The Crime Warp

  Ackley Bridge is a Channel 4 Drama about a diverse town just outside Bradford. The action centres around a school which has been specifically created to cater for Ackley Bridge’s diverse communities. For me the strength of this drama lies in its diverse cast of strong actors and its willingness to explore key issues that are relevant to the diverse society we live in today. It is particularly relevant today, with increased calls for inclusion in the creative industries.  I have lived in Bradford for over thirty years and, those of you who know me, will know that I often describe my adoptive city as ‘Warm and Rich and Fearless’ – in my opinion Ackley Bridge is the same. Its warmth spawns from its Northern heart- that closeness that I experienced in my Scottish upbringing and now enjoy hear in Bradford, that resilience in the face of adversity and that down to earth attitude that underpins all of the above. Its richness lies in its ability to cele...

Liz Mistry & Martyn Bedford  (MA Creative Writing Tutor LTU and YA author) When I first thought about doing the MA in Creative writing at Leeds Trinity University, I wasn't sure I'd be able to complete the course.  Suffering from severe depression that made it difficult for me to leave my bed, never mind my house for long periods of time, I knew this would be one of the most difficult things I ever did.  I didn't know it at the time but it would also prove to be one of the most fulfilling and beneficial things I've done for many years.

Can't believe it's almost that time of year again when the sun comes out and there's nothing but crime on everyone's minds.  Wine and beer flow, laughter floats on the air and all is well in the world.  The event you ask?  Well it's quite clearly Theakston's Old Peculier Crime writing Festival 21st -24h July 2016 Harrogate.

Many crime fiction writers delight us by their exploration of the relationships between serial killers or psychopaths and their hunters.   What particularly interests me, is when that link is a familial one.  Read on to find out more about the theme of nature V nurture in crime fiction.  This includes paternal/maternal relationships between killer and hunter and the sibling relationship between killer and detective.

Recently I've come across a few books featuring Bridges and it got me thinking about the function of the Bridge in crime fiction; from the suicide/ murder/ torture hanging stance to the Bridge as a symbolic link between Past and Present, Good and Evil , Hope and Despair, or as the focus for the high octane adrenalin rush of an explosive car chase or stunt.  Here, I've focused on a few pieces of crime fiction where the bridge's stoic structure plays a significant role in the story

As is the case every year, us lucky reader's get the chance to see our favourite crime writer's, critics, forensic experts and all, up close and very, very dangerous and 2015 at Theakston's Crime Writing festival was no exception.  So this year The Crime Warp decided to do our very own Honours awards for some of the lucky panelists using our own very exacting criteria for selection.  Read on to find out who fared well this year!

It was a busy, enjoyable and informative few days last week in The Old Swan Hotel, Harrogate (that den of iniquity) at the Theakston's Old Peculier Crime Writing festival. Crime writer's are comedians, master's of the one liner, self- deprecating, social commentators and sardonic humourists, I attended most of the panels with ears pricked for the funniest quotes of the weekend and here they are... All you have to do is match the quote to the criminal panelist.  For the answers check out The Crime Warp Facebook Page.

Don't you think i t's nice to get a slightly different slant on your favourite Crime writers?  Well, with The Crime warp's Snog,Marry, Avoid game at Theakston's Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival this year that's exactly what you get! Read on to find out which of our nefarious writers would snog a serial killer, marry a super sleuth and avoid other crime writer's... it's all very revealing (and extremely funny!)

As usual the The Theakston's crime writing festival in Harrogate offers a range of exciting events for all fans of crime fiction from forensics to psychological crime, from Irish noir to Icelandic thrills and  from strong women writer's and protagonists to creepy serial killers.  I've narrowed my top picks, with great difficulty, down to five and here they are...

60 years since Patricia Highsmith's The Talented Mr Ripley was first published and it remains, to this day, a reference for crime writers and readers the world over and  it is as widely read now as it ever was, even after six decades.  So what is it about The Talented Mr Ripley  that makes it so enduring? What aspects of Ripley's character  hold us in such thrall?  And which fictional characters give him a run for his money?  To celebrate the phenomenon that is Tom Ripley and his 60 years of existence, Virago Classics are releasing on 4th June a beautiful commemorative cloth bound copy of The Talented Mr Ripley. Cloth Bound copy available on amazon for £12.99 http://www.amazon.co.uk/Talented-Mr-Ripley-Designer-Collection/dp/0349006962/ref=sr_1_4?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1431107574&sr=1-4&keywords=the+talented+mr+ripley

A few ill-advised comments from an ex- James Bond and we’re up in arms in a debate about ‘racism’ and whether the country is ready for a black 007.  Ridiculous!   It shames me to say that it wasn’t very long ago that we all celebrated the election of the first black president of the USA, when actually what we should have been asking is, 'Why has it taken so long?'

In the criminal world (both fact and fiction I guess)  tattoos can play a significant role whether it’s prison tattoos linking the wearer to a particular gang or allegiance or the tattoo found on a dead body and used to identify the victim.

 It seems like a lifetime ago when The Crime Warp went live in October 2012.  We weren't sure what to expect but we couldn't have anticipated how many readers we would have (over 45,000 page views) and how much we would write about crime fiction and thrillers (225 posts with more being added every week).  We originally thought most readers would be from the UK and have been delighted to see how far The CrimeWarp has spread, with regular visitors from across the whole of Europe, the Far East, Australia and the Americas. Our ambition is to provide our readers with news about the newest and best in crime fiction and thrillers through book reviews, author interviews and general news about what's happening in the world of crime fiction.  We believe its that mix that keeps bringing people back so often.   To celebrate our second birthday, we're giving away a copy of Books to Die For , which normally retails at £18.99.  The book is edited by John Conn...

I really enjoyed Specific Gravity , a story with each chapter written by a different author. It’s a free download and each chapter is designed to be read in 15 minutes if you happened to be on a number 36 bus in Harrogate! It was pretty tongue in cheek but a good giggle nonetheless:   http://36stories.co.uk/fifteen-minute-read-12/   I liked the idea of a number of authors each writing their own chapter and I’ve just come across this - Choose the plot - which is even better, giving the reader the chance to decide on the direction each chapter will take.  

I came across this a while ago and forgot to post details up.  It’s a little late, but I thought it was still worth posting something up in case you haven’t seen this.  Headline Publishing is re-publishing the whole of Carol O’Connell’s Detective Kathy Mallory series.  Kathy’s story starts with her lost as a child and caught stealing by a detective.  Instead of arresting her, the detective adopts her, raising Kathy as his own daughter.  Kathy becomes computer genius and joins the police, using her talent with computers and an intuitive understanding of criminal minds to solve cases.   Critics cite lots of positive things about the series including excellent characterisation, particularly Mallory, strong prose, deep suspense, dark mystery and as you would expect, a talent for delivering a clever twist in the tail.  Headline are publishing two books a month, so plenty to look forward to until the end of the year. Romancrimeb...

Here’s something that fans of Peter May will find really interesting.   Quercus Books are recruiting 100 UK superfans to share Peter May’s books and extend their enthusiasm to new readers. If you want to become a superfan, all you have to do is apply here: http://www.quercusbooks.co.uk/peter-may-superfans/   The deadline is 14 September and the chosen 100 will receive an exclusive Peter May pack that includes: An early copy of Peter’s new book, Runaway, out January 2015 A copy of Peter May’s Hebrides 5 copies of their favourite Peter May title to share with others Regular and exclusive updates and excerpts Plus, one lucky superfan will win a holiday to the Outer Hebrides, and see for themselves the place that has inspired Peter’s books!  Sounds great, and if you really like Peter May and his work, then you’ll probably be quite happy with Quercus asking you as a superfan to document your sharing experience on social media. So...

Tick Tock The clock struck midnight.  James fell to the floor still holding his gift.  With an arthritic finger he prodded the body beside him.  "Is this all you think I'm worth after all these years loyal service?" Grimacing he shook the gift .  Then, he laughed. "It's come in handy tonight m ind you ."  and he threw the bloody carriage clock to the floor.  He stood up, carefully wiped his damp hands down his trousers frowning slightly at the faint stain.  Then, he looked down at his ex boss and saluted before saying "No hard feelings then Midnight?" 

There's been a lot of news recently as the Theakstons Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival announces more participants for the 2104 festival. The latest news is that Denise Mina is joining the guest line-up which includes famous name authors Ann Cleeves, Gillian Flynn, Sophie Hannah, Lynda LaPlante, Laura Lippman, Peter May, Denise Mina and S. J. Watson.   Fans of Denise Mina and competition aficionados will be delighted to find that the Festival has put together a competition to win one of ten exclusive Denise Mina triple bundles.  Each includes a DVD copy of Field of Blood and the brand new cover versions of The End of the Wasp Seaso n and The Red Road.  Here's the link to the competition:   http://harrogateinternationalfestivals.com/crime/news/exclusive-competition-ten-prize-bundles-up-for-grabs/   Good luck!   Romancrimeblogger   PS - don't forget our own Crime Warp Flash Fiction competition that closes at the end of Janua...

When I started writing this post I wasn’t quite sure how I would bring the three parts together seamlessly.   I think I’ve got it and hope you think so too. I’ll start with our birthday (it was actually 29 th October, but it’s taken me a little longer than planned to get this post written) – The Crime Warp is one year old, and we’re all really chuffed with how well it’s taken off.   The Crime Warp now gets over a thousand hits a month and we believe that’s because we’ve kept to our aim of featuring the newest and best in contemporary crime fiction.   We’ve focused mainly on book reviews, but also had author interviews and occasional giveaway competition such as the signed David Baldacci novel The Hit  ( and there’s another giveaway at the end of this post! ).  What we’ve been surprised about is that over a third of our hits are from outside the UK.   Many are from the US and there are others from as far afield as Europe, the Far East and even Austr...