Eric Sandberg. Studying Crime Fiction: An Introduction

similar pattern of examining subgenre development, providing historical and culture context, and referencing canonical as well as lesser-known texts.Headings within chapters, such as 'From the Great Detective to the Golden Age' in chapter 4, serve as guideposts when the conversation progresses, and film stills are used judiciously to punctuate Bordwell's descriptions of pivotal scenes.Like Part I, each chapter of Part II or Part II could serve as an individual reading for graduate or upper-level undergraduate students in narrative studies, crime fiction studies, popular culture studies, or creative writing programmes.Of note are the case studies in Part III that pair popular authors Earle Stanley Gardner and Rex Stout as well as Patricia Highsmith and Ed McBain to explore similarities and differences between their narrative strategies.The final chapter, 'Gone Girls: The New Domestic Thriller' is particularly strong, highlighting the impact and influence of understudied authors like Laura Lippman and acknowledging the importance of critic and editor Sarah Weinman's contributions to the 'rising prestige' of this subgenre (395).Bordwell's examples can inspire a syllabus or an original project for early career instructors or researchers.They might consider using Perplexing Plots in tandem with recent surveys of global crime fiction to create a more complete examination of storytelling in the genre.Bordwell provides thorough endnotes and a well-organised index, tools that benefit scholars at all levels.Perplexing Plots, whether in its entirety or in discrete parts and chapters, is an essential reference text in crime fiction studies and belongs in every library that supports popular culture researchers and aficionados.