Reviews: THE AFFAIR, THE RETRIBUTION, and BY ANY MEANS

This year I've been asked to provide a monthly crime fiction round-up for the Herald on Sunday, one of New Zealand's most well-known newspapers. I'm very pleased to be able to contribute in my small way to getting crime fiction into the books sections of some local media.


My latest column was published a couple of weekends ago, but I didn't realise - missing that issue of the newspaper - so I hadn't yet shared the reviews online. Here they are:

Crime Watch

The Affair
By Lee Child (Bantam Press, $39.99)
A return to form for Child after the underwhelming Worth Dying For, this latest Jack Reacher tale goes back to before the beginning, to 1997 when he was still a Major in the military police. Sent undercover to Mississippi after a woman has her throat cut behind a bar just down the road from a large Army base, Reacher finds himself entangled with the attractive female sheriff, and questioning everything, unsure just who he can trust. A page-turner, The Affair sheds new light on the enigmatic wandering hero, and should please new and old fans alike.

The Retribution
By Val McDermid (Little, Brown, $34.99)
The doyenne of Tartan Noir, McDermid not only brings back her popular pairing of dysfunctional profiler Tony Hill and DCI Carol Jordan (of Wire in the Blood fame) in her latest novel, but also celebrity broadcaster turned serial killer Jacko Vance. Just when Hill and Jordan are about to take themselves to another place, professionally and perhaps personally, their nemesis escapes after years behind bars, throwing them, their colleagues, and their wider lives, into disarray. McDermid creates a pulse-pounding plot, but her writing shines brightest in the emotional turmoil of her characters’ relationships.

By Any Means
By Ben Sanders (HarperCollins, $24.99)
This sophomore effort from 21-year-old Aucklander Sanders has plenty of the crisp prose, vivid imagery, and page-turning plotlines that powered his #1 bestselling debut, The Fallen, last year. Detective Sergeant Sean Devereaux juggles murder investigations: a Friday rush-hour drive-by shooting, and a suspicious double-killing in an affluent suburb. Meanwhile Devereaux’s ex-cop buddy John Hale finds himself chasing kidnappers, and being chased by the Police. While there are flaws (a tendency to get ‘listy’ with musical references or travel details), overall Sanders has crafted another very enjoyable thriller, set right here in our biggest city.

Craig Sisterson helped establish the Ngaio Marsh Award for Best Crime Novel. He writes about crime and thriller fiction for several publications here and overseas, and blogs at http://goldenglobenominees.blogspot.com//.

Galaxy Book Awards honour crime fiction and more

The 2011 Galaxy National Book Awards nominees have been released, with a few crime writers featuring. One of the Awards' eleven categories is for the Thriller & Crime Novel of the Year, but crime writers also feature in some of the other more general categories too.

The Galaxy National Book Awards tout themselves at 'the Oscars of the book industry', and they certainly highlight and celebrate a variety of books, with categories ranging from crime, to children's books, to cookery/food books, to biography/autobiography, to audiobooks, and more. It's good to see that crime/thriller writing has its own category (not every genre does, as there are catch-all categories like 'popular fiction' and 'paperback of the year', etc). The nominees for the Thriller & Crime Novel of the Year in association with iBookstore are:

• Before I Go To Sleep S.J. Watson (Doubleday)
• The Fear Index Robert Harris (Hutchinson)
• Heartstone C J Sansom (Pan)
• The Family Martina Cole (Headline)
• The Impossible Dead Ian Rankin (Orion)
• Trick Of The Dark Val McDermid (Sphere)

Acclaimed new crime writer SJ Watson, who recently won the CWA John Creasey (New Blood) Dagger for his debut Before I Go To Sleep, features strongly in the Galaxy line-ups; also receiving nominations for New Writer of the Year, and AudioBook of the Year.

American thriller writer Gregg Hurwitz is nominated in the Paperback of the Year category for his excellent thriller You're Next (read my review here, and my feature article on Hurwitz discussing that novel here). Norwegian star Jo Nesbo (The Leopard) has been nominated for International Writer of the Year, finding himself up against the likes of Haruki Murakami, and Booker nominee AD Miller (Snowdrops) has also been nominated in the New Writer of the Year category. It is nice to see crime getting something of a look-in, especially in awards which are made across genres. Though like any awards nominee lists, there's bound to be plenty to discuss in terms of people left off the list, and whether people think the nominated books are better than others that seem overlooked.

The winners will be revealed on 4th November at a ceremony at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in west London, which will be hosted by comedian Dara O'Briain. The event will be staged and filmed by Cactus TV, with a series of six programmes about the awards to be screened between 13th November and 17th December on More4. Cactus TV Managing DirectorAmanda Ross said, "It will be far more interesting for the viewers to experience the event in bite-size chunks spread across six shows, as we will be able to properly focus on the category winners."

You can read more about the 2011 Galaxy Book Awards at the website here. Graham Beattie has a full list of the categories and nominees here.

What's in a name? Do killer book titles matter?

Thanks to my fellow Ngaio Marsh Award judge Graham Beattie of the always-informative Beattie's Book Blog, yesterday I came across an interesting blog post (from Katie Ganshert - an aspiring author from the US Midwest) about the importance of finding a great, not just good, title for your novel. In her blog post, Gansher talks about her struggle to find a great title for her first novel, and how all the options she considered had to be measured against three key criteria:

• It has to represent the story: "I want a title that is unique and meaningful to not just a line in the book, but to the entire story," says Ganshert, who is looking for a title "chock-full of meaning".


• It has to be intriguing: "I don't want it to sound like a million other titles already published on Amazon. I look for something different. Original. Not cliche. Something that elicits a sense of intrigue," says Ganshert, who used an example of  SUMMER SNOW (juxtaposition of snow in summer catches attention).


• It has to sound good: "Titles shouldn't make tongues twist or noses wrinkle. They should be pleasing to read and say," says Ganshert, who is a fan of alliterative titles.

The blog post, from an author who isn't a crime writer, got me wondering about the importance of a good title for crime and thriller novels. It also got me reflecting on the titles of the most recent books I've read. In all honesty, I don't think I picked any of them from the shelf because of their title, but rather because of their author, or a recommendation, etc. But can titles be important? Like book covers can be important?

Here are some of the most recent books I've read:

• SIX SECONDS by Rick Mofina (currently reading) - a geopolitical thriller. Clearly, six seconds refers to a race-against-the-clock aspect of the novel, although I haven't yet discovered if there is any secondary or layered meaning to the title also.


• THE AFFAIR by Lee Child - a prequel to the Jack Reacher series, where Reacher is still an Army MP, involved in a murder case outside an army base in America's rural South. The title is simple, not that unique, but can denote a couple of different things about the book.


• THE ACCIDENT by Linwood Barclay - another terrific 'suburban suspense' novel, that is kickstarted by, you guessed it, an accident (a DUI traffic accident) - but is it an accident?


• RETRIBUTION by Val McDermid - the latest Tony Hill and Carol Jordan book, which sees the return of serial killer Jacko Vance who escapes from prison, and is after, that's right, retribution.


• THE RIDGE by Michael Koryta - a supernatural thriller with plenty of interesting characters and mysterious happenings, all tied to a mountain ridge.


• THE COLOR OF LAW by Mark Gimenez - a modern-day ode to To Kill a Mockingbird, where a high-flying wheeler-dealer Texas corporate lawyer is forced to defend a black hooker who's accused of killing an important senator's son. While issues of racism arise, as becomes clear through Gimenez's interesting legal thriller, in modern times, it's the colour of money, even more so than skin, that really segregates people now.

So it seems that most of the crime fiction titles aren't too poetic or multi-layered - they are quite direct and on point, having meaning to the story without necessarily being that unique or memorable. Does this matter? I'm not sure. I must say, I am a fan of some of James Lee Burke's novel titles - PURPLE CANE ROAD, INTO THE ELECTRIC MIST WITH CONFEDERATE DEAD, CIMARRON ROSE, CADILLAC JUKEBOX, etc - I really do love the poetry and 'sound' of those titles, which always end up having some meaning tied into the story, although not always what you expect. But I don't think it necessarily harms most other crime fiction titles from not having that same level of uniqueness or poetic 'sound'. What do you think?

I did have a period of reading last year where it seemed almost every book I read had 'Blood' somewhere in the title - but I guess with crime fiction certain words, or images, will of course crop up again and again.

Then of course there are some authors who have themed titles throughout a series - for example, James Patterson's earlier Alex Cross novels all had the nursery rhyme/children's poem or song element - ROSES ARE RED, KISS THE GIRLS, ALONG CAME A SPIDER, POP GOES THE WEASEL etc. And sopme of Val McDermid's novels have titles taken in part from poems by TS Eliot - WIRE IN THE BLOOD, THE MERMAID'S SINGING, etc.

Does a good title matter? Or only if you are a lesser-known author? As a reader, are you drawn to a title, like you might be to a cover (meaning you might pick a book up, or investigate it more online, potentially giving the author more chance to convince you to buy it)? Does it matter more for some types of novels than others? What are your favourite crime titles? I'd love to get your opinions and examples on this matter.

Kiwi-raised Stella Duffy named a finalist for 23rd Annual Lambda Literary Awards

Finalists for the Lambda Literary Awards were announced this week by the Lambda Literary Foundation in Los Angeles, and I'm very pleased to note that UK/Kiwi writer Stella Duffy's novel PARALLEL LIES was one of the five finalists in the 'Lesbian Mystery' category (alongside another of Crime Watch's favourite authors - both for her writing and personality - Val McDermid) - hat tip to Crimespree Magazine for the heads-up.

The Awards, now in their twenty-third year, celebrate achievement in lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) writing for books published in 2010. Winners will be announced at a May 26 ceremony in New York at the School of Visual Arts Theater (333 West 23rd Street).

PARALLEL LIES was originally published in the UK in 2005, but was released in the USA last year. Here's the blurb:
They say the truth matters. Not in Hollywood, it doesn’t. In Hollywood, you need to lie because Hollywood doesn’t need lesbians.

That’s the deal, and Yana Ivanova is Hollywood’s biggest star. So Yana Ivanova has a boyfriend called Jimmy. And a PA called Penny. But hey, Yana and Penny live in a very glamorous closet.

But then letters start to arrive. From a writer who knows the truth. Yana fears blackmail but she is terrified of bad publicity. And she clearly has a lot to lose.

And soon there’s an accident—or maybe it’s murder. Not that it matters, this is Hollywood. And more than anything else, the show must go on. All anyone expects—from other people, and even from themselves—is what Hollywood needs: Parallel Lies."

Sounds intriguing - I thought I had all of Duffy's mysteries on my bookshelf, but I don't think I have this one, so I'll have to ferret out a copy. It's available from Amazon.com here, Amazon.co.uk here, and Book Depository here.

The mult-talented Stella Duffy grew up in the small rural town of Tokoroa in New Zealand (a town revolving largely around the forestry industry). From a crime-writing perspective, Duffy is most famous for her Saz Martin series. However Duffy is also a writer of other ‘styles’ of books, an actress, comedian and improviser, and has also written for radio. She is the author of twelve novels (five in the Saz Martin series), over thirty stories, and eight plays.

Duffy' novel STATE OF HAPPINESS was longlisted for the 2004 Orange Prize. She has also worked on screenplays and teleplays, and co-edited the crime collection TART NOIR with Lauren Henderson (Duffy’s story in that collection, “Martha Grace”, won the 2002 CWA Short Story Award). She was the Stonewall Writer of the Year in 2008 for THE ROOM OF LOST THINGS. Her latest novel THEODORA: ACTRESS, EMPRESS, WHORE, a novel based on the story of Theodora of Constantinople, who "rose from nothing to become the most powerful woman in the history of Byzantine Rome", and a saint of the Orthodox Church, received great reviews last year.

You can read my 9mm interview with Stella Duffy here.

The Lambda Literary Awards have several categories, however for those of us passionate about crime fiction, here are the finalists for the two categories that matter most:

Lesbian Mystery:
The Cruel Ever After , Ellen Hart Minotaur/St. Martin’s Press
Fever of the Bone, Val McDermid HarperCollins
Missing Lynx, Kim Baldwin & Xenia Alexiou Bold Strokes Books
Parallel Lies, Stella Duffy Bywater Books
Water Mark, J.M. Redmann Bold Strokes Books

Gay Mystery
Cockeyed, Richard Stevenson MLR Press
Echoes, David Lennon Blue Spike Publishing
Rubber Baby Buggy Bumpers, I.E. Woodward iUniverse
Smoked, Garry Ryan NeWest Press
Vieux Carre Voodoo, Greg Herren Bold Strokes Books

Have you read PARALLEL LIES, or any of the other Lambda Award finalists? Have you read Duffy's Saz Martin series, or her other work? Thoughts welcome.

Reflecting on 2010: my Weekend Herald feature articles

As I said last month when I took a look back at the rapid growth and pleasingly diverse, high quality line-up of 44 (thusfar) terrific author in the 9mm series I launched in 2010, I have been a little late on the traditional 'end of year' reflections. However, as well as looking ahead to all the opportunities, challenges, and excitement to come in 2011 and beyond, I have over the past little while also been reflecting on what has been going on, crime fiction-wise, down this way in the past year. Both for myself, and the wider New Zealand crime fiction community. I think it's a good thing to do, as we look ahead and try to build on what's gone before.

So for the second in a series of 'Reflecting on 2010' posts, I thought I would take a look back on the author and books feature articles I wrote for the Weekend Herald (the weekend edition of the largest-circulation newspaper in New Zealand). After writing three such features in late 2009, I took a bit of a hiatus, before contributing seven articles over a period of less than three months in the second half of last year. It was great to be involved with such a fantastic publication, that is so widely read, and to play a part in ensuring there was some great crime and thriller content in its books pages. Thanks to the Weekend Herald, I also had the opportunity to speak to (and meet, in some cases), some truly terrific authors, including some all-time greats of the genre. On a personal front, those interviews were some of my favourite moments of 2010.

I will be writing some more articles for the Weekend Herald in 2011, and I'm looking forward to some new great moments chatting to great authors. In the meantime, here are my seven Weekend Herald books features/reviews of 2010 (click on the images to read the full article).

"Philosopher of Crime"

Saturday 31 July 2010

James Lee Burke talks to Craig Sisterson about artistry in crime writing, speaking for those with no voice and the central issue of modern times.

Any true artist, whatever their creative medium, needs both humility and vanity, says legendary American novelist James Lee Burke. "Humility is not a virtue in a writer, it is an absolute necessity," he adds, his mild Southern accent reverberating down the phone line from his "property that tries to be a ranch" just outside Missoula, Montana. READ FULL ARTICLE HERE.

It was a true pleasure, a complete joy, to interview Burke, who is such a gentleman, but at the same time so passionate and full of interesting opinions, burnished by experience and real-world education, about not only writing, but also many of the issues facing us today, in terms of people and our planet. Just a fantastic interviewee, as well as a fantastic writer.

Book Review: THE FALLEN

Saturday 31 July 2010

A man dazedly regains consciousness, only to find himself handcuffed, feeling like "he's been bathed in something corrosive", and with his head adhered to the carpet by his own clotted blood.

So starts this debut crime thriller from North Shore engineering student and nascent author, Ben Sanders, an adroit barely-20-something being touted as "a major new talent" with a "sophisticated and edgy" writing style. READ FULL REVIEW HERE.

I made my return to the Weekend Herald books pages with a double-billing; both a feature on James Lee Burke and a review of Kiwi debutant crime writer Ben Sanders' THE FALLEN in the 31 July 2010 issue. This was also my first review for the Weekend Herald books pages, and it was nice to have a little more room to play with, word count wise, than I do for some other very good magazines or newspapers for whom I've reviewed crime and thriller fiction.

THE FALLEN is a very good debut novel, and one of several very good crime novels published by New Zealanders in 2010. I was very pleased to be able to share it with a wider New Zealand audience, and also very pleased the Weekend Herald was keen to include some quality New Zealand crime fiction in its books pages. Later in the year THE FALLEN was also included in the prestigious Listener 100 Best Books list, which was great to see.

"Murder in the blood"

Saturday 21 August 2010

Diamond Dagger winner Val McDermid talks to Craig Sisterson about the contaminating effect of violence and the evolution of crime fiction since the so-called Golden Age.

Modern crime fiction has come a long way since the country-house murders, dislikeable victims and detached detectives of the Golden Age, says acclaimed Scottish novelist Val McDermid.

"We've almost completely abandoned the notion of the crossword-puzzle novel, the whodunnit, and we're writing books that are of necessity written in the world we live in." READ FULL ARTICLE HERE.

Like with Burke, it was a great pleasure to interview the indomnitable Val McDermid. As an added bonus, I also got to meet her (twice) when she visited New Zealand soon after our telephone interview. McDermid is just so much fun, mixing strong will and strong opinions with a real zest for life, and a passion for writing and stories. Just a very cool person, as well as being one of the best writers of contemporary crime fiction. You can read more about some of the highlights of McDermid's event at the Women's Bookstore here.

"A tale of two Peters"

Saturday 28 August 2010

Two big names in British thriller writing visit New Zealand next week. Craig Sisterson talks to Peter James and Peter Robinson.

When publisher Macmillan approached Peter James in 2001 and asked the already bestselling British author whether he had considered writing a crime novel, the answer was simple. "It was what I'd always wanted to do," says James, on the phone from Nevada, where he's doing research for his next book before heading here to promote his latest, Dead Like You. READ FULL ARTICLE HERE.

Not only did I really enjoy interviewing both Peter James and Peter Robinson - who are each polite, passionate, fascinating guys as well as being top notch crime writers - but I also enjoyed the challenge of writing an article about two different writers, mixing fun anecdotes and quotes from each while at the same time uncovering some interesting (to me, at least) contrasts and comparisons.

"A capital crime novel"

Saturday 25 September 2010

When a cop arrives at the door of missing persons specialist Diane Rowe to tell her a body found that morning was someone she knew, she is stunned - like anyone would be. But this death, not to mention the cop, make this notification a little different. Not only is the latter her ex-husband, but the news itself leaves her anything but sad. The body found in Cuba St belongs to "Snow", a recidivist low-life Diane suspects brutally murdered her troubled younger sister Niki a year before. READ FULL REVIEW HERE.

Rather than an author feature, this Weekend Herald piece was a longer review of acclaimed TV screenwriter and NZSA Pindar Publishing Prize-winning author Donna Malane's debut adult crime thriller, SURRENDER.

SURRENDER ended up (deservedly) receiving some other great reviews, and was included in the Listener 100 Best Books list for 2010. In a year that saw some very, very good New Zealand crime fiction being published, SURRENDER was a welcome addition to the pleasantly-growing local canon. I look forward to seeing what Donna Malane comes up with next - hopefully another Diane Rowe story.

"Ghostwriter haunted by his characters"

Saturday 2 October 2010

Australian thriller writer Michael Robotham talks to Craig Sisterson about the importance of making characters seem real.

There is a moment of truth in writing, when you hear the voice of the main character in your head, they become real, and then everything you do is in that voice, says Michael Robotham. The Sydney-based author, who has twice won the Ned Kelly Award for best Australian crime novel (his latest, Bleed For Me, was also a finalist for this year's award), hears that voice as he writes his psychological thrillers. READ FULL ARTICLE HERE.

Like Burke, McDermid, James, and Robinson, Robotham was a fascinating interviewee (don't I have a great hobby/job, getting to interview all these terrific authors who despite their success are so down-to-earth and fun?). I also appreciated the fact that he was very enthusiastic and complimentary about our local efforts in setting up a crime fiction award, and generously gave some great advice about crime fiction awards and organisations, rather than just wanting to talk about his own books and writing.

After talking to Robotham for more than an hour about crime fiction and all manner of things, I was very much looking forward to meeting him in person last year; however this was curtailed when the Canterbury earthquake led to the cancellation of the Christchurch Writers' Festival, where he was to appear. In some very good news, I understand that he may 'cross the Ditch' to do some New Zealand events in 2011, which would be fantastic.

"King of crime offers clues to success"

Saturday 9 October 2010

American author Michael Connelly talks to Craig Sisterson about chronicling contemporary LA

TWO UNPUBLISHED manuscripts that are gathering dust “in a box somewhere” in Michael Connelly’s Tampa home deserve a slice of credit for the creation of one of the most compelling characters in contemporary crime fiction, even if the acclaimed author says his earliest efforts “got the fate they deserved”. For it was in the process of those first attempts at writing full-length fiction that Connelly, then a newspaper reporter, had a revelation. “I learned that, at least for me, the books I write were going to live and die with character,” he says, his measured voice resonating down the line from Florida. “The protagonist was what they were going to be about, not a tricky plot.” READ FULL ARTICLE HERE.

As if the lineup of authors I'd interviewed for the Weekend Herald wasn't already prestigious enough, I finished my little flurry of feature and review activity last year by getting to chat to Michael Connelly, the creator of the magnificent Harry Bosch series, as well as some stunning standalones and the Mickey Haller books. Wow. Due to a time-difference miscommunication, I actually ended up talking to Connelly for an hour and half, spread over two separate phone calls on two separate days. He, like the others above, was very generous with his time and answers, and gave me so much fantastic material, quotes, and anecdotes.

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In the end, the only downside of getting to talk to great authors like those above, is that I often have these terrific conversations with them, but then only get to use about 10-20 per cent of what we talk about in the eventual features. So I kind of feel bad that I've had this terrific experience discussing and debating things, and can't always share all of that with more people.

Also, I don't know whether it's a crime writer thing, but they have all been a real pleasure to chat to; humble, passionate, and interesting. Some successful people in other arenas aren't always the same way. But for some reason, all the crime writers I've spoken to have been really genuine, and down-to-earth, regardless of the massive success some of them have achieved.

It's kind of bizarre when you have someone like James Lee Burke thanking you for calling and talking to him, or someone like Michael Connelly asking you to call him back the next day so you can chat more (after already talking for 45 mins). All these authors (and other crime writers I've been fortunate enough to meet or interview) just have a real passion for not only writing and storytelling, but life. Just good people.

I have a great job/hobby, and I'm grateful.

Which of the features did you enjoy? Which authors have you read? What do you think of the Weekend Herald including more crime fiction content in its book pages? Who would you like to see featured in 2011? Comments and suggestions appreciated.

Crime Fiction in the news and on the 'Net: Weekly Round-up

There have been some more great crime fiction stories on the Web this past week - from newspapers, magazines, and fellow bloggers. Hopefully you will all like finding an interesting article or two linked here, that you enjoy reading.

Before we dive in however, I'll just quickly mention that those of you in the North Island of New Zealand who are interesed in crime fiction should pick up a copy of this today's Weekend Herald, as it includes my review of the latest Kiwi crime novel to hit booksellers' shelves - SURRENDER by Donna Malane - in the Canvas magazine.

Onto the round-up.

Crime Watch Weekly Round-Up: In the News and on the 'Net

• Last night in The Guardian, 2010 Cartier Diamond Dagger recipient and crime writing legend Val McDermid, whose latest acclaimed thriller TRICK OF THE DARK is partially set back in her old university haunts of Oxford, selected her favourite ten novels set in the 'venerable university town', a list that ranges from the crime tales of Colin Dexter, Edmund Crispin and Dorothy L. Sayers to Evelyn Waugh's BRIDESHEAD REVISITED.
• It was announced earlier this week that UK-born, Toronto-based crime writer Peter Robinson (who appeared on New Zealand TV in recent weeks) has been awarded the $10,000 Harbourfront Festival Prize, which which rewards writers who have had a "substantial contribution to the world of books". Read the full CBC.ca story here.
• Monsters and Critics reviews the DVD of the second season of Castle, a TV cop show that stars Nathan Fillion as a crime novelist who gets involved in the investigation of real-life cases alongside a female cop he is basing his new character on.
• The Idaho Mountain Express has a nice interview article with prolific crime writer Ridley Pearson, who has written more than 25 crime novels, been on the New York Times bestseller list, and whose latest release IN HARM'S WAY is another instalment in the adventures of small-town Sheriff Walt Fleming, who apparently is based on a real-life Sheriff who is a close friend of the author.
• Keith Stuart of The Guardian blog asks whether interactive fiction is the future in the digital age, and if so, how it might work well, and not so well.
• Susan Fish of The Record reviews the latest novel from multiple-award-winning Canadian crime writer Louise Penny, BURY YOUR DEAD, while also touching on the 'Good Reads' programme - 100 page books designed for adult literacy learners by top Canadian authors. Penny's THE HANGMAN is one of six Good Reads books being released in 2010.
• Gina Doggett of AFP talks to bestselling crime writer Donna Leon about living in, writing about, but still maintaing a largely anonymous life in Venice, Italy.

So what stories most intrigue you this week? Do you agree with Val McDermid's top 10 Oxford-set stories - has she missed any great ones out? Have you watched the TV show Castle or read Ridley Pearson's novels? What are your thoughts on interactive fiction - did you used to read the 'choose your own adventure' books that were very popular back in the 1980s? What do you think about big-name authors like Louise Penny writing shorter books specifically for adult literacy learners? Thoughts and comments welcome.

9mm: an interview with Val McDermid

Welcome to the latest instalment in Crime Watch's ongoing series of author interviews; 9mm - 9 MurderMystery questions put to a variety of New Zealand and international crime, thriller, and mystery authors.

Today I thought I would share my recent 9mm interview with legendary British crime writer Val McDermid, one of the international superstars who have visited New Zealand over the past month. You can read about McDermid’s visit to the Women’s Bookshop in Auckland here, and Vanda Symon reported on her meeting with McDermid in Dunedin, here.

Given her status within the industry, McDermid is one of those authors I probably don’t really have to ‘intro’, so rather than repeating things, I’ll just note that you can read more about McDermid in my large feature on her for the Weekend Herald here, and at her own website here.

Her latest novel is TRICK OF THE DARK, a standalone (unless as she says, she gets another great idea for one of the characters involved) that I really enjoyed when I read it recently. But for now, Val McDermid stares down the barrel of 9mm.

The Crime Watch 9mm Author Interview: Val McDermid

Who is your favourite recurring crime fiction hero/detective?

Oh, that’s a tough one. Um, oh God... probably VI Warshawski... I like the way that she doesn’t stay still over the years, she’s kind of developed. She’s changed with the times, but she also carries the weight of her past with her. It’s not like she has a case and then walks away from it like nothing happened. Her core personality, her tenacity I suppose, and her bloody-mindedness, appealed to me a lot because I kind of see a lot of that in myself.

What was the very first book you remember reading and really loving, and why?

I think probably the Wind in the Willows. I can remember my Mum reading it to me when I was very little, but I also remember when I was about six I had measles, and they do that thing when you’ve got measles that you’ve got to stay in a darkened room, so I couldn’t read by myself, and I remember my Mum reading it to me again when I was about six, and I had measles. And it was like my lifeline to sanity I think, having something to occupy my mind because I couldn’t read myself.

Before your debut crime novel, what else had you written (if anything) unpublished manuscripts, short stories, articles?

The first thing I properly tried to write when I was a teenager, was song lyrics. Trying to write songs, then I graduated on to poetry, and I realised that poetry was far too much like hard work. Singer-songwriter-y [songs]... my heroes at the time were Joni Mitchell and Leonard Cohen, so you can guess the kind of things that I was trying to write. Cheerful (laughing). Anthems to doomed youth.

Outside of writing, and touring and promotional commitments, what do you really like to do, leisure and activity-wise?

Well, I’ve got a nine-year-old, so a certain amount of my life is spent running around watching him, watching golf and watching music performances. What I like to do is just hang with my family, and I love to walk on the beach where I live in Northumberland. I just love to walk on the beach with the dog. And that I think is just the most fantastic activity, because the beach is different every day. Our beach is an estuary where the river comes onto the beach, and every day the shape of the beach is different, the sea is different, there are no two days the same on that beach, and I just love the constant variety of it, I love the feel of walking by water. So I do that with the dog, and I play computer games - I play World of Warcraft online, I like ‘god’ games like Civilisation and things like that, and I read.

What is one thing that visitors to your hometown should do, that isn't in the tourist brochures, or perhaps they wouldn’t initially consider?

If you’ve up here in Northumberland the one thing you should do is definitely walk on the beach first thing in the morning. You should probably go to a pub quiz. Our village has five pubs and three of them have a pub quiz, so you can actually pub quiz three nights a week, and they’re great fun, they’re really social occasions.

If your life was a movie, which actor could you see playing you?

Well I’ve always said that obviously it should be Sigourney Weaver, because of the close physical resemblance. We’re like twins separated at birth.

Of your books, which is your favourite, and why?

It’s a hard question, because it’s a bit like asking which is your favourite kid, if you have a big family. But probably I would have to say THE MERMAID SINGING, because it was so different to anything I’d ever written before, and because it was so successful it gave me a bedrock confidence that I would be able to find a way to tell whatever story was banging at the door of my head. I’d never written a book like that before - but it was the fact that I found the way to tell that story that gave me a confidence, so now when I’m struggling with a book I kind of cast my mind back to that and say to myself, ‘you can do it, you can find the way back to this book from somewhere, you can find the voice, you can find the structure’. So that kind of became a touchstone for me.

I think a lot of people miss out on it, because they think because of the TV series being called Wire in the Blood, they think WIRE IN THE BLOOD is the first book.

What was your initial reaction, and how did you celebrate, when you were first accepted for publication? Or when you first saw your debut story in book form on a bookseller’s shelf?

I was just excited. I remember I couldn’t quite believe it when I got the letter from the Women’s Press saying they wanted to publish it, you know. I remember that just being extraordinary. And it took a long time from there to publication, because for various reasons I worked with five different editors, because people kept going off on maternity leave, or on long-term sick leave, and things like this. So I went through five different editorial hands, and every time it was like I had to start from ground zero.

So there were times in the process when I thought it was never going to happen. And I have to say, and this is a bit weird really, but for me the publication of the book is actually a very sad memory because my Dad actually died 10 days before the book came out, so he never actually held the finished book in his hands. He knew it was coming, and he’d seen the jacket and all that, but he never actually saw the book. And so, for me my memories of the book coming out are just these terrible memories of my Dad dying very suddenly. So there was no joy ultimately when the book came out. It was later that I suppose I celebrated, but at the time I felt numb, I felt nothing.

What is the strangest or most unusual experience you have had at a book signing, author event, or literary festival?

Oh God, there’ve been so many. That’s a hard one. I had my first primary school teacher turn up to one of my events, and the bizarre thing about it was that it turned out she was living in a flat in an estate owned by the friend that I was actually staying with. She was my friend’s tenant, just bizarre.

Thank you Val McDermid. We really appreciate you taking the time to talk with Crime Watch.

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So what do you think of this 9mm interview? Have you read any of Val McDermid’s books? The Tony Hill/Carol Jordan series? Her acclaimed standalones like PLACE OF EXECUTION, A DARKER DOMAIN, and TRICK OF THE DARK? Could you imagine yourself going up against her in a pub quiz? Thoughts and comments welcome.

Terrific interviews: Val McDermid, Peter James, and more...

It's been a fantastic few days for crime fiction fans listening to Radio New Zealand, who in general are often an excellent media outlet here in New Zealand when it comes to giving some 'space' to crime fiction reviews and interviews, with terrific long interviews with 2010 Cartier Diamond Dagger recipient Val McDermid (44mins) and #1 bestselling British crime writer Peter James (30 mins), amongst other crime fiction content.

Fortunately for all of us who weren't able to listen to the interviews live at the time, Radio New Zealand archives these kinds of things online. For those of you who have some time, I heartily recommend having a listen.

On Saturday 28 August, well-known New Zealand radio personality Kim Hill interviewed Val McDermid. It's a truly terrific interview, beginning with McDermid talking about why some people like reading crime fiction - things like "the promise of resolution" and providing "a safe place to be scared", like a rollercoaster - before covering everything from Val McDermid's friendship with Gordon Brown and her thoughts on Tony Blair, to interviewing Moors Murderer Ian Brady's mother as a journalist, to her days at Oxford, thoughts on psychological profiling, and much, much more. You can listen to the full interview here.

On Monday, Jim Mora interviewed Peter James on his Afternoons programme. This too is a great interview, with lots of interesting discussion and insights. The pair cover everything from James' love of cars (and the tragic history of the WWII B-25 Mitchell bomber he used to own), his aim to provide insights into all three aspects in his crime novels - the criminal, the victim, and the police, the horror of rape as a crime, getting the reality of police work into his novels, his in-depth research, the bravery of real-life police, and the original inspiration and impetus for the creation of Roy Grace. You can read the full interview here.

It's another excellent interview, during which, after commenting on how James uses the names of friends (and enemies, he jokes) in his books, Mora asks near the end of the interview whether James would use the name of the first listener to text in, in one of his future books. After saying he'd be delighted to, and that he'll use it in the book he is currently writing (DEAD MAN'S GRIP), the interview continues. When Mora chooses the name of Sarah Papesh, he notes that already (within about 2-3 minutes) they'd had 479 people text in! When I met James that evening in Takapuna (see picture above left), he was simply astonished by the response.

In other good news for Kiwi fans, James mentioned that as he has family in Hamilton, he is considering involving New Zealand in some way in a future Roy Grace case. So keep your eyes peeled for that!

On Tuesday, Kiwi crime writer and Ngaio Marsh Award finalist Vanda Symon, the creator of the excellent Sam Shephard series set in the southern part of the South Island, reviewed the latest novels from two big name British crime writers who have been visiting our shores recently - McDermid's TRICK OF THE DARK and BAD BOY by Peter Robinson - for Mora's Afternoons programme. You can listen to Symon's reviews here.

Along with all the great crime fiction content on Radio New Zealand in the past few days, a couple of weeks ago they also had a reading from THE FALLEN, the local #1 bestseller from young Ben Sanders, and an interesting short interview with Sanders, where he talks about reading Michael Connelly and James Ellroy, and the creation of Sean Devereaux. You can listen to that interview here.

So what do you think of the interviews and reviews? Do you like listening to authors and reviews, as well as reading such features and reviews in the print and online media? Have you read any Val McDermid, Peter James, Peter Robinson, or Vanda symon books? What do you think? Why do you read crime fiction? I'd love to read what you think. Comments welcome.

Val McDermid at the Women's Bookshop in Auckland

Last Tuesday evening, 2010 Cartier Diamond Dagger recipient and legendary crime writer Val McDermid wrapped up her four-city tour of New Zealand with a packed event at the award-winning Women's Bookshop in Ponsonby, Auckland. I understand that all four of McDermid's events drew very good crowds, in Dunedin, Christchurch, Wellington, and Auckland.

McDermid was in New Zealand in support of her latest crime novel, TRICK OF THE DARK, a standalone thriller which as she jokingly put it has "a dyke on every page", containing more lesbian characters than even her Lindsay Gordon books from the early part of her career.


The blurb for TRICK OF THE DARK says, "'Death is a hollow drum whose beat has measured out my adult life.' So writes Jay Macallan Stewart in her latest volume of memoirs. But nobody has ever asked whether that has been by accident or design. Nobody, that is, until Jay turns her sights on newly-wed and freshly-widowed Magda Newsam. For Magda's mother Corinna is an Oxford don who knows enough of Jay's history to be very afraid indeed. Determined to protect her daughter, Corinna turns to clinical psychologist Charlie Flint. But it's not the best time for Charlie. Her career is in ruins. Pilloried by the press, under investigation by her peers, she's barred from the profiling work she loves. What Corinna's asking may be her last chance at redemption. But as Charlie digs into the past and its trail of bodies she starts to realise the price of truth may be more than she wants to pay."

I was fortunate enough to read an advance version of TRICK OF THE DARK a few weeks ago, and in my opinion it is a very good read. I enjoyed it a lot.

It was a great atmosphere on the night at the Women's Bookshop, as McDermid mixed and mingled with the gathering crowd for quite a while, before sharing some of her thoughts on her upbringing, her writing career, books, and life in general, and then reading an extended passage from TRICK OF THE DARK (see photo of Val reading above). Afterwards she answered a few questions, and then signed books for the crowds and chatted some more until everyone had left.

All in all McDermid was in the store for more than two hours, before finally being whisked away to dinner by her hardworking publicist Karen McMillan. As some of you may know, despite the dark and at-times gruesome nature of some of McDermid's crime writing, in person she is a jovial and opinionated person who is a heck of a lot of fun to be around.

A few highlights or moments from the evening with Val McDermid at the Women's Bookshop:

• Val shared how one of the only books her family had when she was growing up in working-class Fife was Agatha Christie's THE MURDER AT THE VICARAGE. She read it, enjoyed it, and was delighted to see from the inside flap that this Agatha lady had written lots of other books too. The problem was that although she was a regular at the library (she joked the best thing her parents ever did for her was moving close to the public library), the Agatha Christie books were all in the adult reading section, which you couldn't get into without an adult membership card. So, how did the intrepid young future crime-writer solve this problem? She 'borrowed' her mother's card, and told the librarian that her mother was bedridden and needed her to pick up adult books for her. This went on for quite a while. Then when Val was recently back in Fife, she realised that one of the librarians from back in the day was still on staff ("As a kid, I'd thought she was ancient back then, but she must have been all of about 20"), and when Val was in the library with her mother, the librarian said 'Oh, Mrs McDermid, it's great to see you up and about. I wasn't sure if you were still with us, with all the troubles you'd had'. Even though she's fairly well-established into adulthood herself now, that didn't prevent Val getting one of 'those looks' from her mother!


• Val revealed how she'd got into her Oxford College as one of the youngest people at the time, and the first from a Scottish state school - telling the interviewer that if they made her defer for a year, she'd "just go somewhere else". Val also noted that despite perceptions, Oxford was far less class-conscious than people thought, so her working class background wasn't as much of an issue as you might have thought. "At Oxford they only cared about the quality of your mind"...


• Val also talked about how it was at Oxford where she realised that she was a lesbian, and then "everything kind of made sense". She was also still a keen reader, and found Kate Millett's book SEXUAL POLITICS so liberating and interesting that she burst into a tutorial once and just rabbitted on at her rather stiff-upper-lipped tutor about how great this book was, and how it was full of life etc. After Val had tired herself out, she wondered if she'd been a little over-enthusiastic for the staid academic, before this very prim and proper lady quietly said "Ah yes, dear Kate, I was actually her advisor for that thesis". As Val joked at the Women's Bookshop, "Typical bloody Oxford, they even did that first!"


• Val was asked what books she'd read recently that she enjoyed and what other crime fiction authors she liked. She put in a very nice unsolicited plug both for CUT & RUN by Alix Bosco, which she'd read while on her New Zealand tour, and the Ngaio Marsh Award for Best Crime Novel (she was working her way through the finalists for the award, and was looking forward to trying the others, as we had some good crime writers here in New Zealand).


• In answer to a question about ideas, and getting issues into her books, Val shared a story of how she'd found out about the experiments the Germans did on their own Germanic children during the Second World War, while she was researching river boats in Germany - and had become so fascinated about this piece of history she'd had no idea about, that she'd woven it into THE LAST TEMPTATION.


• Val commented that all of her books, in one way or another, address the theme that we can't ever completely escape our past, that it always comes back.


• She talked about winning the Cartier Diamond Dagger, and how the actual Diamond Dagger is kept in a secure safe, and recipients receive a small dagger brooch with a tiny diamond, ruby, and sapphire on it, rather than the Diamond Dagger itself to keep.

On a semi-related point, Val also kindly allowed Carole Beu, the owner of the Women's Bookshop, to use some of Val's time to share some information about a cause dear to her heart - the ongoing struggle of Carole's longtime friend Bronwyn Gray, whose daughter Lisa, a successful lawyer, suffers from an extremely rare condition called Lymphangioleiomyomatosis (LAM); a form of incurable lung cancer that affects only women.

Over the years, Bronwyn has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for research and organised several international conferences to look into this disease, and now she has been nominated a Kiwi Battler, where the public gets to vote on 'Kiwi battlers' from each region, who can win $10,000 to help their charity of choice. Kiwi Battlers is the brainchild of businessman and philanthropist Gareth Morgan, whose foundation is donating the money.

With Val's blessing, Carole asked the audience, and anyone we passed the information onto, to consider voting for Brownyn Gray for the award, as the money could make a real difference to the LAM Trust, which is doing groundbreaking work but is not so well known amongst the wider populace. If you wish, you can vote for Bronwyn here.

Thoughts and comments welcome.

Crime Fiction in the news and on the 'Net: Weekly Round-up

There's been some more great crime fiction stories on the Web this past week - from newspapers, magazines, and fellow bloggers. Hopefully you will all like finding an interesting article or two linked here, that you enjoy reading.

Just before I dive into the latest stories however, I thought I'd note that despite my previous comments about the Weekend Herald rarely putting its books features or reviews online (one of the reasons they have allowed me to republish my stories for them here on Crime Watch), that my feature on Val McDermid from last weekend's edition was also uploaded to the main NZ Herald website early this past week.

You can read that article in full here. I'm not sure if this recent inclusion of such crime fiction reviews and features on the main Herald website will continue (I have a feature on Peter James and Peter Robinson in today's Canvas magazine in the Weekend Herald, so I will keep an eye out for if or when they place that online), but I will let you know. You can also read my recent James Lee Burke feature, "Philosopher of Crime", and my feature/review of Ben Sanders and his (now #1 bestselling) debut THE FALLEN, online on the Herald website.

If you've read and liked my stories, whether here on Crime Watch, in the print version, or online on the Herald website, it would be cool if you went to the Herald website (click on the links above) and hit the 'like' button and/or leave a comment - it might encourage them to put more crime fiction stories online in future. I have upcoming features on Michael Robotham and Michael Connelly as well, in the coming weeks.

Crime Watch Weekly Round-Up: In the News and on the 'Net

• In an interesting article by John McEntee in today's Daily Mail, Baroness PD James shares her recollections from her days at Cambridge High School for Girls, saying that was the inspiration for Ronald Searle's St Trinian's books. There's a lovely photo of a very young PD James with her family in the article too.
• In a short but interesting article, Bangalore-based crime fiction writer Zac O’Yeah takes a look at the relative rarity of the supernatural in the world of crime writing for LiveMint.com (which is associated with the Wall Street Journal).
• Melinda Harvey of The Australian reviews the latest novel from Kiwi author James McNeish, THE CRIME OF HUEY DUNSTAN, a literary crime novel which she says addresses a very contemporary legal issue (the defence of provocation) and upturns some conventions of the genre by revealing much in its early pages.
• Liz Porter of the Sydney Morning Herald interviews crime writer Adrian Hyland, who has written two crime novels set in Outback Australia, has been criticised for making his protagonist an Aboriginal woman, and will be appearing at the Melbourne Writers Festival.
• In an interesting article for the Los Angeles Times, New York writer Michael Giltz revisits a cult TV classic from twenty years ago, taking a "long look back at a truly strange sensation, "Twin Peaks," the eccentric and eerie murder mystery that took network television down a strange path in 1990." I watched the first series of this recently, and quite enjoyed it.
• Jacki Wood of the Nowaday News Leader takes a quick look at the debut crime novel from one of the newspaper's own contributors.
• In the latest in the BBC Meet The Author interviews, crime novelist Mark Billingham talks about FROM THE DEAD, the most recent addition to his best-selling Tom Thorne series.
• In a very interesting article for Wales Online, Matt Thomas talks to newbie crime writer Belinda Bauer about being nominated for the CWA Gold Dagger, the importance of entering the Debut Dagger competition, writing BLACKLANDS, which links a 12-year old boy and an imprisoned serial killer, how the publishing world has rapidly changed in recent years, and much more.

What do you think of the round-up? Which articles do you find interesting? Is there a place for magic and the supernatural in crime fiction? What do you think of crime that leans heavily to the literary, like Temple's TRUTH or McNeish's THE CRIME OF HUEY DUNSTAN? Have you tried Adrian Hyland's Outback crime tales? Did you ever watch Twin Peaks? Have you read BLACKLANDS by Belinda Bauer? Please share your thoughts. I'd love to read what you think.

Murder in the blood: my feature on Val McDermid in the Weekend Herald

Click on the picture above to read my feature article on 2010 Cartier Diamond Dagger recipient Val McDermid, from Saturday's Weekend Herald (they have put this article online at their own website, which is cool). Val spoke to me about the contaminating effect of violence, the evolution of crime fiction since the 'Golden Age', and several other topics. Read the full article here.

Thoughts and comments welcome.

Reminder: Cartier Diamond Dagger recipient Val McDermid touring New Zealand over the next four days

Just a quick reminder that 2010 CWA Cartier Diamond Dagger recipient Val McDermid will be touring New Zealand over the next few days, in support of her latest thriller TRICK OF THE DARK. McDermid is appearing in all four main centres; Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch, and Dunedin.

McDermid has written dozens of bestsellers, sold more than 10 million books, won and been shortlisted for many awards (including winning the prestigious CWA Gold Dagger for THE MERMAIDS SINGING, and also winning the LA Times Book of the Year Award and the Stonewall Writer of the Year Award), and had her stories adapted into acclaimed TV shows like Place of Execution and Wire in the Blood. In 2009 she was also inducted into the Hall of Fame at the ITV3 Specsavers Crime Thriller Awards.

McDermid's first event is tomorrow (Saturday) in Dunedin, and then she will be appearing in Christchurch, Wellington, then finishing in Auckland on Tuesday evening. For those in the upper North Island, grab a copy of tomorrow's Weekend Herald to read my interview with McDermid (note - my feature will be in the Arts pages of the main newspaper, rather than in the Canvas magazine, this time).

You can see McDermid at the following public events:

Saturday 21 August, 5.30pm – Dunedin

The Centre for Irish and Scottish Studies at the University of Otago and the Otago Settlers Museum are pleased to host an event with Val McDermid

The Otago Settlers Museum,

31 Queens Gardens, Dunedin.

Free ticketed event.

Tickets available from The University Book Shop and The Otago Settlers Museum.

As an aside - this Dunedin event features McDermid in conversation with Scots-turned-Kiwi thriller writer Liam McIlvanney (author of the excellent ALL THE COLOURS OF THE TOWN), so that should be fantastic for those of you in the deep south.

Sunday 22 August, 4.30pm – Christchurch (EVENT SOLD OUT!)

An evening with Val McDermid in conjunction with Plains FM

Our City O-Tautahi,

Oxford Terrace, Christchurch

Monday 23 August, 6.00pm – Wellington

Rainbow Wellington Event in conjunction with Unity Books

Unity Books,

57 Willis Street, Wellington

$10 for members $15 for non-members for entry, free nibbles and two free drinks.

Pay at the door.

Please note: McDermid is one of ten speakers at the anuual Rainbow Wgtn Book Review Night at Unity Books. She will speak in response to the review for her new book TRICK OF THE DARK. After that everyone will break for a wine and she will sign copies of her book. The annual Rainbow Book Review night celebrates new books by LGBTI (lesbian, gay, bi, trans /intersex) authors.

Tuesday 24 August, 6.00pm – Auckland

An evening with Val McDermid at The Women’s Bookshop

105 Ponsonby Road, Auckland

Entry $5 at the door.

RSVP (for catering purposes) to: (09) 376 4399, email books@womensbookshops.co.nz or secure website: http://www.womensbookshop.co.nz/

Personally I will be heading along to this latter Auckland event. I'm very much looking forward to meeting McDermid in person, having had a fantastic phone interview with her recently. It should be a lot of fun at her events.

I've also just recently finished reading TRICK OF THE DARK, which I really enjoyed. You can read an extract from TRICK OF THE DARK here.

So, what do you think of McDermid's dark crime novels? Are you a fan of 'Tartan Noir'? Have you watched the Wire in the Blood TV series? Will you head along to one of her events here in New Zealand? Thoughts and comments welcome.

Great News: Diamond Dagger recipient Val McDermid to visit four New Zealand cities this month

Further to my post from last month revealing that 2010 CWA Cartier Diamond Dagger recipient Val McDermid would be touring New Zealand in late August, including public events in Auckland and Christchurch, in support of her latest thriller TRICK OF THE DARK, the full schedule for McDermid's visit has now been released. And in good news for crime fiction fans around the country, McDermid is appearing in all four main centres; Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch, and Dunedin.

McDermid has written dozens of bestsellers, sold more than 10 million books, won and been shortlisted for many awards (including winning the prestigious CWA Gold Dagger for THE MERMAIDS SINGING, and also winning the LA Times Book of the Year Award and the Stonewall Writer of the Year Award), and had her stories adapted into acclaimed TV shows like Place of Execution and Wire in the Blood. In 2009 she was also inducted into the Hall of Fame at the ITV3 Specsavers Crime Thriller Awards.

She will be in New Zealand from 21-24 August. You can see her at the following public events:

See her at the following public events:

Saturday 21 August, 5.30pm – Dunedin
The Centre for Irish and Scottish Studies at the University of Otago and the Otago Settlers Museum are pleased to host an event with Val McDermid
The Otago Settlers Museum,
31 Queens Gardens, Dunedin.
Free ticketed event.
Tickets available from The University Book Shop and The Otago Settlers Museum.

Sunday 22 August, 4.30pm – Christchurch
An evening with Val McDermid in conjunction with Plains FM
Our City O-Tautahi,
Oxford Terrace, Christchurch
Tickets $12.
Contact Ruth on (03) 384 4721 or Morrin on (03) 329 9789

Monday 23 August, 6.00pm – Wellington
Rainbow Wellington Event in conjunction with Unity Books
Unity Books,
57 Willis Street, Wellington
$10 for members $15 for non-members for entry, free nibbles and two free drinks.
Pay at the door.

Tuesday 24 August, 6.00pm – Auckland
An evening with Val McDermid at The Women’s Bookshop
105 Ponsonby Road, Auckland
Entry $5 at the door.
RSVP (for catering purposes) to: (09) 376 4399, email books@womensbookshops.co.nz or secure website: http://www.womensbookshop.co.nz/

The Dunedin event features McDermid in conversation with Scots-turned-Kiwi thriller writer Liam McIlvanney, so that should be fantastic for those of you in the deep south.

I will be heading along to the Auckland event. I'm very much looking forward to meeting McDermid in person, having had a fantastic phone interview with her recently (there will be an article coming out in the Weekend Herald the weekend she arrives, as well as a 9mm interview published here on Crime Watch). She comes across as very smart, opionionated, and open - unafraid to 'talk straight', she's blunt and boisterous. A great combo. Should be a lot of fun at her events. I've also just recently finished reading TRICK OF THE DARK, which I really enjoyed.

You can read an extract from TRICK OF THE DARK here.

So, what do you think of McDermid's dark crime novels? Are you a fan of 'Tartan Noir'? Have you watched the Wire in the Blood TV series? Will you head along to one of her events here in NZ? Thoughts and comments welcome.