The Crime Warp

It's a delight to welcome Carla Kovach onto The Crime Warp today. She is one of the nicest, bubbliest characters you could hope to spend time with  ... and she brought biscuits!!! - Told you she's a star. I have had the pleasure of doing a Noir at the Bar with Carla and her partneer and can vouch for how good her writing is ... but it's time for me to hand over to Carla and for her to get down to the nitty gritty of her Life of Crime. I am a crime and horror author from the UK. The Next Girl, Her Final Hour and Her Pretty Bones are the first three books in the DI Gina Harte series and are published by Bookouture. My earlier works include, Whispers Beneath the Pines, To Let, Flame and Meet Me at Marmaris Castle.  I co-run a video production company, write stage plays and screenplays. I currently have a horror feature film in production which is due for release in 2019. May I say how delighted I am to be asked to write a piece for My Life of Crime. There...

Available here When Detective Jack Dylan heads home to his wife after a residential course, he has no idea that an extraordinary succession of events is about to turn his life upside down. A vicious, unprovoked personal attack is just the start. The discovery of his wife’s death in a road accident also reveals her affair, and his step-daughter is being expelled from university for drug use. Professionally, two teenagers have gone missing and one is soon found dead. An ordinary man might break under the strain, but Dylan is no ordinary man. He knows that his survival depends on him carrying-on regardless, burying himself in his work, relieved by the distraction of newcomer to the admin department, Jennifer Jones. His determination to pursue the criminal elements behind the events – both personal and professional – is to be his salvation, and his relationship with Jen, his ‘Guardian Angel’, will turn out to be the mainstay of his future, both within the Force and at home. Life m...

There are many sub genres of crime fiction, from noir to historic, from cosy crime to police procedurals and psychological thrillers. Today I want to talk of a specific approach to solving crime and some well known sleuths from past and present who use this technique. I’m not talking about an intellectual approach to solving crime, as used by say Sherlock Holmes or Lord Peter Wimsey and Harriot Vane, rather a contemplative one. I can’t remember how many crime novels I’ve read in my life, but some images have settled into my wholly inadequate memory. I don’t need to close my eyes to see Nero Wolfe tending his orchids or Mma Precious Ramotswe sitting on her porch drinking bush tea and watching the sun go down. For those who would like to indulge in some vintage crime classics, Nero Wolfe is an eccentric sleuth created in the 1930s and onward by American mystery writer Rex Stout. I can’t remember anything about any of the Nero Wolfe books I so enjoyed reading, except this ima...

Mathew Piper is a career copper, a Detective Chief Inspector, a position he worked hard for and cherishes. He is married, has three children, the oldest are two twin girls, Shauna and Ashley, and a son Joshua. He believes in what he does, and believes in fighting for what he believes in.   He encourages his children to do the same. The Fields of Wheat moment … What is the most rebellious thing your character has ever done? Book 1 in Trilogy Available here This is something that must never get around, he’d never live it down at the station – assuming they believed it.   One of the reasons that Piper is so keen to allow his children to make their own choices is that he had to fight for his own. It was his parents ambition that he become an accountant, so they arranged for him to do a work placement at a large, well established, and somewhat staid, accountancy firm.   His mother made sure that he wore a suit, his father drove to the  firm and le...

Available here Bollywood Wives by Alex Khan has been described as sexy, addictive and gripping ... well just so you know ... it is all three of those things and more.  It's not often you get a UK crime fiction novel with a cover like this, is it? And for me this is just the icing on a rather delectable cake. This story is refreshingly different from anything else out there and takes British crime fiction into new territory. It's also a damn good read. Khan takes us into the world of Bollywood superstar Zara Das where it's not all glamour, make-up and designer clothes (although there is a fair amount of that too). Privy to the bitchiness, the tension, the malaise that lingers malevolently just beneath the surface and often breaks through, we are soon draw into a fragile world that looks set to implode.  The Blurb  Zara Das  is Bollywood’s hottest property, her every move watched by the eyes of the press. Riding high from the success of ...

This series of My Life of Crime is proving to be both delightful and varied. Today's visitor to the blog, John Nicholl, is no different as he reveals the things that influence him in life and in writing.  John Nicholl, an ex-police officer, child protection social worker and lecturer, has written six darkly psychological suspense thrillers, each of which has been an Amazon #1 bestseller.   John’s books are set in the UK and have a strong Welsh flavour. He began writing after leaving his job heading up child protection services for Carmarthenshire. Two books that influenced me Castaway  by Lucy Irvine A true story of adventure and human endurance in the face of adversity. An uplifting and beautifully written book that inspired me to write. The Alchemist  by Paulo Coelho An inspiring story that encourages its readers to follow their true life path. Happiness and fulfilment may be closer than you think. I only began writing five years ...