Wednesday, 31 October 2018

BEST OF CRIME with Ali Knight

Welcome to my latest BEST OF CRIME feature, looking at crime writers' top picks, from their favourite author and fictional detective to their best writing tip. 




Today I'm delighted to welcome 

ALI KNIGHT


to share her BEST OF CRIME ...



... AUTHORS
Barbara Vine. Ruth Rendell took her writing in a new direction away from detective fiction in her series of novels writing as Barbara Vine. Really good books remain timeless, and even though some of her psychological thrillers – exploring the why of a crime rather than the who -  were written more than thirty years ago, they feel modern and up to date. A Fatal Inversion, about a group of young people staying at a country house over one long hot summer, is particularly fine. 


... FILMS/MOVIES
Black Widow. This 1987 film starring Debra Winger and Theresa Russell was way ahead of its time. It is so rare to find a film where the two leads are women, and this cat and mouse game, where detective Winger is trying to convince her superiors that Russell is repeatedly killing her husbands for their money, is the original Killing Eve.


... TV DRAMAS
Prime Suspect – I worry there’s a theme here – everything I’ve picked so far is decades old! But it is impossible to underestimate how groundbreaking DCI Jane Tennyson was as a character on TV in the  first series in 1991. Impeccably and elegantly plotted, it dealt with sexism  and corruption in the police.  
To show that I also like contemporary crime, I’m very impressed with Ozark. Less violent than Breaking Bad, it shows the ripple effect of the illegal drugs trade and makes the viewer realise that the money laundering end of the business has been under-represented in the endless crime dramas that revolve around drugs.


... FICTIONAL KILLERS
Amy Dunne in Gone Girl. She is a real game changer. The best killers are the ones that get away with it. And we know she is never going to get caught.


... FICTIONAL DETECTIVES 
I’m a fan of Harlan Coben’s Myron Bolitar, mainly because he’s a former sports pro and in an alternate universe I would have loved to have been fantastically good at tennis. His ruminations on life after peak physical fitness and fame are touching. It’s hard to beat Jack Reacher for pure, unadulterated reading entertainment.


... MURDER WEAPONS
Stephen King’s use of a sit-on lawnmower to kill a policeman in Misery is genius.
    

... DEATH SCENES
Dying in an Afghan hut after being injected with smallpox as Terry Hayes created in I Am Pilgrim takes some beating.
  

... BLOGS/WEBSITES
Google Maps’ feature where you can walk down roads and actually see them is pure genius for the writer. I was immensely entertained by a Quora internet thread on how to dispose of a dead body. People have really thought about this stuff. 


... WRITING TIPS
Keep going. There is no other way. And it is difficult. Anyone who says writing is easy is a liar.


... WRITING SNACKS
Don’t. Otherwise there would be no room for lunch.


About ALI KNIGHT
Ali Knight has written five crime novels. Her books have been translated into 12 languages and sold as TV scripts. Her debut novel, Wink Murder, was an Independent Book of the Year in 2011.

Find Ali Knight on her Facebook page and on Twitter - @aliknightauthor


About Before I Find You




Publisher's description
Maggie is a husband watcher.  A snooper, a marriage doctor, a killer of happy-ever-afters. She runs her own private detective agency specialising in catching out those who cheat. And she's very good at it. Until Helene walks through her door.
Helene is a husband catcher. A beautiful wife, a doting stepmother, a dazzling presence at parties. She counts herself lucky to have married one of the most eligible men in town - Gabe Moreau. Until she sees something that threatens her little family of three.
Alice is a perfect daughter. Apple of her father's eye, a kind stepchild to Helene, a tragic daughter of a dead mother. She lives a sheltered but happy life. Until she finds a handwritten note on her father's desk: 'You owe me. I'm not going away.'
All three women suspect Gabe Moreau of keeping secrets and telling lies. But not one of them suspects that the truth could result in murder . . .

Before I Find You is published by Hodder & Stoughton on 1 November 2018.


Look out for more BEST OF CRIME features coming soon.

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