The genre that encompasses crime is vast and varied, from the mystery brain-teasers that keep you looking for clues and guessing whodunit (or guessing how the detective will prove the guilt of the perpetrator) to the fast-paced thrillers to the brooding crime dramas to the technical police procedurals. Each has its devotees and its authors skilled in giving the fans what they expect. Even romances and science fiction novels may have an element of crime in the plotline. And history, whether fictional or not, is rife with crimes of one sort and another.

Why do readers gravitate to crime stories? Perhaps we crave the thrill of hunting the bad guy: a modern expression of the genes that made our ancestors successful as hunter-gatherers. Or maybe it is the simple matter of adding a little spice to our everyday lives in a way we do not expect (and hope not) to experience in reality.

Do you read books about crime? If yes, why? If not, why not?