Your next great beach read
Looking for a fun beach read for yourself or a friend? Go on! Try Play Me! – double award-nominated and constantly in the Amazon best-seller list for political humour. I loved writing this freewheeling satire…
How a radio interview sparked a reverse art heist novel
I don’t usually read cozy-crime. To be honest, I’m usually allergic to it. But No Oil Painting is a jolly cozy-crime that lives up to its promise of odd-ball fun. Genevieve Marenghi takes her personal…
Into the Unknown with Oliver Johnson
Thriller writer Oliver Johnson speaks to me about writing, editing and dreams TEN MINUTE READ Listen to the full interview or read the edited transcript below. I was looking forward greatly to interviewing Oliver Johnson.…
Crime Reading Month Event with Bestselling Author Charles Harris
I’m delighted that I’ve been invited to speak for National Crime Reading Month on Tuesday 24 June. If you’re in or near North London at 5pm that day it would be great to see you…
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…
Adaptations and are you coming to London Book Fair?
Do you hate watching movies and TV dramas based on novels? Or love them? Why do some adaptations work, while others crumble into dust? I’ve been talking about adaptations and why some writers fail while others…
Want help adapting a book for screen?
This week I have two new resources for you if you want help adapting a book for film or TV, or are a reader/viewer who’s interested in seeing how writers set about transforming works for…
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…
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.…
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…
My 2021 in books
Imagine you could buy a pill that could give you more brainpower, more empathy, better vocabulary and a longer life, while preventing cognitive decline, reducing stress, helping sleep and lifting depression. How much would you…
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…
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…
Alexei Sayle without the drunken lunches
In 2007, Channel 4 viewers voted Alexei Sayle the 18th greatest stand-up comic of all time. A feature of the alternative comedy circuit from the 1980s, he’s been a stand-up comedian, film actor, television presenter, Shakespearean…
Putting on the squeeze. Review: Squeeze Me by Carl Hiaasen
What’s a poor author to do? You write a comic novel that satirises the orange blob in the White House and no sooner is it in print than he’s gone. Carl Hiaasen is one of…
The popularity of amnesia – talk and guest blog
Last time I mentioned I was talking at the Milim Leeds Literary Festival about why amnesia stories are so popular. There’s no doubt that writers have written about amnesia for thousands of years. What attracts…
Fight club: Review of Lionel Shriver’s The Motion of the Body Through Space
Bestselling author Lionel Shriver is not one to run away from a fight. In her latest novel, she runs full tilt towards it, in just about every sense of the word. This week, I’m looking…