Editorial. Contemporary Crime Fiction: A Surfeit of Riches

Contemporary crime fiction presents us with a surfeit of riches.As an enthusiastic crime fiction reader, you might feel like a kid in a sweet shop: too much to take in, where to look, what to read first.Examining the wealth of publications appearing in print every year, crime fiction presents an enormous breadth of generic variety, characters, locations, historical periods, political priorities and cultural diversity.This special issue of American, British and Canadian Studies features a collection of scholarly and creative material addressing major trends and preoccupations in crime fiction today.It comprises innovative critical articles by crime fiction scholars, creative contributions from prominent crime fiction authors, poems about true crime, and reviews of crime fiction as well as of scholarly works on the genre.The popular appeal of contemporary crime fiction is underpinned by regular newspaper features discussing subjects such as "the best crime novels of the year," guides to the best crime fiction from different eras and countries (including Golden Age, Nordic Noir, Domestic Noir, Eco Crime Fiction, etc.).The fascination held by the crime genre is described by the critic Barbara Fister in the following terms: "Crime fiction, a genre that deliberately exploits anxiety in the reader, taps into topical social concerns using familiar formulas to produce suspenseful narratives.Our fascination with crime has deep cultural roots" (43).This statement is an indication of the dynamic nature of contemporary crime fiction.However, it is also evident from Fister's remarks that crime fiction, through its thematic content and structural focus on problem-solving, offers readers opportunities to critically analyse a range of those social and cultural problems that dominate in our

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