Brash Blog

Big Ideas and Big Names in suspense from Brash Books

Get the big ideas from the biggest names in suspense on the Brash Books blog. Here, you'll find posts by some of your favorite mystery authors sharing their views on crime fiction - along with inside stories about everything from how they wrote their bestselling thrillers to what inspires them.

You'll also hear from experts in the mystery and suspense genre, along with fans, publishing insiders, and of course, Brash Books. Posts will range from informative to controversial - but you can bet every one will be a compelling read. This is your destination to explore great crime fiction writing - past, present and future - from the authors, readers, and publishers who keep it alive.

Delilah West – Crime Fiction’s First Female Private Eye

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Death is Forever by author Maxine O'Callaghan

Bestselling author Marcia Muller, creator of the Sharon McCone mysteries, talks about her fondness for Maxine O’Callaghan’s groundbreaking private eye, Delilah West. Before dozens of fictional female private investigators took to the mean streets, Delilah West had already solved her first case, in the short story, “A Change of Clients.” Before dozens of women authors began to alter the face of a previously male-dominated subgenre, Maxine O’Callaghan introduced her engaging detective to wide audiences in the action-packed and emotionally charged novel Death is Forever. Now this impressive start to an excellent series has been re-issued by Brash Books. Readers who are already... more

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The Owl Packs a Punch

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Justice Never Sleeps by author Bob Forward

The premise is right there on the cover: "Justice Never Sleeps." The Owl is a man who can't fall asleep. Sounds a bit like the the idea Lawrence Block used in his series about Evan Tanner, but the execution is entirely different in this series of thriller books. While Block's books are breezy and funny, The Owl is deadly serious but great fun. It's also very much in the style of pulp novels about The Spider and The Shadow. The Owl "wanders the streets stalking his prey, hangs out in all-night diners, and never stays in one place long enough to cast a shadow." What the Owl does is get revenge for the people who pay for it. Two years of their salary, whatever that might be, is what he... more

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Female Thriller Authors Bring Girl Power to Crime Fiction

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From gritty detectives to hard-boiled bounty hunters, men might be the face of crime fiction – but any fan of the detective genre knows that women are the heart of it. Female thriller authors have been shaping the mystery genre since it started, breaking ground with bestselling books and beloved heroines. These ladies of crime fiction prove that no bad guy stands a chance when it comes to girl power. Agatha Christie's Groundbreaking Mysteries The biggest, baddest female crime fiction writer of them all, Agatha Christie hasn’t just sold more mysteries than any other author – she’s sold more books than any other author in history. Christie was instrumental during that Golden Age of... more

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My Los Angeles

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Lee Goldberg Author

I grew up near San Francisco, a city with enormous charm and character, a definite center and, thanks to the Bay and the Pacific, obvious borders. San Francisco is a city with such a strong, undeniable personality, that it almost feels like a person to me instead of a place. I assumed, in my inexperience and youth, that all of the great cities of the world would be like that. And I eventually learned that, for the most part, I was right. But not Los Angeles. When I first arrived here in 1980 to go to UCLA, all I saw was endless sprawl, about as colorful and inviting as a parking lot. It was a city seemingly without shape, boundaries or a personality that I could identify. I was lost... more

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How to Write a Murder Mystery

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Lee Goldberg Author

Writing murder mysteries is, by far, the hardest writing I've ever had to do. It’s not enough just to tell a good story, you also have to come up with a challenging puzzle. It's twice as much work for the same money. There is no right way to devise a murder mystery. Every author has his own approach, one that’s every bit as unique as his literary voice. For me, it never starts with the murder. It always begins with the detective, especially if the story I am setting out to tell is part of an ongoing series. The idea for the mystery will arise from the personality of the hero, and what aspects of his character I want to explore, what arena (a place, industry, sport, culture, etc.)... more

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