Join Amazon Prime and get unlimited Free One-Day Delivery. Already a member? Sign in.

 

or
Sign in to turn on 1-Click ordering.
 
   
More Buying Choices
48 used & new from £0.01
Have one to sell? Sell yours here
 
   
The Rough Guide to Crime Fiction (Rough Guides Reference Titles)
 
 
Share your own customer images
Search inside this book

The Rough Guide to Crime Fiction (Rough Guides Reference Titles) (Paperback)

by Barry Forshaw (Author), Ian Rankin (Introduction) "With a little ingenuity, it is possible to find literary antecedents to the modern crime novel far back in history ..." (more)
4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
RRP: £7.99
Price: £5.99 & this item Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions
You Save: £2.00 (25%)
In stock.
Dispatched from and sold by Amazon.co.uk. Gift-wrap available.

Want guaranteed delivery by Tuesday, July 7? Choose Express delivery at checkout. See Details
38 new from £0.01 10 used from £1.99

Frequently Bought Together

Customers buy this book with 100 Must-read Crime Novels (Bloomsbury Good Reading Guide) by Nick Rennison

The Rough Guide to Crime Fiction (Rough Guides Reference Titles) + 100 Must-read Crime Novels (Bloomsbury Good Reading Guide)
Price For Both: £10.98

One of these items ships sooner than the other. Show details

Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought

100 Must-read Crime Novels (Bloomsbury Good Reading Guide)

100 Must-read Crime Novels (Bloomsbury Good Reading Guide)

by Nick Rennison
£4.99
The Rough Guide to Classic Novels (Rough Guides Reference Titles)

The Rough Guide to Classic Novels (Rough Guides Reference Titles)

by Simon Mason
4.7 out of 5 stars (3)  £5.99
The Cambridge Companion to Crime Fiction (Cambridge Companions to Literature)

The Cambridge Companion to Crime Fiction (Cambridge Companions to Literature)

by Martin Priestman
£18.04
Crime Fiction, 1800-2000: Detection, Death, Diversity

Crime Fiction, 1800-2000: Detection, Death, Diversity

by Stephen Knight
£17.09
The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher: or the Murder at Road Hill House

The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher: or the Murder at Road Hill House

by Kate Summerscale
3.1 out of 5 stars (176)  £3.99
› Explore similar items

Product details

  • Paperback: 320 pages
  • Publisher: Rough Guides; 1 edition (7 Jun 2007)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 1843536544
  • ISBN-13: 978-1843536543
  • Product Dimensions: 16 x 11.6 x 1.6 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 111,117 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

    Popular in these categories:

    #60 in  Books > Poetry, Drama & Criticism > Literary Reference
    #63 in  Books > Crime, Thrillers & Mystery > Authors, A-Z > R > Rankin, Ian > Complete List

    •  Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?

Product Description

Product Description
The Rough Guide to Crime Fiction takes the reader on a guided tour of the mean streets and blind corners that make up the world’s most popular literary genre. The insider’s book recommends over 200 classic crime novels from masterminds Raymond Chandler and Patricia Highsmith to modern hotshots James Elroy and Patricia Cornwall. You’ll investigate gumshoes, spies, spooks, serial killers, forensic females, prying priests and patsies from the past, present, and future. Complete with extra information on what to read next, all movie adaptions, and illustrated throughout with photos and diagrams …all the evidence that counts

About the Author
Barry Forshaw reviews crime fiction for The Independent and The Express, and edits Crime Time magazine
Inside This Book (Learn More)
First Sentence
With a little ingenuity, it is possible to find literary antecedents to the modern crime novel far back in history. Read the first page
Browse Sample Pages
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
Search inside this book:

Suggested Tags from Similar Products

 (What's this?)
Be the first one to add a relevant tag (keyword that's strongly related to this product)
Check a corresponding box or enter your own tags in the field below
(1)
(1)
(1)

Your tags: Add your first tag
 
See most popular tags

What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?

The Rough Guide to Crime Fiction (Rough Guides Reference Titles)
83% buy the item featured on this page:
The Rough Guide to Crime Fiction (Rough Guides Reference Titles) 4.0 out of 5 stars (1)
£5.99
100 Must-read Crime Novels (Bloomsbury Good Reading Guide)
8% buy
100 Must-read Crime Novels (Bloomsbury Good Reading Guide)
£4.99
Crime Fiction (New Critical Idiom)
4% buy
Crime Fiction (New Critical Idiom) 5.0 out of 5 stars (2)
£12.34
The Crime Writer's Guide to Police Practice and Procedure
3% buy
The Crime Writer's Guide to Police Practice and Procedure 5.0 out of 5 stars (4)
£6.99
Explore similar items
 

Customer Reviews

1 Review
5 star:    (0)
4 star:
 (1)
3 star:    (0)
2 star:    (0)
1 star:    (0)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
4.0 out of 5 stars (1 customer review)
 
 
 
 
Share your thoughts with other customers:
Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars A good guide but some flaws in the coverage, 30 Jun 2007
This is a useful book for both crime afficionados wanting tips on some more obscure new directions and for newcomers who just want to know where to start.

Each chapter recommends and reviews a selection of crime novels (over 200 in total) and there are the usual Rough Guide boxes and sidebars on related areas such as films, author profiles and crime genres. The chapters are organised thematically and range from the origins of crime fiction (Edgar Allan Poe, Conan Doyle) and the 'golden age' (Christie, Allingham, Sayers) through hard-boiled (Chandler, Hammett, Thompson) to more contemporary genres such as police procedural, espionage, serial killers, organized crime etc. The reviews maintain a fine balance between criticism and enthusiasm and cleverly avoid the 'spoiler' pitfalls of revealing too much plot.

The book is much stronger on contemporary writers and most of the selections are books published in the last 30 years so if you want lots of recommendations for 'classic' golden age novels then you would be better served looking elsewhere. Despite the focus on the contemporary, the book has several flaws - it is fairly weak on foreign fiction despite there being one chapter devoted to this and contains nothing on important writers such as Jean-Patrick Manchette, Peter Hoeg, Jo Nesbo, Ake Edwardson, Janwillem van de Wetering, Manuel Vazquez Montalban, Luiz Alfredo Garcia-Roza, Massimo Carlotto, Jose Carlos Somoza etc. There are also a number of important contemporary writers who are also absent (the outstanding John Franklin Bardin, Don Winslow, Jonathan Lethem, Christopher Fowler, Andrew Vachss, Jeff Lindsay, Reginald Hill, Ken Bruen, Shane Stevens etc). While there will always be constraints on who to include because of space considerations, I find it strange that writers of this calibre were omitted and yet space was found for hacks such as Andy McNab, Chris Ryan and Michael Crichton. There are also a number of errors (The Godfather was published in 1969 not 1978, it's Iain not Ian Sinclair, Rankin's 2006 book was The Naming of the Dead etc.) but these are minor quibbles.

In summary a good first attempt and I hope that it is successful enough for a 2nd edition to include some of the great writers above. Oh, and where is Face on the Cutting Room Floor...?
Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)


Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
 
 
 
Only search this product's reviews


Customer Discussions

 Beta (What's this?)
This product's forum (0 discussions)
  Discussion Replies Latest Post
  No discussions yet

Ask questions, Share opinions, Gain insight
Start a new discussion
Topic:
First post:
Prompts for sign-in
  [Cancel]


Active discussions in related forums
   
Related forums

Listmania!

Create a Listmania! list

Look for similar items by category

Look for similar items by subject



















i.e., each product must be in subject 1 AND subject 2 AND ...

Feedback

The Body Shop

The Body Shop - Vitamin C Skin Boost
Protect and boost your glow with The Body Shop Vitamin C Skin Boost.

›Shop The Body Shop

  

Make A Wish

Get what you want with an Amazon.co.uk Wish List Make sure you always get what you want with an Amazon.co.uk Wish List.

›More info on Wish Lists

  

Up to 53% off Braun Series Shavers

Braun Series 3 390cc Clean & Renew System Rechargeable Foil Electric Shaver
Get in touch with your smooth side with Braun Series shavers, now with Gillette blade technology.

›Discover Braun Series at Amazon.co.uk

  

Treat Someone

Amazon.co.uk Gift Certificates--available in any amount from £5 to £500 With an Amazon.co.uk Gift Certificate, you can get them what they want (even if you don't know what that is).

›Learn more about Gift Certificates

  
Ad

Where's My Stuff?

Delivery and Returns

Need Help?

Your Recent History

  (What's this?)
You have no recently viewed items or searches.

After viewing product detail pages or search results, look here to find an easy way to navigate back to pages you are interested in.

Look to the right column to find helpful suggestions for your shopping session.
Continue Shopping: Top Sellers

amazon.co.uk Amazon Home
International Sites:  United States  |  Germany  |  France  |  Japan  |  Canada  |  China
Business Programs: Sell on Amazon  |  Fulfilment by Amazon  |  Join Associates  |  Join Advantage
Customer Service  |  Help  |  View Basket  |  Your Account
About Amazon.co.uk  |  Careers at Amazon
Conditions of Use & Sale |  Privacy Notice  © 1996-2009, Amazon.com, Inc. and its affiliates