The image of the hard-boiled private investigator from gritty pulp fiction, a terse and mysterious figure, has become increasingly universal as the detective novel crosses more and more borders. A booming genre in Latin America, Spain and other Hispanic cultures, detective fiction has transcended the limitations of its influences. Hispanic authors genre have published popular novels, and have adapted the genre to reflect the globalization of modern society and the crimes within it. This volume presents a compilation of 11 critical essays on g?nero negro?contemporary detective fiction in the Hispanic and Luso-Brazilian canon. The text analyzes emerging trends in this rapidly evolving genre, as well as the mutations and innovations taking place. The first section of the book is dedicated to the detective fiction of Spain and Portugal. The second section surveys works from Latin America and the United States, where topics touch on universal subjects like crime, identity and feminism.