
The Venetian Vase
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The Venetian Vase started as a supporting site for two books: 100 American Crime Writers and 100 British Crime Writers. The blog is edited and maintained primarily by Steven and Chris Routledge. Read Book reviews, Interviews, and funny little strolls down the Crime Fiction lane.
The Venetian Vase
3d ago
Jim Thompson is now considered one of the greatest American crime writers, but his work wasn’t fully appreciated in his lifetime. By the time of his death in 1977, all of his work was out of print in the United States. Then in the early nineties, critical and commercial interest in Thompson’s novels was revived ..read more
The Venetian Vase
1w ago
Dash McClane has hit rock bottom. His glory days as a Hollywood fixer are over. His new gig as a stand-up comic is going nowhere and a beautiful young woman is about to get him into a whole lot of trouble. Ken Ironwood is a smuggler who rubbed shoulders with LA celebrities in his pomp ..read more
The Venetian Vase
1w ago
Australia, Gold Coast, 1982. Brisbane is hosting the Commonwealth Games. The tourist economy is booming. The country is an emerging economic powerhouse, but in the backdrop of this sunny paradise a criminal underworld is thriving. The lives of three people will intertwine in this treacherous climate. Bruno Karras is a jaded detective whose fading interest ..read more
The Venetian Vase
1w ago
Ellroy Reads returns with a look at Philip Roth’s hilariously grotesque Portnoy’s Complaint. This is a gleefully polemical novel which examines every conceivable aspect of sexual obsession. It comes as no surprise then, that it was highly influential to James Ellroy. Although he is both gentile and Christian, the young Ellroy could be read as ..read more
The Venetian Vase
2w ago
Editor’s Note: Today, I am happy to welcome to the blog the author and academic Sarah Burton. Sarah has contributed an excellent guest post on ‘The Art of P.D. James’: Conveying information to the reader in crime fiction can seem relatively easy. Those investigating the crime have every reason to ask witnesses and suspects pertinent ..read more
The Venetian Vase
3w ago
Over the last decade or so there has been a resurgence of interest in the life and work of Alexander Hamilton. From the smash-hit musical to increasing academic attention to his role as one of the Founding Fathers, we seem to be in the grip of Hamiltonmania. Therefore, I thought it was the perfect time ..read more
The Venetian Vase
1M ago
The first episode of Ellroy Reads in 2025 looks at one of the strangest presidential biographies ever written. Edmund Morris had achieved widespread acclaim with The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt, which won the Pulitzer Prize for Biography or Autobiography. But on the back of this success, when he accepted the role of President Reagan’s authorised ..read more
The Venetian Vase
1M ago
The book lulled me to sleep, and my dreams led me back to the book. Natalie was struggling in the water, grasping at the starboard side to ‘the Splendour’. Some part of my semi-lucid state knew that it was my conscience tormenting me. Natalie was dragged underwater. I couldn’t bear to watch that again. I ..read more
The Venetian Vase
1M ago
Happy new year, dear readers! To get the year off to a good start, why not sit back and listen to the latest episode of Highbrow Lowbrow. In this episode we celebrate the life and work of legendary British director, Nicolas Roeg. My highbrow pick is Roeg’s 1983 film Eureka, based on the unsolved murder ..read more
The Venetian Vase
1M ago
Here’s a story about Jimmy Carter that James Ellroy likes to tell. It’s October of 1980. The Presidential election is in it’s closing stages. The incumbent President, Jimmy Carter, is fighting a tough battle against the charismatic Republican candidate Ronald Reagan. It’s of minimal importance to James Ellroy, who is working as a caddy at ..read more