The Crime Warp

I have a soft spot for New Zealand, even though I’ve never been there, nor do I have any friends or family there. I’ve invested so much day dreaming into it that at this point I’d be afraid to go, in case my preconceptions are spoiled. It used to comforting to have some corner of the earth in mind to run away to if I were minded to run away. Maketu Beach, the setting for Call Me Evie, is the sort of picture postcard place I imagine when I think of New Zealand, that and the filming locations for Lord of the Rings. Unlike Mordor, Maketu appears a scenic, friendly place, yet J.P. Pomare, the author, has turned it into the setting for a chilling psychological thriller. The horrors that the protagonist ‘Evie’ tries to work through in her own mind, are eerily juxtaposed by this place where people walk their dogs on the beach or go surfing. It’s a fascinating story, plotted over two alternating timelines, past and present, with an unreliable narrator reflecting the uncertainty of

Ad link to buy I love James Carol's books, particularly his Jefferson Winters' ones, and I wasn't sure what to expect with 17 Church Row as it seemed, from the blurb, to be very different from his previous books. What enticed me to try it, apart from my respect for his writing, was the creepiness of the concept of the book. The idea that when you feel safest, you might actually be most at risk. So here's the blurb: Blurb Three years ago, Nikki and Ethan Rhodes suffered a devastating loss when their four-year-old daughter Grace was tragically killed in a road accident. Ethan, a radio personality, escapes into work, leaving Nikki to care for their remaining child, Bella, who hasn't spoken since that day. Seeking a fresh start, the family moves into a revolutionary new house designed by renowned architect, Catriona Fisher. The house features a state-of-the-art security system, along with every amenity you could dream of. For the Rhodes' this is a chanc

Today we are extremely lucky to have Leigh Russell's DS Geraldine Steel in The Crime Warp Dock. With such a long running series, I think it's time for us readers to get the down and dirty on Geraldine Steel. I hope you enjoy this as much as I did and a huge thanks to Leigh for putting Geraldine in the dock.  Background From an early age, Geraldine Steel wanted to work in serious crime. After studying social sciences at university, she went straight into the police force. Her upbringing was conventional, and she was shocked to discover as an adult that she had been adopted at birth. Rebellion Geraldine was never much of a rebel, but for a brief period she did smoke behind the science block at school. She was never caught. Desert Island Three items Geraldine would bring to a desert island are: a piano that never goes out of tune, a crate of red wine that is refilled regularly, and the complete works of Shakespeare. The Nitty Gritty: The Big Reveal Ho

Ad link to buy I love snow globes, so it’s not surprising that I was completely taken with the setting of Red Snow, Gavrik, an isolated small town during a very cold winter in the north of Sweden.   You can tell the author is English as he’s so enthralled with the extreme cold and the snow, the struggle with dry skin, driving challenges, and the many thermal layers you have to keep putting on and taking off. Those of us who have lived in northern climes, are more blasé about a bit of frostbite and cars that need jump-starting. It’s therefore somewhat idiosyncratic to experience the foreigner’s excitement with the extreme cold expressed by the main protagonist, Tuva Moodyson, a young Swedish female journalist who writes for the local paper, combining serious investigative journalism with ice hockey reports and ‘local man falls off ladder’ stories. You might imagine Gavrik, a town of 9,000 taciturn Swedes, to be monochrome in terms of character development, but Will Dean has im

Photo by Gemma Day   CrimeFest 2020 News! Headline authors for CrimeFest - one  of Europe’s biggest  crime fiction conventions - have been  announced.  The 2020 convention sponsored by  Specsavers is hosted  from 4 to 7  June at the Mercure Bristol Grand  Hotel and  will feature icon of the  genre, Lynda La Plante, the award- winning author of more than 30 internationally bestselling  novels. La Plante was a pioneer with her 1980’s  series,  Widows .  The show received the Hollywood  treatment with a movie  adaptation by director Steve  McQueen in 2018. The BAFTA award winning screenwriter and former  RADA  trained actress went on to create one of  television’s   greatest characters, DI  Jane Tennison in Prime  Suspect  Played by Helen  Mirren in  a career-defining  performance, the hugely influential  character transformed  the  TV landscape. She’ll be discussing her career in her debut appearance  at  CrimeFest alongside

I am so chuffed to have Maggie James here on The Crime Warp today. Maggie is one of those authors who is very generous with her time in helping other authors and I really value her friendship. Apart from that she's gort a really sick and devious mind which she puts to good use in her  crime writing. Here's her bio: Maggie James is a British author who lives near Newcastle-upon-Tyne. She writes psychological suspense novels. Before turning her hand to writing, Maggie worked mainly as an accountant, with a diversion into practising as a nutritional therapist. Diet and health remain high on her list of interests, along with travel. Accountancy does not, but then it never did. The urge to pack a bag and go off travelling is always lurking in the background! When not writing, going to the gym, practising yoga or travelling, Maggie can be found seeking new four-legged friends to pet; animals are a lifelong love! Here's a taste of her most recent book Silent Winte