The Rap Sheet

Book Into Film: “Phantom Lady” (Editor’s note: This is the second installment in a series comparing noteworthy crime, mystery, and thriller novels against their Hollywood...

In his second "Book Into Film" essay, Randal S. Brandt compares the 1944 noir flick "Phantom Lady" (favorably, we can say) with its source material: Cornell Woolrich's 1942 novel of the same name. therapsheet.blogspot.com/2025/10/book...

Australians pick their “Top 100 Books of the 21st Century,” including several crime, mystery, and thriller works. therapsheet.blogspot.com/2025/10/a-qu...

Who is Dora Myrl, Victorian Lady Detective? Dora Myrl is the protagonist of twelve stories by M. M. Bodkin (a male author) that were serialized in Parsons Weekly from May through August 1899, before being published in a single volume called …

"This obscure detective character from 1899 speaks to the tension about a women's 'place' in society." crimereads.com/who-is-dora-...

How Controlling and Coercive Behaviour can lead to Murder The young woman glanced nervously from side to side. She didn’t often walk home alone from the station in the dark, and she didn’t like it. She was usually accompanied by a female work colleague wh…

Felix Francis: "Often the behavior creeps up on a victim over time, such that they aren’t even aware they are being abused." crimereads.com/how-controll...

All the Other times the Louvre was Robbed Good morning CrimeReads! As you know, there was a REAL LIFE jewel robbery at the Louvre on Sunday. I know, it’s insane. It’s the stuff of crime fiction… the stuff of heist movies&…

People keep robbing the Louvre! crimereads.com/all-the-othe...

A Jan. 6 insurrectionist named Christopher Moynihan, who was among the hundreds Trump pardoned in January, has been arrested for making a death threat against House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.). Moynihan said he planned to kill Jeffries in New York City.

News Alerts Read more here.

🚨BREAKING: The State of Arizona filed a lawsuit accusing House Speaker Mike Johnson of violating the Constitution by refusing to swear in Representative-elect Adelita Grijalva. The plaintiffs argue that Johnson’s delay has deprived hundreds of thousands of Arizonans of representation.

It’s hard to convey just how much Chicagoans are mobilizing against ICE. Don’t want to downplay the harm, or make it seem like a fair fight. But in neighborhoods across this city, ICE is getting chased by people blowing whistles and shouting. People are running TOWARD ICE to protect their neighbors.

The Outsize Influence of Wales on Fantasy, Music, and Movies Wales is a country with a population of 3.1 million. It’s about 8,000 square miles, which means it could fit inside Texas roughly 26 times. People like to debate whether Wales even counts as a coun…

Anna Fiteni examines the influence of Welsh culture on Fleetwood Mac, Lord of the Rings, Hayao Miyazaki, and so much more.

Part of a series honoring the late author and blogger Bill Crider.
therapsheet.blogspot.com/2025/10/pape...

Experience the world of Agatha Christie with these great gifts! [Sponsored] us.laurenceking.com/collections/...

DC! This Mon, Oct 20 at 7 PM, join me at Jackie Lee’s (116 Kennedy St NW) to celebrate Crime Ink: Iconic! Hannah Grieco will interview me, Cheryl Head & Diana DiGiangi. Plus, top DC writers share queer authors who’ve inspired their work. 🍸 Get tix now! loyaltybookstores.com/noirbar1

Sue Monk Kidd on Finding a Flow State in Writing This first appeared in Lit Hub’s Craft of Writing newsletter—sign up here. The creative act of writing has brought meaning into my life in myriad ways, but it made itself known initially in the exp…

“Writing, it turns out, is a difficult joy.” Sue Monk Kidd on finding a flow state.

A box overlaid on a map showing southern England, with London prominently marked. The box features bold black text reading: "NO TYRANTS INDIVISIBLE LONDON UK" Below this heading, the event details are listed: Date: Sat, Oct 18 Time: 1:00 PM – 3:00 PM EDT Location: US EMBASSY LONDON (UK) The time and date information is accompanied by red calendar and map pin icons. At the bottom of the flyer is a large red button labeled “RSVP” in white text.

Lol that the London No Kings event is called No Tyrants because…you know…

www.nokings.org#map

Trump’s Secret Police Shot a Citizen. Then Damning New Info Emerged. As the official Trump administration line about the shooting of a Chicago woman crumbles, Senator Chris Murphy is asking pointed questions about what really happened here. Will we ever get answers?

Important: Sen Chris Murphy just sent pointed questions to Kristi Noem about DHS's account of shooting of US citizen by Trump's paramilitary forces in Chicago. The official line is imploding. Murphy wants Noem to explain why DHS misled. More like this, Ds.

New piece:
newrepublic.com/article/2019...

What I don't have in experience, I make up for in integrity.

And what Andrew Cuomo lacks in integrity, he could never make up for with experience.

🐸

Pritzker: "Stephen Miller is clearly ordering people to break the law. So he should know that yeah, it may be three years from now that he is held accountable, but I think it's important for them to know that whatever they do now, it's not like we're going to forget."

Cuomo had better learn how to say “Mayor Mamdani” correctly, because he got smoked last night.🔥

He first threatened sanctions on Jan 19 if Russia didn’t cease fire. He has threatened to impose them many times since then. It is now Oct 17. He has done nothing.

Deadline reports that Amazon Prime has greenlighted a "Bosch" prequel series from MGM+ Studios titled "Bosch: Start of Watch" that will explore the protagonist’s original story.
therapsheet.blogspot.com/2025/10/wher...

10/17/2025- No Kings www.timesfreepress.com/news/2025/oc...

“We Have Always Lived in the Castle,”<br> by Shirley Jackson We Have Always Lived in the Castle , by Shirley Jackson (Popular Library, 1963). This mystery yarn was first published in hardcover in 19...

This William Teason-painted paperback cover from 1963 is both beautiful and haunting.
killercoversoftheweek.blogspot.com/2025/10/we-h...

Max Allan Collins has unveiled the cover of "Quarry’s Reunion," his 18th novel starring the killer-for-hire known only as Quarry. The book is due out in late 2026, with artwork by Paul Mann. killercoversoftheweek.blogspot.com/2025/10/cele...

Another new Sam Spade story from Mark Coggins, the return of "Miss Scarlet," Oxford's John le Carré exhibition, and more crime-fiction-related news. therapsheet.blogspot.com/2025/10/of-s...

Five Horror Films Set in Hospitals Man, how good was The Pitt? There’s something about a medical drama that will always get me. From ER to Scrubs, from MASH to New Amsterdam, stories about doctors, nurses, medical care in general, n…

Caitling Starling considers the cinema of medicalized body horror. crimereads.com/five-horror-...

California, this November 4th, the whole country is counting on you.

Prop 50 puts our elections back on a level playing field, preserves independent redistricting over the long term, and lets the people decide.

So return your ballot today. Vote yes on 50.

A cartoon of a vampire with a shepherd's crook, herding ghosts like sheep. A crumbling old castle stands in the background. The vampire looks warily at a gathering storm overhead. The caption reads, "It was time to get the flock back to the castle."

The case before the Supreme Court is called Louisiana v. Callais, a redistricting dispute that has become a major test of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 (VRA), the landmark civil rights law designed to protect Black Americans and other minorities from being shut out of political representation.