Tuesday, 16 January 2018

BEST OF CRIME with Rachel Sargeant

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 

RACHEL SARGEANT


to share her BEST OF CRIME ...




... AUTHORS
Agatha Christie wrote sixty six crime novels, as well as romances, plays and short stories, over a fifty-three-year career. She gave us two unforgettable and unlikely sleuths; dozens of demonic, funny, romantic, odd characters; and some of the most unexpected plot twists in the business. And it was all without a word-processor or the internet.


... FILMS/MOVIES
I’m not a great cinema-goer so I’ll have to choose Death on the Nile, a film that I caught up with on TV. I loved the lavish adaptation with many famous actors playing the suspects. It was before I’d read the book so I loved the unexpected twist.


... TV DRAMAS
I’m fond of many TV detective dramas. My favourites are the early Taggart episodes written by the series creator Glen Chandler. He wrote brilliantly gothic plots. And at the other end of the crime spectrum, I adored the Miss Marple series that stared Joan Hickson.


... FICTIONAL KILLERS
I loved the killer in Kate Atkinson’s One Good Turn. I’m smiling now as I type this and thinking: good on you. 


... FICTIONAL DETECTIVES 
Jackson Brodie, Kate Atkinson’s world weary detective who just can’t stop trying to protect people, especially all the lost girls.


... MURDER WEAPONS
Not that interested in weapons, but I think I’ve seen some bizarre devices employed in Midsomer Murders.
    

... DEATH SCENES
I recently read Friend Request and was very taken with the way Laura Marshall wrote a particular scene towards the end…
  

... BLOGS/WEBSITES
My research changes depending on what I’m writing. I don’t have one favourite website but am grateful to many.


... WRITING TIPS
Write, write, write and read, read, read.
Don’t prevaricate, just get that first draft down. Then you’ve got something you can work on.
Apart from being great fun, reading will give you an insight into how other authors approach character, setting, plot and technique. You won’t end up copying them but they may spark new ideas in you. 


... WRITING SNACKS
Black coffee.


About RACHEL SARGEANT
Rachel Sargeant grew up in Lincolnshire. The Perfect Neighbours is her third novel. She is a previous winner of Writing Magazine’s Crime Short Story competition and has been placed or shortlisted in various competitions, including the Bristol Short Story Prize. Her stories have appeared in My Weekly and the Accent Press Saucy Shorts series. Rachel has a degree in German and Librarianship from Aberystwyth University and a Masters in Creative Writing from Lancaster University. She spent several years living in Germany where she taught English and she now lives in Gloucestershire with her husband and children. 

Find Rachel Sargeant on her website, on her Facebook page and on Twitter - @RachelSargeant3


About THE PERFECT NEIGHBOURS




Publisher's description
The perfect neighbours tell the perfect lies… When Helen moves to Germany with her loving husband Gary, she can’t wait to join the ex-pat community of teachers from the local International School. But her new start is about to become her worst nightmare.
Behind the shutters lies a devastating secret… As soon as the charming family across the way welcome Helen into their home, she begins to suspect that all is not as it seems. Then Gary starts to behave strangely and a child goes missing, vanished without a trace.
When violence and tragedy strike, cracks appear in the neighbourhood, and Helen realises her perfect neighbours are capable of almost anything.

The Perfect Neighbours is being published in paperback by HarperCollins Killer Reads on 25 January 2018.


Look out for more BEST OF CRIME features coming soon.

Click here to read more BEST OF CRIME features.

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