Tattoos in crime and detective narratives examines representations of the tattoo and tattooing in literature, television and film, from two periods of tattoo renaissance (1851-1914, and c1955 to present). It makes an original contribution to understandings of crime and detective genre and the ways in which tattoos act as a mimetic device that marks and remarks these narratives in complex ways. With a focus on tattooing as a bodily narrative, the book incorporates the critical perspectives of posthumanism, spatiality, postcolonialism, embodiment and gender studies. The grouped essays examine the first tattoo renaissance, the rebirth of the tattoo in contemporary culture through literature, children's literature, film and television. The collection has a broad appeal, and will be of interest to all literature and media scholars, but in particular those with an interest in crime and detective narratives and skin studies. -- .

This collection of 12 new essays draws together prominent literary experts to explore the importance of Scottish writer Iain (M.) Banks, both his mainstream and science fiction work. The book considers Banks as an habitual border crosser who makes things fresh and new by subversive and transgressive strategies. The essays are divided into four thematic areas: the Scottish context, the geographies of his writing, the impact of genre, and a combined focus on gender, games and play. The essays will be of particular interest to scholars of contemporary literature, Scottish literature and science fiction.