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Mystery Fiction Resources
Please note: The presence of a link on this site does not constitute an endorsement by Lincoln City Libraries. Be advised that not all sources on the Internet provide accurate, complete or current information. Users should carefully judge the worth of these sources of information as they would any other resource. Just as libraries do not vouch for or endorse the viewpoints of written material in their collections, they do not do so for electronic information. Web sites may change or disappear without notice. Lincoln City Libraries is not responsible for the content of external sites linked to its Web site.
Click on the logos or highlighted links to connect to each individual site below.
Stop You’re Killing Me — This should be one of the first stops for mystery fans. New Releases schedules for hardback, paperback, Large Type and audio mysteries. Lists of all the major mystery-related literary awards. Indexes to popular mystery fiction based on geographical locations, jobs of the protagonists, historical periods, and cultural diversities. And a very nice collection of Read-Alike lists cross-reference by subgenres and authors.
Fantastic Fiction — Bibliographies for over 10,000 genre authors. Information on over 200,000 individual genre books. Covers science fiction, fantasy, horror, mysteries, thrillers, romance and mainstream fiction. One particularly helpful feature here is a breakdown of all books that authors have written in identifiable series, listed in the order in which they should be read.
The Mystery Writers of America — This is the official web site of the best-known mystery authors support organization, the Mystery Writers of America. Although a large portion of the content is open only to members of MWA, there are still plenty of features for fans, too, including current and forthcoming publication lists, links to hundreds of mystery writers on the web, a calendar of mystery-themed events (conventions, etc.), lists of genre awards and contests, and, of course, information about regional chapters of MWA for aspiring writers. MWA is also the organization responsible for organizing the Edgar Awards, and you’ll find links to the Edgar Award historical archives here.
Mystery Scene – Currently the best-known of the surviving mystery industry magazines, Mystery Scene also maintains this online archive of information as well. The magazine focuses not only on printed genre literature, but also mystery movies, television series and radio programs. The web site maintains an indexed and searchable database of book reviews that appeared in their printed pages, as well as extensive lists of official author web sites.
The Gumshoe Site — News about the mystery publishing industry — author death announcements and obituaries, award nominations and winners, and news about genre bookstores. Hosted in Japan, this site includes links to information in Japanese for Japanese mystery fans.
Mystery Readers International — A fan/reader organization, publishers of the Mystery Readers Journal. Extensive links to mystery periodicals, mystery bookstores, hundreds of reviews, and numerous mystery-related blogs.
The Bloodstained Bookshelf — Simple, text-only lists of scheduled mystery fiction publication schedules, usually available at least a month or two in advance. (Appears to have gone dormant since mid-2019)
Crimetime UK — UK-based site focusing on “crime fiction” exclusively. Lots of useful links to authors, publishers, bookstores and online mystery magazines. Numerous author interviews, book reviews, and news about the crime fiction biz.
Mystery News Magazine — This is the online presence for the award-winning Mystery News magazine. Unfortunately, MN ceased publication with their Oct/Nov 2009 issue, but this web site maintains a useful archive of information for mystery fans, including numerous industry links and photos of dozens of mystery authors from the pages of the magazine.
Looking for a Mystery? — Maintained by a school librarian out of Philadelphia, PA, this is primarily a list of links to mystery-related resources elsewhere on the web. Lots of good sites for book reviews, historical articles, author blogs and much, much more.
In Reference to Murder — Marvelously detailed and inclusive site, maintained by writer B.V. Lawson, including useful links to lots of mystery-related topics, for both authors and readers of genre fiction. Think of this site as your Mystery Reference Shelf for online research purposes.
The Tangled Web — UK-based site with huge lists of genre links, profiles of over 500 authors, forthcoming and past publication lists, hundreds of book reviews, award information, promotional tour listings, and lots of articles about the history of mystery fiction. Not the best organized site on the web, but tons of useful information if you dig far enough. [Update 2019 – Site appears to have gone inactive.]
The Mystery Reader — Regularly updated site for mystery fans, featuring new book reviews, author contact info, information about small presses and news about the mystery publishing field. [Update 2019 – Site appears to have gone inactive.]
This list merely scratches the surface of useful web sites for mystery readers. If you’ve got a favorite you’d like to recommend that we include, send us the info at the BookGuide e-mail link below!