Books for Christmas reading
Merry Christmas. What are you planning to read over Christmas? Here’s a Yuletide taster menu for you, from the top of my To Be Read pile. Something to fill in deadly gaps between TV Xmas…
Orbital and other books and TV
Fall in love with the earth In my continuing search for books to recommend to you, a few months ago I read Samantha Harvey’s novel Orbital. Just two weeks ago, it won the Booker. Never…
Books & TV for the long nights
It’s scary how many books there are out there. So many good books to read – and bad. How do you choose? Actually, do email me and tell me how you choose. I’d be interested.…
Riots, politicians and tabloids
A little while ago, I told my (then) agent I was writing a satirical novel about tabloids and politicians who spark riots over knife crime. Guess what he said.
The Boys from Biloxi. Has Grisham taken on too big a case?
Not many writers can claim to have made a genre their own, but John Grisham and legal thrillers go together like an American judge and gavel. So, when a new Grisham comes out, there’s a…
Act of Oblivion – Robert Harris
Why should we care? It’s probably the most important question a storyteller needs to answer. It’s particularly pressing when the story relates to events that took place around three hundred and fifty years ago, to…
Not the Oscars
Excited about the Oscar winners? Don’t bother: get excited about Not the Oscars! The good movies that the Academy (and my fellow BAFTA voters) passed over. If you want eight movies that will wake you…
Pulling crocodile teeth – interview with top crime author Vaseem Khan
Today I chat with successful crime author Vaseem Khan about India, the craft of writing and his highly personal approach to avoiding DIY. Vaseem is the author of two award-winning crime series set in India.…
Special offer on Room 15
We’re all trying to save money, so I’m delighted that Bloodhound Books have agreed to a very rare offer on the e-book version of my psychological mystery thriller Room 15. That’s 99p in the UK,…
Staggering Hubris by Josh Berry – review
You’re a staggeringly brilliant spad (special adviser) working in Downing Street in the early days of a new government. The world is at your feet. Brexit is oven-ready. You have a degree from Oxford. Attractive…
Remote control – Stone Heart Deep by Paul Bassett Davies reviewed
With foreign holidays still only slowly returning, how about a remote Scottish island? One with a freezing-cold loch that contains deep secrets, a populace who seem eerily calm and controlled – and a rather strange…
7 best snow movies
I can’t guarantee a White Christmas, but we can slump in front of the TV to watch a snow movie. Snow movies inspired the main story of my psychological mystery thriller Room 15, which takes…
Are you IC7 or maybe an angler?
So you come across a police cordon on your way from the tube station. There are blue flashing lights and donotcross tape stretches over the road. Of course you don’t want to look too nosey,…
Liam Glass #1 bestseller in Amazon mass media
A quick one today, to celebrate my award-shortlisted satire The Breaking of Liam Glass reaching the #1 bestseller spot in Amazon Mass Media this week. A thank you to everyone who bought the book and…
Special early Black Friday book offers
I’m off to the Brechin & Angus Book Festival next week and to honour the occasion, I’ve persuaded my publishers to give you two early Black Friday book offers. If you’re near Brechin next weekend…
Please do not ask for mercy… – review
… AS A REFUSAL OFTEN OFFENDS BY PAUL BASSETT DAVIES If this review is late, blame the book. I received it two years ago and read it straight through. But every time I picked it…
What are your favourite horror movies for Halloween?
What are your favourite horror movies for Halloween (or indeed any other time)? Here’s my very idiosyncratic list of those you may have fond (or less fond) memories of – or maybe not yet met.…
Reading and writing satire: Mightier than the sword?
Satire is having a big moment. We have satirical novels winning the Mann Booker Prize, satirical TV shows hoovering up the ratings along with satirical movies. Some politicians are deemed to be too far gone…