Today I'm delighted to welcome
HELEN FITZGERALD
to share her BEST OF CRIME ...
... AUTHORS
Fyodor Dostoevsky.I like crime novels that draw me in to a real world populated by real characters, and Dostoevsky is the master at that. Raskolnikov’s struggle with his guilt in Crime and Punishment is one of the greatest tales in literature.
... FILMS/MOVIES
The Silence of the Lambs. FBI trainee Clarice Starling and serial killer Hannibal Lecter are the most thrilling and intriguing odd couple in the history of crime movies. Everything about the film is great, as is the novel it was based on, but the two central characters elevate it to something more. They’ve rightly become iconic.
... TV DRAMAS
Breaking Bad. I loved the Shakespearean transformation from ordinary decent man to The One Who Knocks.
... FICTIONAL KILLERS
Hannibal Lecter: I don’t normally go for the “Killer as Artist” or “Killer as Philosopher” tropes, but you’ve got to make an exception for Hannibal. He just enjoys killing so much – and he’s so good at it.
... FICTIONAL DETECTIVES
Columbo. I liked the fact that you knew straight away who had committed the crime. None of that red herring stuff. And then you could just sit back and watch as he shuffled around in his grotty raincoat, outwitting the evildoers who constantly underestimated him. I later found out that the character of Lieutenant Columbo was inspired in part by Porfiry Petrovich in Crime and Punishment, which made me feel very clever for liking him.
... MURDER WEAPONS
Death by larva. I once killed-off a baddy by tying him to a chair, making hundreds of little cuts all over his skin and tucking a maggot into each one.
... DEATH SCENE
Hereditary. The scene where one of the children loses her head still keeps me awake at night.
... WRITING TIPS
Sometimes your first idea isn’t inspiration – it’s just your first idea.
... WRITING SNACKS
Toast and vegemite.
About HELEN FITZGERALD
Helen FitzGerald is the bestselling author of ten adult and young adult thrillers, including The Donor (2011) and The Cry (2013), which was longlisted for the Theakstons Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year, and is now a major drama for BBC1. Helen worked as a criminal justice social worker for over fifteen years. She grew up in Victoria, Australia. She now lives in Glasgow with her husband.
Find Helen FitzGerald on her website and on Twitter - @FitzHelen
About WORST CASE SCENARIO
Publisher's description
Mary Shields is a moody, acerbic probation offer, dealing with some of Glasgow’s worst cases, and her job is on the line. Liam Macdowall was imprisoned for murdering his wife, and he’s published a series of letters to the dead woman, in a book that makes him an unlikely hero – and a poster boy for Men’s Rights activists. Liam is released on licence into Mary’s care, but things are far from simple. Mary develops a poisonous obsession with Liam and his world, and when her son and Liam’s daughter form a relationship, Mary will stop at nothing to impose her own brand of justice … with devastating consequences.
Here's a snippet from my review: "Worst Case Scenario is dark, insane, shocking and highly entertaining - menopausal AND criminal madness. Lots of laugh-out-loud moments, cringeworthy ones and sad ones too."
Read my full review here.
Worst Case Scenario was published by Orenda Books on 16 May 2019.
Look out for more BEST OF CRIME features coming soon.
Click here to read more BEST OF CRIME features.
Click here to read more BEST OF CRIME features.
Follow the Blog Tour
Thanks so much for the blog tour support Vicki x
ReplyDelete