This interview with Mark SaFranko was conducted by Estelle Jardon for the closure of the seminar "Le texte dans tous ses états : genèse, publication, traductions" organized on November 15, 2018. It mainly focuses on his fourth crime novel, The Suicide (2014), but also traces his crime fiction production, from his main sources of inspiration to his slyly subversive writings of the formula, which has been rarely discussed. SaFranko is prompted to reflect on his writing of genre fiction, on his conflicting relation to conventions, and on his subsequent difficulties in getting published in the United States. SaFranko talks about the flexibility of the label "crime fiction" as a literary genre, about his crime thrillers that he rather considers as psychological suspense novels and his attraction to character-driven mystery plots. He also discusses the metaphysical dimension of The Suicide, its unconventional detective protagonists, and retraces his writing process of the novel. Finally, this interview explores the particulars of crime fiction.