Tag: Peter James

New Blood 2016 announced for Theakstons Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival

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Last week, Theakstons Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival in partnership with HW Fisher & Company, invited 50 authors and publishing professionals to its ‘New Blood’ reception in London. The event was designed to showcase new talent in the crime fiction genre in advance of the announcement of the New Blood panel for the July festival.

The event was hosted by leading crime writers Mark Billingham, author of the Tom Thorne series, and David Mark, creator of the hit DS McAvoy series of crime fiction books.

David Mark, who was one of Val McDermid’s New Blood picks at the 2012 crime festival, said: “The Festival is the most important in the literary calendar for the crime genre. I was incredibly excited, and proud, to be one of the New Blood authors chosen by Val. It was part of the whirlwind that led me to being signed in Germany, Greece, Italy, Spain, Turkey and America. I know how much it means when you’re starting out to not only get that recognition and platform, but the support of veteran crime authors, which is why I felt honoured, and delighted, to co-host this inaugural London New Blood celebration.”

For the 2016 festival, Val McDermid’s 2016 New Blood authors have been announced as Martin Holmen for Clinch, JS Law for Tenacity, Beth Lewis for The Wolf Road and Abir Mukherjee, author of A Rising Man.

Gemma Rowland, Literature Festivals Manager at Harrogate International Festivals – the arts charity that delivers the Theakstons Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival – said: “As well as celebrating the best crime writers around, the Festival is also about introducing new writers to crime fans.”

One of the top crime writing festivals in the world, Theaksons Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival is a must attend weekend for all crime fiction fans.

Val McDermid’s New Blood panel takes place at 12pm on Saturday 23 July at the Old Swan Hotel, Harrogate during the 14th Theakstons Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival.

This year the Programming Chair is Peter James, and Special Guests include Jeffery Deaver, Martina Cole, Neil Cross, Tess Gerritsen, Gerald Seymour and Linwood Barclay.

For the full programme, visit www.harrogateinternationalfestivals.com

Confessions from Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival: Part 3

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The New Blood Panel

The New Blood Panel

On Saturday (after a rather late night on the Friday) I started my day with the New Blood panel.

To a sold-out audience, Val McDermid talked to debut novelists Renee Knight (Disclaimer), Clare Mackintosh (I Let You Go), Ben McPherson (A Line of Blood), and Lucy Ribchester (The Hourglass Factory) about the inspiration behind their books, their journey to publication, and what they had planned for their second books.

It was a real treat, especially as I’ve read, loved and reviewed Renee Knight and Clare Mackintosh’s books – find the reviews here for Disclaimer and I Let You Go. And wonderful find out more about Ben McPherson’s chilling psychological thriller about a seemingly ordinary family caught in the middle of a murder investigation, and Lucy Ribchester’s fabulous sounding historical murder mystery set in the world of suffragettes and trapeze artists – two more books to add to my To Be Read pile for sure!

 

Authors Paul Finch and JS Law

Authors Paul Finch and JS Law

After the panel I caught up with some friends for lunch before heading across the lawn to the tent where Headline Publishing had set up a submarine-themed game of battleships to celebrate the launch of JS Law’s debut novel (on 30th July) TENACITY.

 

 

Here willing volunteers battled it out in a game of wits and rum. Author Paul Finch was victorious in a game (pictured here with JS Law). I have to admit that I didn’t play the game – but I did get my picture taken with JS Law.

 

After that, I caught up with Graeme Cameron, author of NORMAL – which was one of the books available for festival goers to bag (if they were fast) from the bookshelves. I was chuffed to get myself a copy – and have Graeme sign it for me.

 

JS Law and CTG

JS Law and CTG

Then it was off to the Harrogate Crime Writers North vs. South Challenge Cup football match (you can read my post on the game here).

Perhaps that’s why I didn’t make it to any panels on Sunday morning. It was either that or the fact that it’s impossible to move more than a few feet at Harrogate without bumping into friends – hours seem to pass in a flash.

 

But all too soon the weekend was over and I was saying my goodbyes to all the fabulous crime folks and heading home weighed down by as many books as I could carry.

 

 

Graeme Cameron pointing to his book NORMAL

Graeme Cameron pointing to his book NORMAL

If you’ve not been to the festival before I seriously recommend that you check it out and make a plan to go next year – it really is a crime reader’s heaven.

 

You can find out more here

 

The 2016 programme chair is best selling crime writer Peter James – so go on, book now, I’m sure you won’t regret it!

 

The Quiz!!

The Quiz!!

 

Confessions from the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival Harrogate: Part 1

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Going to the crime festival at Harrogate is a bit like entering another world – a world populated entirely by crime writers and crime readers. A perfect place for a crime fiction addict like me to hang out!

The Irish Noir panel

The Irish Noir panel

So I arrived on Thursday afternoon in time for the opening party (of course!) and the announcement of the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year. This year the highly coveted barrel trophy was won by the fabulous Sarah Hilary for her brilliant novel Someone Else’s Skin. [FYI: the partying went on well into the night/morning]

On Friday I managed to make it to breakfast (just before the food was cleared away) and after a few strong coffees was ready to skip along to the Irish Noir panel. This lively event, with Steve Cavanagh, Stuart Neville, Brian McGilloway, Eoin McNamee and Adrian McKinty, saw the authors discussing why they’d chosen to set their books where they had (in Ireland or not, and in the far past, recent past or present), what their writing influences had been, how the troubles had shaped them as writers, the challenges of research – including the danger of being sucked down the rabbit hole by Google and Wikipedia – and many other topics.

Killer Women

Killer Women

Then it was time for lunch and drinks on the lawn where I caught up with some of the wonderful Killer Women (pictured) Anya Lipska, Helen Giltrow, Louise Voss, and Helen Smith.

Then it was time for the Yorkshire Pride panel with moderator Nick Quantrill posing the questions to Lee Child, Steve Mosby, Frances Brody and Peter Robinson around the central topic of Yorkshire. Lee Child spoke of his fond memories buying sweets with his grandma in Harrogate, Steve Mosby spoke of creating a Leeds-like place to set his novels in, and Peter Robinson and Frances Brody spoke about the Yorkshire settings – both present and past – of their novels.

As soon as the panel ended it was a quick sprint along the corridor to the Dead Good Reader Awards – luckily not arriving too late for one of the special ‘The Widow’ themed cocktails (pictured) of blood orange and bubbly!

'The Widow' cocktails

‘The Widow’ cocktails

From the thousands of votes, the winners of the first ever Dead Good Reader Awards were announced as …

  • The Dead Good Recommends Award for Most Recommended Book: The Girl on the Train (Paula Hawkins)
  • The Lee Child Award for Best Loner or Detective: Vera Stanhope (Ann Cleeves)
  • The Val McDermid Award for Fiendish Forensics: Time of Death (Mark Billingham)
  • The Reichenbach Falls Award for Most Epic Ending: The Skeleton Road (Val McDermid)
  • The Dr Lecter Award for Scariest Villain: You are Dead (Peter James)
  • The Patricia Highsmith Award for Most Exotic Location: Amsterdam – The Girl Who Wouldn’t Die (Marnie Riches)
Award winner Marnie Riches with her agent

Award winner Marnie Riches with her agent

And there was still much to come. The next event was Mark Billingham in conversation with Eddie Izzard. This session, to a packed out audience, was one of the major highlights of the festival. With great banter, packed full of anecdotes and laughs, they talked about some of the stranger venues they’d played on the comedy circuit, what it’s like to die on stage, how to deal with hecklers, through to the need to continuously challenge yourself, and how everyone can keep learning – even if they’re 90. The hour seemed to pass in a flash, and I for one could have continued to listen to them all night.

The final session of the day (starting at 10pm) was The Black Art of Criticism panel with moderator N.J. Cooper posing the questions to panellists Jake Kerridge (the Telegraph’s book reviewer), and authors S.J. Parris, Stav Sherez and Ann Widdecombe. It was a playful panel who debated how they approached reviewing, and how they took being reviewed, with plenty of entertaining discussion.

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The Black Art of Criticism panel

And so, at 11pm as the events of the day drew to a close, I headed to the bar – where I stayed until the early hours of the next morning.

To be continued …

CTG Reviews: The Mystery Writers of America Cookbook

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cover image

cover image

What the blurb says: “Any mystery connoisseur worth their salt knows that whether it’s being used as a villain’s nefarious weapon or keeping their favourite detectives going, food plays a major role in the genre.

From the comforting breakfast cuisines of Arthur Conan Doyle’s Mrs Hudson to the poison-laced meals of Agatha Christie’s fictional victims, food not only provides major plot twists but also defines characters.

Considering how intertwined food and murder fiction are, Mystery Writers of America presents The Mystery Writers of America Cookbook: Wickedly Good Meals and Desserts to Die For edited by Kate White – former editor in chief of Cosmopolitan and New York Times best-selling author of the Bailey Weggins mystery series.”

Okay, so I don’t usually review cookbooks, but as you can tell from the title, this one is a little different! With over a hundred different recipes in the book – some based on author’s favourites and others their character’s usual choices – there’s some really yummy (and unusual) recipes to try.

You can learn how to make Harlan Coben’s ‘Myron’s Crabmeat Dip’, Frankie Y. Bailey’s ‘Whole Wheat Wild Blueberry Lemon Pecan Muffins’ (which sound amazing), and David Housewright’s ‘Corn Chowder’ (I love corn chowder). There’s even a ‘special guest’ recipe from Richard Castle (the detective character in ABC’s hit TV show – CASTLE) – for the very apt ‘Morning-After Hotcakes’.

For me a few recipes stand out above the rest …

Sue Grafton’s ‘Kinsey Millhone’s Famous Peanut Butter & Pickle Sandwich’ – this is a fabulously simple recipe, and includes peanut butter, yummy!

Kathy Reichs’ ‘Shrimp Scampi’ – this Southern seafood recipe looks amazing!

Linda Stasi’s ‘Mystery Baker: Original New York City Cheesecake – New York Cheesecake is my absolute favourite dessert, and this recipe is mouth-wateringly gorgeous!

Coffee, black (in my favourite mug!)

Coffee, black (in my favourite mug!)

And then there’s the drinks …

You can make like Peter James with what he refers to as his rocket fuel to kick off his evening writing – ‘The Peter James Vodka Martini Writing Special’ (complete with ‘twist’ and ‘olive’ variations).

Or opt for a ‘strong and silent’ option and take Lee Child’s ‘Coffee, Pot of One’ – a recipe that helps you brew the perfect coffee, and pick the perfect mug to drink it from.

Whichever you go for, The Mystery Writers of America Cookbook is a great, and rather different, recipe book to add to your collection. It includes a number of food related facts about mystery authors and their lead characters, and is beautifully presented with fantastic pictures of the food.

It makes me hungry just looking at it!

#TheAbruptPhysicsofDying Blog Tour: Simplifying my Life by Paul E. Hardisty

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cover image

cover image

Yesterday, I reviewed the fabulous debut thriller THE ABRUPT PHYSICS OF DYING by Paul E. Hardisty, a novel that’s been described by best selling author Peter James as “a stormer of a thriller”. Today, I’m thrilled to be the latest stop on wonderful new publisher Orenda Books’ blog tour for this brilliant book.

So, just to recap, here’s the blurb for THE ABRUPT PHYSICS OF DYING: “Claymore Straker is trying to forget a violent past. Working as an oil company engineer in the wilds of Yemen, he is hijacked at gunpoint by Islamic terrorists. Clay has a choice: help uncover the cause of a mysterious sickness afflicting the village of Al Urush, close to the company’s processing facility, or watch Abdulkader, his driver and close friend, die. As the country descends into civil war and village children start dying, Clay finds himself caught up in a ruthless struggle between opposing armies, controllers of the country’s oil wealth, Yemen’s shadowy secret service, and rival terrorist factions. As Clay scrambles to keep his friend alive, he meets Rania, a troubled journalist. Together, they try to uncover the truth about Al Urush. But nothing in this ancient, unforgiving place is what it seems. Accused of a murder he did not commit, put on the CIA’s most-wanted list, Clay must come to terms with his past and confront the powerful forces that want him dead.”

And here, to tell us about how he’s planning to simplify his life (if his book collection will allow it!) is debut author Paul E. Hardisty …

Pretty Soon I am Going to Simplify my Life.

I’ve realised that I don’t need much to be happy.   Don’t need three-quarters, more, of the stuff that fills up the place I live. Hell, I don’t even need the place I live – now that the kids are older and starting their own lives. A roof to keep out the ever less-frequent rain and something to keep me warm on those ever rarer cold nights, sure. But rooms filled with furniture and exercise equipment and shipping containers of appliances and toys and obsolete printers and all of the clutter that suffocates most citizens of G20 nations? I’ve decided no.

So one day soon, we’re going to go South, into the bush, and live in a shack. All I need, I’ve decided, is my mountain bike, writing stuff, and my favourite books. But the place won’t be big. And we’ll probably build most of it ourselves.   So I’ll have to choose carefully. The first twenty or so are easy, like your all-time best ever football (or in my case, ice hockey) side. After that it gets tougher.  I guess I could always just go with the kindle, pack a lifetime of reading in one place, but I can’t be stuffed with all the chargers and cables, and quite frankly, the lack of smell.   That musty old-book smell that makes you want to stick you face into the pages and breathe in all of the words you love. I must be part dog (my wife thinks so).

Paul E. Hardisty

Paul E. Hardisty

Ok. Top Twenty. Criteria: none – just go with it, without planning. And be honest. As fast as you can. A Farewell to Arms (Hemingway) – my dad’s old paperback copy; The Way of a Transgressor (Negley Farson) – a first edition, falling apart. He was the original real traveller. My hero. War and Peace (Tolstoy) – read it while rough-necking in Texas, oil smudged pages, the contrast; A Moveable Feast (Hemingway) – when I realised I wanted to be a writer of fiction (which I’ve since found is truer than non-fiction); The Count of Monte Cristo (Dumas), in French, timeless storytelling; Chaos (James Gleick) – everyone should read this, the mysteries of the universe exposed; Goodbye to All That (Robert Graves) – to survive that war, the way he did, and to think of what could have been lost if he had been killed, how much was lost in that nightmare; and so, I Claudius and Claudius, the God (Robert Graves) – his masterpiece (counts for two). What’s that? Nine.

Eleven more. Okay. Les Particules Elementaires (Houellebecq) – in French, hard, challenging, utterly contemporary; Antarctica (Kim Stanley Robinson) – science fiction about the present, beautifully written; Adventures in the Skin Trade (Dylan Thomas) – another one of my dad’s old volumes; Jude the Obscure (Thomas Hardy) – pretty close to top five, the last line has propelled me ever since I read it; Pure (Andrew Miller) – something about this book grabs me, it’ll take me a few more years to figure out exactly what; Le Pere Goriot (Zola) – in French, genius; Martin Eden (Jack London) – another book that cried out to me not to give up; A Night Over Water (Ken Follett) – a subtle thriller, loved it; Three Cheers for Me (Donald Jack) – the funniest book I’ve ever read; Macbeth (you know who) – just re-read it a few months ago, more there every time I pick it up; and twenty (but probably first) Seven Pillars of Wisdom (T.E. Lawrence).

Out of space. Too many missing. Especially some fantastic newer stuff. Guess I’ll have to take my kindle along. Screw it, we’ll build the interior walls of the shack out of books.

***

You can find out more about Paul here: http://paulehardisty.wix.com/paulehardisty

Follow him on Twitter @Hardisty_Paul 

Plus, check out his fabulous publisher ORENDA BOOKS here: http://orendabooks.co.uk and on Twitter @OrendaBooks

And don’t forget to hop over to the other stops on this fantastic blog tour …

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Your chance to win: FACE OFF – stories by Lee Child, Peter James, Michael Connelly, Ian Rankin and more (ed. David Baldacci) #bookgiveaway

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FACE OFF cover image

FACE OFF cover image

It’s not due to be published in paperback until the 29th January, but this week those lovely people at Sphere have given me a copy of FACE OFF to give away to one lucky winner. Here’s some more about the book …

The Prize: FACE OFF

What the blurb says: “Twenty-three of the world’s best-selling crime writers and your favourite series characters FACE OFF in eleven original short stories. Never before has such a glittering array of the world’s bestselling crime writers brought their series characters together in a collection of co-written short stories … FACE OFF includes the first meeting of Ian Rankin’s Rebus and Peter James’ Roy Grace; a case for Dennis Lehane’s Patrick Kenzie and Michael Connelly’s Harry Bosch, as well as a page-turning mystery starring Lee Child’s Jack Reacher and Joseph Finder’s Nick Heller. Edited by international bestseller David Baldacci, this exclusive page-turning collection is one of a kind.”

It’s a fantastic book of short stories, each one just perfect for reading over breakfast, or taking with you to read at lunchtime as you eat your sandwiches, or for a sneaky bit of procrastination when you should be doing something else!

The character pairings and full list of authors are:

Lee Child’s Jack Reacher + Joseph Finder’s Nick Heller

Ian Rankin’s John Rebus + Peter James’ Roy Grace

Michael Connelly’s Hieronymus “Harry” Bosch + Dennis Lehane’s Patrick Kenzie

Jeffery Deaver’s Lincoln Rhyme + John Sanford’s Lucas Davenport

Linwood Barclay’s Glen Garber + Raymond Khoury’s Sean Reilly

Linda Fairstein’s Alexandra Cooper + Steve Martini’s Paul Madriani

Steve Berry’s Cotton Malone + James Rollins’ Gray Pierce

Lisa Gardner’s D.D. Warren + MJ Rose’s Malachai Samuels

T. Jefferson Parker’s Joe Trona and John Lescroart’s Wyatt Hunt

Heather Graham’s Michael Quinn + F. Paul Wilson’s Repairman Jack

Douglas Preston/Lincoln Child’s Aloysius Pendergast + R.L. Stine’s Slappy the Ventriloquist Dummy

 

** THIS COMPETITION HAS NOW CLOSED **

So, to the competition …

For a chance to win a copy of FACE OFF all you need to do is tweet the link to this post (using the Twitter button below) OR retweet one of the CTG tweets about the giveaway. [You’ll also need to follow us on Twitter, so that we can send you a direct message should you win]. Rules
(1) One entry per reader (2) UK residents only – due to postage costs – sorry! (3) We will draw the winner at random (4) No cash alternative (5) The competition closes for entries at 9pm GMT on Sunday 25th January 2015 (6) The judge’s decision is final and no correspondence will be entered into.

Good luck!

CTG Reviews: WANT YOU DEAD by Peter James

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Want You Dead cover image

Want You Dead cover image

What the blurb says: “When Red Westwood meets handsome, charming and rich Bryce Laurent through an online dating agency, there is an instant attraction. But as their love blossoms, the truth about his past, and his dark side, begins to emerge. Everything he has told Red about himself turns out to be a tissue of lies, and her infatuation with him gradually turns to terror. Within a year, and under police protection, she evicts him from her flat and her life. But Red’s nightmare is only just beginning. For Bryce is obsessed with her, and he intends to destroy everything and everyone she has know and loved – and then her too…”

DCI Roy Grace returns in the latest book in Peter James’ best selling detective series – Want You Dead. He’s juggling the new responsibilities of parenthood with planning for his approaching wedding when his team is called to inspect the scene of an apparent suicide. But the suicide is suspicious, and when the dead man is found to be the current boyfriend of Red Westwood, a women whose previous boyfriend – Bryce Laurent – is known for his violent outbursts, Grace and the team are pulled into a deadly race against time to find the killer before he strikes again.

Red is a survivor of domestic abuse, determined to rebuild her life after being betrayed and brutalised by the man she loved. She’s started a new career, and is beginning to date again. But when her boyfriend is found dead, and she starts to catch glimpses of her ex – Bryce Laurent – her confidence begins to crumble.

Bryce is a smart and terrifying villain, able to be both utterly charming and brutally violent. Obsessed with Red, and destroying her and all she holds dear, anyone who threatens his success instantly becomes a target.

Told in short chapters, with points of view alternating between viewpoint characters including Grace, Red Westwood, Bryce Laurent, and Sandy (Roy Grace’s wife who disappeared many years previously) the tension continues to rise as Brighton becomes the setting for a series of devastating fires. Alongside the case, Grace and his fiancé – Cleo – prepare for their wedding, but unknown to them, in the background someone is watching – Sandy, Grace’s first wife, who has now been declared legally dead.

The story twists and turns at break-neck pace towards its dramatic showdown with plenty of shocks along the way. It’s a must-read for fans of the series, and all those who love police procedurals.

Highly recommended.

 

 

CTG Interviews: best selling author Peter James

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Peter James

Peter James

Today I’m excited to welcome best selling novelist Peter James to the CTG blog.

His latest novel  – WANT YOU DEAD – is out now (watch out for our review next week) and he kindly agreed to answer a few questions about his many writing projects for us …

Welcome Peter!

Dead Simple, the first novel in the Roy Grace series, is also rumored to venture its way onto the London big stage in January of 2015. Can you share some of the difficulties or advantages of adapting a thriller novel into a production play?

The two biggest difficulties are firstly containing the action within the very limited confines of a stage and the maximum number of set changes is it possible to have, and secondly reducing the number of characters in a book into the relatively small amount it is possible to have, both for economic and logistic reasons, in a play. The biggest challeng we have in bringing Dead Simple to the stage is that one of the central characters spends around two thirds of the entire play buried alive in a coffin. In the novel, much of the suspense comes from things that are happening to him – water rising within the coffin, his air supply being cut off, the excruciating claustrophobic fear of the enclosed dark space. So we’ve had to explore all kinds of different ways to portray this, from projecting the image of the actor in the coffin onto a screen, to simulating the feeling of being in a coffin by plunging the entire auditorium into darkness.

You recently contributed to the New York Times best selling novel, FaceOff. What were the highlights from the collaboration with Ian Rankin? Any challenges?

The whole concept of FaceOff, asking crime and thriller writers to have their central detective characters collaborate with another fictitious detective was both brilliant and highly daunting. Also although Ian Rankin and I are both British, the laws and police procedures in Scotland, where his character John Rebus operates are different to those in England where my character, Detective Superintendent Roy Grace operates. But right from the getgo, this collaboration was a really joyful experience. I’ve known him for some years and always found him to be a delightful, friendly, generous spirited guy, and all of this came through in spades during our time working together on this. Ian has a huge amount of knowledge about music, and it was his idea to hang the story around a cold case, and a rock and roll era, connecting our two cities of Brighton and Edinburgh. We met over a pint – or three – of beer in Scotland to kick it around, Ian started the ball rolling by writing a couple of pages which he sent to me, then I continued while he went off on tour to the US. We wrote the story in quite a short time period, with no arguments whatsoever. It was a strange feeling writing some of the scenes in which I had his central characters act and speak – I felt as if I was treading on sacred ground! I think the only real challenge was the amount of alcohol consumption the whole collaboration required 🙂

Want You Dead cover image

Want You Dead cover image

With 25 novels translated into 36 languages, publishing the world’s first electronic novel, Roy Grace’s 10th novel, a children’s novel, a novella, your involvement in Hollywood, your endless devotion and support to your hometown of Brighton, and charitable work under your belt we are all left wondering what is next for the man who seems to have done it all, and more importantly, how do you celebrate your successes?

Thank you! The big goal I now have in front of me is to see my books really break through in the USA. I’ve spent so much of my working life to date in the US, I feel as at home in North America as I do in England. I’m completely certain, from both the wonderful reviews I consistently get in the US press and from the enthusiasm of my fans, that it is possible. As to how I celebrate my success – it may sound strange, but I celebrate very cautiously. I know I’m incredibly lucky to have such a huge and global readership, to be able to make a living doing what I love, and to be able to travel so much, but equally I know, from my own experiences as a reader, just how many of my favourite authors seemed to decline as they became increasingly famous – almost as if they felt they didn’t have to make the effort any more. I’m determined not to let that happen, and I try my hardest to raise the bar with each book I write. My extravagances, when I am in full celebratory mood, are fine wines and fast cars – but not together!!!

 

A huge thank you to Peter James for taking time out of his busy schedule to visit with the CTG blog.

You can find out more about Peter by hopping on over to his website: http://www.peterjames.com

Visit him on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/peterjames.roygrace

And follow him on Twitter @peterjamesuk

CTG Reviews: Dead Man’s Time by Peter James

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cover image

cover image

What the blurb says: “A vicious robbery at a secluded Brighton mansion leaves its elderly occupant dying. Millions of pounds’ worth of valuables have been stolen.

But as Detective Superintendent Roy Grace, heading the enquiry, rapidly learns, there is one priceless item of sentimental value that her powerful family cherish above all else. And they are fully prepared to take the law into their own hands, and will do anything – absolutely anything – to get it back.

Within days, Grace is racing against the clock, following a murderous trail that leads him from the shady antiques world of Brighton, across Europe, and all the way back to the New York waterfront gang struggles of 1922, chasing a killer driver by the force of one man’s greed and another man’s fury.”

The ninth novel in Peter James’ award-winning Roy Grace series finds Detective Superintendent Grace juggling his job with the challenges of being a new parent. Sleep deprived and wishing that he could spend more time at home with Cleo and their baby son, Noah, instead Grace finds himself heading up the investigation into the robbery and violent assault of an elderly widow.

This story has all the hallmarks of a classic Peter James novel – tight plotting, lots of twists and turns, great attention to detail. It also combines the present-day crime with a past mystery which begins in Brooklyn, 1922, when a young boy witnesses the murder of his mother and the abduction of his father.

As Grace and his team investigate the present day crime, the two stories begin to intertwine through factors common to both – Gavin Daly, an elderly multi-millionaire with an unfulfilled promise, and a stolen broken pocketwatch.

As Grace pieces the evidence together it becomes clear that his team are not the only people hunting for the killer. With several leads eliminated, he follows the trail of stolen goods first to Spain and then to New York. The only problem is, his dedication to the case may well have blinded him to a threat much closer to home.

The theme of family is strong in this book. Peter James artfully interweaves the past and present crime stories, making the powerful and, at times ruthless, Gavin Daly a compelling and empathetic character. It’s also a fascinating glimpse into the world of New York gangs in the 1920s and the darker side of the UK antiques trade.

With fast-paced action, great characters and a pair of intriguing and emotive crimes to solve, Dead Man’s Time is a real page-turner.

Highly Recommended.

[With thanks to Pan MacMillan and Midas PR for my copy of Dead Man’s Time]

Events: Is Crime the new Literary Fiction

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How to get to Kings Place, London

How to get to Kings Place, London

Do you love crime fiction?

If so, this event could be for you. On 12th November 2012 the Crime Writers’ Association (CWA) are hosting a panel discussion on the topic “Is crime the new literary fiction?”

Chaired by Mark Lawson, the panel will be made up of best-selling crime thriller writers: Lee Child, Sophie Hannah, Peter James and John Banville.

It sounds like it’ll be a lively and entertaining debate.

For more information, and to book tickets, visit the Kings Place website at: http://www.kingsplace.co.uk/whats-on-book-tickets/spoken-word/is-crime-the-new-literary-fiction

It’s in my diary and I can’t wait!

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