Realism in crime fiction

I recently read an online article on the Thrilling Detective Web Site, written by British author Joe Stein. I never read one book by him yet, however I am now putting him on my reading list. And yes, this is because of the article. The topic is realism in crime fiction (in literature, but also in movies and TV series), or maybe the topic is more plausibility. I say this as the literary doctor in me wonders if realism in fiction is maybe not nonexistent. Other than this academic and rather theoric disagreement, I pretty much agree on everything Stein says, that the overabundance of coincidences and of factual errors makes many crime stories contrived and spoil my enjoyment of them. When I read: ''I need my heroes and villains to be real, to act real, to be able to exist in real life, even if I'd avoid them like the plague if I bumped into them in the pub,'' I felt such a breath of fresh air. I read plenty of ''realistic'' writers, but I am happy I found another one. We never have enough of them.