Thursday 6 February 2020

BEST OF CRIME with Gytha Lodge

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 

GYTHA LODGE


to share her BEST OF CRIME ...




... AUTHORS
I'm choosing two current authors with multiple books because this is so hard any other way! I’ve loved Tana French for her gorgeous, atmospheric writing and dark themes. And Ruth Ware for her wonderful, timeless mysteries which sweep me away. 


... FILMS/MOVIES
The adaptation of Gone Girl was superb. Deliciously dark and tense. I also think Drive counts as a crime movie and it’s shocking, powerful and incredibly atmospheric. Loved it, in a flinching-at-the-violence kind of way. 


... TV DRAMAS
The Killing. I am only mid-way through it (I know – it disappeared off the channel I was watching it on and it’s taken me years to pick it back up) but blimey is it good TV. Skillfully interwoven and utterly addictive. 


... FICTIONAL KILLERS
Tom Ripley. He brings such depth to the classic psychopath and it’s possible to empathise with him as he treads towards the terrible end-points of his machinations. 


... FICTIONAL DETECTIVES 
Rebus for me. He’s such a rounded, real, messed-up character. And he isn’t a short-hand, either. There’s no replacing character with a tragic back-story. He lives and breathes (and swears). 


... MURDER WEAPONS
A set of church bells (Dorothy Sayers). 
    

... DEATH SCENES
I’m an emotions kind-of girl, so I’m going to go with one of the saddest and most futile deaths in crime: Jay Gatsby in The Great Gatsby. Love, riches and a perfect lifestyle proved to be false. And in the end, only the library books were real.
  

... BLOGS/WEBSITES
Judiciary.uk is a wonderful resource for all the legal wranglings, and I also loved Clare Mackintosh’s excellent Twitter feed on what annoys her in crime novels. 


... WRITING TIPS
It’s going to be tough, and there are going to be failures. So just do not. Stop. Writing. 


... WRITING SNACKS
Yoghurt covered brazil nuts. Or pretty much anything coated in yoghurt.  I often consider asking my editor to cover any notes on my books in yoghurt as I’d immediately bond with them better. 


About GYTHA LODGE
Gytha Lodge is the Sunday Times Bestselling author of She Lies in Wait, a Richard and Judy Book Club and Sunday Times Crime Club pick. She has lived in Cambridge for more years than she cares to remember, and prior to becoming an author was an award-winning playwright. She has also spent some years as a copywriter, with a little marketing thrown in. She writes YA and children’s novels on Wattpad, where she has accrued over 7 million reads, and coaches rowing for the City of Cambridge. She is profoundly addicted to tea, crosswords, and awful puns. 

Find Gytha Lodge on Twitter - @thegyth


About WATCHING FROM THE DARK




Publisher's description
Aidan Poole logs onto his laptop late at night to Skype his girlfriend, Zoe. But to his horror, he realises she is not alone. 
Completely helpless, all he can do is listen to the sounds of a violent struggle. 
And then a chilling silence. 
He's desperate to find out if she is OK. But then why is he so hesitant to call the police? 
When his messages finally reach them, DCI Jonah Sheens and his team take the case. 
And discover the body. . .


Watching from the Dark was published by Michael Joseph on 6 February 2020.

Look out for more BEST OF CRIME features coming soon.

Click here to read more BEST OF CRIME features.

No comments:

Post a Comment