The call comes in - a ghastly murder centered around a young woman hanging from the rafters of an unfinished house. He assigns his able detectives Marge Dunn and Scott Oliver to a murder scene - a homicide concocted from a depraved and warped mind. The woman, Adrianna Blanc was a nurse and although she was a caring and competent woman, she had her wild side which unfortunately put her into contact with some dangerous party hearty individuals. It is a story of the complexity of human nature as well as the dark side that lurks within us all.

I also had a wonderful time writing the book because it gave me a chance to visit past characters - namely Christopher Donatti, Terry MacLaughlin and now their son, Gabriel Whitman. Three characters with three separate last names and that is indicative of how different these people are from one another. All of them have run in and out of Peter Decker’s life. And now it seems that they have made more than a temporary inroads to disrupt the Lieutenant’s peace of mind.

I hope you enjoy the book and have as much fun reading it as I did writing it!

If you’ve yet to discover the genius of Len, here is a little bit of background on the man behind The Ipcress File.

Len Deighton was born in London in 1929. At the age of seventeen he became a photographer attached to the RAF Special Investigations Branch. Following his discharge in 1949 he did a variety of jobs and in 1952 won a scholarship to the Royal College of Art. His writing career began with The Ipcress File which was a spectacular success and was made into a classic film starring Michael Caine.

Since then his work has gone from strength to strength, varying from espionage novels to war, general fiction and non-fiction. The BBC made Bomber into a day-long radio drama in ‘real time’. Deightons history of World War Two, Blood, Tears and Folly, was published to wide acclaim – Jack Higgins called it ‘an absolute landmark’.

As Max Hastings observed, Deighton captured a time and a mood – ‘To those of us who were in our twenties in the 1960s, his books seemed the coolest, funkiest, most sophisticated things we’d ever read’– and his books have now deservedly become classics.

Read extracts for a selection of Deighton’s many classic thrillers by clicking on the links below

Browse Inside this book Get this for your site

Browse Inside this book Get this for your site

Browse Inside this book Get this for your site

Browse Inside this book Get this for your site

]]> http://www.killerreads.com/news/len-deighton/feed/ http://www.killerreads.com/books/the-devils-acre/ http://www.killerreads.com/books/the-devils-acre/#comments Mon, 23 Aug 2010 13:13:43 +0000 Hannah http://www.killerreads.com/?p=952

A novel of intrigue, violence and conflicted loyalties from the author of The Street Philosopher, Matthew Plampin.

What price to take hold of the devil’s right hand? Spring, 1853. After a triumphant display at the Great Exhibition in London, the legendary American entrepreneur and inventor Colonel Samuel Colt expands his gun-making business into England. He acquires a riverside warehouse in Pimlico and sets about converting it into a pistol works capable of mass producing his patented revolvers on an unprecedented scale – aware that the prospect of war with Russia means huge profits. The young, ambitious Edward Lowry is hired by Colt to act as his London secretary. Although initially impressed by the Colonel’s dynamic approach to his trade, Edward comes to suspect that the American’s intentions in the Metropolis are not all they appear. Meanwhile, the secretary becomes romantically involved with Caroline Knox, a headstrong woman from the machine floor – who he discovers is caught up in a plot to steal revolvers from the factory’s stores. Among the workforce Colt has gathered from the seething mass of London’s poor are a gang of desperate Irish immigrants, embittered refugees from the potato famine, who intend to use these stolen six-shooters for a political assassination in the name of revenge. As pistols start to go missing, divided loyalties and hidden agendas make the gun-maker’s factory the setting for a tense story of intrigue, betrayal and murder.

Buy The Devil’s Acre on Amazon

Read an extract from Matthew Plampin’s The Devil’s Acre

Browse Inside this book Get this for your site

Watch Matthew discuss The Devil’s Acre on the TV Book Club

The Chosen One

By Sam Bourne

Out now in paperback

After fantastic reviews, this summer’s biggest thriller has not disappointed. This is one not to be missed under any circumstances!

The multi-talented Sam Bourne, author of the bestselling The Righteous Men, The Last Testament and The Final Reckoning returns with another gripping high-concept thriller.

Bruised by years of disappointments, political advisor Maggie Costello is finally working for a leader she can believe in. She, along with the rest of America, has put her trust in President Stephen Baker.

But suddenly an enemy surfaces: a man called Vic Forbes reveals one scandal about the new president, and quickly another. He threatens a third revelation - one that will completely ruin Baker.

When Forbes is found dead, Maggie is thrown into turmoil. Could the leader she idolizes have been behind Forbes’s murder? Has she been duped by his message of change and hope? Who is the real Stephen Baker?

On the trail of the truth, Maggie is led into the roots of a massive conspiracy that reaches back into history - and goes right to the heart of the US establishment…

Soul Murder

By Daniel Blake

Out now in paperback

A great new crime fiction combo emerges with the arrival of author Daniel Blake and his hero Franco Patrese, homicide detective and an expert on religious crimes.

Daniel Blake formerly worked for a company specialising in kidnap negotiation and this is what gives his books such a unique insight and an authentic edginess.

In the first of this new series, Patrese and his partner are called out to a domestic dispute which leaves two dead. Patrese believes he’s got his killer but when violence erupts all over the city, he has to start again. The charred corpse of a brain surgeon is found in his lavish apartment. And then, a Catholic bishop is set alight in his confessional.

But these are just the first in a series of increasingly shocking murders which close in around Patrese himself. Couched in razor-sharp prose, and finishing off with a mind-boggling twist, this is a complete belter and an author to watch out for…

Pretty Little Things

By Jilliane Hoffman

Out now in paperback

From former state attorney Jilliane Hoffman comes another trademark psychological thriller - a chilling story for the Internet era…

Dozens of teenage girls are going missing in Miami. And for Special Agent Bobby Dees of Florida’s Crimes Against Children squad, their families’ grief is all too real. He understands the pain of losing a child, and he’ll do whatever he can to stop it from happening again.

So when thirteen-year-old Lainey Emerson doesn’t return from her date with ‘El Capitan’, a mysterious figure she met online, he vows to do everything in his power to get her back.

But then, the missing girls start to reappear as horribly mutilated corpses, with clues pointing to a collection of abductees. The killer is smart and leaves the police desperate for ideas. Bobby Dees has sworn to save Lainey - but how can he compete with a mind this warped?

Frankenstein: Lost Souls

By Dean Koontz

Out now in trade paperback

The great American storyteller powerfully reworks one of the classic stories of all time.

Dr Frankenstein lives on, seemingly indestructible, and more sinister than ever. With each new incarnation the technology he can use to build a new human race - which he will control - is vastly improved.

His first monster, Deucalion, has spent two hundred years locked in a struggle with his deranged maker. When the new Frankenstein clone, Victor Helios, emerges with his grotesque new creations, and financed by an enigmatic billionaire, Deucalion must hunt them all down and destroy them…

Hangman

By Faye Kellerman

Out now in hardback

One of the most highly regarded US crime authors, Faye Kellerman doesn’t disappoint with her latest dose of electrifying suspense featuring Peter Decker and Rina Lazarus.

LAPD Lieutenant Peter Decker agrees to do a risky favour for old friend Teresa McLaughlin, knowing that it will bring her sociopathic husband Chris Donatti back into his life. But when Teresa goes missing and Donatti disappears, Decker must protect their son Gabe who has been left behind.

At work, Decker catches a case which seems simple on the surface - the suicide of a party-loving nurse - but it quickly becomes complicated and causes him to question all the evidence in front of him. At home matters are just as uncertain. Decker and his wife Rina Lazarus try to look after young Gabe, but with Donatti on the loose, no one can be safe. With lives hanging in the balance, Decker and his team need to find answers fast…

Time of Death

By Alex Barclay

Out now in paperback

Alex Barclay, best-selling author of Darkhouse, is back with another stunning Ren Bryce FBI thriller.

NOWHERE TO RUN

FBI agent Ren Bryce’s hunt for some of the country’s most dangerous killers is about to turn into a nightmare.

NOWHERE TO HIDE

Someone close to Ren is murdered and secrets from her past look set to be revealed, throwing her into a world of fear, paranoia and danger.

NO ONE TO TRUST

Dark forces are at work and someone is determined to destroy Ren’s life. But time is running out and Ren must catch a killer before he catches her…

The Bricklayer

By Noah Boyd

Out now in paperback

A bit of background if you didn’t know already - Noah Boyd is a former FBI agent who spent more than twenty years working some of the Bureau’s toughest investigations, from serial killers and drug-rings to the Highland Park Strangler case, which he’s credited with solving. When he’s not writing, he works away on unsolved ‘cold’ cases.

This is an absolute blockbuster of a book, written by a man who knows his stuff: introducing FBI maverick Steve Vail.

A trained killer and former agent, Vail despises authority and he’s never met a rule he didn’t break. These days he’s working as a bricklayer. But not for long, as Deputy Assistant Director of the FBI Kate Bannon desperately wants his help.

Someone is killing federal agents in complex, subtle, twisted ways - and the body count is rising fast. And it might be an inside job - someone who holds a fatal grudge against the agency and wants a bloody revenge. To stem the tide of murders, Vail must re-enter a world he hoped he left behind long ago … his own past.

The Liar’s Lullaby

By Meg Gardiner

Out now in paperback

Meg Gardiner has been touted by Stephen King as ‘the next suspense superstar … she is up there with Michael Connelly and Lee Child’. You should probably check out the article she wrote for Killer Reads too…

Tasia McFarland is a washed-up singer desperate for the break that will get her back to the top of the charts. As her star begins to rise again, the tabloids uncover that Tasia McFarland was the ex-wife of the US President; which is one reason the world takes notice when Tasia is killed by a bullet to the neck in front of a crowd of 40,000 adoring fans.

When video evidence proves nothing and the ballistics report comes up empty, the authorities call on Jo Beckett to do a psychological autopsy. As Jo sifts through the facts, she only finds more questions. Pouring over Tasia’s past quickly becomes a race to extinguish the conspiracy rumour mill before it incites a level of violence that reaches America’s highest corridors of power…

The Woodcutter

By Reginald Hill

Out now in hardback

After his fully deserved Outstanding Contribution to Crime Fiction award at Harrogate, the first few reviews for this have been trickling in over the last couple of weeks and make no mistake - this is the real deal. I hope our competition winners are enjoying their copies of this totally absorbing, intensely psychological novel of revenge, regrets and murder.

But don’t take my word for it - see what the critics have to say:

‘An outstanding novel of force and beauty’ The Times

‘You’ll be hard pushed to find another crime writer with his verve … The result is an epic, unbeatable mystery’ Financial Times

‘A big, fat mystery which has the enduring power of a myth … Hill has never written a better book’  Evening Standard

‘Hill’s plotting is brilliant, the jokes first-rate, the prose supple’ Daily Telegraph

‘Reginald’s Hill’s books are as good as crime fiction gets and this one is as good as he gets’ Literary Review

Breathless

By Dean Koontz

Out now in paperback

From the internationally bestselling ‘master of our darkest dreams’ (The Times), comes another hugely entertaining parable for our times.

In the Colorado mountains something miraculous is witnessed by Grady Adams, a strong, gentle man whose unhappy past has driven him to live out in the wild. When he sees it, he knows that one of Nature’s great mysteries has been revealed to him.

His friend Cammy Rivers, a scientist, is stunned and awed by the phenomenal presence. She sends photos to colleagues in far places to try and find a name for the wonderful beings. Before they know what is happening Homeland Security quarantine the wilderness around them and send in assorted scientists to track down and ‘neutralize’ the threat to the known world.

Grady and Cammy don’t stick around to merely witness this atrocity - determined to prevent it, they go on the run, and a pursuit of hair-raising suspense unfolds, with no happy ending in prospect…

At last month’s Theakstons Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival in Harrogate, the winner of Alibi’s search for a new crime writer was announced. The culmination of the search, which was launched at the beginning of the year, ended with a short yet perfectly formed ceremony attended by the likes of Stuart MacBride and R.J. Ellory.

Alibi TV in partnership with HarperCollins, TV Times, the Reading Agency and the festival started a hunt to find a new voice in crime fiction back in January. Entrants were tasked with putting together a short story no longer than 5,000 words that had to start with the opening line provided by the rather wonderful Stuart MacBride, chair of this year’s festival.

‘In my experience, those who beg for mercy seldom deserve it’

Armed with the opening line, pens were put to paper and fingers to keyboards to produce a fantastic selection of stories. There was an overwhelming response to the competition with over 700 stories submitted. After a public and judges vote the winner was announced as David Jack Smith with his tale FOX.

If you’d like to read David’s story please click right and select save on the following link FOX by David Jack Smith

This week saw the announcement of the nominees in three categories for this year’s Specsavers Crime Thriller Awards.

CWA GOLD DAGGER 2010
Blacklands by Belinda Bauer (Corgi/Transworld)
Blood Harvest by S J Bolton (Bantam Press/Transworld)
Shadowplay by Karen Campbell (Hodder & Stoughton)
The Way Home by George Pelecanos (Orion)

CWA IAN FLEMING STEEL DAGGER 2010, SPONSORED BY IAN FLEMING PUBLICATIONS LTD
A Loyal Spy by Simon Conway (Hodder & Stoughton)
Innocent by Scott Turow (Mantle)
The Dying Light by Henry Porter (Orion)
The Gentlemen’s Hour by Don Winslow (Heinemann/Random House)

CWA JOHN CREASEY (NEW BLOOD) DAGGER 2010
Acts of Violence by Ryan David Jahn (Macmillan New Writing)
Rupture by Simon Lelic (Picador)
The Holy Thief by William Ryan (Mantle)
The Pull of the Moon by Diane Janes (Constable & Robinson)

A great mix of authors on the list, with some strong titles. We’re still mulling over who we’ll be lending our support to…

THE DEVIL’S ACRE, Matthew’s second novel tells the story of the short life of Colonel Samuel Colt’s Westminster gun factory, and his newly appointed London secretary, Edward Lowry. A desperate time for London’s poor, Lowry shows us the underbelly of society when he begins an affair with a girl from the factory floor and discovers corruption is rife.

Matt spoke brilliantly about the Victorian London he brought to life in the novel, from the grand establishments still standing today to the fetid slums long forgotten - as Jo Brand put it, this is not a novel you would want to scratch and sniff.

The panel debated, we held our breath…

‘I thought it was terrific … meticulously researched …’

‘That’s a really terrific story to have found and developed …’

‘I loved Caroline …’

Clenched fists relaxed, we ate our crumbled biscuits and toasted a highly successful Monday tea break.

We went up to ‘God’s own county’ this last weekend from the 22^nd - 25^th July. Unfortunately, He didn’t attend as He generally prefers non-fiction and celebrity cook-books, but He does like a good ‘whodunit’. He also correctly guesses who the killer is every time, often before He’s even bought or read the book.

Anyway - even without Him, there was a wealth of talent on offer including Ian Rankin, Reginald Hill, Mark Billingham, Val McDermid, S.J. Parris, Karin Slaughter, Jeffery Deaver, Simon Kernick, James Twining, Peter James and our very own Stuart MacBride presiding over events.

Highlights? Well, of course the festival got off to a great start with Reginald Hill receiving a richly deserved Outstanding Contribution to Crime Fiction Award. Radio Four’s Mark Lawson (who is surprisingly tall) did the honours. Many congratulations to Reginald once more - and of course, to R.J. Ellory who won the Crime Novel of the Year.

There was a fascinating talk about the uses of the past and future in crime writing, with authors from both ends of the space-time continuum. S.J. Parris, Richard Morgan, R.S. Downie and Paul Johnston all got involved in a very interesting debate about their own writing and how they’ve been influenced by other prominent authors in their field.

And as if having a brand of tea named after you wasn’t enough, James Twining also sported union jack trousers, and allegedly boxers, to prove he was the ultimate English Gentleman. He weighed in on a conversation about the incredible literary heritage of this green and pleasant land in ‘Britannia Rules the Page’. If you are wondering what this might have looked like, please see this artist’s impression.

Finally, a big thank you to everyone to came to the event celebrating 120 years of Agatha Christie, which was a sell-out hit! Of course, almost all crime/thriller readers grew up with her over many generations and the love of her work and the enthusiasm of her fans is what keeps her so fondly remembered that she is only outsold by the Bible and the Bard himself!

Thanks to everyone who came and made the festival such a success - and to the organizers and the journalists and bloggers working so hard to cover it!

See you next year!

The Killer Reads Team x

Hill has had forty books published in forty years. His first book, A Clubbable Woman, was published in 1970 and was the first in his hugely successful Dalziel and Pascoe series which went on to become a huge TV hit. His most recent novel, the standalone thriller The Woodcutter, was published last week.

And … as an added bonus, enter our competition to be one of the lucky seven to win the following:

- a SIGNED COPY of Reginald Hill’s Midnight Fugue, the latest Dalziel and Pascoe novel.

- his fantastic new book The Woodcutter

- and two of the recently reissued Joe Sixsmith series.

To win, all you have to do is tell us: what is your favourite Reg Hill book, and why? Answers on a (electronic) postcard to emad.akhtar@harpercollins.co.uk.

The competition will close on the 10th August.

Killer Reads caught up with Lee for a quick chat.

Killer Reads: Who is Lee Weeks?

Lee Weeks: I was the youngest of three daughters. My father was a policeman and my mother was a nurse. It was a difficult childhood spent continually moving. I went to eight schools, lastly a convent, before coming to a mutual agreement with the nuns that it was time I left. I came out with one GCSE in Art and was accepted to Art college to do a foundation course. I dropped out and went to Sweden to work as an au pair for a year. After returning briefly, I headed towards a kibbutz in Israel, without a map, and didn’t get further than France. After France I stayed for six months in England taking a job as a hotel receptionist in Widecombe-in-the moor. I was given the sack after being accused (falsely) of Witchcraft - I went to live in a small Bavarian village in Germany and worked there as a barmaid before also being given the sack for being a witch! I moved to Munich, worked as a cocktail waitress before moving on to an American army base to live. I worked in a nearby town as a Disc Jockey. I returned home to take my missing GCSEs in a year and three A levels. Then, I headed off to Hong Kong where I lived for over a year and worked as a model and nightclub hostess. It was there that my, already evident, drug problem escalated when I was sold the local equivalent of amphetamine which turned out to be heroin. My supplier, Teresa, owed the triads money and I became part of the debt. After nine months of addiction, and reaching a near death situation, my life turned a corner and I decided to stop all drugs and to put my past behind me. I went into hiding, moving from hotel to hotel to escape Teresa. After three months, when I was at the end of my methadone program, I was rescued from the triads’ debt by a prominent member of Hong Kong society,  with whom I had an affair. I was allowed to leave Hong Kong. Returning to live in London, I moved in with an old college friend, fell pregnant and married. I had a second child four years later. I have had many careers: fashion/photographic model ( from the age of sixteen.) Desert chef ( making puddings for a restaurant in Exeter whilst at college) English teacher to foreign students. Personal trainer and aerobics teacher. I now live in Devon with my two children.

KR: What is your writing schedule?

LW: I just to do as much as possible every day - it is never a chore. I make use of the different times of day when my brain is working in different ways and with variable energy levels - i.e. in the middle of the night a solution to a problem will come and I have to get it down. Or a tricky scene will sort itself out in the middle of the day when I’m walking the dogs. Before lunchtime is an energetic time to put in the thousand plus words. The afternoon is a good time to research and expand ideas for sub plots, characters, - mull things over. After five pm is a useful time for writing a descriptive scene (sometimes after a glass of wine). In bed is a great time to edit.

KR: Is writing an enjoyable experience for you? Please compare to your previous occupations.

LW: I was one of those annoying children that, when you came to my house, you had to listen to one of my poems. I have written poetry, prose, short stories, all my life. I have used it as a vehicle of expression and escapism. I have only ever wanted to be a writer. I have often put myself in difficult situations in order to write about them eg - one way tickets and no money! I paint. But, it doesn’t given me the same level of satisfaction. When I finish a painting I look at it and think - how did that happen? Whereas, when I write, I agonize and excite over every word. I know how it happened. I feel a far greater sense of achievement. Everything about writing brings me joy. It allows me to be myself.
KR: Do you have much of an outline when you start or do you just wing it?

LW: I am a plot led person so my outline is very important to me. I can’t bear not having a good ending and I need to plan for that all along the way.

KR: How have your friends & family reacted to your success as an author?

LW: Most of my family and friends say when they see the book on the shelves they are so proud they feel as if they’ve written it themselves.

KR: What is your number one tip for any budding writers?

LW: Get tough on yourself: study it, plan it, do it!