Bits and Pieces

A few things I've learnt recently:

Bernard Knight is writing a second series along with his 12th Century Crowner John series. The first book is called Where Death Delights and is set in 1955. It'll be published by Severn House next February.

Nigel McCrery's Still Waters has just been published in paperback under the title Core of Evil.

Michael Morley is now also writing as Jon Trace and his first book under this name is The Venice Conspiracy out in February.

There's a special Taggart v Rebus confrontation on Children in Need next Friday.

The current podcast for Simon Mayo's Book Review show features Black Water Rising by Attica Locke and Judgement and Wrath by Matt Hilton.

On Radio 4's Open Book programme on Sunday 15 November at 4pm, Mariella Frostrup talks to Frances Fyfield.

Monkeys, Skulls and Crosses - online game

From BookBrunch:

Penguin is teaming up with TV channel Crime & Investigation Network to launch an online crime game, Monkeys, Skulls and Crosses. The game is scripted by Michael Morley, author of the Penguin thriller Spider.

The game puts users into the role of detective, interviewing suspects, inspecting the crime scene and hunting for clues in order to solve a murder case. It will be advertised on the CI channel.

CI Marketing Director James Pestell said: "It has been great to work with a fantastic publishing brand and prolific author who are committed to using digital to get closer to their readers."

New Reviews: Campbell, Ellory, Eriksson, Fossum, Liang and Morley

Every week six new reviews are added to the website. I've set up a poll to get a bit of feed-back to see if that's too few, too many or about right. Please spare a few seconds to vote and/or leave a comment. Thank you :-).

And here are this week's new reviews and details of the current competitions:

Latest Reviews:

This week we're visiting all over the globe: Scotland, America, Sweden, Norway, China and Italy.

Pat Austin reviews the début novel from Karen Campbell, The Twilight Time, set in Glasgow and concludes that despite its problems, she'd probably read another;

Kerrie Smith is very impressed with Richard & Judy selection: R J Ellory's A Quiet Belief in Angels - another Brit setting his books in America;

I was very disappointed in Kjell Eriksson's The Cruel Stars of the Night which spends a lot of time away from the detectives

A second review of Broken by Karin Fossum comes courtesy of Maxine Clarke who writes that "BROKEN is a wonderful, haunting book, full of powerful, overwhelming emotions";

Sunnie Gill pops over to China to look at how the past has impacted on present-day China in Diane Wei Liang's Paper Butterfly;

and Geoff Jones reviews Spider by Michael Morley which is set in both Italy and New York and is the first in the Jack King ex-FBI Profiler series.


Current Competitions:

Win a copy of Death on a Branch Line by Andrew Martin*

* no restrictions on entrants (ends 30 June)


Win a copy of Blood Lines by Grace Monroe**

** UK/Europe only (ends 5 July)

New Reviews: Mike Ripley's Crime File, Hill, Krajewski, MacBride, Mills and Tursten

Here are this week's new reviews and details of an extra competition:

Latest Reviews:

In Mike Ripley's latest crime file he reviews: The Death Maze (aka The Serpent's Tale) by Ariana Franklin, Inspector Ghote's First Case by H R F Keating, Spider by Michael Morley and Death on a Branch Line by Andrew Martin (to win the latter see the competitions below);

Maxine Clarke reviews the newest in the Simon Serrailler series by Susan Hill, The Vows of Silence - a book which put her through the wringer, but was worth it;

Norman Price reviews Marek Krajewski's Death in Breslau writing that Krajewski is "a master at recreating an atmosphere of fear, darkness, creepiness and foreboding";

Pat Austin reviews the new offering from Aberdeen's Stuart MacBride Flesh House which manages to be both gruesome and funny;

Karen Chisholm was hooked by Crow Stone by Jenni Mills which is set in Bath

and Maxine has the highest of praise for Helene Tursten's Detective Inspector Huss (which I'm pleased about as I recommended her via my review of The Torso) saying that "this book is as near to perfection as you can get in this genre".


Current Competitions:

Win a copy of Death on a Branch Line by Andrew Martin*

* no restrictions on entrants


NEW: Win a copy of Blood Lines by Grace Monroe**

** UK/Europe only

Michael Morley interview on Penguin's website

This month's competition prize is a signed copy of Spider by Michael Morley. Enter the competition here.

On the Penguin website, there's an interview with Michael Morley which touches on the research he did for Spider which is about the hunt for a serial killer in Tuscany.

The hero is Jack King and the author has already begun the third Jack King book.