More offers from The Book People

Even more tempting offers from The Book People:

Agatha Raisin and Kissing Christmas Goodbye for £4.99,
Complete Bond - 14 Books by Ian Fleming for £14.99
Harlan Coben Thrillers - 10 Books by Harlan Coben for £9.99
Michael Connelly Thrillers - 10 Books by Michael Connelly for £9.99

and for younger readers:
Alex Rider: The Six Missions - 6 Audiobooks on 37 CDs by Anthony Horowitz for £21.99
Spy Girl Set - 3 Books by Carol Hedges for £5.99
The Grk Collection - 3 Books by Joshua Doder for £3.99

New BBC 1 Crime Drama

From the BBC Press release:

Louise Lombard (CSI, The House Of Eliott), Lyndsey Marshal (Rome) and Danny Dyer (Straightheads, The Football Factory, Human Traffic) are to star in Blood Rush (working title), a gritty new two-part crime drama for BBC One, produced in house by BBC Drama Studios.

Written by Barbara Machin (who also created Waking The Dead), the format represents a bold step forward for the crime genre: as events flip both backwards and forwards in time, this compelling story is told at various times from the point of view of every character involved – those investigating the crime, as well as the killer and his victims.

Read more about Blood Rush here.

Update: Blood Rush is now called Kiss of Death (12/07)

Website updates

Yesterday I spent a bit of time updating some of the reference pages on the website - the Discussions and Events pages - as well as the News page.

The main addition to the Events page is details of the continuing tour by The Agatha Christie Theatre Company of The Unexpected Guest, which will be followed in 2008 by their production of And Then There Were None. Click here for dates and venues.

October's Euro Crime competition winners

Here are the winners of October's Euro Crime competition (and the correct answer):

The Redbreast by Jo Nesbo

Which one of these titles by Fred Vargas has not won the Duncan Lawrie International Dagger?

a) Have Mercy On Us All

Winners:

Tom Ayres
Helena Cooke
Lynn Mercer
Hannah Prosser
Stephen Purser

Enter this month's competition here.

Martina Cole books to be televised

From Digital Spy:

Warner Sisters Productions and Granada International are developing two new novels by Martina Cole for television, they have announced.

The Graft and The Take, the best-seller's most recent books, will be produced by Warner and distributed by Granada.

Warner Sisters creator Lavinia Warner (Tenko) commented: "We’re really excited about the project. It is high time for more of Martina’s work to be available to television viewers.

"Her honest and tough novels, vividly revealing the effects of violence and crime on family life in the UK today, are absorbing and addictive. Her talent for strong characters and storylines makes the books perfect for TV adaptation."

Granada is already distributor for Cole/Warner adaptations Dangerous Lady and The Jump which drew strong audiences for ITV1.

Cole said: "I am thrilled to see two more of my books adapted for television. It really feels like I'm coming home - working and collaborating with Warner Sisters again."

Granada head of drama Noel Hedges added: "Martina Cole is simply a publishing phenomenon. Her books go straight to the top of the bestseller lists and stay there.

"At their heart Martina’s novels contain gripping, highly commercial plots and characters that appeal to lovers of crime the world over."

New Reviews this week

Here are this week's new reviews and a reminder of the new competition:

Latest Reviews:

Laura Root reviews The Fugitive, Massimo Carlotto's account of his life as an innocent man on the run;

I heartily recommend this tense thriller from Danish author Leif Davidsen, The Serbian Dane;

Maxine Clarke didn't find Sweet Gum by Jo-Ann Goodwin much to her taste;

Terry Halligan praises Otto Penzler's editing of the Dangerous Women anthology and the stories within it

and Fiona Walker is convinced that Ian Rankin's Exit Music is not the last we'll see of Rebus.

Current Competition (closing date 30 November):

Win one of five copies of The Mysterious Affair of Style by Gilbert Adair (NO Geographical restictions)

The weary cyclist returns

Regular cyclists will probably poo poo at my achieving an 80km ride today, but I'm pleased with it. Emergency chocolate rations were needed for the last 10k but overall it went ok. The weather was foggy and very cold and my feet were blocks of ice by the time we arrived at our destination, the Redwings centre at Oxhill. It's a lovely place where you can see rescued horses and donkeys, the cafe is well priced and serves good quality food and the gift shop has many present ideas. You can buy these online but if you do live near one of their centres then do go visit. It doesn't even cost to enter.

Update on reviews and reading

The plan for tomorrow includes me spending several hours on my bicycle so the review upload will be towards the end of the day. In the meantime, do check out this month's competition which has *no* geographical restrictions. The prize is a copy of the newly released 'A Mysterious Affair of Style' by Gilbert Adair.

My 'at home' book is still Philip Kerr's 'The One From The Other' which is a bit serious for my current frame of mind so I have been indulging myself in my choice of 'on the train' books: more American cozies - 'The Ghost and the Dead Deb' by Alice Kimberly and one of the two Cat Who books I needed to complete a read of the set (30 in all by next year) - 'The Cat Who Played Post Office'. (Much, much better than her recent offerings). I'm also working my way through the audio books of the No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency series which are addictive and charming and warm.

The Paris Noir interview

Maxim Jakubowski, the multi-tasking, multi-talented owner of Murder One and editor of Paris Noir which goes on sale today, has kindly answered a few questions for Euro Crime's first interview.


EC: How did Paris Noir come about? Was it your idea or were you approached by Serpent’s Tail?

MJ: It was my idea. A decade or so ago, I did a London Noir volume for Serpent’s Tail, and had always intended to do a companion volume. Then the Akashic Noir Cities series came about and the concept was once more to the fore. However, Akashic wanted an all-French author volume, and I was keener to present a blend of nationalities, as being English but brought up in Paris gave me a different approach to the subject. So, I went with Serpent’s Tail, although I’ve just delivered a Rome Noir volume to Akashic recently, this time all Italian authors plus my own obligatory contribution.

EC: How did you decide which authors should appear in the collection?

MJ: The criterion was for English-writing authors that they had to have lived/studied/spent some time in Paris during the course of their lives. On the French side, I just picked personal friends and people I personally admired.

EC: What’s the role of an editor of an anthology like this?

MJ: To get the balance right; get a blend of authors who fit together even though all their stories are pretty radically different in tone or style.

EC: What’s your favourite story from this collection?

MJ: An unanswerable question I fear, although naturally I have a soft spot for my own, in which I brought back a character who has so far appeared in 3 novels and was just right for Paris.

EC: London already has two noir collections, one edited by yourself in 1994 and one last year edited by Cathi Unsworth, which was in fact the first in this Capital Crime series. How does Paris differ from London in the type of stories being told about it?

MJ: Every city has its own psychogeography, inner life, whatever you call it. Cities are at the heart of ‘noir’ and will attract a different kind of story, as seen through the eyes of the respective contributors. I think that, with a few exceptions (Mike Moorcock’s tale being one, but then he only moved to Paris a few months back) Paris generates somewhat more socially-conscious, even political stories, but then the French have always had a more acute sense of politics than us Brits.

EC: Which other cities or countries do you think should have a ‘Noir’ collection and are you involved in doing any more?

MJ: As I mentioned earlier I’ve just delivered Rome. Actually every city deserves its volume and between Serpent’s Tail and Akashic many are already being covered. I’d love to see a Berlin and Moscow volume, but not edited by me. Every book should be curated by someone with a strong affinity for the place. As New Orleans and New York have already been done, that rules me out as I’m sure they will find a native to cover Seattle.

EC: Why do you think European crime fiction has become so successful/fashionable in the last few years?

MJ: Very simple: when it’s good, it’s as good as homegrown mystery writing. It just took the success of Mankell’s books to convince publishers they could actually make a profit with crime books in translation, so now it’s become a fertile area of mystery publishing. Although I would also say that I’m bemused by certain editorial choices and omissions still.

EC: Which European authors do you recommend that a) are available in English and b) should be available in English?

MJ: I enjoy Vargas, Manchette particularly. Not overly fond of most Scandinavians, who just appear to be riffing on the Maigret with angst theme. Still so many deserve to be translated. Can only recommend from languages I actually read of course, Certainly the French contributors to Paris Noir still not available here: Romain Slocombe, Dominique Sylvain, Jean-Hughes Oppel and Marc Villard, but also Maurice Dantec. In Italy there are so many: De Catraldo, Pinketts, Vallorani, Mazzucato, De Silva, Faletti, etc....

EC: Finally, you own Murder One, write books, blog for the Guardian, edit anthologies, organise Crime Scene – how do you fit it all in!?

MJ: I don’t! Actually, I feel as if half the time, I’m somewhat idle and lazy... Mind you, my next novel is a few years behind schedule, so I have to increase my productivity...

Radio 4 - Afternoon Reading - this week

Two of this week's Afternoon Reading programmes - weekdays 3.30pm-3.45pm ("A short story or an abridged book, often by writers who are new to radio") are of particular interest to crime fiction readers:

Tuesday (30/10)

Blood in Stone by Frances Fyfield, read by Nicholas Gleaves.
John Smith sets off through the woods at night in search of the haunted house he grew up in, equipped with matches and cans of petrol.

Listen again here until next Tuesday. Frances Fyfield's next book, Blood from Stone, will be out in March 2008.

Friday (2/11)

The Lost Child by Brian McGilloway, read by Lloyd Hutchinson.
A couple hear a baby crying on their child monitor. Unfortunately, it's not their baby. A cry for help or a call from beyond the grave? Inspector Devlin investigates.

Brian McGilloway's series featuring Garda Inspector Devlin began this year, with the well regarded Borderlands

We Knew Him When...

Not before time, Irish author (and Euro Crime reviewer) Declan Burke has landed a publishing deal in the US. Today's Publishers Lunch has the following in their deals snippets: "Declan Burke's debut, pitched as "Elmore Leonard with a harder Irish edge". Read more about the good news on Declan's blog.

Read the Euro Crime reviews of The Big O, here.

(link to) an interview of Ariana Franklin

The (free postage and packing) online book shop, Book Depository, has an interview with historical crime fiction writer, Ariana Franklin. The interview is here and the Euro Crime bibliography page is here where you can read reviews of her first two books (under this pseudonym) plus see the titles of the next two Adelia books.

Eragon and on... (OT)

From Publisher's Lunch:

The third book in Christopher Paolini's Inheritance series will be published on September 23, 2008, Knopf Children's announced this morning. Originally envisioned as a trilogy, Paolini is expanding the story into a fourth book. He says in the announcement: "I plotted out the Inheritance series as a trilogy nine years ago, when I was fifteen. At that time, I never imagined I'd write all three books, much less that they would be published. When I finally delved into Book Three, it soon became obvious that the remainder of the story was far too big to fit in one volume. Having spent so long thinking about the series as a trilogy, it was difficult for me to realize that, in order to be true to my characters and to address all of the plot points and unanswered questions Eragon and Eldest raised, I needed to split the end of the series into two books."

Eragon has been licensed in 50 foreign languages, and the first two books have combined sales of over 12.5 million copies worldwide.

Kate Muir column in The Times - 'James Bond' for Girls

From 20th October edition of The Times, Kate Muir's column includes information on a couple of series that might appeal to the female teenage contingent:

Earlier this month at the Cheltenham Literature Festival – which my kids love because they get to stay the night in a real hotel with free bubble-bath miniatures – my daughter, my hangover and I were out at ten on a Sunday morning for a lecture on “Spy Girls and Stunt Girls: they show the boys how real sleuthing is done!”

Jonny Zucker, author of the Venus Spring, Stunt Girl action adventures, showed us the cover he wanted for his first book – blue with a girl silhouetted in kickboxing action poses – and what he actually got after tests with readers: a Pepto-Bismol pink cover with a pretty girl’s face and flicky, bouncy hair.

On the espionage side, Carol Hedges invented Jazmin Dawson, a girl spy, in reaction to all the Young Bond and Anthony Horowitz books for boys, and I suppose we can take heart from the fact that only one of the three covers in the series is pink. Aside from the prodigious unisex works of Potter, “Girls read boys’ books, but boys don’t read girls’ books,” shrugged Zucker, who also writes a boys’ adventure series.

Read the whole article about feminism, clothes and the colour pink here.

More Trial and Retribution

From the ever informative Digital Spy

Lynda La Plante's Trial and Retribution will return to ITV1 next year, it has been confirmed.

The network has commissioned a further 16 hours of the series which is now entering its tenth year on the air.

Corinne Hollingworth, ITV's head of continuing drama, said: "Lynda La Plante's Trial and Retribution has gone from strength to strength during its ten years on ITV, and we're absolutely thrilled to be able to give the audience eight more exciting two part episodes in 2008."

New reviews this week

Here are this week's new reviews, website updates and a competition reminder:

Latest Reviews:

In Mike Ripley's Crime File for October, he reviews 'King of Swords' by Nick Stone, 'The Herring Seller's Apprentice' by L C Tyler, 'The Noble Outlaw' by Bernard Knight and 'The Pere-Lachaise Mystery' by Claude Izner;

Maxine of Petrona has recently blogged about this book and now offers a glowing review of A Half Life of One by Bill Liversidge;

There's no stopping the flood of praise for Jo Nesbo and it continues with Norman Price's review of The Redbreast. You can enter the draw for a free copy here (but don't delay as the competition ends on the 31st);

I was intrigued and informed by Matt Rees' The Bethlehem Murders, but don't expect a cosy read. The original (US) title, 'The Collaborator of Bethlehem' feels more appropriate

and Declan Burke applauds Kevin Wignall's Who is Conrad Hirst? and finds it "as subtly devastating as an assassin in the night".


Other Website Updates:

The New Releases pages have been updated.


Current Competition (closing date 31 October):

Win one of five copies of The Redbreast by Jo Nesbo (UK, Europe, Commonwealth (excluding Canada))

(geographical restrictions are in brackets)

In London on Tuesday night?

From the Gallic Books website:

Armand Cabasson (author of The Officer’s Prey) and Claude Izner (author of The Eiffel Tower and The Pere-Lachaise Mystery) will be in London this month. They will be the centrepiece of an event hosted by the French Institute on October 30th at 7.30 pm: ‘ Gallic Crimes: from Napoleon to Fin-de-Siecle Paris. The authors will be interviewed (in English) by Barry Forshaw on the challenges of writing and researching crime novels set in the nineteenth century. Barry is the author of The Rough Guide to Crime Fiction. He is currently editing a two-volume encyclopedia of British Crime Writing, and writes for the Independent and the Express. He also edits the magazine Crime Time.

Tickets are available at the door for £3 (£2 for concessions)

Unfortunately I don't finish work until 7pm in Birmingham that night otherwise I'd have trekked down.

Delay in the weekend's reviews

This weekend's reviews will probably be delayed or postponed. It depends how I feel in a couple of days. My beloved cat, Cadgy, has died today after a short illness aged 15 and a half. The photo doesn't show how beautiful she was, like a little bear and the loudest purr imaginable for such a small cat. Fortunately she's not suffering now and I hope she didn't suffer whilst she was ill.

Ken Follett's change in direction

According to an article in The Book Standard:

Bestselling author of World Without End, Ken Follett, will write a new epic trilogy, called "The Century Trilogy," which will "focus on intense personal dramas set against the vast looming background of world-changing historical events" of the 20th Century. The series will follow a number of families and the three books will take place before and up to World War I, World War II and the Cold War.

Read the whole article here.

(a link to) an interview with Simon Levack

Simon Levack writes the Aztec mystery series, starring Yaotl, a slave, who has now had four printed adventures. You can read an interview with him on the Getting Medieval blog.

The fourth book, Tribute of Death, has had to be self-published due to insufficient sales of the previous books, despite critical acclaim. If you like this series and want to see more, Simon Levack's website gives the following tips:

Buy my books (well, you were expecting that!)
Borrow my books from your library - and if the library doesn't have one, request it!
Encourage your friends to read my books
Write about my books in your blogs, newsgroups and discussion lists
Get your reading groups to discuss my books
If you know any publishers, booksellers or anyone else who may have a commercial interest in what I've done, tell them about it!
Give this website address out to anyone who may be interested.

Tribute of Death is available to buy or download from lulu.com.