The Mammoth Encyclopedia of Modern Crime Fiction

Rating:
Summary: Useful reference /critical work for crime and mystery fans
Review: I would not go so far as to call this an essential read for fans of the crime genre -be this in printed or visual media-but it is an exceptionally useful one and is likely to add immeasurably to their knowledge of the scene .

After a short introduction to the mystery novel which examines the various categories of the genre --police procedurals ,private eye novels and the highways and bye ways of the cosy crime novel-and gives the names of authors to explore under these headings ,Ashley gets to the real meat of the book.This is an A-Z of crime writers whose works were published for the first time after 1945.Each is given a potted biography ,with some ,not too profound critical analysis ,a list of titles with particular emphasis on mystery series they have written.Authorial pseudonyms are listed ,together with awards won ,web site details and the entry also suggests which novel to approach if you are looking into that author's work for the first time.

There then follows a section on movies and TV series ,a quick look at the mystery magazine scene ,some useful web sites for the devotee and to round things off a list of mystery and crime novel awards from a variety of countries together with the annual winners in each up to 2001.
The book will beyond question help newcomers to the genre and even the well read mystery maven will find authors and titles new to them .As ever with books of this type there are omissions that will baffle and irritate (no Stephen Booth ,or John Baker for instance )but the list of writers is pretty comprehensive and certainly steered me in the direction of previously unknowmn writers eg Michael Allegretto
My one serious caveat with the section -and indeed the book in general -is that it defines modern in chronological terms (post World War 2 )and several of the writers examined are not modern in feel or approach but rather hark back to earlier traditions such as the alleged Golden Age of English mystery of the inter war years.Conversely writers of an earlier year whose work resonates quite well with modern readers are exempt --eg Hammett , Chandler ,and other pulp masters such as Frederic Brown.
Minor quibbles aside this is a good buy and I especially welcome its touching on authors from outside the US/UK axis ,including European and Australian writers.
Well worth investing in.

Rating:
Summary: A thorough, browsable resource work.
Review: Mike Ashley's THE MAMMOTH ENCYCLOPEDIA OF MODERN CRIME FICTION concentrates on fiction -- books primarily, but also movies and TV series -- produced since World War II. So, don't look here for lengthy bios of Edgar Allan Poe, Arthur Conan Doyle, Agatha Christie or Raymond Chandler and his fellow creators of the American hard-boiled school. Instead, Ashley gives a good accounting of the men and women who've made the most of what those masters left behind -- people as familiar as Ross Thomas, Reginald Hill and Sara Paretsky, along with rising stars like Robert Crais, Robert Wilson, Denise Mina and Peter Temple. That Australian Temple is included demonstrates this volume's welcome international scope. Rather than being overwhelmed by U.S. authors (who dominate here only when it comes to private-eye fiction), Ashley's book features an estimable range of British novelists and others, such as Batya Gur (Israel), Howard Engel (Canada) and Janwillem van de Wetering (Netherlands). In addition to offering briefs on prominent writers, Ashley gives suggestions of other crime fictionists who do similar work. The Loren D. Estleman entry, for instance, directs readers to Lawrence Block and James Ellroy, while the bio of Japanese author Masako Togawa suggests that fans try tales by the UK's Minette Walters.

Although readers well-versed in this field might question Ashley's failure to include such signal talents as Stephen Booth, Paul Johnston, John Farrow and Henning Mankell, it's good to see some exceptional writers who haven't produced anything in a long while -- like California novelist Arthur Lyons and Cincinnati's Jonathan Valin -- represented in these pages. And such an encyclopedia can't help but surprise even longtime readers of the genre. I admit, for instance, that I didn't know pseudonymous British wordsmith Susanna Gregory, most familiar for her series about 14th-century doctor/detective Matthew Bartholomew (A PLAGUE ON BOTH YOUR HOUSES), has a second set of books to her credit, written under the name "Simon Beaufort" and led by 12th-century Crusader Sir Geoffrey Mapplestone. Nor was I aware that Robert Irvine, who in the 1980s and early 90s penned a distinctive series of tales about Salt Lake City P.I. Moroni Traveler, has more recently been writing (with his wife, and under the pen name "Val Davis") old-aircraft-related mysteries, featuring archaeologist Nicolette "Nicky" Scott. Flipping through this paperback is likely to double the list of authors and titles you know you haven't enough time to read.

On top of all this, Ashley packs his 780 pages with lists of crime movies and TV shows. While the films (from "All the President's Men" to "Year of the Dragon") might at least be rentable, the write-ups on small-screen dramas make one either wistful (who can forget Michael Mann's period cop serial, "Crime Story"?) or wince (what the hell was Stephen J. Cannell thinking when he created "Hardcastle and McCormack"?). Appendices catalogue crime fiction award winners, related magazines and Web sites, and key characters and series. Well-researched, eminently readable and easy to use, THE MAMMOTH ENCYCLOPEDIA OF MODERN CRIME FICTION is a killer find. -- January Magazine, July 2002