Introduction

Since it spun off from January Magazine to become a separate blog in May 2006, The Rap Sheet has earned its reputation as an essential resource for readers seeking information about what’s new and interesting in the world of crime fiction. It covers crime, mystery, and thriller fiction both recent and vintage, appearing in all media—print as well as broadcast.

Edited and written mostly by J. Kingston Pierce, the site has been nominated twice for Anthony Awards, and in 2009 it won the Spinetingler Award for Special Services to the Industry. Remarking on the blog’s value, novelist and editor Ed Gorman wrote in Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine: “Part pure journalism, part critique, and part just plain fun, The Rap Sheet is a tribute to the intelligence and wit of a single person. Pierce gives opinionating a good name.” In a post of her own highlighting blogs that provide “good crime fiction recommendations,” critic Sarah Weinman described The Rap Sheet as “one of the oldest ... and still one of the best …”

The Rap Sheet currently receives 1,500 to 3,500 hits each day, ranking it among the most consistently popular blogs of its kind.