The Crime Warp

Phew - just made it in the last days of February.  At long last, here’s my February post, highlighting an interesting mix of the books I’ve got on my reading list.  There are four books on this month’s list, all worth looking out for. Romancrimeblogger Just out – Dead Water by Ann Cleeve s This is the first novel in a new Shetland Quartet, hot on the heels of Cleeves’ previous books that were turned into the BBC 1 drama “Shetland”.  The mystery in this novel centres on the death of journalist Jerry Markham, originally a Shetlander who left for a career in London, following a scandal with a young girl.  As well as Inspector Jimmy Perez from the previous books, we have a new DI Willow Reeves (from the Hebrides no less!) drafted in to help the investigation.  The action quickly moves to Sullum Voe, the centre of the local oil and gas industry, where it seems Markham was following up a story in the final days before his death.  Sullum Voe is a close knit c...

Here is a worthwhile writing competition if ever there was one! " Words for the Wounded is a charity that raises money via writing prizes and donations for the rehabilitation of our wounded servicemen and women. " The Words for the Wounded Writing Prize closes for entries on 11th March 2013.  First prize is £250, second prize is £100 and third prize is £50.  But perhaps best prize of all is that the winning entry will be published in the rather excellent " Writer's FORUM Magazine "!  Plus you get the satisfaction of knowing that your entry is supporting our brave servicemen. The remit is to write a short story, real life tale or poem of no more than 400 words.  The judges are looking for submissions which will amuse, intrigue, move or inspire them.  Better still if you can create something which ticks "all of the above"! The entry fee is only £3.50 so why not give it a go?  Better still, spread the word to your writing friends and let'...

R - Hi Erin, welcome to the Crime Warp. I'd like to start with your new book, the Burning Air. This is the third book in quite a short period – did you always think that your books would be this popular? EK - It’s my third book in four years as I took maternity leave between The Poison Tree and The Sick Rose. I won’t deny that writing books back-to-back is challenging but as long as there’s a demand for them, I’ll keep doing it! R - The poison tree has been turned into a TV series. How do you feel about the book being turned into a film? Do you have any apprehension about how your work might be changed? EK - Seeing my work translated onto the small screen might have been uncomfortable if I hadn’t seen the adaptation in progress, but I was lucky in that STV studios let me see the script as it was being written and edited, and attend read-throughs and filming so that it was a gradual process. I loved it: the casting was perfect, and it was beautifully shot. A couple of sw...

R: I’m delighted that we’ve managed to secure an interview with Simon Kernick, bestselling author, who’s latest book Ultimatum has just been published.  Simon, welcome.  It looks like you’ve written a book every year for twelve years– how do you keep up the pace?   SK: With great difficulty! I’ve got to say writing never gets any easier and it is tough to keep sustaining the ideas and the pace of the stories, but so far, thank God, I’m managing it. I’ve just started the new book (number 13) and it’s going really well. R: Ultimatum:  your new book follows on from your previous novel Siege.  The plots have moved away from crime to a more thriller type plot.  Was this a conscious change on your part?   SK: I like to think I’ve always written thrillers but yes, I suppose I have moved to more high concept ideas, though I think that was more of a natural move rather than a conscious decision. I’m always keen to avoid telling the same story more than on...