Crime in the City on NPR

NPR is running this fascinating summer series about fictional detectives and the cities where they live.  They are calling it Crime in the City, and if you click here they have all of the entries with a nice map. For each entry they interview the author but the focus is on how the city is captured in the novels.  For many of these series, the city in which they are set becomes a character in the books itself.  It can become a huge draw for bringing readers back again and again to many a long running series.

Setting is a huge appeal factor for many readers. I know for me it is key.  Look at all these books I have read and loved precisely because of the amazing sense of place.

When you talk about crime fiction, it becomes even more important to a wide range of readers.  You can see this in the popular website Stop You're Killing Me's Location index (a weekly stop for me as I help readers) and the popularity of our Around the World in 80 Murders last year.