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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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.

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BEST OF CRIME with Tim Baker

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 

TIM BAKER

to share his BEST OF CRIME ...

... AUTHORS

It is astonishing to realise that Ross Macdonald’s series of books featuring P.I. Lew Archer (two of which were made into the Paul Newman Harper movies) began life 70 years ago. There is a freshness and modern relevance in his work that you just don’t find in the novels of his contemporaries – including Chandler and Hammett.

If Macdonald is the summit of the shamus, Patricia Highsmith is the highest peak of psychological suspense, whether in her best known novels such as Strangers on a Train or her unjustly lesser-known works, such as the superb, Mexican-set thriller, A Game for the Living.

... FILMS/MOVIES

From the stunning cinematography to the haunting theme, Chinatown is hard to beat, and even boasts the creepy presence of the man who invented the Private Eye movie, John Huston.

Out of the Past is a prime example of romantic, doomed existentialism, as is Sweet Smell of Success, with Sidney’s smug code for the completion of a successful crime, “The cat’s in the bag and the bag’s in the river”, one of film noir’s most memorable lines. 

But perhaps best of all is René Clément’s adaptation of Patricia Highsmith’s masterpiece, with Alain Delon playing Tom Ripley in Plein Soleil (Purple Noon in English) – oh, that ending! 

... TV DRAMAS

The Sopranos and The Wire created the template for the contemporary crime saga. Breaking Bad broke ground with its superb character development and insanely good plotting. And Life on Mars was memorable for its humour and humanity.

But if I had to choose one show, it would be season one of True Detective. Everything about it felt epic, from the extraordinary six minute, single take, tracking shot in episode four to the dual themes of darkness and redemption and the relationship between Rust and Hart – best of enemies, worst of friends. Amazing.

... FICTIONAL KILLERS

Firstly, I personally prefer killers who remain safely fictional. Secondly, as much as I love Anthony Hopkins and Mads Mikkelsen as actors, I can’t get my head around Hannibal Lecter being this loveable, charismatic killer everyone wants to hang with – probably because I was never a fan of either fava beans or Chianti.

So, if you have to buddy up with a killer, you better find one who’s fun to be around. Enter the perfect insane killer companion: Emilio Largo from Ian Fleming’s Thunderball. He has a cool eyepatch, a girlfriend called Domino, a villa in Nassau and spends his days tooling around in a souped-up super yacht called the Disco Volante – what’s not to like? Plus if you hang with him long enough, you’ll end up meeting James Bond… or at least Austin Powers. 

... FICTIONAL DETECTIVES 

Special agents Dana Scully (X-Files), Clarice Starling (The Silence of the Lambs) and Dale Cooper (Twin Peaks) are all top-drawer, kick-ass investigators – but they also all work for the Bureau – not my favourite outfit (J Edgar was a nasty character in my novel, Fever City).

So I’m going for an old-fashioned, independent detective, Hercule Poirot: a brilliant mind, a seeker of truth and justice, and an amusing and generous companion. He is also that most undervalued of persons at the moment: a European resident of the UK. I can only imagine how hurt he would have been by the Brexit vote. Mon Dieu, even his little grey cells would short-circuit trying to understand that mess.

If Monsieur Poirot were to be deported back to Belgium, I’d choose The Dude from The Big Lebowski – provided that someone would promise to rescue me after three days in his company. Nothing much would get solved with the Dude around, but at least there’d be good music, plenty of bowling and more White Russians than you could shake a Persian rug at. 

... MURDER WEAPONS

I was about seven years old when I heard my mother cry out in shock, and then, inexplicably, start laughing. I ran into the lounge room just in time to see the already familiar figure of Alfred Hitchcock intoning his farewells on Alfred Hitchcock Presents. The TV episode in question was called Lamb to the Slaughter and was written by Roald Dahl. There may possibly be a better murder weapon in crime fiction, but there has never been a better means of disposing of one. 

    

... DEATH SCENES

The best death scene I can recall is actually a near miss: the almost assassination of President Charles de Gaulle in The Day of the Jackal. It is as if all of Frederick Forsyth’s brilliant attention to the minutiae of French life and society has been in service to this one, brilliant scene. 

  

... BLOGS/WEBSITES

Twitter is great if you’re just starting out writing: it not only offers you direct insight into what agents and editors are currently looking for, it also affords an opportunity to interact with other crime writers – who tend to be a pretty congenial bunch. Just don’t forget to mute the accounts of Donald Trump, Morrissey and Katie Hopkins first. 

... WRITING TIPS

Never Plan Your Books. A crime novel is an investigation; a search for meaning and truth – and that search begins with the writer. Never be afraid to stumble along in the dark, follow red herrings, or get cold sweats when you run into a dead-end alley. So what if sometimes you’ll find yourself contemplating arson with your very own manuscript? The chills and thrills you’ll get flying blind will translate into your work – and remember: if something doesn’t make sense, you can always fix it in the end! It’s called cheating and no one’s ever going to catch you as long as you wear gloves, cover your tracks, and avoid using your credit card close to the crime scene. 

... WRITING SNACKS

Snacks are indispensable as I tend to forget to eat lunch when I’m writing. In summer, it’s unsalted cashews and rosé. In winter, Russian Earl Grey tea and dark chocolate. Life is too short and your editor isn’t going to be kind to you, so pamper yourself a little! 

About TIM BAKER

Born in Sydney, Tim Baker has lived in Rome, Madrid and Paris and currently lives in the South of France with his wife, their son, and two rescue animals, a dog and a cat. His debut novel, the neo-noir thriller, Fever City, was shortlisted for the CWA John Creasey New Blood Dagger award and Highly Commended for the CWA Debut Dagger award, and was also nominated for The Private Eye Writers of America’s Shamus award for best first novel. He was named as an 'Author to Watch More Closely in the Future' by J Kingston Pierce in Kirkus Reviews. 

Find Tim Baker on Twitter - @TimBakerWrites

About CITY WITHOUT STARS

Publisher's description

In Ciudad Real, Mexico, a deadly war between rival cartels is erupting, and hundreds of female sweat-shop workers are being murdered. As his police superiors start shutting down his investigation, Fuentes suspects most of his colleagues are on the payroll of narco kingpin, El Santo. Meanwhile, despairing union activist, Pilar, decides to take social justice into her own hands. But if she wants to stop the killings, she’s going to have to ignore all her instincts and accept the help of Fuentes. When the name of Mexico’s saintly orphan rescuer, Padre Márcio, keeps resurfacing, Pilar and Fuentes begin to realise how deep the cover-up goes. 

City Without Stars was published by Faber & Faber on 11 January 2018.

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BEST OF CRIME with James Nally

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 

JAMES NALLY

to share his BEST OF CRIME ...

... AUTHORS

Tana French, such relatable characters and a mistress of suspense. (Oh and she’s Irish and I’m biased!) 

Roger Hobbs, completely reinvented the genre, puts my research efforts to shame.

Raymond Chandler, for wanting me to be Marlowe.

Patrick McCabe, not crime per se but so many bad things happen. Dark, twisted yet hilarious. 

... FILMS/MOVIES

The Guard, hilarious, chilling and surreal. I love the combination of humour and gore.

Down by Law, beautifully-crafted, acted but forget all that, it’s got Tom Waits!

The Long Good Friday, Bob Hoskins proving that small men are indeed scarier. 

... TV DRAMAS

Unforgiven, what a cast, and a lesson in how to interweave disparate stories while keeping the viewer hooked.

River, a series that had the balls to feature a detective interacting with a dead former partner. The finale is one of the TV moments of the decade.

Born to Kill, shows what a brilliant documentary maker like Bruce Goodison can bring to drama. 

... FICTIONAL KILLERS

Fowler in Graham Greene’s The Quiet American. There is something really appealing to me about a person who murders someone else for the greater good.

Patrick Bateman in American Psycho.

Lou Ford, the original and baddest ‘bad lieutenant’ in Jim Thompson’s ‘Killer Inside Me’.  

... FICTIONAL DETECTIVES 

Philip Marlowe, of course.  

... MURDER WEAPONS

I’ve always liked a blade fashioned out of ice, so that you can melt the evidence! 

    

... DEATH SCENES

In the late 1990s, the IRA developed a ‘flashgun’ detonation system whereby the flash of a camera would set off a semtex bomb. An IRA unit abducted a milkman, murdered him and left his body in the dim, unlit hallway of a house alongside what looked like six cartons of milk.  Except the cartons had been stuffed full of semtex. The hallway and house was full of police officers and forensics when the scenes-of-crime officer arrived and took out his camera… 

  

... BLOGS/WEBSITES

The frankly amazing murderuk.com website listing every murder for decades. Clipshare provides newspaper cuttings going back to 2006.  Bridey-by-the-Sea, my partner’s blog, which contains uplifting copy and some of the best photos I’ve ever seen of the south coast and Brighton. 

... WRITING TIPS

Don’t be fussy about the first draft; get it down! Writing is re-writing. Use everything you can from your own life and experiences. You don’t know how amazing you are! 

... WRITING SNACKS

Water, Tunnock caramel bars (I consume a good portion of the 6 million bars they claim to sell every week!), pistachios, post 6pm Peroni, post 9pm Shiraz. 

About JAMES NALLY

James Nally is an ex-crime reporter and award-winning film-maker whose crime fiction books ‘Alone with the Dead’ and ‘Dance with the Dead’ have been described as ‘intoxicating’, ‘hilarious’ and ‘gripping’ by the Sun and Mirror newspapers.

His third book, ‘Games with the Dead’ sees rookie Irish cop Donal Lynch stumble across a nexus of crime involving bent cops, notorious villains and a morally-bankrupt reporter. When his personal life falls apart, Donal agrees to take on a Kamikaze undercover caper in an attempt to smash the ring, only to find himself being set up to get whacked.  

Find James Nally on his Facebook page and on Twitter - @jimnally

About GAMES WITH THE DEAD

Publisher's description

Life is about to get complicated for DC Donal Lynch.

When a young woman is kidnapped, Donal is brought in to deliver the ransom money. But the tightly-planned drop off goes wrong, Julie Draper is discovered dead, and Donal finds his job on the line – a scapegoat for the officers in charge.

But when Donal is delivered a cryptic message in the night, he learns that Julie was killed long before the botched rescue mission. As he digs further into the murder in a bid to clear his own name, dark revelations make one thing certain: the police are chasing the wrong man, and the killer has far more blood on his hands than they could even imagine.

Games with the Dead was published by Avon on 28 December 2017.

Look out for more BEST OF CRIME features coming soon.

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BEST OF CRIME with Howard Linskey

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 

HOWARD LINSKEY

for his Hunting the Hangman blog tour

to share his BEST OF CRIME ... 

... AUTHORS

John Le Carre – his books are beautifully written and have page-turning plots, complex characters and wonderful subtlety. I love ‘The Spy Who Came In From The Cold’ and ‘Smiley’s People’ but my all-time favourite book is ‘Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy’, which manages to be a mystery, a whodunit, a thriller, a social commentary and a devastating account of the cost of betrayal all at once. It’s a marvelous book. 

... FILMS/MOVIES

The Godfather – though don’t ask me to choose between parts one and two as they are both sublime. Michael Corleone’s journey; from the young guy who doesn’t want anything to do with the family business to mafia king pin who loses his soul, is so watchable I can never turn it off if it’s on late night TV, despite owning the DVD. It’s one to watch over and over again. Great acting, wonderful writing and superb lines abound. I can probably recite every one of them. 

... TV DRAMAS

Band of Brothers or Our Friends in the North, though my guilty pleasure is Game of Thrones. Band of Brothers is the best and most realistic portrayal of war I have ever seen. Our Friends In The North is a moving journey through three decades of north east politics, crime and enduring friendships. The three main actors, unknown at the time, went on to play James Bond (Daniel Craig), Dr Who (Christopher Eccleston) and, in the case of Mark Strong, just about every Hollywood villain of the past decade. 

... FICTIONAL KILLERS

Hannibal Lecter. I’ve yet to come across a scarier human being in any book or film; a man who will happily slaughter and eat you then wash you down with a nice Chianti. “I do wish we could chat longer but I’m having an old friend for dinner.” 

... FICTIONAL DETECTIVES

Saga Noren from the Bridge, as played by Sofia Helin, because she is eye-rollingly bonkers. Not sure how someone so ‘out there’ could actually function as a police officer but her social alienation makes for excellent drama and very often great comedy, particularly when she comes out with something wildly inappropriate, which she so often does 

... MURDER WEAPONS

I instantly thought of the oar that Tom Ripley uses to beat Dickie Greenleaf to death in a boat in ‘The Talented Mr Ripley’. It’s a shocking episode from a dark book about an immoral man and great storytelling.

... DEATH SCENES

When Michael Corleone confronts his brother in law Carlo Rizzi in the Godfather, because he was responsible for his brother Sonny’s death, Carlo fears the worst. That’s until the new godfather convinces him he would never kill his sister’s husband and his actual punishment is exclusion from the family business. He even gives the man a plane ticket and they put his suitcase in the boot for him. Then Carlo gets into the car to find gangster Pete Clemenza in the back seat waiting for him. ‘Hello Carlo’ he says before efficiently garroting the traitor, as the car slowly drives away, watched by a vengeful Michael and his Consigliere. Carlo’s foot goes through the front windscreen too and as it twitches that’s all we see of his final death throes.      

  

... BLOGS/WEBSITES

I go on NUFC.COM every day, which is a great site for long suffering Newcastle United fans. What has it got to do with crime writing? Not much at first glance but my characters often have the surnames of obscure but popular Newcastle players. It’s an in-joke that only Newcastle fans will get. I love this site so much that every year we do a competition giveaway on it when my books are published and it gets a great response. 

... WRITING TIPS

Be your own worst critic during editing before you send anything in and keep going. Momentum is what’s needed to complete a book, so a few hundred words a day most days will get you there in the end. 

... WRITING SNACKS

Is wine a snack? I think it should be. I’m a terrible grazer so I try to avoid actual snacks while writing, otherwise I’d be huge. I’ll say coffee instead then, which is writer’s fuel as everybody knows.

About HOWARD LINSKEY

Howard Linskey is the author of three novels in the David Blake crime series published by No Exit Press, The Drop (2011), The Damage (2012) and The Dead (2013). The Times newspaper voted The Drop one of its Top Five Thrillers of the Year and The Damage one of its Top Summer Reads. He is also the author of No Name Lane (2015) and Behind Dead Eyes (2016), the first two books in a crime series set in the north east of England featuring journalists Tom Carney & Helen Norton, published by Penguin. Originally from Ferryhill in County Durham, he now lives in Hertfordshire with his wife Alison and daughter Erin.

Find Howard Linskey on his website and on Twitter - @HowardLinskey

About HUNTING THE HANGMAN

Publisher's description

TWO MEN. . . ONE MISSION. . . TO KILL THE MAN WITH THE IRON HEART

Bestselling author Howard Linskey’s fifteen year fascination with the assassination attempt on Reinhard Heydrich, the architect of the holocaust, has produced a meticulously researched, historically accurate thriller with a plot that echoes The Day of the Jackal and The Eagle has Landed.

2017 marks the 75th anniversary of the attack on a man so evil even fellow SS officers referred to him as the 'Blond Beast’. In Prague he was known as the Hangman. Hitler, who called him 'The Man with the Iron Heart', considered Heydrich to be his heir, and entrusted him with the implementation of the ‘Final Solution’ to the Jewish question: the systematic murder of eleven million people.

In 1942 two men were trained by the British SOE to parachute back into their native Czech territory to kill the man ruling their homeland. Jan Kubis and Josef Gabcik risked everything for their country. Their attempt on Reinhard Heydrich’s life was one of the single most dramatic events of the Second World War, with horrific consequences for thousands of innocent people. 

Hunting the Hangman is being published by No Exit Press on 25 May 2017.

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