BEST OF CRIME with Jack Jordan

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 

JACK JORDAN

to share his BEST OF CRIME ...

... AUTHORS

Karin Slaughter. Her standalones are something to behold. I’ve read Cop Town twice! Whenever I finish reading her latest book, I eagerly await her next offering. 

... FILMS/MOVIES

Okay, I know it’s more in the horror genre, but I love the original Scream trilogy; so twisty and tense and melodramatic. I mean, the scene in Scream 3 where Sidney has to climb over the unconscious killer to get out of the cop car… talk about holding one’s breath! Amazing. 

... TV DRAMAS

Silent Witness. It’s just so British and I love it, and although it doesn’t always ring true when it comes to procedure, I love it for what it is. How they continually come up with new ideas after two decades is astonishing!

... FICTIONAL KILLERS

I think it has to be the Scream trilogy again. There’s a different masked killer in each film, and yet the ‘Ghost Killer’ became a staple character of its own. Genius. 

... FICTIONAL DETECTIVES 

Clarice Starling. I love a rookie who wins, and boy did she have to go through some sh*t to win!

... MURDER WEAPONS

I think the dagger-like icicle is the most ingenious. A weapon that melts away after it’s been used? Sign me up! Although the ice pick in Basic Instinct is also a contender!

    

... DEATH SCENES

The death scene that I’ll never forget (because it genuinely traumatised me and rendered me speechless) was in The Girl Next Door by Jack Ketchum. The fact that it’s based on a true story makes the string of events even more horrifying. This book is not for everyone (probably not for anyone!).

  

... BLOGS/WEBSITES

I actually don’t have any staple websites or blogs I visit for research. With each story comes a new subject matter, so I’m surfing all over the place and never visit the same website twice. However, I’ve found Youtube extremely useful for finding information on a huge range of topics. 

... WRITING TIPS

• It is very normal to hate your own writing.
• The first draft is for you; the other drafts are for the readers. 
• Repeat after me: ‘I cannot please everyone’. There will always be someone who is going to hate your work (and be vocal about it) – this is not a reflection on your talent or worth. 
• In a very competitive, sometimes cut-throat industry, I think this is a very handy motto to live by: don’t be jealous, be inspired. 

... WRITING SNACKS

I start off relatively healthy, mirroring my optimism before the real work begins and the snacks gets worse and worse until I’m essentially shoveling sugar into my mouth during copy-edits. Best snacks/fuel: chocolate and coffee.

About JACK JORDAN

Jack Jordan is the bestselling author of four books: Anything for Her, My Girl, A Woman Scorned, and Before Her Eyes, with number five, Night by Night, arriving in 2019. 

Find Jack Jordan on Instagram, on his Facebook page and on Twitter - @JackJordanBooks

About BEFORE HER EYES

Publisher's description

She can't see the killer
But the killer can see her...

Naomi Hannah has been blind since birth. Struggling with living in a small, claustrophobic town, Naomi contemplates ending her life. But then she stumbles across the body of a young woman who has been brutally murdered. She senses someone else there at the scene - watching her. Naomi may not be able to see the killer's face, but she is still the only person who can identify him. 

As the police begin hunting the person responsible and more victims are discovered, Naomi is forced to answer the question on which her fate hangs: why did the killer let her live?

In a town this small, the murderer must be close, perhaps even before her very eyes...

Before Her Eyes was published by Corvus on 16 August 2018.

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