Barry Forshaw

Barry Forshaw works as a British critic, editor, and nonfiction writer specializing in crime fiction and cinema. The Rough Guide to Crime Fiction 1 corresponds to his reference book The Rough Guide to Crime Fiction, which surveys major writers, characters, traditions, and international strands of the genre. Forshaw has also written Nordic Noir, Brit Noir, Euro Noir, American Noir, Historical Noir, and studies of British crime film and gothic cinema. His work for newspapers and magazines complements his role editing Crime Time, giving his books the perspective of a long serving reviewer as well as a historian of popular culture. Rather than concentrating on one fictional investigator, the Rough Guide volume offers readers a route through classic and contemporary work across countries and subgenres. Its place in Forshaw’s bibliography is therefore foundational: later books narrow the focus by region, period, or screen tradition while continuing his interest in how suspense writing reflects national settings and publishing history.