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September 20, 20114:06 am
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Voss and Edwards on their writing relationship
January 27, 20128:16 am
Since its publication on Kindle in May 2011, Catch Your Death has been an ebook sensation. It was the first fully-independent British book to hit No.1 on Amazon, where it stayed for a month, selling tens of thousands of copies. This year, HarperCollins have released Catch Your Death in paperback, and it’s already had fantastic reviews. As Louise and Mark work in a team to write, we thought we’d ask them, how does it work? Find out below…Louise: Our writing partnership - as all the most lasting relationships tend to - grew gradually over an 18 month period back in 1999/2000. We used to email our work to each other all the time and soon came to trust each other’s judgement when it came to editorial advice. It was only once we’d actually met up and realized the other one wasn’t a nutter (there was always just this small nagging doubt, when we were penpals!!) that it seemed entirely natural to start planning our own book together - Killing Cupid. We had the premise, the characters, the twist(s) - and once we started, we never looked back…’
Mark: I didn’t even know what Louise looked like before I met her. At least she knew I looked vaguely normal. I think if this had happened now, and I’d seen Catfish, I might suspect that ‘Louise’ was actually a 54-year-old Hell’s Angel emailing me from prison. But she was perfectly normal and nice. Phew! And when we started writing together, it turned out that we had each discovered our perfect creative foil. Lennon and McCartney. Morecambe and Wise. Keith Harris and Orville. And now Voss and Edwards.
Louise: Or, ‘Vedward’, as my friend christened us! It’s true to say I’m not 54, a Hell’s Angel, or a jailbird. Maybe Mark had a lucky escape… Yes, I knew he looked normal as I’d seen him on the telly - that was how we met, after I watched this documentary about three wannabe authors, and empathized with Mark (who was one of the three) so much that I was moved to write him a brief email via his agent. That’s how we first got in touch. He moved to Japan for a year shortly after we met - not, I trust, as a reaction to having met me - so the whole thing was done via email. We didn’t even speak on the phone during that year, just went back and forth, one chapter each per week.
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Sam Bourne on location
January 26, 20125:50 am
BRITAIN, 1940. A SON NEEDS HIS FATHER. A COUNTRY NEEDS A HERO.We are rather proud of our lovely Sam Bourne widget! Click to hear Sam Bourne talking about the inspiration behind his explosive new thriller, Pantheon, then read an extract to see what all the fuss is about! -
MACBRIDE: BLOODY BRILLIANT NUMBER ONE
January 20, 201211:48 am
A massive congratulations to Stuart MacBride who has reached number one again this year!
His gripping, gritty new novel BIRTHDAYS FOR THE DEAD has been number one in the Sunday Times bestseller charts for two weeks.
The story follows Detective Constable Ash Henderson who is on the investigation trying to find The Birthday Boy, a serial killer who abducts girls before their thirteenth birthday. Ash’s eldest daughter, Rebecca, was taken by The Birthday Boy, who sends Ash a card every year showing Rebecca being tortured on her birthday. No one else knows that Rebecca was taken, they all think she ran away. Because if they do, Ash will be thrown off the case – and he cannot give up before The Birthday Boy gets what he deserves.
The latest Logan McRae novel, SHATTER THE BONES is also in the top ten in paperback. It’s an absolutely cracking, pacy read that was also a number one bestseller last year.
Alison and Jenny McGregor, Aberdeen’s mother-daughter singing stars are kidnapped after they reach the semi-finals of Britain’s Next Big Star. The ransom demand appears all over the TV and internet, and the media circus rises to fever pitch. But with no leads Logan McRae and the rest of Grampian’s finest are at a dead-end…
Congratulations to Stuart, huge thanks to his legions of fans who support him and we hope you’re all enjoying the books!
All the best,
Killer Reads
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The Taxidermist’s Son: the story of how I came to write Death Notice
January 19, 20129:29 am
By Todd Ritter
After reading my first mystery, DEATH NOTICE, my father asked me the question that I knew was coming. “Where on earth,” he said with obvious worry, “did you come up with that?” He was referring to the plot of the book, in which a taxidermy-obsessed killer sends the local newspaper obituaries of his victims — before they’re killed.I gave him my standard answer about how the main idea came to me while working at a small newspaper, where one of my duties was to type and proofread obituaries. One night, I came upon an obituary that mistakenly listed the deceased’s date of death as being the next day. That was enough to get my imagination running and the rest of DEATH NOTICE grew from there.
I didn’t have the heart to tell my father that he was also one of my biggest inspirations.
No, my dad isn’t a serial killer. In the eyes of woodland creatures, he’s worse. My father, you see, is a taxidermist.
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Your reviews of The Woodcutter
January 12, 201211:18 am
Christmas holidays are always incredibly busy, so we’ve only had three reviews back so far - but luckily for us, they are absolute crackers! They gave 5 stars for this brilliant psychological thriller from the author of the Dalziel and Pascoe series. Anyway, you can read what they said for yourselves…Patricia Thompson writes:
This is definitely a five star read and one of the best books I’ve read for a long time.The Woodcutter in the title is Wolf Hadda who we meet properly on his wedding anniversary when his house is raided and he’s arrested for crimes which he insists he hasn’t committed and has no knowledge of.
Gradually we begin to learn more of Wolf and his past and present and he’s a believable character who had me rooting for him and for his innocence to be proved throughout the book.
This is a book which I read at breakneck speed as I couldn’t wait to find out more and more about Wolf, boy and man.
For anyone who is familiar with Reginald Hill from his Dalziel and Pascoe books, this is a departure from his usual style and not a Yorkshire Moor in the whole book, just some gritty characters who you find yourself warming to as soon as they’re introduced and others you dislike immediately which I think is a sign of some excellent story writing as the reader is totally absorbed into the story and everyone in it.
After I’d turned the last page I was left with a sadness that it had come to an end. A thoroughly enjoyable book which you both want to finish to tie all the loose ends up and a sense of loss that it is all over. I’m sure Wolf will stay in my head for a long time as his character was so believable that you don’t want to say goodbye to him.
Carol Peace writes:
A great standalone book, a definite 5 out of 5.A great book and a great mystery. The book revelations keep you glued and you just have to read the next page to find out what the conclusion will be.
Jo Barry writes:
With the recent death of Reginald Hill the literary world has lost a writer at the top of his game, however he could not have asked for a finer swansong than The Woodcutter. Five stars. -
And the winners are…
January 9, 201210:39 am
In December we ran our Killer Christmas Advent Calendar competition! With a fantastic prize behind each door, we had hundreds of entries and we are now pleased to announce the winners! Your prizes are on the way to you now!1. A collection of no less than SIX Stuart MacBride books, including a proof of his latest Birthdays of the Dead, is on the way to Mark Silver!
2. Stephanie Parker, Claire Barker and Ellen Stafford will all be sipping from their Sorry branded mugs as they turn the pages of this terrifying thriller
3. With a brilliant selection of our up-and-coming crime releases of 2012, Lucinda Fountain will be in the know this year
4. A signed, first-edition of Absolute Midnight will take pride of place on Debra Johnson’s bookshelf
5. As will the signed copies of House of the Hanged that are on their way to Christine Burridge and Elaine Huxstep
6. Laura Starling and Andrew Tedder will be on the edge of their seats with Michael Crichton’s latest techno-thriller Micro
7. Mark Richmond, Barbara Chambers, Solange Thomas, Maggie Barker, Nathan Holden and Sajad Farid will be kept up way into the night with Dean Koontz’s twist on the Frankenstein classic
8. Surely one of this year’s most gifted presents, the first four specially released hardbacks of the Game of Thrones series will be proudly owned by Robert Turpin
9. A signed edition of this historical crime classic Heresy featuring none other than Giordano Bruno goes out to Wilma Jones and Jane Willis
10. Holly Green will have nightmares for weeks with a selection of Avon’s best (and scariest) crime reads
And last but not least….
11. Gillian Phillips will receive a gift from the Queen of Crime herself, with six Agatha Christie facsimile edition hardbacks.
Furthermore, the eagle-eyed amongst you will have noticed that we never gave away a twelfth prize! Well, now’s your opportunity. To be in for a chance to win our mystery prize (a collection of books snaffled from various desks around the building), then please email your answer to this question to killerreadscomp@harpercollins.co.uk
Which Scandi-crime author sets her books in Fjallbacka?
Competition closes on Friday at midnight, so get entering now!
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Christmas Advent Calendar: prize no. 11
December 21, 201111:33 am
A gorgeous pack of six Agatha Christie facsimile editions to be won:
To enter, simply:
Name the world’s longest running play, penned by the brilliant Agatha Christie.
Email your answer to killerreadscomp@harpercollins.co.uk along with your name and address for your chance to win!
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Christmas Advent Calendar: prize No. 10
December 19, 20111:05 pm
Avon Crime Pack to be won! Including:
The Drowning Pool, by Syd Moore
Fragile Minds, by Claire Seeber
Cold Kill, by Neil White
Life Sentences, by Laura Lippman
Long Gone, by Alafair Burke
To enter, simply:
Name the main character in Syd Moore’s The Drowning Pool.
Email your answer to killerreadscomp@harpercollins.co.uk along with your name and address for your chance to win!
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Christmas Advent Calendar: prize No. 9
December 17, 20116:54 am
Two signed copies of Heresy by S. J. Parris to be won!
To enter, simply answer this question:
What is the title of S. J. Parris’s new Giordano Bruno historical thriller, to be published in April 2012?
Email your answer to killerreadscomp@harpercollins.co.uk along with your name and address for your chance to win!
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Christmas Advent Calendar: Prize No. 8
December 15, 201110:19 am
One set of George R. R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire series to give away - in the stunning new hardback edition!
To enter, simply answer this question:
Who played the character of Lord Eddard Stark in the HBO TV series of A Game of Thrones?
Email your answer to killerreadscomp@harpercollins.co.uk along with your name and address for your chance to win!
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Christmas Advent Calendar: Prize No. 7
December 14, 20117:40 am
SIX sets of Dean Koontz’s Frankenstein series to give away!
To enter, simply answer this question:
Who was the author of the original Frankenstein?
Email you answer to killerreadscomp@harpercollins.co.uk along with your name and address for your chance to win!
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Crime at Christmas: The Finale! Twelve Drummers Drumming
December 12, 20117:00 am
