The Crime Readers' Association

Crime Readers' Association

The CRA was set up by the Crime Writers' Association to give readers news and information from their favourite authors along with tips for new writers working in the genre.

Linda StratmannLinda Stratmann - CWA Chair

Featured
Author

Robert Thorogood

I’m the author of THE MARLOW MURDER CLUB, a brand new murder mystery novel, out in January 2021. I also created the TV show DEATH IN PARADISE, and have written 4 standalone / original Death in P...

Read more

Latest from our blog

‘Karloff, the 60’s, and the First Truly Modern Crime Story’ by Joseph Schneider

22nd January 2021

“Mr. Boogey Man,” “King of Blood” they used to call me. Marx Brothers make you laugh, Garbo makes you weep, Orlock makes you scream. – Boris Karloff as Byron Orlock, Targets It’s 1967, and Peter Bogda... Read more

CWA Daggers on the BBC – and YouTube

25th November 2020

The CWA Daggers were recently featured on BBC Look North, focused on CWA John Creasey (New Blood) Dagger winner Trevor Wood and his work at The People’s Kitchen in Newcastle, inspiration for his debut... Read more

Mr Dickens and Me, by J C Briggs

23rd November 2020

Claire Tomalin observed that: ‘everyone finds their own version of Charles Dickens.’  Mine is Detective Dickens, the amateur sleuth who teams up with the Superintendent from Bow Street to investigate... Read more

Why reviews are so important (although not for the reasons you might think), by Dougie Brimson

23rd November 2020

Over the last decade, it cannot have escaped your attention that ebooks have changed the world of publishing significantly. This is especially true for mid-list authors such as myself. No longer alway... Read more

Dagger Winners Announced Online

26th October 2020

CWA Dagger Awards 2020 Winners Announced – Michael Robotham, Lou Berney, Trevor Wood, Casey Cep, and Abir Mukherjee win 2020 CWA Dagger awards. The winners of the 2020 CWA Daggers, which honour the ve... Read more

Location, location, location by Candy Denman

22nd October 2020

When I was working on the long-running drama series, Heartbeat, we were often told that the biggest character we wrote for was the setting. How true that was. Whenever I tell people that I used to be... Read more

Research – So Much More Than Just The Facts, by Jay Forman

6th October 2020

I did more research for No Return than I’ve ever had to do before for a book. I knew it wasn’t going to be easy. What I didn’t know was how ignorant I was. The basic spark of an idea for the story was... Read more

View more

Join the CRA

Joining the CRA is FREE. There are no lengthy forms to fill out and we need nothing but your email. You will receive a regular newsletter but no spam.

Interested in writing?

Crime reading and writing has never been so popular. We support new writers and our experienced Crime Writers are here to offer the benefit of their experience.
We also have competitions,
the Debut Dagger and
our Criminal Critiques
and Editing service.

Just don’t forget us when
you hit the big time.

Find out more