Mediterranean Crime Fiction

By exploring the transcultural nature of Mediterranean crime fiction, Barbara Pezzotti advocates for a regional 'reading' of the genre.

The first systematic account of crime fiction as a global genre, offering unprecedented coverage of distinct traditions across the world.

The Routledge Handbook of Crime Fiction and Ecology is the first comprehensive examination of crime fiction and ecocriticism. Across 33 innovative chapters from leading international scholars, this Handbook considers an emergent field of contemporary crime narratives that are actively responding to a diverse assemblage of global environmental concerns, whilst also opening up ‘classic’ crime fictions and writers to new ecocritical perspectives. Rigorously engaged with cutting-edge critical trends, it places the familiar staples of crime fiction scholarship – from thematic to formal approaches – in conversation with a number of urgent ecological theories and ideas, covering subjects such as environmental security, environmental justice, slow violence, ecofeminism and animal studies. The Routledge Handbook of Crime Fiction and Ecology is an essential introduction to this new and dynamic research field for both students and scholars alike.

This book represents the first extended consideration of contemporary crime fiction as a European phenomenon. Understanding crime fiction in its broadest sense, as a transmedia practice, and offering unique insights into this practice in specific European countries and as a genuinely transcontinental endeavour, this book argues that the distinctiveness of the form can be found in its related historical and political inquiries. It asks how the genre’s excavation of Europe’s history of violence and protest in the twentieth century is informed by contemporary political questions. It also considers how the genre’s progressive reimagining of new identities forged at the crossroads of ethnicity, gender, and sexuality is offset by its bleaker assessment of the corrosive effects of entrenched social inequalities, political corruption, and state violence. The result is a rich, vibrant collection that shows how crime fiction can help us better understand the complex relationship between Europe’s past, present, and future. Seven chapters are available open access under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License via link.springer.com.

Escaping the demands of Paris police work, Commissaire Capucine Le Tellier embarks on a well-deserved Mediterranean cruise. But wherever the renowned inspector goes, murder is sure to be close on the horizon. . . On the azure waters off the coasts of Corsica and Sardinia, what could be more relaxing and rewarding than traipsing around the Mediterranean enjoying the local culinary delights. Among the invited bon vivants are Capucine, her husband, the celebrated restaurant critic, her special agent cousin Jacques, a famed bar owner, and even her boss. To all appearances, the table is set for an affair to remember. In the midst of this pleasure cruise, Natalie, the yacht's cook, is lost overboard. A sudden squall is the assumed cause. But once a bullet hole is discovered in her jacket, suspicions quickly shift and the onboard bonhomie suffers accordingly. When a shell casing is uncovered that matches the gun Capucine is authorized to carry, for the first time in her stellar career, the hardworking detective finds herself the prime suspect. For Capucine, these are clearly not the deep waters she envisioned as part of her holiday. As the motives become murkier, the gifted Commissaire will need to harness all her powers of deduction to get to the bottom of the mystery--before she ends up at the bottom of the sea. Praise for Alexander Campion and the Capucine Culinary Mysteries "Francophiles love this series for its Parisian setting and police detective Capucine's culinary cases." --Library Journal "Delectable. . ..sure to please the most discriminating palates." --Publishers Weekly on Killer Critique "This intelligent series. . .will appeal to a diversity of readers. Devotees of G.M. Malliet and Charles Todd will especially enjoy this different and delicious series." --Booklist on Killer Critique "A feast of crime with a soupçon of gourmet delight." --RT Book Reviews, 4 Stars, on Crime Fraiche "Full of amusing characters. . ..Readers will want a second helping." --Publishers Weekly on The Grave Gourmet "This new series offers a uniquely blended mix of ‘hooks' that will appeal to a wide variety of mystery lovers." --Booklist on The Grave Gourmet "Features lively dialogue, much discussion of culinary delights, a peek into the French criminal justice system, and a pleasing mystery." --Library Journal on The Grave Gourmet

Italian Crime Fiction is the first study in the English language to focus specifically on Italian detective and noir fiction from the 1930s to the present. The eight chapters include studies on some of the founding fathers of the Italian tradition, and mainstream writers. The volume has a particular focus on the new generation of crime writers.

Crime narratives form a large and central part of the modern cultural landscape. This book explores the cognitive stylistic processing of prose and audiovisual fictional crime 'texts'. It also examines instances where such narratives find themselves, through popular demand, 'migrating' - meaning that they cross languages, media formats and/or cultures. In doing so, Crime Fiction Migration proposes a move from a monomodal to a multimodal approach to the study of crime fiction. Examining original crime fiction works alongside their translations, adaptations and remakings proves instrumental in understanding how various semiotic modes interact with one another. The book analyses works such as We Need to Talk About Kevin, The Killing trilogy and the reimaginings of plays such as Shear Madness and films such as Funny Games. Crime fiction is consistently popular and 'on the move' - witness the spate of detective series exported out of Scandinavia, or the ever popular exporting of these shows from the USA. This multimodal and semiotically-aware analysis of global crime narratives expands the discipline and is key reading for students of linguistics, criminology, literature and film.