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Friday giveaway winners revealed!
February 19, 201312:25 pm
An enormous thank you to everyone who entered our Friday Giveaway competition! We had a fantastic line up and your entries were brilliant, making it incredibly hard to pick the winners, but we eventually narrowed it down to…
A Foreign Country goes to Jake Eliot, who said:
I’d love to get my hands on a copy of Charles Cumming’s latest, A Foreign Country. I enjoyed watching Skyfall at the cinema, but it’s high time Bond’s flashy suits and big explosions cleared the way for proper suspense, taut dialogue and authentic spycraft. And by the sound of it, I reckon following Tom Kell tracing the disappearance of the first female head of MI6 across Europe and Africa will help me put the stresses of my working week into perspective.
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Win the books in our arms!
February 15, 20137:38 am
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
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Stuart MacBride signs his life away
January 18, 20137:24 am
Cramp
When I was about eleven, I spent some time working on my signature. It was during a particularly boring maths class (or it might have been physics, who knows? Not me, and I was there… I think) that I sat down and doodled my name into the fantastic stylish signature that would adorn the cover of platinum albums, or movie posters, or groupies’ boobs … something like that anyway. Because, let’s face it, who doesn’t think they’re going to set the world alight when they’re eleven? Before spots and puberty kick in to make sure you know just how ridiculous a creature you really are.So by the end of the lesson I had learned nothing about logarithmic functions (or transistors if it was physics), but was all set to meet my fans. When, or more likely if, I ever had any, I’d be able to whip out a pen and sign my name with the appropriate flourish for a rock/filmstar.
Of course no one wanted me to sign anything. So my fancy new signature got put in a cupboard and forgotten about. Oh, I’d drag it out every now and then when I was old enough to have a cheque book, but other than that it was dead weight.
It all changed when Cold Granite came out… Or, to be more precise, just before it came out, because in the run-up to publication I went on an all expenses paid trip to the HarperCollins Distribution Centre in sunny Bishopbriggs. Which is a canteen, a few offices, and a dirty big warehouse full of books.
They sat me down in a large-ish office with a pack of pens and a stack of books to sign. Three thousand of the buggers. Given that my previous record for signing things was about once every six weeks, this presented something of a challenge.
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The MacBride Short Stories Have Arrived
November 22, 201211:27 am
Today is publication day for Stuart MacBride’s Partners in Crime: Two Logan & Steel Short Stories (‘Stramash’ and ‘DI Steel’s Bad Heir Day’). Perfect to fill in your lunch hour, liven up your commute, or enjoy of an eve over a glass of wine (though a tumbler of whisky might be more appropriate). Last month, Stuart MacBride did a Skype interview with student journalist Alicia Jensen for the Aberdeen University Student Newspaper, The Gaudie. Read on to find out what makes Aberdeen the perfect setting for a murder or three…If Edinburgh is bipolar; Aberdeen is schizophrenic
Stuart MacBride answers questions on why Aberdeen makes such a good setting for a gory murder mystery
Why set a murder in Aberdeen? This is the first question in my Skype interview with Stuart MacBride, bestselling author of the Logan McRae series, and Birthdays for the Dead.
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Enter the mind of Stuart MacBride
August 31, 20127:36 am
Our No.1 bestselling author Stuart MacBride talks ‘Tartan Noir’ on BBC Radio 4’s Open Book Channel – a term being used to describe the abundance of exceptional crime fiction coming out of mighty Scotland. MacBride also explains how music really helps to influence his characterisations and thrilling storylines. Follow the link to listen in.http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01m4c92
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Cosy Mystery or Dark and Twisty…? (Prizes Involved!)
August 30, 20126:40 am
This week sees our Killer Reader Kate Stephenson (pictured right) asking for your views on modern Twisted Thrillers Vs. the classic Murder Mystery…
Earlier this year at the Oxford Lit Fest, Sophie Hannah and Simon Brett discussed the respective merits of the dark and twisted new school and the cosy old school of murder mysteries in a panel entitled Murder Mystery: Blood Bath or Brain Teaser?
Has crime fiction become too gory? It’s a question hotly debated amongst readers and writers alike. Some hark back to the masters of the cosies like Agatha Christie and Dorothy L. Sayers, and despair that contemporary crime fiction has gone too far, indulging in graphic violence – particularly the torture of women and children – for sensationalist purposes. Others don’t have a problem with it, being that it is fiction, after all. The authors are not committing the violent crimes they describe, nor inciting readers to do so. And surely we’re all consenting adults, making our own reading choices – if what you’re reading offends you, all you need to do is put the book down.
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JUBILEE WEEKEND IS COMING… get your crime & thriller hit for just £1.99!
May 24, 20124:08 am
Jubilee weekend is almost here (if you hadn’t already noticed all the paraphernalia around town) and that means a FOUR DAY WEEKEND. What better way to celebrate all that glorious reading time than by snapping up the following fantastic Kindle reads for the teensy price of £1.99!!
A Spy by Nature by Charles Cumming
For fans of TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY comes this
masterclass in suspense about a spy caught up in
his own web of deception…
Cold Granite by Stuart MacBride
Stuart MacBride’s Number One bestselling crime series
opens with this award-winning debut. DS Logan McRae
and the police in Aberdeen hunt a child killer
who stalks the frozen streets.The Woodcutter by Reginald Hill
A stunning, fast-moving, standalone psychological thriller
from the award-winning author of the
Dalziel and Pascoe series.
Fallen Idols by Neil WhiteA Premiership footballer is shot dead in cold blood on a
busy London street, and a country is gripped by terror.
Who is behind this apparently motiveless killing – and
who’s next in the firing line?Vanishing Point by Danielle Ramsay
The stunning new novel from a rising star of crime writing,
featuring a sadistic and powerful trafficking ring
that has its roots in the highest corridors of power…
The Alchemist’s Secret by Scott Mariani (only .99p)
Ben Hope lives on the edge. A former élite member of
the SAS, Ben now devotes his life to finding kidnapped
children. But when Ben is recruited to locate an ancient
manuscript which could save a dying child,he embarks
on the deadliest quest of his life. -
World Book Night: Bernard Cornwell recommends our very own Stuart MacBride!
April 23, 201211:07 am
Master of historical fiction, Bernard Cornwell has chosen to recommend Stuart MacBride’s Cold Granite as his World Book Night recommendation! When we spoke to Bernard and asked him to tell us why he had chosen Stuart he said…‘Stuart MacBride’s thrillers are written with genuine humour, a dark imagination and superb storytelling skills. It’s rare to find a book that can make you laugh aloud and shudder with horror,and which you cannot put down.’
Bernard Cornwell
And if that doesn’t encourage you to read it, then we don’t know what will!
To find out more about Bernard Cornwell and his book Harlequin which is being given away tonight as part of the World Book Night event, or to read an extract of Stuart MacBride’s Cold Granite please visit the World Book Night website here: http://www.worldbooknight.org/about-world-book-night/wbn-2012/the-books/harlequin
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Win a murder tour of Aberdeen…
February 2, 20126:28 am
Here’s Stuart’s plan:‘For a writer, there’s nothing quite like a good excuse to get out of the house, and this one’s perfect. Not only do we all get to raise money for a really important cause, we get to go out and tour Aberdeen, poke our noses into its seedy fictional underbelly, then nip off to the nearest pub for a bit of fortification before moving on to the next scene. Think of it as a semi-educational stag-night, only without the general rowdiness, stripper, and inevitable kebab. What’s not to love?’Travel to Aberdeen from anywhere in the UK and accommodation at one of the finest hotels Aberdeen has to offer are also included.
To win, all you have to do is vote for the new morgue to be named after Stuart at www.millionforamorgue.com - you’ll get one competition entry for each £1 donated to the campaign, so the more votes, the more likely you are to win. The winner will be picked from the hat on 29 February.
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Crime at Christmas: Six Geese have laid!
December 6, 201112:46 pm
Six of the chapters are already out! How many have you read? My personal favourite chapter is no. 3…
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Win two tickets to see Stuart MacBride and Mark Billingham at Reading Crime Festival 2011!
October 31, 20111:31 pm
What is it? From comedy to corpses, this will be a night to remember as two of the UK’s top crime writers, Stuart MacBride and Mark Billingham, chat to the audience about their careers and their experience in crime-writing.Where is it? Victoria Hall, Reading Museum and Town Hall
When is it? Saturday 12th November from 7 to 8pmTo win two tickets, which have been kindly donated by our good friends at Reading Crime Festival, then simply click on the button below to read an extract from Stuart MacBride’s latest ebook, Sawbones, and answer the following question:
