Monday 30 April 2018

BEST OF CRIME with Peter Swanson

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 

PETER SWANSON


to share his BEST OF CRIME ...




... AUTHORS
John D. MacDonald. I’ve been reading his brilliantly written pulp thrillers since I was twelve years old. He was a great plotter, even better at writing characters, and the absolute best at atmosphere.


... FILMS/MOVIES
Alfred Hitchcock’s Notorious is the perfect synthesis of suspense, romance, incredible acting, and impeccable film making. I went to see it on the big screen this past New Year’s Eve and its better than any champagne.


... TV DRAMAS
I think Breaking Bad is the best television series ever, but I’m picking the show I loved more. And that would be Buffy the Vampire Slayer.


... FICTIONAL KILLERS
Tom Ripley from Patricia Highsmith’s four Ripley novels. I’m always drawn to accidental killers. 


... FICTIONAL DETECTIVES 
The Spenser series by Robert B. Parker was the first detective series I fell in love with as a young reader (besides Nancy Drew). And Spenser gets points for being from my hometown of Boston.


... MURDER WEAPONS
Knitting needles. So innocent in one person’s hands and so nasty in another. There is a Highsmith book that ends with a death by knitting needles, I believe, but I can’t remember the name right now.
    

... DEATH SCENES
The death of Marion Crane (Mary in the book) in both Robert Bloch’s perfect short thriller, and Hitchcock’s game changing film. The very brief description in the book is more horrifying even than the movie.
  

... BLOGS/WEBSITES
Wikipedia. Because everything is there, even if you can’t always trust it.


... WRITING TIPS
The best writing tip is to read a ton of books.


... WRITING SNACKS
Is coffee a snack?


About PETER SWANSON
Peter Swanson is the author of four novels: The Girl With a Clock For a Heart, an LA Times Book Award finalist; The Kind Worth Killing, winner of the New England Society Book Award, and finalist for the CWA Ian Fleming Steel Dagger; Her Every Fear, an NPR book of the year; and his most recent, All the Beautiful Lies. His books have been translated into 30 languages, and his stories, poetry, and features have appeared in Asimov’s Science FictionThe Atlantic MonthlyMeasureThe GuardianThe Strand Magazine, and Yankee Magazine.
A graduate of Trinity College, the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, and Emerson College, he lives in Somerville, Massachusetts with his wife and cat. 

Find Peter Swanson on his website, on his Facebook page and on Twitter - @PeterSwanson3


About ALL THE BEAUTIFUL LIES


Publisher's description
A successful entrepreneur in the mushroom industry, Jaakko Kaunismaa is a man in his prime. At just 37 years of age, he is shocked when his doctor tells him that he’s dying. What is more, the cause is discovered to be prolonged exposure to toxins; in other words, someone has slowly but surely been poisoning him. Determined to find out who wants him dead, Jaakko embarks on a suspenseful rollercoaster journey full of unusual characters, bizarre situations and unexpected twists.
With a nod to Fargo and the best elements of the Scandinavian noir tradition, The Man Who Died is a page-turning thriller brimming with the blackest comedy surrounding life and death, and love and betrayal, marking a stunning new departure for the King of Helsinki Noir.

All the Beautiful Lies was published by Faber & Faber on 3 April 2018.


Look out for more BEST OF CRIME features coming soon.

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