Books by LeRoy Lad Panek

American crime fiction has developed into writing that has a commitment to democracy and the democratic way of life, a compassion and empathy and a style which has created a significant branch of American literature.

Focusing on the origins and development of the hard-boiled story, Panek comments on the way it has changed since the 1970s and examines the work of ten significant contemporary writers: Robert B. Parker; James Crumley; Loren Estleman; Sara Paretsky; Robert Crais; James Lee Burke; and Walter Mosley.