And when I weighed up what information this left me with, I must admit to having been slightly disturbed by most of it being related to various macabre forms of torture that the Inquisition are purported to have used on those unlucky enough to have been suspected of being heretics.

Subsequently, whilst I have been ‘researching’ this blog entry, my course has repeatedly drifted to torture, and much of the talk with members of the Crime and Thriller department has dissolved into trying to outdo one another with their knowledge of varied vicious tortures [although, I suppose that by dint of the genre in which they operate this familiarity with techniques of torment is unsurprising].

Thus, while this blog will attempt to relay the information I have discovered on the history of the Inquisition, in all probability it will probably end up with me explaining various forms of torture that have caught my eye [not literally] or made me sick.

Thomas Stofer

Brand new to Killer Reads is the cleverly titled, ‘Crime Film of the Month, which very surprisingly presents you with a classic crime film every month. As the self-styled film buff of the team I was nominated to select the titles so I’m very pleased that the inaugural ’Crime Film of the Month’ for March is the legendary Brighton Rock….

Brighton Rock is one of the seminal British movies of the 20^th Century and regularly finds its way on the list of Best Films Ever.

A sterling cast headed up by Richard Attenborough as the warped gang leader Pinkie, bring to vivid life Graham Green’s classic novel. Directed by the well-known Boulting brothers it was adapted for the screen by the author and dramatist Terence Rattigan.

Concerned with the criminal underbelly of Brighton it follows Ida Arnold, as a blowsy music hall entertainer, who is determined to root out the truth behind the puzzling death of a man she takes under her wing in a bar. Ida is brilliantly portrayed by Hermione Baddeley who gives a career-defining performance as the kind-hearted but interfering busy body.  As she gets ever nearer to exposing Pinkie for the murderous psychopath that he is, he forces a vulnerable and weak young woman called Rose into marrying him so that she cannot testify against him as the only witness. There will be no happy ending for Rose.

Attenborough’s Pinkie Brown is a frightening creation and the actor brings his usual depth and substance to the role. The depiction of Brighton as a seething den of vice is well envisioned and the location adds authenticity to the film. It is a prefect example of how to successfully adapt a book for the screen – nothing of value is lost and the story is enhanced by the actor’s contribution. They don’t make them like that anymore…Well they do actually. A remake went into production late in 2009 and sees the setting move from the 1930s to the 1960s.

This is the opinion of David Peace bestselling author of The Red Riding Quartet and The Damned United featured in the Guardian today. It’s obvious that this formula is something which works for him- The Red Riding Quartet is based on the Yorkshire Ripper murders.

Peace comments that there “isn’t much point making up new crimes” but isn’t that the point of crime fiction, to escape into a frighteningly real -’unreal’ world were you feel comforted by the fact that it is simple no more than a work of fiction or is the shock and fear that that these crimes really have taken place that fascinates us readers.

Whatever side you choose to take it’s a very interesting debate…

The hunt for a new crime writing talent is on! Fancy yourself as the next Stuart MacBride then keep reading.

HarperCollins have teamed up with crime drama channel Alibi, the infamous Theakstons Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival and TV Times to uncover the UK’s hidden crime writing talent.

The ‘Search for a New Crime Writer’ competition asks budding writers to submit a short crime fiction story via the Alibi website the competition opens on Monday 25th January 2010 and closes at midday on Sunday 16th May 2010.

Our very own Stuart MacBride, author of the bestsellers Blind Eye, Cold Granite and Flesh House has lent his support to the competition by providing entrants with the story’s opening line…

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

There will be one winner with two runners up who are in line to win some rather special prizes.

Three finalists will win tickets to Theakstons Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival, Harrogate (with travel and accommodation included), where they’ll get to the chance to rub shoulders with leading authors and agents of the crime writing world. The winner will be announced during the weekend at a special reception and will win a Sony e-reader, a library of 100 crime books including a signed Stuart MacBride back catalogue and they’ll also see their story turned into a special online, downloadable e-edition by HarperCollins.

For full details of terms and conditions and how to submit your entry visit the Alibi website.

In 1971, just two years after it began, the Booker Prize ceased to be awarded retrospectively and became, as it is today, a prize for the best novel in the year of publication. At the same time, the date on which the award was given moved from April to November. As a result of these changes, there was a whole year’s gap when a wealth of fiction, published in 1970 fell through the net. These books were simple never considered for the prize…until now.

The shortlist will be announced in March but, as with the Best of the Booker in 2008, the international reading public will decide the winner by voting via the Man Booker Prize website with the overall winner being announced in May.

22 titles appear on the longlist - all of which are still available in print today. To see the full list visit the Man Booker Prize website.

We are extremely excited to see the crime genre represented by Ruth Rendell  for HarperCollins the legendary Reginald Hill is featured with A Clubbable Woman.

To read an extract from Reginald Hill’s A Clubbable Woman click here ]]> http://www.killerreads.com/news/announcing-the-lost-man-booker-prize/feed/ http://www.killerreads.com/news/camilla-lackberg-6th-biggest-seller-in-europe/ http://www.killerreads.com/news/camilla-lackberg-6th-biggest-seller-in-europe/#comments Thu, 28 Jan 2010 15:31:21 +0000 Kate B http://www.killerreads.com/?p=601 It’s all about Camilla Läckberg!

The Killer Reads team are all rather excited to hear that our very own Camilla Läckberg, has come 6th in the chart of Europe’s bestselling authors of 2009. Steig Larsson heads up the list with Twilight author Stephanie Meyer in second place and Dan Brown in third.

The paperback of Camilla’s number 1 bestseller, The Preacher is available at the beginning of March. To find out why she is so successful you can read an extract of The Preacher here and watch a video of Camilla talking about her previous novel The Ice Princess.

We’re kicking off this year with an exclusive video from bestseller Andrew Gross, author of thrillers The Blue Zone and Dark Tide. This March he publishes his 4th novel Reckless which Lee Child has described as ‘his best yet’.

Andrew has recorded an exclusive video for us reading the first chapter from the much anticipated Reckless. Enjoy!

Once again Reckless features Ty Hauck. Ty has left law enforcement for a job with a big-time private security firm. But he quickly learns that life in the private sector can be every bit as dangerous as wearing a badge - if not more so. When a successful trader at one of Wall Street’s largest firms is murdered his suburban home along with his wife and daughter, it seems at first to be a case of burglary gone wrong.Then another financial executive is found dead in a very suspicious ’suicide’. As Hauck digs deeper he uncovers a horrifying financial conspiracy that stretches from New York to Central Europe to London. And the masterminds behind it will kill anyone who gets in their way…

Andrew has recorded an exclusive video of himself reading the first chapter of Reckless which you can view here.

So if you missed December’s update here’s a quick round-up….

The Gumshoe Trail - a fleeting history of the American hardboiled crime novel from Raymond Chandler to Tony Hillerman. Read it here.

Thriller School - Calling all budding crime writers. Learn from the experts at the inaugrual Thriller Read and benefit from an exclusive Killer Reads discount. Click here for more information.

Avon Authors - The fanastic David Kessler and James Steel chat to Killer Reads. Click here for James Steel and here for David Kessler

2010 Sneak Peek - Take a look at what’s in store for 2010.

Desmond Bagley - Read about the father of action thrillers

We managed to catch up with founder Sarah Williams before she launches the inaugural event in January to see what she hopes to achieve with the course and why specialise in crime fiction…

Thriller School: Away from what I know

Why am I opening a Thriller School? About two years ago, I was lying in bed with Håkan Nesser. Suddenly, Dean Koontz, Patricia Cornwell, Henning Mankell, Ian Rankin and a number of others fell on my head. It was then that I realised what I loved: crime fiction. The three tall towers of paperback thrillers that had just landed on me had grown because my bookshelves were already overstuffed with Stig Larssen, Donna Leon, Michael Connelly, Jeff Lindsay, Tess Gerritsen, Eliot Pattison, Meg Gardiner, Robert Crais, Michael Dibden…

I’d been a writer, head of an English department, a publisher, a businesswoman, a university tutor – I’d been, and still am, a mother. I’d studied and taught all kinds of literature and literary criticism, from Chaucer to Chinua Achebe, from Structuralism to Post-feminism, but now I realised that it was crime fiction I rested in and relished.

As I picked up the books, and over the next few days, I wondered: why crime fiction? Through the host of answers that occurred – the clarity of writing, the problem-solving, the range of forms and tones of voice, I realised that there was a central theme: the crime fiction books I so enjoy take me away from what I know.

Håkan Nesser’s imaginary land, Michael Connelly’s California hills, new places, new people, new dilemmas.

I decided to start Thriller School.

When I began to talk about Thriller School with people it was as if I had discovered magic words – people’s eyes lit up, and they engaged with me in unexpected openness and enthusiasm. Clearly, I was not alone in my love for the dark corners and seamy side streets of literature.

I live just outside Oxford, and was fortunate enough to study at Balliol College, Oxford University. More recently I have developed a close relationship with St Hilda’s College, a serene and beautiful place, with one of the best cooks in Oxford. How could Thriller School be set anywhere else?

Having written a number of books myself, I know how hard it is to write, and especially to finish, a crime fiction novel. Each writer is different, and finds their stumbling blocks in different places. But there are strategies, ways of finding what works best, and there are people who can help. My idea for Thriller School is to bring together writers, agents, publishers, detectives, police officers and forensic scientists: every expert in the fiction and the fact of crime.

For the opening Taster Weekend, running over 9th and 10th January, the keynote speaker is HarperCollins author S.J.Parris, whose forthcoming crime novel, Heresy, is actually set in an Oxford College (not Hilda’s, but a college close by – and there will be an opportunity to take a literary tour of the Oxford colleges). Other speakers include Emily O’Shea (forensic scientist), Catherine Clarke (literary agent) and Rachel Rayner (HarperCollins crime fiction editor). Further details are on the website: www.thriller-school.com.

This January weekend will be followed by four further weekend courses throughout 2010, taking delegates deeper into many aspects of crime writing, from the craft itself right through to how to wow an agent.

Thriller School is working in close association with HarperCollins and is offering a special discount price to the first 5 Killer Reads members who book on to the course. Just go to www.thriller-school.com, click through to the Book Now page and enter your special Killer Reads code: TS-KR010.