Last month I reviewed the latest, possibly last, novel by one of the giants of spy fiction, Agent Running in the Field by John le Carré. Today a very different, indeed very unusual, spy novel.…
I’m delighted to announce that I’ve signed a book deal this month for my second novel – Room 15 – with the impressively energetic Bloodhound Books. (Impressive, especially, because they like my new book –…
There’s something about books written by masters of their craft towards the end of their careers. It’s a kind of poise, an ease, that you can see in (say) Philip Roth’s late books. (Which isn’t…
![CRIME SCENE DO NOT CROSS / @CSI?cafe |Source=[http://www.flickr.com/photos/26226522@N08/3435027358/ CRIME SCENE DO NOT CROSS / @CSI?cafe] * Uploaded by Diego Grez |Date=2009-03-25 21:10 |Author=[http://www.fl](https://charles-harris.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/Do_Not_Cross_Crime_Scene.jpg)
For the first post of the year, I’m delighted to welcome guest-blogger Desiree Villena, a lifelong true crime aficionado. Today she puts her passion and knowledge to use by choosing her best true crime books…
Louise Doughty is one of the most interesting authors today. Refusing to be pigeon-holed, every book breaks new ground. Her novels have been shortlisted for the Costa Novel Award and longlisted for the Orange Prize…
Christmas is coming and the first presents are on their way. First, I’m hosting a free Twitter chat next Tuesday November 19 at 8pm GMT (find the time in your own time zone). Second, to…
I’m just finishing a book about satire. Satire is flourishing. We satirists like to think that we change things – ideally for the better. But for all the fuss, does satire work? Can 3,000 years…
Crime writer Dominique Hall has written to me for advice on sending a novel to an agent. She says: I am at the stage of approaching agents as I have written a crime novel, and…
I like dark stories. I have no problem with light stories, either, but there’s something about a novel or a film that is unafraid of the night, literal or metaphorical. Louise Doughty is one of…
All my life I’ve been telling stories. At first, I made up stories to get out of boring homework, or playing sports at school… and almost got myself expelled. Then, I found that in fiction…
This week I talked to Bonnie D Graham on her radio programme Read My Lips. (You can listen to the recording here) As often happens, she wanted to know how I create the characters for…
Publishers, agents and readers love a running series. Like a fast food outlet a good series promises a regular supply of what you love. A McNovel. Mick Herron hit a rich vein of dark spy…
Last year, I sat with the Finnish novelist Antti Tuomainen on a panel for the literary festival Newcastle Noir. Tuomainen is a massive name in his home country and is enormously funny to listen to,…
It’s not often that a writer gets to blow his own trumpet, but it’s the second anniversary of the publication of The Breaking of Liam Glass and much to celebrate and be grateful for. My…
It was like they weren’t there. This is the opening sentence of my novel The Breaking of Liam Glass. Why did I write the opening as I did and not in one of a million…
Last week I wrote about honesty in writing – how it is the difference that makes the difference. No amount of clever plotting or literary fireworks will make up for a lack of truth. Today…
What sorts the Austens from the Dan Browns? The Truffauts from the Ed Woods? It’s not using clever words. It’s not making a political statement. It’s not even necessarily creating a dazzling plot. This is…
In 2000 the movie What Lies Beneath opened to mixed reviews. Despite a strong opening, cast (Harrison Ford, Michelle Pfeiffer) and director (Robert Zemeckis), reviewers talked of its “decomposing script” and said it “ran off…