The objective of this collection is to provide critical assessment of Marcia Muller's writing and to re-evaluate current critical views on women's detective fiction in general. The book draws on feminist, historicist, mythic, psychoanalytic and cultural approaches.

Greed and guilt, near-indecipherable codes, murder plots born of madness--these motifs drive the best modern mysteries, but they are rooted in the early nineteenth century and the carefully constructed fiction of Edgar Allan Poe. Poe's methods of storytelling and suspense remain relevant, reappearing in detective novels and on screens large and small. This work examines a wide selection of today's mystery and thriller novels, films, television programs, and video games to explore Poe's ongoing influence on popular entertainment. Authors such as Michael Connelly, Stieg Larsson and Dennis...