Friday 26 January 2018

BEST OF CRIME with Eva Dolan

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 

EVA DOLAN

for her This Is How It Ends blog tour

to share her BEST OF CRIME ...




... AUTHORS
Patricia Highsmith is the author I keep returning to for the psychological precision of her work and the confidence of her prose. There might not be better for explorations of obsession and envy, the proximity of love and hate and just how devastating that proximity can be. I reread the Ripley novels every couple of years but her non-Ripley books contain some gems too. The Tremor of Forgery is oddly underrated and deserves a look, also her non-crime novel Edith’s Diary which is perfect for fans of domestic noir.


... FILMS/MOVIES
Die Hard. All of them, except the last one, even Die Hard 4 has plenty to recommend it. ‘You just killed a helicopter with a car!’ – that’s the kind of line I want in a crime film. Though they’re maybe more action than crime by that point the original stands as a great example of what a cop can do with no shoes, a sweaty vest and a really smart mouth.


... TV DRAMAS
Sneaky Pete is one of those shows that I totally loved but nobody I mention it to has seen. Marius is a con man who, on being released from prison, needs a place to lie low so assumes the identity of his former cellmate and insinuates himself into the man’s long estranged family. Little does he know that they have a few rackets of their own on the go. Bryan Cranston – who also co-wrote it – is an oily casino owner, Margo Martindale is a star as a savvy bailbondswoman, and Giovanni Ribissi turns in a brilliantly twitchy and often surprisingly emotional performance. It’s at the lighter end of the crime spectrum, warm hearted and very funny, but that only makes the moments of brutality even more effective. One to binge.


... FICTIONAL KILLERS
Clytemnestra in Colm Toibin’s The House of Names is the killer who stayed with me from 2017’s reading. Based on an ancient Greek tragedy it’s the story of a king, Agamemnon, who lures his family away from their safe home with the promise of a good marriage for his daughter Iphigenia, only to sacrifice her to the gods, in hopes that they’ll reward him by improving the weather and allowing him to sail into battle. Toibin flips the classic narrative by telling the story from the remaining family member’s points of view, rather than the triumphant king's and in so doing creates a devastating portrait of a grieving mother who doesn’t share her husband’s belief in the gods and realises that the sacrifice was to appease his army and maintain his position of power. We see Clytemnestra slowly and determinedly plotting her revenge, one it’s very easy to understand and support and for that reason she is a fascinating fictional killer, one of the very few I’ve found myself rooting for. While this isn’t strictly a crime novel it springs from a tradition which laid down many of the narratives writers are still riffing on thousands of years later. Definitely a book for crime readers to try. 


... FICTIONAL DETECTIVES 
It’s always going to be Rebus. They were the first detective novels I read and the ones which made me want to be a crime writer. Here’s a bolshy, gobby, fighty bloke a million miles away from Miss Marple and all the genteel English crime novels I couldn’t get into at the time. Ian Rankin’s books laid down a template that a working class crime writer could follow.


... MURDER WEAPONS
The one I can’t forget and which makes me eye the author with suspicion even now, is the newspaper used in Craig Robertson’s debut, Random. What kind of sick mind would consider rolling up a paper and shoving it down someone’s throat to choke them to death? I’m gagging just thinking about it.
    

... DEATH SCENES
It’s near impossible to do this without giving away a massive spoiler and the film is far too good for me to risk ruining it for anyone who hasn’t seen it yet. But Martin Sheen’s character in The Departed dies a death which flips everything we’ve seen up until that point and made me full on gasp. Brilliant writing.
  

... BLOGS/WEBSITES
Is any website more useful that Wikipedia? Google maps


... WRITING TIPS
Read bad books. You’ll learn as much by seeing what not to do as you will by studying the very best writing looking for tips. You’ll also feel a lot better about your own work. This one is particularly useful when suffering from writer’s block. Just don’t try it with wildly successful but badly written novels, because that’s depressing.


... WRITING SNACKS
I’m pretty much cigarettes and espresso when I’m writing but the one bit of food I’ll eat is this amazing Indian chocolate with coconut from Waitrose 1 range. It tastes like Bounty bars if they were made by angels.

About EVA DOLAN

Eva Dolan was shortlisted for the CWA Dagger for unpublished authors when only a teenager. The four novels in her Zigic and Ferreira series have been published to widespread critical acclaim: Tell No Tales and After You Die were shortlisted for the Theakston’s Crime Novel of the Year Award and After You Die was also longlisted for the CWA Gold Dagger. She lives in Cambridge.

Find Eva Dolan on her Facebook page and on Twitter - @eva_dolan


About THIS IS HOW IT ENDS




Publisher's description

This is how it begins.

With a near-empty building, the inhabitants forced out of their homes by property developers.

With two women: idealistic, impassioned blogger Ella and seasoned campaigner, Molly.

With a body hidden in a lift shaft.

But how will it end?

Read a snippet of my review
'Eva Dolan is a force to be reckoned with. This is How it Ends is her best novel yet - a book that will challenge you and leave you reeling.'

To read the rest of my review, click here.

This Is How It Ends was published by Raven Books on 25 January 2018.


Look out for more BEST OF CRIME features coming soon.

Click here to read more BEST OF CRIME features.

Did you follow the Blog Tour?





This is How It Ends by Eva Dolan - republished review

This is How it Ends
By Eva Dolan
Published by Raven Books (25 January 2018)
I received an Advance Reader Copy from the publisher



Publisher's description
This is how it begins.
With a near-empty building, the inhabitants forced out of their homes by property developers.
With two women: idealistic, impassioned blogger Ella and seasoned campaigner, Molly
With a body hidden in a lift shaft.
But how will it end?


My verdict
When I finished This is How it Ends, I sat for a while gazing into nothing, surrounded by silence. I wanted to shout about the issues it raised and share my enjoyment of the book and my admiration for the author. Yet first of all I needed some time to think and process everything I had read.

While this is a psychological thriller, it's also so much more than this. I can't say much about the plot without giving anything away. But it is complex and intelligent, filled with social and political conscience and some highly topical and ethical contemporary themes. It is bang up to date, focusing on the plight of the underdog against the big property developers. The writing is stunning, drawing the reader in. This is a masterclass with its multi-layered plotting, realistic characters and twists that actually work.

I don't think I've ever been so invested in a book's characters before, shaken and shocked by events as they unfolded right until the bitter end. This is a powerful twisty thought-provoking read and one I won't forget easily - if at all. It's also a book that people will be talking about for a long time, as anger, compassion and frustration ooze off every page.

Eva Dolan is a force to be reckoned with. This is How it Ends is her best novel yet - a book that will challenge you and leave you reeling.

Thursday 25 January 2018

BEST OF CRIME with Kate Rhodes

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 

KATE RHODES


to share her BEST OF CRIME ...



... AUTHORS
I think that one of the very best crime authors right now is Erin Kelly. Erin was a journalist before becoming a crime novelist and her experience of conveying complex information from multiple perspectives really enriches her writing. I love the way her beautifully layered plots flick easily between different characters’ viewpoints and time zones. There’s a tremendous black wit in her novels such as The Poison Tree too. Her latest crime novel, He Said, She Said, is a brilliant statement about how much damage our flawed memories can do, and explores some of the darkest areas of sexual politics. I was absolutely thrilled that Erin wrote a kind review of my first novel, because I’m a huge fan of her writing and always pre-order her books. 


... FILMS/MOVIES
Psycho. Even though more than fifty years have passed since Hitchcock directed this crime classic, it still sends shivers down my spine. There’s something particularly appalling about the way Antony Perkins switches so easily from naïve, fresh-faced sweetness to the apotheosis of evil. The shower scene with its screaming violin still has the power to induce nightmares, despite all the parodies and spoofs that followed. 


... TV DRAMAS
Hinterland is one of my favourite crime drama series, and I’m thrilled to see that it has been optioned for another series. It draws on some of the darkest aspects of Scandinavian thriller series like Wallander, which translate perfectly to the beautiful but bleak Welsh countryside. I really like the way the characters switch between languages, reminding me of the beauty of the Welsh language. Stunning plots and performances form the entire cast lift Hinterland to a higher level than most recent crime drama for me. 


... FICTIONAL KILLERS
Hannibal Lecter is my favourite villain. I adore Thomas Harris’s writing, and his cannibalistic killer in Silence of the Lambs is far more subtle on the page than the big screen. The literary version of Lecter interests me far more than the bloodthirsty celluloid one, because he is capable of love, remorse, and ultimately of redemption. 


... FICTIONAL DETECTIVES 
John Rebus is my favourite literary detective. I’m a huge Ian Rankin fan, and I’ve been loyal to his great crime series from book one. I love reading (and writing) crime series, because the fictional characters become as familiar as relatives. I can imagine John Rebus arriving at my house for Christmas dinner, drunk, and in a bad mood from his latest attempts to solve a crime. When Rankin finally lays him to rest, I will go into mourning. 


... MURDER WEAPONS
I’m a big fan of Patricia Cornwell’s Kay Scarpetta novels which provide some of the most intriguing murder weapons ever. In Unnatural Exposure, Scarpetta has to go up against a killer who uses deadly diseases to kill his victims, rather than standard weapons. There’s something particularly horrifying about a killer who’s prepared to use a smallpox vaccine to kill his victim, putting the whole population at risk. 
    

... DEATH SCENES
The most memorable death scene is by one of my great heroes, Graham Greene. 

Spoiler alert! If you haven’t read his most famous novel, Brighton Rock, look away now… 

The book ends with seventeen year-old gang leader Pinkie Brown getting his face splashed with vitriol, then plummeting to his death from a clifftop. Pinkie is such a malevolent character, that despite his youth, his death comes as a relief, and Greene portrays his agonies as a just retribution for all the lives he’s taken with great panache. 
  

... BLOGS/WEBSITES
The internet site I’ve been looking at most recently is actually a web cam, sited at Ruin Beach on the Scilly island of Tresco. http://www.camsecure.co.uk/Ruin_Beach_Cafe.html My new HELL BAY crime series is set on the Scillies, and it’s a ten hour journey from my home in Cambridge to reach the islands. But when I need to remember exactly what the landscape looks like, it feels like I’m standing on the shore again, watching the Atlantic tide roll in. 


... WRITING TIPS
My most important writing tip is never give up! I attended several brilliant writing courses run by the Arvon Foundation when I was dreaming of writing my first novel, and one the best lessons I learned was the need for persistence. Many people complete that all-important first draft, but give up when it comes to editing and polishing their work. Stick with it, and remind yourself you have a great story to tell. 


... WRITING SNACKS
Nuts are my nibble of choice. I keep a big bowl of them on my desk, so when hunger strikes, I’ll snack on almonds, pecans and cashews. I used to eat truckloads of chocolate biscuits, so my new snack feels quite virtuous. And I suppose it’s a fitting snack for an author, really. Most writers would agree that you don’t have to be nuts to do the job, but it certainly helps! 


About KATE RHODES

KATE RHODES is a full-time crime writer, living in Cambridge with her husband, a writer and film maker. Kate used to be an English teacher and has published two award winning collections of poetry. In 2015 she won the Ruth Rendell short story prize. Kate is the author of the acclaimed ALICE QUENTIN series, with the fifth book, BLOOD SYMMETRY published in 2016. In January 2018 Kate will publish the first novel in a new series, HELL BAY, a crime novel set on the remote Cornish island of Bryher, featuring DI Ben Kitto.

Find Kate Rhodes on her website, on her Facebook page and on Twitter - @K_RhodesWriter


About HELL BAY




Publisher's description
DI Ben Kitto needs a second chance. After ten years working for the murder squad in London, a traumatic event has left him grief-stricken. He’s tried to resign from his job, but his boss has persuaded him to take three months to reconsider.
Ben plans to work in his uncle Ray’s boatyard, on the tiny Scilly island of Bryher where he was born, hoping to mend his shattered nerves. His plans go awry when the body of sixteen year old Laura Trescothick is found on the beach at Hell Bay. Her attacker must still be on the island because no ferries have sailed during a two-day storm. 
Everyone on the island is under suspicion. Dark secrets are about to resurface. And the murderer could strike again at any time.  

Hell Bay is being published by Simon & Schuster on 25 January 2018.


Look out for more BEST OF CRIME features coming soon.

Click here to read more BEST OF CRIME features.

Wednesday 24 January 2018

The London Bookshop Crawl weekend is nearly here!!

The London Bookshop Crawl was set up in 2016 to explore (and support) independent bookshops, as well as being a great way to meet fellow book lovers. This February (9th to 11th) will see 85 of Central and Greater London’s bookshops offering special events, discounts and perks to bookshop crawlers.

Sharing book love
The event was founded by book blogger Bex Hughes, who says “the idea of the London Bookshop Crawl is joy: celebrating the joy of books, the wonder of bookshops and the often unique experience of buying books with others who also love them and fully support the acquisition of far too many. London has so many bookshops and we wanted a way to help people to discover them, meet each other and have lots of fun doing so.”

Bookshop Crawls visited Bath in 2016 and Oxford in 2017. Bex is an ex-Londoner and wanted to explore the smaller London bookshops as well, rather than just the large ones like Waterstones Piccadilly and Foyles. “The core of the event is passion for supporting independent bookshops,” she says. “I personally feel that they are one of the most important resources and by supporting them we are supporting local communities and encouraging literacy. In 2018, we'll be running two summer crawls – one North and one South.”

How to join in
During the weekend of 9th to 11th February, there will be guided tours led by knowledgeable bookworms, author events, special tours and many other fun things alongside the special perks being offered by the bookshops themselves. 

Tickets are still available for Richmond & Kew London Bookshop Crawl on February 10th. However, interest has been high and the other Bookshop Crawls (Soho and surrounding, Waterloo & Southbank, Old Street & Brick Lane and Notting Hill) have now sold out. The London Bookshop Crawl is a not-for-profit event. 

You can also still buy tickets for Jess Kidd in Conversation at Blackwells High Holborn on Friday 9th February at 7pm. Click here for details. 

There's also a Book Swap Brunch in Hyde Park on Sunday 11th at 10.30am. This is a free event but you still need to sign up online here

Finally, you can end the weekend with a drink at The George Inn, 77 Borough High Street, from 6.30pm. 

Create your own crawl
If you still want to explore the book shops in other areas of London, you can always create your own crawl with a group of friends and post your progress on social media – using #LondonBookshopCrawl so others can follow too

Bookshops throughout London will be offering special Bookshop Crawl discounts & freebies to those with a Bookshop Crawl ID over the three-day period. Downloadable IDs are available online here with a list of all participating venues.


For more information, visit www.bookshopcrawl.co.uk, follow @ldnbkshopcrawl on Twitter and follow @londonbookshopcrawl on Instagram.