killer reads

Drumroll please… We are thrilled to announce the first acquisitions for the Killer Reads digital-first list! In order of publication: MINDSIGHT, by Chris Curran Publication date: 19th Feb 2015 Five years ago, Clare killed her family. She has no memory of the car accident, but there is no refuting the… Read More

Earlier this month, author Charles Cumming was invited on a trip to Russia, organized by the British Council, as part of the 2014 ‘UK-Russia Year of Culture’ programme. They stayed in Moscow and Tarusa, visiting some absolutely incredible places – Tolstoy’s house at Yasnaya Polyana, Chekov’s country estate,… Read More

It’s finally here! Today is the day the open submission for our new digital first publishing imprint opens! Here at Killer Reads we’re very excited to find out what’s going to land in our inbox between now and 14th September when the submission period ends. In the meantime, here are… Read More

Guess what? Killer Reads are launching a new e-imprint and we want to read YOUR book! We are on the lookout for commercial crime and thrillers ranging from police procedurals, to psychological thrillers, to high-concept thrillers and beyond. We are looking for fantastic writing that hooks us, making us want… Read More

To celebrate the release of The Killing Club by Paul Finch, we’re giving away a money-can’t-buy prize to one lucky winner… Have you ever dreamt of having your name on a book? We mean, actually having it smack bang in the centre of the front cover? Well you’re… Read More

Hannah: Which book would I save from a burning building? Easy, The Fire Witness by Lars Kepler, and no, that isn’t just me trying to be clever. This is a book I eagerly anticipated a year in advance of it even being written, let alone translated, so… Read More

FRIDAY GIVE AWAY! You could win one of the books in our arms! Just comment here or on our Facebook Page to tell us which one you want and why! Best answers will win and we'll pick our winners on Monday. Just in case you can't see clearly, the books we're carrying are: Close to the Bone by Stuart MacBride Read More

Ever wondered how you make the leap to become a writer? This month sees Paul Finch recall the transition from his days in the Police to his time as a scriptwriter for The Bill in his fourth blog piece for Killer Reads.   The first time I ever put pen to paper to write a serious thriller, it was just after I'd finished serving as an actual police officer. The piece of work in question was a speculative teleplay entitled Knock Off Job. It concerned a murder inside a suburban police station, and presented every member of the shift, both uniform and CID, as potential suspects, none of them knowing who to trust. Now that I look back on it, it was very talkie: lots of tense conversations in dim corridors and cramped offices, lots of frank, fraught interviews, lots of suspicions being cast in every direction. It wouldn't work today simply because modern police stations are filled with CCTV, and the comings and goings of staff and non-staff are more carefully monitored. But the concept was of sufficient interest to the production team at The Bill to make them ask me to come in and see them. I accepted the invitation, and though I didn't realise it at the time, my life changed as a result. Read More

Happy Publication Day to Will Adams, whose fifth novel, Newton’s Fire, is out now. Will was kind enough to share the inspiration behind his new novel in the following piece, sent to us from a remote outpost in the Canary Islands, where he is currently hard at work on his next book…   Back in 2003, a Canadian academic called Stephen Snobelen gave an interview to the Daily Telegraph to promote a new BBC documentary on Sir Isaac Newton. The interview was about a prediction Newton had made, gleaned from his study of the Bible, that the world would come to an end in the year 2060. The story made the Telegraph’s front page, and immediately caused something of a stir. This was Newton, after all, Britain’s most iconic mathematician and scientist. So maybe there was something to it. Other papers and news organisations around the world quickly picked it up, and for a few days Newton’s 2060 prophecy became a global sensation, a hint of Armageddon in the air. But, as is the way of such things, people quickly forgot about it again. Read More

I’m always keen to expand my personal ‘Killer Reads’ library with new titles – especially titles I’ve been highly recommended. So, with the Christmas holidays approaching, I thought I’d add some new books to my ‘must-read’ list – and who better to ask for inspiration than one of our Killer crime & thriller writers. This week we’re treating you to the first of two instalments from crime and thriller duo, Voss & Edwards, authors of the unputdownable novels Catch your Death and Killing Cupid. This week Mark Edwards is sharing his five all-time favourite crime novels, so hold off sending your lists to Santa until next week as there will be plenty of brilliant reads for you to boost your Christmas lists with. Read More

Seeing as Alex Barclay’s new Ren Bryce thriller Blood Loss has just been released in the UK, we decided to ask her the questions you’re all dying to know the answers to. So here’s the first of what I hope will be many a Q&A session with our brilliant authors. Keep reading to find out how a working day in the life of Alex plays out, where she gets her ideas from and what she loves to read and watch…   What sparked your interest in crime writing specifically? It was more that I was struck with an idea for an opening scene: a surveillance operation in New York and what, at first, appears to be the successful resolution of a child abduction. It was so vivid to me, it still is, and I just felt compelled to write it. I thought it would be a screenplay, but once I had written it, I knew it would be a novel. I’ve been reading crime ever since I was fourteen, so it was no surprise that I would have criminal intent… Read More

Hello and Happy Halloween from the Killer Reads team. In the spirit of today’s festivities (and also the release of the new Bond movie), my question to the KR team this morning was “Who’s your favourite bad guy?” Read on for their brilliant answers and your chance to win a special treat...   Sarah Hodgson: Blofeld remains the all-time classic supervillain. As well as vast wealth and far-reaching influence, he also has a very cool cat.   Kate Stephenson: Best villain (not sure it’s correct to say my favourite, because I hated this guy with the passion of a thousand suns): Col. Hans Landa as played by Christoph Waltz in Inglourious Basterds. That apple strudel scene with Shosanna – so incredibly unsettling. Actually, just all the scenes with him in them. Such a talented actor. Read More