Mystery novels made me a reader. Let me qualify that: Mystery novels made me an adult reader; I’d already established the habit through children’s series like Little House on the Prairie and the Chronicles of Narnia. But classic whodunits by the grand dames of the genre—Agatha Christie and Dorothy L. Sayers—were the first adult books that I read and devoured, making me feel that I’d been admitted to an elite club where I could be entrusted with any subject or theme (and if I didn’t understand something, I’d figure it out). There was no turning back.

Thirteen-year-old me would have marveled that I’d quite literally joined the club when I attended the Edgar Allan Poe Awards ceremony, hosted by the Mystery Writers of America, in New York earlier this year. Even better, I was seated at the Grove Atlantic table, along with publisher Morgan Entrekin, who accepted the award for best novel (James Lee Burke’s Flags on the Bayou) since the author was unable to attend. I couldn’t resist snapping a close-up photo of the Edgar trophy (it’s cute!) to post on Instagram.

The cover subject of our special Sept. 1 Mystery Issue, Attica Locke, won the Edgar Award for best novel back in 2018 for Bluebird, Bluebird, the first of her novels about Black Texas Ranger Darren Matthews. Locke has now wrapped up that series with Guide Me Home (Mulholland Books/Little, Brown, Sept. 3), and she talks with contributor Connie Ogle about her decision to stop with Book 3 (she originally envisioned six or seven entries) and her evolving feelings about law enforcement and guns. It’s a fascinating portrait of an evolving writer, and it leaves us eager to see what Locke (who’s also been a screenwriter for series such as Empire and Little Fires Everywhere) does next.

For the issue, we wanted to provide a snapshot of crime fiction as it is evolving today. (And nonfiction, too: Contributing writer Gregory McNamee rounds up some new stranger-than-fiction true-crime books.) Fiction editor Laurie Muchnick spotlights some of her favorite mysteries this year, young readers’ editor Mahnaz Dar celebrates the joys of the middle-grade mystery, editor at large Megan Labrise talks with graphic novelist Sara Varon about how the ’80s TV show Murder, She Wrote inspired her new canine whodunit for children, The Case of the Golden Bone, young readers’ editor Laura Simeon recommends YA mysteries for teen readers, contributor Marion Winik talks with bestselling YA phenom Maureen Johnson about her latest, Death at Morning House, and senior Indie editor David Rapp pinpoints Texas as the setting for some outstanding self-published crime novels.

Working on this issue certainly whet my appetite for the genre—especially books from its 1930s heyday. Fortunately, publishers are bringing back forgotten classics and discovering overlooked gems. Two recent titles that caught my eye: Golden Age Whodunits, edited by Otto Penzler (American Mystery Classics, July 2), which collects 15 stories by Ellery Queen, Anthony Boucher, and others; and The Black Spectacles (Poisoned Pen, June 18), a 1939 mystery by John Dickson Carr. If you need me, I’ll be on my living room couch, solving crimes.

Tom Beer is the editor-in-chief.