Tartan Noir on Open Book

Here's another podcast I missed until recently, where Dreda Say Mitchell interviews Allan Guthrie and Denise Mina and goes round Aberdeen with Stuart MacBride. Download it or listen to it at the Open Book website.

26 August 2012
"Dreda Say Mitchell presents a special Open Book programme on Tartan Noir, exploring the appeal of the Scottish crime novel. Glasgow based author Denise Mina joins Edinburgh writer and publisher Allan Guthrie to discuss the importance of place in this increasingly popular genre, while Stuart MacBride, writer of the DS Logan McRae books, takes us on a tour of his inspirational Aberdeen setting."

New Reviews: Edwards, Grimsdale, Guthrie, Kitson, Maclean, Mankell

Many thanks for the kind comments about my back/health. Fortunately I'm ok now and I hope to do a bit more blogging next week compared to this previous one.

Here are this week's new reviews:

Maxine Clarke reviews The Serpent Pool by Martin Edwards, fourth in his Lakeland series which Maxine believes is "is one of the very best crime-fiction series being written today";

Terry Halligan reviews Peter Grimsdale debut novel, Perfect Night;

Amanda Gillies is very enthusiastic about Allan Guthrie's Slammer;

Paul Blackburn reviews Bill Kitson's debut Depth of Despair set in Yorkshire;

Rik Shepherd reviews the paperback edition of The Redemption of Alexander Seaton by Shona Maclean and

Michelle Peckham reviews Henning Mankell's The Man Who Smiled, tr. Laurie Thompson and compares it to the tv show.

Previous reviews can be found in the review archive and forthcoming titles can be found here.

New Reviews: Genelin, Guthrie, Joensuu, Le Fanu, O'Byrne, Rimington

Three competitions are currently running:

i)Win a copy of Crocodile Tears by Anthony Horowitz (US only, closes 9 Nov)
ii)Win a copy of Beautiful Dead: Arizona by Eden Maguire (UK only)
iii)Win a copy of Sheer Folly by Carola Dunn (UK/Europe only)

Details on how to enter can be found on the Competition page

Here are the new reviews that have been added to the website today:

Norman Price reviews Siren of the Waters by Michael Genelin the first of a series featuring Slovakian detective Jana Matinova;

Amanda Gillies enjoys Allan Guthrie's Killing Mum a novella in the Crime Express range;

Maxine Clarke reviews Finnish author Matti Joensuu's To Steal Her Love;

Laura Root reviews the Gothic sounding classic Wylder's Hand by J Sheridan Le Fanu;

Michelle Peckham reviews The Crime Writer's Guide to Police Practice and Procedure by Michael O'Byrne and says it's of interest to non-writers as well

and Terry Halligan reviews the latest from former MI5 head Stella Rimington - Present Danger.

Previous reviews can be found in the review archive and forthcoming titles can be found here.

New Reviews & April's Competitions

Here are this week's new reviews and details of the two new competitions for April (with no geographical restrictions):

Latest Reviews:

It's time for Mike Ripley's March Crime File in which he reviews A Quiet Flame by Philip Kerr, Silesian Station by David Downing, The Mesmerist's Apprentice by L M Jackson and Orpheus Rising by Colin Bateman;

I review the latest Bryant and May title by Christopher Fowler to make it onto audiobook: Ten-Second Staircase - I just love this series which is so well narrated by Tim Goodman;

New Euro Crime reviewer Amanda Gillies opens her account with her take on Allan Guthrie's Savage Night, calling it "noir fiction at its best";

Fiona Walker provides the low down on the latest antics of Dalziel and Pascoe in Reginald Hill's A Cure For All Diseases and explains why she found it "mostly brilliant";

Maxine reviews Brian McGilloway's follow up to Borderlands - Gallows Lane which "leaves the reader looking forward to more"

and Maxine loved the latest offering from Catherine Sampson The Pool of Unease which takes the series character to China.


Current Competitions (closing date 30 April):

Win a copy of The Death Maze by Ariana Franklin

Win a copy of An Expert in Murder by Nicola Upson

(there are no geographical restrictions on entrants)

Theakston Crime Novel of the Year Winner

Ploughing through my emails upon my return from the relatively dry Harrogate, I found a press release about Allan Guthrie, this year's winner of the Theakston's crime novel of the year:

Orkney-born writer Allan Guthrie, published by one of Scotland’s leading publishing houses Polygon (an imprint of Birlinn Ltd), has been awarded The Theakstons Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year 2007, for his novel, Two-Way Split. The decision was announced last night, (19 July 2007) at the opening event of the Theakstons Old Peculier Harrogate Crime Writing Festival. As the winner, Allan received £3,000 and a handmade, engraved beer barrel.

Allan, until last year a bookseller with Waterstone's, has lifted the award amidst fierce competition from the UK's best crime writers. The writer, who now lives just outside Edinburgh in Portobello, has won with his first novel, published in paperback earlier this year. Two further novels have since been released and a fourth is due out next year.

The winning novel, Two-Way Split (Polygon) is set in the dead of winter. Robin Greaves, an armed robber whose wife has been sleeping with a fellow gang member, concocts a plan for revenge, but things go from bad to worse when the gang bungles a post office robbery. Soon they are stalked by the police, a dodgy pair of private eyes and a psycho with a vendetta, who may be the only one not look for a cut of the money. Infused with dark humour, the book is beautifully crafted, fast paced and ‘delectably nasty’.

A spokesperson for Polygon said ‘We are absolutely delighted. Allan’s writing is original and powerful and stands out from the crowd. Until last year he was an unpublished writer, working in a bookstore. Today he is one of the country’s brightest new stars.’

Won by Mark Billingham in 2005 and Val McDermid in 2006, this is the only award of its kind to be voted for by the general public. Crime readers could vote in any branch of Waterstone’s in the UK or online and they did so in their thousands.

Allan Guthrie was born and raised in Orkney before moving to music school in Manchester. He now lives in Edinburgh and is married to Donna. In addition to his success with the Theakston Award, his first novel, TWO-WAY SPLIT, was shortlisted for the CWA Debut Dagger. His second novel, KISS HER GOODBYE, was nominated for Edgar, Anthony and Gumshoe awards. His third, HARD MAN, has just been published. Allan is also a commissioning editor for PointBlank Press and a literary agent.

I do hope the official photographer managed to catch the complete look of shock on Al's face when his name was announced!