Crime fiction is a genre offiction that deals with crimes, their detection, criminals and their motives. As such, it is usually distinguished frommainstream fiction and other genres such asscience fiction orhistorical fiction. It should be noted, however, that boundaries can be, and indeed are, blurred. It has several sub-genres, includingdetective fiction,mystery fiction,legal thriller,courtroom drama, andhard-boiled fiction. Crime fiction began to be considered as a seriousgenre only as late as 1900. The earliest inspiration for books and novels from this genre came from earlier dark works ofEdgar Allan Poe. The evolution oflocked room mysteries was one of the landmarks in the history of crime fiction, as it helped involve the reader to a major extent.Sherlock Holmes mysteries are said to have been singularly responsible for the huge popularity in this genre. Later a set of stereotypic formulae began to appear to cater to various tastes. (more...)

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