Detective shows, drama series, and movie plots with murderous storylines: our fascination with crime stories knows no bounds, with women on the front lines as both stars and writers. We sit at home being terrified by the latest fictional serial killer, learning to distrust our neighbours, but is our view of the world outside being distorted? Whilst our cultural landscape is getting more criminally dangerous, in the real world the rates of most crimes in Australia, with the exception of sexual assault, are actually in decline. Whilst audiences are entranced by murder mysteries, are we becoming increasingly paranoid? Is crime culture creating a social disorder, where our perception of danger is not in sync with the reality?