Contemporary American Crime Fiction

by Hans Bertens, Hans Willem Bertens, Theo D'haen

This highly accessible, lively and informative study gives a clear and comprehensive overview of recent trends in American crime fiction. Building on a discussion of the immediate predecessors, Bertens and D'haen focus on the work of popular and award-winning authors of the last fifteen years. Particular attention is given to writers who have reworked established conventions and explored new directions, especially women and those from ethnic minorities.

242 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2001

About the author

Hans Bertens, born Johannes Willem Bertens, is a Dutch academic writer and professor emeritus of Utrecht University in the Netherlands. He specialised in American studies and comparative literature.

He was born in Harderwijk, the Netherlands, and studied in Utrecht.

Reviews

[Cloud · Rating 4 out of 5]

For me this was a reading necessary for the PhD admission exam. I read what I think would be asked, roughly two thirds of the book.

I don't recommend it unless you're a fan of the genre and have read a number of authors, since most of the chapters are centered on specific authors and sometimes Bertens and D'Haen go on and on, for 6-7 pages, about specific novels.

This said, it throughly explains the authors that it talks about, quoting often and using a simple to understand but not simplistic vocabulary.