Plus (not web only). In general, I tend to like: mysteries/crime procedurals/law dramas, especially with a quirky twist, and also shows involving a quirky band of misfits (or individual) working outside the law to bring justice to the little people while finding out who done them wrong (e.g. the A-Team, Burn Notice, The Pretender, etc.) I also like heist shows and sci-fi. And occasionally anime. [more inside]
posted by kittenmarlowe on Feb 6, 2012 - 59 answers

What-was-that-book-filter: 70's or 80's (?) heist (?) novel that involved shutting down L.A. by closing a couple of freeways and the central telephone switching system. [more inside]
posted by dersins on Jul 15, 2011 - 10 answers

I want to read new crime fiction and/or mystery short stories. Where should I look? [more inside]
posted by dersins on Aug 18, 2010 - 6 answers

Where can I find out more about the investigation techniques used by private investigators? [more inside]
posted by reenum on Jan 19, 2009 - 9 answers

I will be traveling through Toronto (from Detroit area) on the way to Muskoka soon and I am looking for some good bookstores in the region. I am interested in everything, but I really have a yen for good mystery and crime fiction. Any ideas?
posted by cows of industry on Oct 1, 2008 - 10 answers

Great British mystery television shows/movies? My girlfriend and I are both rabid fans of good, old-fashioned British whodunnits. Nothing like a rainy Sunday curled up in the sofa to watch an insufferable amateur detective line up a bunch of eccentric upper-class Brits by the fireplace to expose their innermost red herrings: Poirot, Miss Marple, Jonathan Creek, Cadfael, Inspector Alleyn, Sherlock Holmes, Gosford Park -- we have pretty much watched them all, including numerous Agatha Christie movie adaptations. What else is out there? Must be British, or feature mainly Brits; extra points for smoking jackets, quaint little villages in Dorset, vintage automobiles and funny little Frenchmen. (We don't like modern police procedurals that much, though; Inspector Morse is all right, but not quite our cup of tea.)
posted by gentle on Jan 4, 2008 - 34 answers

I have a vague, sketchy recollection of a book series I used to read in 2nd and 3rd grade (20 years ago). It was about two young girls, friends, who solved mysteries together. They also had a dog that loved salami. I believe the were normal books, not comic books, but each book had cartoony pictures of "crime scenes" and such, with little arrows pointing out certain clues (kinda like Bernie Mac, except funny). Anyone have any idea what I'm talking about?
posted by emptybowl on Jul 9, 2004 - 6 answers