What You Did by Claire McGowan - moderator at October's First Monday Crime

What You Did
By Claire McGowan
Published by Thomas & Mercer (1 August 2019)
I received an Advance Reader Copy from the publisher

Publisher's description

It was supposed to be the perfect reunion: six university friends together again after twenty years. Host Ali finally has the life she always wanted, a career she can be proud of and a wonderful family with her college boyfriend, now husband. But that night her best friend makes an accusation so shocking that nothing will ever be the same again.

When Karen staggers in from the garden, bleeding and traumatised, she claims that she has been assaulted—by Ali’s husband, Mike. Ali must make a split-second decision: who should she believe? Her horrified husband, or her best friend? With Mike offering a very different version of events, Ali knows one of them is lying—but which? And why?

When the ensuing chaos forces her to re-examine the golden era the group shared at university, Ali realises there are darker memories too. Memories that have lain dormant for decades. Memories someone would kill to protect.

My verdict
How well do you remember your student days? Are there some things you'd prefer to forget?

What You Did is a psychological thriller following six adults who were friends at university. Twenty years on, they have met up for a reunion, their lives having taken various different paths over the years. Following an evening of heavy drinking, Karen accuses Ali's husband, Mike, of rape - and Ali's seemingly perfect life falls apart, torn between believing her husband and believing her best friend.

The story is well-structured, told through different perspectives, and flits easily between past and present. None of the characters were particularly likeable but they certainly felt believable - these were real people living real lives - and none of them were reliable either, each one having a distorted view of the past and trying to keep secrets hidden.

What You Did is dark and compelling, with an unsolved murder at the heart of it, revealing how our own memories can deceive us and how we often deceive ourselves. This whodunnit is a twisty read - one that should appeal to psychological thriller fans who love books featuring moral dilemmas and 'what would I do?' scenarios.

First Monday Crime
First Monday Crime is back after its summer break on Monday 7th October at City University, London.

The panellists are Nicci French, Peter Robinson and Marnie Riches, kept in line by moderator Claire McGowan.

You can reserve your free ticket here.

BEST OF CRIME with Victoria Selman

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 

VICTORIA SELMAN

for her Blood for Blood blog tour

to share her BEST OF CRIME ...

... AUTHORS

Thomas Harris. Aside from his complex characters, so real (and often disturbing) they jump of the page and stay with me long after I’ve closed the book, I also love the profiling aspects he weaves so brilliantly through his stories. I’m similarly in awe of his plotting and ability to deliver a sucker punch twist. That knock on the door scene at the end of Silence of the Lambs - wow!

... FILMS/MOVIES

Kramer vs Kramer.  I first watched it with a bunch of friends at uni, and have watched it again on my own several times since, always with a large box of Keenex. Starring Dustin Hoffman (who I’m a little bit in love with) it tells the story of a couple’s custody battle and its heartbreaking impact on their young son. Ted Kramer (played by Hoffman) is a workaholic with no time for his family. He races home to tell his wife he’s just landed an amazing new account to which she replies, ‘I’m leaving you’…

... TV DRAMAS

Better Call Saul. I loved Breaking Bad (who didn’t?) but for me, Better Call Saul is even better. It has the same intense character focus, beautiful cinematography and feel of a novel, but it also incorporates a note perfect pathos in the fall of its protagonist.

... FICTIONAL KILLERS

Hannibal Lecter.  That was an easy one to answer, he’s everything a villain should be- venal yet not black and white. And he has some killer lines: “I ate his liver with some fava beans and a nice chianti”. Brilliant!

... FICTIONAL DETECTIVES 

Sherlock Holmes. My character calls him the ‘godfather of profiling’ and she’s right! I started reading the short stories when I was thirteen, captivated by his ability to deduce so much about a person just by looking at them. 

... MURDER WEAPONS

Well, that would have to be the method used in Behind Her Eyes (so ingenious, and more than a little bit creepy!) though I can’t say more without giving the whole book away…

    

... DEATH SCENES

The opening of Lullaby in which two children are murdered by their nanny. The description of the little girl dying is shocking but what makes her death even more heartbreaking is the sound of her mother’s scream when she finds her: “She let out a scream, a scream from deep within, the howl of a she-wolf. It made the walls tremble.”

  

... BLOGS/WEBSITES

Google Earth because you can travel round the world and ‘walk’ the streets your characters roam without leaving your desk chair (useful when you have to factor in school drop-offs and pick-ups).

... WRITING TIPS

Someone once said to me you should never write with your editing hat on. Everyone’s different, but I find it really important not to think too hard about the precision of the words I’m using when penning a first draft, to just let the story flow. Precision comes later and I’m a bit OCD about it, spending hours in the editing stage putting a comma in and then taking it out again.

... WRITING SNACKS

Very important, or so I tell myself. Chocolate, biscuits … because glucose is good for the brain, right? I never had a problem losing my baby weight, but the writer weight…

About VICTORIA SELMAN

Victoria Selman wrote her first novel aged seven: twenty-five years later, her debut has now been sold into territories around the globe. After graduating from Oxford University, Victoria studied Creative Writing at the City Lit and wrote for the Ham & High and Daily Express newspapers. In 2013 she won the Full Stop Short Story Prize and her first novel, Blood For Blood, was shortlisted for the 2017 Debut Dagger Award. Victoria co-hosts the true crime podcast, CRIME GIRL GANG.

Find Victoria Selman on her website and on Twitter - @VictoriaSelman

About BLOOD FOR BLOOD

Publisher's description

Ziba Mackenzie profiles killers. Now one is profiling her.

Rush hour, London. A packed commuter train is torn apart in a collision. Picking through the carnage, ex-special forces profiler Ziba MacKenzie helps a dying woman who passes on a cryptic message: He did it. You have to tell someone.

When a corpse is found bearing the gruesome signature of a serial killer dormant for twenty-five years, Ziba is pulled into the hunt for the perpetrator. As the body count rises it becomes clear he’s on a new spree. But what’s brought the London Lacerator back after such a long hiatus? And does his sudden return have anything to do with the woman on the train?

Ziba scrambles to profile the killer in the hope of predicting his next move. But time is running out. And the closer she gets to uncovering his identity, the closer he gets to destroying hers.

Blood for Blood was published by Thomas & Mercer on 1 February 2019.

Look out for more BEST OF CRIME features coming soon.

Click here to read more BEST OF CRIME features.

FOLLOW THE BLOG TOUR

BEST OF CRIME with Teresa Driscoll

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 

TERESA DRISCOLL

to share her BEST OF CRIME ...

... AUTHORS
I’m going to say Kate Atkinson for her brilliant Jackson Brodie books. I love all Kate’s writing and literally punched the air when she ‘turned to crime’ – setting the bar sooooo high. I read an interview years back in which she said she might one day write another Brodie book. Kate. Please. I’m not proud. I’m prepared to beg…

... FILMS/MOVIES
The Sixth Sense. A little off piste? Sure. It’s technically supernatural horror (I had to Google the genre to be sure!) but it starts with a crime and this film brilliantly demonstrates precisely what I like my ‘crime stories’ to do. Namely…the totally unexpected.  I love a story that widens the lens to explore surprising motive and consequence. The Sixth Sense is pure character-led genius – managing to deliver big shocks as well as deeply touching scenes. It’s also the scariest movie I have managed to watch without passing out. (Whisper this; I’m a bit of a wimp on the quiet.)

... TV DRAMAS
Happy Valley. I’m a big fan of Sarah Lancashire who was stunning in this with a brilliant script by Sally Wainwright. I’m also currently enjoying Kiri…

... FICTIONAL KILLERS
Probably Hannibal Lecter – though I watched most of Silence of the Lambs from behind my hands (see above re wimp/fainting tendencies).

... FICTIONAL DETECTIVES 
Jackson Brodie. *stops fainting and swoons*

... MURDER WEAPONS
Sorry. Useless on this. I feel a bit of a fraud here but I’m really not that excited by how people get killed. (I’d write my death scenes from behind my hands if it was possible to type that way!) It’s all about the why and the what the hell next for me.

... DEATH SCENES
There is stunning use of an icicle in a fabulous book…but I daren’t name it for *spoiler* reasons – though most of you will hopefully know what I mean.

  

... BLOGS/WEBSITES
No special favourites; I just roam the net and Google when I’m researching. A lot of readers of my bestseller I Am Watching You asked me if I ever worked as a florist. Nope. I just spent DAYS and DAYS watching YouTube videos by floral designers…(If the writing ever goes pear-shaped, I could probably now do weddings.)

... WRITING TIPS
Number one – write what you feel passionate about. (If you try to chase a trend, it’s bound to have passed by the time you finish anyway.)

Write in forward gear so you keep the excitement and the momentum – leave the editing for later. (I thank Stephen King for this crucial tip which changed my writing life.)

Don’t share ideas too early. Even a raised eyebrow can knock confidence in your WIP. Keep the faith. Keep the buzz. And keep it to yourself for as long as you can.

... WRITING SNACKS
I run on coffee and spend a large part of every hour of every day, trying NOT to think about snacks.

About TERESA DRISCOLL

Teresa Driscoll is a former BBC TV news journalist and now bestselling author of psychological thrillers. Her debut I am watching you hit kindle #1 in the UK, USA and Australia on launch and has sold more than 200,000 copies. Teresa also writes women’s fiction and her books have been sold for translation to ten countries. Teresa’s new psychological thriller The Friend is published by Thomas & Mercer in paperback and as an e-book on March 22 2018.

Find Teresa Driscoll on her website, on her Facebook page and on Twitter - @TeresaDriscoll

About THE FRIEND

Publisher's description

On a train with her husband, miles from home and their four-year-old son, Ben, Sophie receives a chilling phone call. Two boys are in hospital after a tragic accident. One of them is Ben.

She thought she could trust Emma, her new friend, to look after her little boy. After all, Emma’s a kindred spirit—someone Sophie was sure she could bare her soul to, despite the village rumours. But Sophie can’t shake the feeling that she’s made an unforgivable mistake and now her whole family is in danger.Because how well does she know Emma, really? Should she have trusted her at all?

Time is running out. Powerless to help her child, still hours from home, Sophie is about to discover the truth. And her life will never be the same.

The Friend is published by Thomas and Mercer on 22 March 2018.

Look out for more BEST OF CRIME features coming soon.

Click here to read more BEST OF CRIME features.

BEST OF CRIME with John Marrs

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 

JOHN MARRS

to share his BEST OF CRIME ...

... AUTHORS
I’m a big fan of Peter Swanson, particularly his novel A Kind Worth Killing. I also utterly love Gillian Flynn’s stories and how she weaves crimes, sociopaths and psychopaths in and out of a story with such apparent ease. I’ve had the pleasure of interviewing Tom Rob Smith, author of The Farm and the Child 44 trilogy, a couple of times before for magazines I’ve freelanced at. I’m such a fan of his work and found him inspirational.

... FILMS/MOVIES
My all time favourite film is the Quentin Tarantino penned, Tony Scott directed, True Romance. I don’t know which film I’ve seen more times, that, Casino or Stand By Me. Other firm favourites include The Mosquito Coast, Terminator 2, Heathers, My Own Private Idaho and Donnie Darko.

... TV DRAMAS
Where to begin? The Americans set the bar for this for much of the last decade, but with dramas like Doctor Foster, Sherlock, Peaky Blinders and Line Of Duty, us Brits are fighting back. I’ll opt for some classics like Lost, Mad Men, The Sopranos, and more modern classics that will stand the test of time, including Game Of Thrones, The Bridge and The Walking Dead.

... FICTIONAL KILLERS
In his more recent books and adaptations, Hannibal Lecter became too much of a caricature, but in both Silence Of The Lambs and Hannibal Rising, Anthony Hopkins was mesmerising. Tony Soprano was also a charismatic killer and Patrick Bateman from American Psycho is one of the all time greatest unreliable narrators, along with Gone Girl’s Amy Dunne. 

... FICTIONAL DETECTIVES 
Does Batman count? I’m not really a fan of superheroes but Christopher Nolan’s three Batman movies were just incredible to watch. And I know James Bond is technically a spy, but he has to rely on detective work to get his villains, surely? Miss Marple, Poirot and Sherlock aside, I’m going to choose John Rebus from Ian Rankin’s novels.

... MURDER WEAPONS
My weapon of choice to write about is a knife. A bullet is boring, strangulation is one-dimensional. But you can be so creative with a knife and a body. In real life, I’m actually a little scared of blades.

    

... DEATH SCENES
(Possible spoiler alert!)  A Kind Worth Killing.

Bumping off one of the main characters half the way through a book was so brave. And almost all of the deaths in American Psycho paved the way for acceptable gore. 

... BLOGS/WEBSITES
My most visited are social media pages like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. For news, I’ll go to The Guardian and then Mail Online. Digital Spy will give me my television news fix while I’ll spend a fortune surfing Amazon instead of writing!

... WRITING TIPS
Read everything you write out loud afterwards. Reading in your head will sound nothing like it does when you say those words aloud.

... WRITING SNACKS

My partner has to hide the chocolate when I’m working at home or I’ll just eat my way through every cube of it in the house. I’m like a child; I have no self-control when sweet things are in my grasp. Actually it’s anything with sugar in it. I once wiped through a tube of chocolate cake decorations I found in the cupboard just because they were there.   

About JOHN MARRS

John Marrs is a freelance journalist based in London, England, who has spent the last 20 years interviewing celebrities from the world of television, film and music for national newspapers and magazines. He has written for publications including The Guardian’s Guide and Guardian Online; OK! Magazine; Total Film; Empire; Q; GT; The Independent; Star; Reveal; Company; Daily Star and News of the World’s Sunday Magazine. His debut novel, The Wronged Sons, was released in 2013 and in May 2015, he released his second book, Welcome To Wherever You Are. In May 2017 came his third book, The One. It was chosen as the book of the month for BBC Radio 2’s Book Club. The Wronged Sons was re-edited and re-released in July 2017 under a new title, When You Disappeared. And his fourth book, The Good Samaritan, was released in December 2017.

Find John Marrs on his Facebook page and on Twitter - @johnmarrs1

About THE GOOD SAMARITAN

Publisher's description

She’s a friendly voice on the phone. But can you trust her?

The people who call End of the Line need hope. They need reassurance that life is worth living. But some are unlucky enough to get through to Laura. Laura doesn’t want them to hope. She wants them to die.

Laura hasn’t had it easy: she’s survived sickness and a difficult marriage only to find herself heading for forty, unsettled and angry. She doesn’t love talking to people worse off than she is. She craves it.

But now someone’s on to her—Ryan, whose world falls apart when his pregnant wife ends her life, hand in hand with a stranger. Who was this man, and why did they choose to die together?

The sinister truth is within Ryan’s grasp, but he has no idea of the desperate lengths Laura will go to…

Because the best thing about being a Good Samaritan is that you can get away with murder.

The Good Samaritan was published by Thomas & Mercer on 1 december 2017.

Look out for more BEST OF CRIME features coming soon.

Click here to read more BEST OF CRIME features.

BEST OF CRIME with Ruth Dugdall

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 

RUTH DUGDALL

to share her BEST OF CRIME ... 

... AUTHORS
I think Stephen King is a force to be reckoned with. He’s a diverse writer, and though most people would associate him with the supernatural genre, Misery has to be one of the most unsettling and finest crime novels of all time. He’s prolific and he’s fantastic at tension and pace. What I also love is that he’s a writer for the people, a true democratic choice.  

... FILMS/MOVIES
The Talented Mr Ripley. Oh my goodness, no matter how many times I see that film I never stop wanting it to end differently. The narrative is so clever it has us rooting for Tom, because he’s presented as the underdog, and each murder is beyond his control. It’s star-studded, with Matt Damon, Jude Law and Seymour Hoffman and Gwyneth Paltrow, and they are all first rate. If you haven’t seen it you’re in for a treat! 

... TV DRAMAS
I really loved River, especially the melancholic idea that the protagonist detective works with his partner, who is dead, in his head. There’s a scene where he’s singling in a Karaoke bar, alone, but imagining they’re together. Truly heartbreaking.

... FICTIONAL KILLERS
Humbert Humbert is such a clever killer that he almost fools us of his innocence. (His interest in Lolita is about to be exposed by her mother when she is `accidently` run over). In the narrative, told entirely from Humbert’s point of view, we are encouraged to see him not as a predatory paedophile but as a protective figure. My old copy of this book described it as a `romance` which I think sums up how effective Nabokov was in portraying this Saville-like monster.   

... FICTIONAL DETECTIVES
Clarice Starling, because she’s vulnerable but fierce, a compelling combination. Her motivation is to stop the lambs screaming, something I identify with, as my own reason for working with criminals was to understand behaviour that frightens me. It’s also a large part of why I write in the crime genre.

... MURDER WEAPONS
The corkscrew at the end of Girl On a Train takes some beating.

... DEATH SCENES
There’s a scene in Anne Cleeve`s book, Out of a Clear Blue Sky, where the mother finds her dead son dead, naked in a bath, surrounded by flowers. A powerful image.

... BLOGS/WEBSITES
There are some threads on Reddit, crime discussions with people obsessed with certain cases, that I find useful. 

... WRITING TIPS
Keep buggering on!

... WRITING SNACKS
I drink constantly, like a camel. I try to stick with lime and soda until it’s evening, then I love a glass of cremant. When I lived in Luxembourg alcohol was ubiquitous (women drank after doing their weekly shop in bars at the mall) but returning to UK I reverted back to the six o clock rule. 

About RUTH DUGDALL

Ruth is a crime writer whose novels are strongly influenced by her previous career as a probation officer. Her books feature strong female leads and are based on, or inspired by, real crimes. 

Find Ruth Dugdall on her website, FB page and on Twitter - @RuthDugdall

About MY SISTER AND OTHER LIARS

Publisher's description

Sam is seventeen, starving herself and longing for oblivion. Her sister, Jena, is mentally scarred and desperate to remember. Between them, they share secrets too terrible to recall.

Eighteen months earlier, Sam was still full of hope: hope that she could piece together Jena’s fragmented memory after the vicious attack that changed their family forever. But digging into the past unearthed long-hidden lies and betrayals, and left Sam feeling helpless and alone in a world designed to deceive her.

Now, in a last bid to save her from self-imposed shutdown, Sam’s therapist is helping her confront her memories. But the road to recovery is a dangerous one. Because Sam has not only been lying to her doctors: she’s been hiding dark secrets from herself. 

My Sister and Other Liars was published by Thomas & Mercer on 1 May 2017.

Look out for more BEST OF CRIME features coming soon.

Click here to read more BEST OF CRIME features.

The Stranger Inside by Jennifer Jaynes

The Stranger Inside
By Jennifer Jaynes
Published by Thomas & Mercer (9 May 2017)

Publisher's description

After mystery author Diane Christie loses her husband to suicide, she and her son move to the small coastal town of Fog Harbor, Massachusetts. Her daughter is attending college nearby, and Diane hopes that her family can now begin to heal. But rebuilding their lives after the tragedy isn’t so simple.

Diane’s depressed college-age daughter, Alexa, still avoids her, critical of everything Diane does, and even her generally amiable teenage son, Josh, has started acting out. Diane pushes forward, focusing on her writing and her volunteer work at a local crisis hotline. She knows that healing takes time.

But then a girl from Alexa's college is found strangled. Worse still, the murderer uses the crisis hotline to confess to Diane . . . and claims she is the only one who can stop the killing. And just when the glow of new love from an attractive admirer begins to chase away some of the darkness, more girls turn up dead, and Diane races to solve a mystery she fears will hit terrifyingly close to home.

My verdict
This is the third Jennifer Jaynes book I've read. And I enjoyed it just as much as the last two.

The Stranger Inside is a psychological suspense thriller, looking at how far a mother will go for her children. It's an easy read, with strong writing, believable characters and an intriguing, fast-paced plot.

I read most of the book in one sitting. I have to admit that the big reveal wasn't a total surprise to me, and I wasn't 100% sure about the ending - whether it was in keeping with the true nature of the characters. But overall I found the book very hard to put down, with its complex trail of clues, red herrings, twists and turns.

Definitely one of those books that makes you think 'what would I have done?'

I received an Advance Reader Copy from the publisher through NetGalley.