Review - LUTHER: THE CALLING

Luther: The Calling by Neil Cross (Simon & Schuster, 2011)

Reviewed by Craig Sisterson

Storytelling on screen is very different to storytelling via the pages of a book, even when those involved are dealing with the same characters and plots. There are far too many examples of good and great books turned into mediocre movies or TV shows; although, to be fair, there have also been some terrific book-to-screen adaptations over the years too, bringing well-loved characters to a new audience.

But while there are plenty of examples of crime novels that have been adapted, loosely or authentically, for the big and small screen, the reverse is far less common: a crime drama on the big or small screen becoming a book series. As a general rule, TV tie-in books can be pretty mediocre, but a recent release bucks that trend magnificently. Perhaps because Neil Cross, the creator and writer of the award-winning TV series Luther, is in fact himself an acclaimed crime novelist, and has been the one to bring his onscreen characters to the page, in all their volatile and vivid glory.

Cross takes us back before the beginning with Luther: The Calling, a prequel novel that explores the events leading to DCI John Luther (played wonderfully by Idris Elba in the TV series) being on long-term leave, having lost so much professionally and personally, at the beginning of season one. Just like on screen, the hulking London copper is a riveting protagonist; a simmering volcano of a man, stumbling a tightrope between intelligence and insight and insanity. Faced with a horrific crime while juggling personal drama at work and home, he begins to devolve, crossing various lines in order to chase down a terrible predator and protect the vulnerable. Cross has created a character that is neither black nor white, but smudged shades of grey; he’s not corrupt, but is he bad – even if only to serve good?

Cross writes in crisp, vivid prose that brings his characters and world to startling life. Luther: The Calling is a good read that will interest and intrigue newbies and fans of the TV series alike (the author salts in plenty of foreshadowing, subtle and obvious, for later events). Unflinching, brutal, and brilliant.

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This review was first published in the 7 October 2011 issue of NZLawyer magazine, and is reprinted here with permission.

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Comments welcome

Review: IRON HOUSE by John Hart

Iron House by John Hart (John Murray, 2011)

Reviewed by Craig Sisterson

North Carolina attorney-turned-author John Hart has had a meteoric rise in his second career; his first novel (about a disenchanted lawyer with a failing practice who becomes a prime suspect in the murder of his father) was nominated for the Edgar Award, the ‘Oscar’ of crime writing. His second won the Edgar, and his third not only won the Edgar – making him the first author ever to win with consecutive books – but also the Ian Fleming Steel Dagger from the British Crime Writers’ Association (a rare double), amongst a host of other awards.

Having read Hart’s second (Down River) and third (The Last Child – a masterpiece) novels, I can say that all the accolades were well-deserved – Hart writes character-driven crime fiction that is lush, lyrical, and layered, that soars far beyond the standard pulse-pounding, plot-based ‘airport thriller’. Not that his plots don’t hook you (they do), it’s just that he offers much more too, expertly blending the page-turning thriller tradition with emotionally engaging character studies.

Hart will be touring New Zealand later this month, in support of his just-released fourth novel, Iron House, a book where the author ramps up the helter-skelter thriller aspects without losing any of the layers and depth he’s already become famous for.

Michael is a feared New York mob enforcer. The kind of man who makes other ‘made men’ nervous when he walks into a room. But he wants out. He’s met a woman, has a baby on the way, and wants a fresh start away from his violence-filled life, past and present. An understanding with his elderly patron comes undone, and Michael finds himself on the run, returning to his childhood roots in rural North Carolina. A place from which he escaped, a teen on the run from a brutal orphanage, suspected of killing another boy. Decades later, he has to face not only his own past but that of his unstable younger brother Julian, as he tries to protect those he cares about from the gathering storm.

Put simply, Iron House is another terrific novel from Hart – the kind of crime thriller that many who don’t usually read crime or mystery would heartily enjoy. It’s as much about its rich cast of layered, authentic, and damaged characters as its captivating storyline. Hart exhibits some style as he vividly evokes not only the ‘Southern’ setting – in all its tarnished glory – but also aspects of the broader human condition. He shows that there can be plenty of thrills without having to resort to ‘world-changing’ plotlines, by simply focusing on matters that are life-and-death, spiritually or physically, for characters in their own small world.

And doing it very, very well.

You can see John Hart in person at the “Setting the Stage for Murder” event in Christchurch on 21 August, and at Takapuna Library in Auckland on 23 August. See www.hachette.co.nz for more details.

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This review was originally published in the 12 August 2011 print edition of NZLawyer magazine, and is reprinted here with permission.
 
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Review: Luther Season One DVD

Luther Series One DVD (BBC, 2010)
Reviewed by Craig Sisterson

Luther is one of those television shows that divides people, viewers and critics alike. To say the psychological crime drama received a mixed response when its first season, created and written by Wellington-based novelist and screenwriter Neil Cross, debuted in the UK last year, doesn’t do justice to the divergent viewpoints it incited. Some hailed Luther as one of the very best things on TV in years. Others wrote it off as violent, over-the-top nonsense. One prominent UK critic even publicly changed his mind mid-season, backtracking on an earlier negative review – almost unheard of. The show received awards acclaim – including Golden Globe and Emmy Nominations for Best Actor for lead Idris Elba (who plays John Luther) and a prestigious TV writing award for Cross – but first season ratings were so-so.

Given all the above, it was with more than mild curiosity that I recently popped the first disc into my DVD player, and settled in to watch Cross’s creation, and make up my own mind. As the title credits rolled, I wondered, would I love it, or hate it? Or fall somewhere in between.

Luther (Elba, of The Wire fame) is a near-genius detective with an explosive personality. He gets inside the heads of the worst criminals, but his work weighs heavy on him, and his personal life has fractured. In the first episode, Luther returns from extended leave (months earlier a child killer he was pursuing ‘fell’ and is now in a coma) to investigate a brutal killing, a case that introduces him to Alice (Ruth Morgan), a young woman with much going on beneath her cold exterior. His planned reconciliation with estranged wife Zoe flops – she’s met someone else – and he throws himself even more into work, the very thing that’s undone his equilibrium in the past.

Elba is magnetic as Luther, bringing a gravitas to the role that transfixes even when things veer towards theatrical. Whether he was throwing things through windows or sitting quietly alone, I was mesmerised by his portrayal of a troubled man treading a tightrope between intelligence and insanity. But it’s not a one-man show; there are strong performances across the board, from Morgan’s Alice, to Indira Varma as Zoe, Saskia Reeves as Luther’s boss, and Paul McGann as Zoe’s new lover. Each brings emotion and authenticity to the roles, none are caricatures.

Viewers will quickly notice Luther ‘looks’ different to other British TV. It is shot beautifully, giving it a more cinematic than ultra-real ‘police procedural’ look and feel. Each of the six episodes of the first season is exciting in itself, while at the same time ongoing issues bubble away in the background, exploding by the finale, where Luther is accused of a brutal murder and must enlist some unlikely allies to help catch the real killer before his colleagues – who think he’s finally gone off the deep end – catch him.

Overall, I absolutely loved Luther. Was it over-the-top, less than realistic, as some said? Yes. Did it verge on theatrical? Yes. But damn it is good. Very, very good. For me, one of the best TV shows I’ve watched in years. I accept it’s the type of show that not everyone will enjoy – it will ‘click’ or resonate with some, and not others. I’m just glad it works for me, because now I can really look forward to season two, which recently screened in Britain to widespread acclaim, and much higher ratings.

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This article was published in the 29 July 2011 issue of NZLawyer, and is republished here with permission.

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Have you watched Luther? What do you think of the TV show? Did you like it, or not? Thoughts welcome.

Reminder: one chance only to see Jeffery Deaver in New Zealand next Thursday

Bestselling US thriller writer Jeffery Deaver, who recently penned the new James Bond tale, CARTE BLANCHE, will be in New Zealand for one public event only, next Thursday, 21 July 2011.

The event, held in association with the Herald on Sunday newspaper, will be at the Takapuna Paper Plus on Hurstmere Road. Here are the full details:

Thursday 21 July – AUCKLAND

A Herald on Sunday event with Jeffery Deaver
Location: Takapuna Paper Plus, 20 Hurstmere Road
Time: 5.30pm for a 6pm start.
RSVP to (09) 486 7472 or email takapuna@paperplus.co.nz

For further information please contact Karen McKenzie, publicist Hachette NZ
karenm@hachette.co.nz or 09 477 5591

I was fortunate enough to interview Deaver prior to CARTE BLANCHE hitting the shelves earlier this year. I found him very personable, we had a great chat about all manner of things crime fiction etc, and I'm looking forward to meeting him in person next week. You can read my feature article for the Sunday Star-Times, based on that interview here.
 
Like many, I had a few questions, even doubts, when I heard a year or so ago that Deaver had been signed up to write a new James Bond novel. Not because of Deaver's writing - I really enjoy his psychological thrillers, and particularly his short stories in collections like TWISTED and MORE TWISTED, but just because having another writer try to pen a Bond novel seemed problematic to me (I hadn't heard great things about Sebastian Faulk's effort, and Faulks is of course a very good writer too). But as I discovered when I got my copy before interviewing Deaver, I needn't have worried.
 
As I said in a review of CARTE BLANCHE for NZLawyer magazine:
 
"Deaver delivers a thoroughly modern version of Bond, bringing 007 firmly into the 21st century while also retaining key traditions: fast cars, memorable female characters, fun gadgets, globe-trotting action, repellent villains, and plenty of peril ... At the same time, Deaver brings his own trademark touches to bear; readers are taken on a pacy roller-coaster storyline that twists in unexpected ways, not just in terms of plot but also action, characters and reader expectations and assumptions. Deaver’s Bond is a touch more sensitive and self-reflective than Fleming’s Cold War spy, but that suits our modern times, and 007 remains a man of action at heart ... In short, it’s a hell of a fun read."

You can read my full NZLawyer review of CARTE BLANCHE, along with a review by NZLawyer editor Darise Bennington of the latest Bond cocktail, created by Deaver for the new book, here.

Coctails and Carte Blanche

Cocktails and Carte Blanche
Craig Sisterson takes a look at how the brand new 007 novel from bestselling thriller writer Jeffery Deaver skilfully blends tradition and modernity into a fun, exciting read

Bestselling US thriller writer Jeffery Deaver nicely sums up the essence of the world’s most famous British spy in a passage partway through Carte Blanche, his recently-released modern take on James Bond. 007, now a veteran of the conflict in Afghanistan and part of the secretive ODG, is recalling his first meeting with a Man (note the capital letter, Bond afficianados) looking to hire Bond to an organisation that protects Britain “by any means necessary”.

There are plenty of “Special Air or Boat Service chaps about who know their way around a knife and sniper rifle”, but don’t fit “subtler situations”, notes the (M)an. Conversely there are plenty of MI5 and MI6 agents with refined wine appreciation and language skills, but who’d “faint at the sight of blood, their’s or anyone else’s”. Bond, notes the Man, seems “to be a rather rare combination of the best of both”.

And isn’t that one of the main reasons Bond has been loved by readers and moviegoers for decades? He can handle himself in so many different situations, from fistfights and gun battles, to insinuating himself into high-society soirees. He’s like Jason Bourne mixed with MacGyver and Jared from The Pretender - only he predated them by decades. And now he’s back, thanks to the pen (or keyboard) of award-winning twist-master Deaver, whose own award-winning psychological thrillers, such as his series featuring quadriplegic sleuth Lincoln Rhyme (played by Denzel Washington in the film version of The Bone Collector) have scooped awards and sold more than 20 million copies in 150 countries.

No doubt some Bond fans were nervous at the thought a new Bond being created by an American author, or even the thought of a modern Bond at all. Many don’t realise that Ian Fleming actually only wrote 12 Bond novels and two collections of Bond short stories, and that Deaver is the fifth author (and second American) authorised by Fleming’s estate to carry on 007’s adventures. Carte Blanche is in fact the 23rd ‘continuation’ novel in the Bond canon, although only the second in about a decade, and the first since Sebastian Faulk’s period piece Devil May Care in 2008.

Unlike Faulks, Deaver delivers a thoroughly modern version of Bond, bringing 007 firmly into the 21st century while also retaining key traditions: fast cars, memorable female characters, fun gadgets, globe-trotting action, repellent villains, and plenty of peril. He also returns to another Fleming tradition; forget “shaken not stirred” martinis, Bond is a whiskey and bourbon drinker (see review below). At the same time, Deaver brings his own trademark touches to bear; readers are taken on a pacy roller-coaster storyline that twists in unexpected ways, not just in terms of plot but also action, characters and reader expectations and assumptions. Deaver’s Bond is a touch more sensitive and self-reflective than Fleming’s Cold War spy, but that suits our modern times, and 007 remains a man of action at heart. No metrosexual here.

Carte Blanche opens with car chases, shoot outs and a train loaded with dangerous chemical in Serbia, before Bond is whisked home. A snippet of electronic info about an attack in five days that could kill thousands and adversely affect British interest has Bond and his colleagues scrambling to discover who, what, and where in order to prevent calamity. Bond uses brains and brawn to battle unknown adversaries as well as the chicanery of colleagues within the British security services, and finds himself on a whirlwind journey to Dubai then Cape Town. In short, it’s a hell of a fun read.

A final thought; none of the authorised ‘continuation’ novels written about 007 since Fleming’s death have been made into films; all of the movies are based on Fleming’s novels, stories, or on original scripts. Given its pacy and action-packed storytelling, memorable characters, and modern yet return-to-the roots take on 007, it would be great see Deaver’s Carte Blanche finally break that trend.

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Shaken but not all were stirred
By Darise Bennington

Ah, James Bond, lover of beautiful women and a martini, shaken not stirred.

Although, apparently not always. Craig Sisterson discovered in the latest Bond novel that Bond had returned to his roots – whiskey. Hmm, we thought, for Craig to fully appreciate the subtle changes wrought by Ian Fleming’s successor, wouldn’t he need to compare the classic Bond drink with the Jeffery Deaver concoction?

To assist, Ekta, Lesley, and I joined Craig at Auckland’s 1885, all prepared to put ourselves on the line in the interests of good journalistic endeavours. Although, and I say this with much love, Lesley proved a quick ‘piker’, when after her first sip of both the classic martini and what we are calling the ‘Carte Blanche’, she wrinkled her English nose in disgust and declared them both to be “pants”.

So, to compare.

First, and most obviously, the drinks look very different. The Carte Blanche came in a whiskey tumbler with plenty of ice and a twist of freshly peeled orange skin. The martini, of course, came in its traditional glass, with several olives skewered on a cocktail stick.

Second, the flavour. My first sip of the Carte Blanche was like a taste of whiskey heaven. The hint of orange tweeking my taste buds, making my mouth smile (literally). Lesley, making an effort, found that it smelled like Cointreau – but that when she drank it, she did not get the usual Cointreau kick to the back of the throat. “You drink it, and it warmly glides down your throat, and you get the hint of whiskey,” she said. So, not all pants then.

For Craig, a purveyor of manly cocktails, the Carte Blanche was nicer than expected. “It has a strong orange smell, but the taste is a lot more balanced,” he declared. “The citrus takes the edge off the whiskey.” It’s got sweet, it’s got spice, it’s getting better as I drink it, he said.

And then we turned to the martini. According to Craig, 1885’s bar manager, Adam, had perfected it; I must admit I was impressed by the effort that went into making it, right down to the brining of the glass. Craig informed me that it was the best martini he’d ever had, that it was nicely balanced, had a lot going on, had depth and layers. But he still preferred the Carte Blanche, by far. I found the martini to be almost ‘chewy’, robust, and deeply complex. But after a glass and a half, I’d had enough.

Lesley loved the olives, as did Ekta, who said she would have preferred a glass of martini-soaked olives, rather than the martini itself.

The amber hue of the Carte Blanche, flickering in candlelight, enticed me in the darkened bar. The orange peel adding spice to the drink, its sharpness tingling my tongue. I can’t quite imagine how the fans will handle Bond’s defection, but I applaud him and Deaver – orange-scented whiskey on a cold, winter’s night is the only way to go. The only thing missing: a roaring fire, a comfy chair, and Deaver’s novel in my lap.


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These articles were first published in the 3 June 2011 print issue of NZLawyer magazine, and are republished here with permission.

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Reviews: Who says politics is boring?

Who says politics is boring?
As New Zealand Book Month makes a welcome return in this election year, reviewer Craig Sisterson takes a look at a couple of political thrillers, one old, one new

As we said in the latest issue of NZLawyer extra (edition 20, 4 March 2011), during the month of March we will be supporting the celebration of all things books and reading that is New Zealand Book Month by reviewing a variety of locally-penned books. After all, if Kiwis won’t hit the bookstores and libraries around the country to support our local writers, how can we expect international readers to? All of us who are keen readers need to do our part to try a few local tales, perhaps in the genres or styles we each prefer, so we can see for ourselves that our writers can match, even better, the quality storytelling we often devour from their international peers.

One genre that’s been wildly popular since the dawn of storytelling is thrillers. As Lee Child told NZLawyer last year, thrillers date back to Greek Tragedies and beyond - in fact, the first stories cavemen told around the campfire were probably of heroic battles with or escapes from wild animals and other prehistoric dangers. Nowadays the thriller genre encompasses a diverse range of keep-you-up-at-night tales, including action-adventure, crime, spy, psychological, heist, domestic, conspiracy, and political.

Recently I read a couple of local novels of the latter flavour; one old, one new. A POLITICAL AFFAIR (Kinglake Publishing, 2010) won Dunedin playwright and short story writer Andrew Porteous a UK-based unpublished author competition. Part Maori detective Lachlan Doyle’s career is already in jeopardy when he’s assigned to quickly and quietly close a high-profile ‘accidental death’ case; an attractive assistant to the Prime Minister is found dead at the PM’s private house. With pressure mounting from many directions, Doyle begins to suspect that the nighttime ‘fall down the stairs’ may have actually been a push, and that powerful forces, political and otherwise, are massing to keep the truth from coming out. But who pushed, and why?

At 118 pages A POLITICAL AFFAIR is more novella than a novel, but it’s an enjoyable debut read from a new voice in Kiwi thriller writing. The story flows well, there’s a nice touch of intrigue to keep you wondering, and Doyle is a likeable hero - hemmed in by forces outside his control and understanding- that you want to follow as the pages turn. Hopefully there may be more to come from Porteous and Detective Doyle.

Going back a little further in publishing time is Michael Wall’s FRIENDLY FIRE (Penguin, 1998), which is no longer in print, but can still be found in libraries and some secondhand bookstores. As I discovered, it’s a terrific locally-set political thriller well worth digging out. Renowned expat journalist Erin Florian returns to Wellington from Europe to become Press Secretary for the new Prime Minister, after finding her French husband in bed with someone else. She quickly finds herself caught up in the political world, including plenty of intrigue caused by the new MMP system, and the Government’s junior partner undergoing a leadership coup.

When the new leader starts making outrageous demands, Erin has to dampen media speculation that the Government is coming apart at the seams. But why is the new leader so sure that Erin’s boss will eventually succumb to what seems like a poisoned chalice? Erin witnesses a killing, which is covered up, then finds herself under scrutiny from the secretive SIS, and the lesser-known but even more powerful and dangerous GSCB. More deaths, hidden conspiracies, and the country nears the brink of political and economic meltdown.

Before he became a novelist, Wall was himself a Press Secretary for a New Zealand Prime Minister (Jim Bolger in the early 1990s), and he certainly brings all that experience and inside knowledge to bear in what is a fantastic thriller, full of twists, intrigue, interesting characters, and more. Global economics, the Waihopai base and intelligence services, international relations, and the place of the media are all issues canvassed in FRIENDLY FIRE, woven into a cracking plot that keeps the pages whirring.

The best political thriller I’ve read in years, set right here in New Zealand.

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This article was published in the 11 March 2011 issue of NZLawyer, and is republished here with permission.

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Have you read A POLITICAL AFFAIR or FRIENDLY FIRE? Do you enjoy mixing some politics into your crime and thriller reading? Thoughts and comments welcome.

SURRENDER by Donna Malane reviewed in today's NZLawyer magazine

Today the print issue of NZLawyer magazine, which goes out to nearly 10,000 lawyers, judges, politicians and others in New Zealand, included a review of SURRENDER, the debut crime novel from Wellington-based author Donna Malane.

The reviewer was Sarah Gumbley, a literary fiction buff who is increasingly appreciating more crime fiction, and who has also provided several guest reviews to Crime Watch in recent times.

With the editor's permission, I am sharing Sarah's here with you all (since unless you are a Kiwi lawyer, judge or politician, you're unlikely to have access to the print version of NZLawyer magazine - and unlike the news and feature articles, the reviews aren't placed online).

Surrender
By Donna Malane (New Zealand Society of Authors, 2010)
Reviewed by Sarah Gumbley

The winner of the first NZSA-Pindar Publishing Prize, an award given to the best unpublished manuscript in New Zealand, was announced in June. While over 500 entries were received, ranging from poetry and short story collections to adult fiction of varying genres, it was a crime fiction tale from a Wellingtonian that impressed the judges the most. Since the announcement the people at Pindar have been busy turning that manuscript into a book for the shelves, and the result was released in September. Donna Malane’s Surrender can now be purchased in good bookstores throughout the country, and is well worth every penny.

Surrender follows freelance researcher Diane Rowe. Her subject: missing persons. Sometimes she works for the police, sometimes for private investigators, and other times for anyone else that wants to track down someone they miss. Her latest job is for the police force, and seems to be a rather tricky one. A body was discovered, old, and mostly decayed, in the Rimutaka State Forest. But this time it’s a struggle to figure out who this John Doe is. There are no persons listed as missing on the register that match up to the JD, but how could a man go missing without a single person noticing? Worse still, storms over the years will have shifted the body around the ranges, making it almost impossible to figure out the spot where the man died.

But at the same time, Rowe is working on another investigation – however this one is personal. She finds out that Snow, the suspected killer of her sister, Niki, who was murdered a year ago, has just been discovered, dead. Snow has been stabbed in the back with a boning knife, identical to the way that Niki was killed. But who killed him, and why? The more she investigates, the more a tangled web emerges, a web that makes Niki’s life appear a lot more sinister than Diane ever imagined. Just what was her sweet baby sister getting up to that she didn’t know about? Sometimes, some truths should stay buried.

Donna Malane is already an award-winning television producer and scriptwriter, and her partner, Ian Wedde is a novelist, so it’s no surprise she has come out with a really great tale. Surrender is fast-paced and edgy. I finished it within a few days, as I just had to find out what had happened. Diane Rowe, its main character is tough and rough but she’s also very likeable, which will make her last over the series. The judges of the award, New Zealand Herald Books Editor Linda Herrick, acclaimed editor and fiction writer Graeme Lay, and Pindar Publishing’s Mia Yardley, have made a good decision in picking this story and I look forward to seeing what further excellent books this award produces in the coming years.

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So what do you think of Sarah's review? Have you read SURRENDER? If not, does it sound like the kind of book you might want to try? Thoughts and comments welcome.

My reviews of BLEED FOR ME and THE LAST 10 SECONDS in today's NZLawyer magazine

Today I had an article in the new print issue of NZLawyer magazine (issue 143, 20 August 2010) that includes reviews of the latest books by Michael Robotham and Simon Kernick, two international crime and thriller writers that will be appearing at the upcoming The Press Christchurch Writers Festival in September.

With the editor's permission, I am sharing my reviews here with you all (since unless you are a Kiwi lawyer, judge or politician, you're unlikely to have access to the print version of NZLawyer magazine - and the reviews aren't placed online).

International thrills in the Garden City
Craig Sisterson takes a look at the latest books from two of the international stars appearing at the upcoming The Press Christchurch Writers’ Festival

In less than a month, dozens of writers of all types, from around New Zealand and various places abroad, will descend on the Garden City for the biennial literary feast that is The Press Christchurch Writers’ Festival. Around 80 writers from near and far, acclaimed and award-winning, budding to best-selling, from poets to sports writers, historians to crime writers, children’s authors to songwriters to biographers to travel writers and more, will converge on the Christchurch Town Hall and other venues around the city for a schedule packed with almost 50 events over four fantastic days.

Long-standing doyens of the local literary scene Ruth Todd and Morrin Rout have ensured once again that anyone who loves words will be able to find something fascinating at the Festival. For those wanting a bit of international flavour to supplement the excellent locals on show, there is plenty to choose from, including the likes of British “mistress of sparkling dark comedy” Barbara Trapido (Brother of the More Famous Jack, Sex and Stravinsky), narrative non-fiction bestseller Simon Winchester (The Professor and the Madman, Atlantic: A Biography), and cult “class politics” columnist and author Joe Baegeant (Rainbow Pie: A Redneck Memoir).

Amongst other events, award-winning Australian crime writer Michael Robotham (Shatter, The Night Ferry) and exciting British thriller star Simon Kernick (Relentless, Target) will share the stage, alongside locals Neil Cross and Vanda Symon, at “Setting the Stage for Murder”, the Festival’s marquee Friday evening event where the inaugural winner of the Ngaio Marsh Award for Best Crime Novel, recognising the best in Kiwi crime writing, will also be revealed. So in this issue, we take a closer look at the latest releases from Robotham and Kernick.

Bleed for Me
By Michael Robotham (Sphere, 2010)
In his sixth crime thriller, journalist turned celebrity ‘autobiography’ ghostwriter turned crime writer Robotham brings back his Parkinson’s-afflicted protagonist, psychologist Joe O’Loughlin, who starred in three of the Australian’s first five novels (two of which won the Ned Kelly Award for Best Australian Crime Novel). Although Robotham was born and raised in the ‘Lucky Country’, and resides there once more, he sets his dark thrillers back in the UK, where he worked for many years.

Struggling with the break-up of his marriage, O’Loughlin finds himself on a perilous journey trying to help his teenage daughter’s best friend Sienna Hegarty, after she turns up late one night, frozen in shock and covered in blood – the blood of her authoritarian father, a retired policeman, who is found in Sienna’s room with his throat slashed and skull caved in. The 14 year old can’t remember what happened, but doesn’t seem that upset at her father’s brutal death. What begins for O’Loughlin as a court-ordered psychological report on a clearly troubled girl, quickly shifts into an unofficial (and by many people, unwanted) investigation into the Hegarty household, the local school, charismatic teacher Gordon Ellis, and several people’s pasts.

Robotham pens an absorbing, top-quality tale that has a nice balance of characters, plot (including several subplots), dialogue, and setting, while also weaving some intriguing themes throughout the narrative. O’Loughlin is a fascinating protagonist, not your typical crime fiction hero by any stretch. The aging and ailing psychologist is dealing with plenty of issues at work and home, and makes a fair few missteps despite his best intentions. There are a couple of moments that may be a touch much for some (particularly animal lovers), but for me these were gory without being gratuitous, threaded organically into a compelling tale that raises questions and touches on several diverse issues and themes; from fatherhood and family life, to dealing with life’s changes, to notions of crime and justice. It’s easy to see why Robotham is racking up awards and acclaim.

The Last 10 Seconds
By Simon Kernick (Bantam Press, 2010)
While Robotham sucks the reader into his excellent story with something of a slow burn, Simon Kernick, whose earlier novel Relentless was the best-selling thriller in the UK in 2007, is more of the ‘smack you in the face, grab you by the throat, and not let go ’til the end’ type of author. The Last 10 Seconds is a fast and riveting read, centred on undercover cop Sean Egan, a brutally violent serial killer called the Night Creeper, and troubled DI Tina Boyd of Camden’s Murder Investigation Team.

Egan has infiltrated one of London’s most dangerous criminal gangs, cosying up to the very men who gunned his injured brother down years ago – and now must prove himself to the vicious gangsters by taking part in the daring abduction from police custody of Andrew Kent, a man suspected of being the Night Creeper. Suspected of torturing five women to death, Kent claims he has an alibi for one of the murders, and some highly important information that someone may be willing to kill for. When Kent is kidnapped from right under Boyd’s nose, she finds herself in a helter-skelter chase to save a serial killer who may have information about someone even worse.

Kernick sets the unlikely trio on a path to life-and-death collision, and the result is an exciting page-turner that whizzes along at breakneck pace, while still giving readers some insight into the main characters. Despite the rip-roaring plot and action, Kernick also layers in some nice touches in terms of character and setting. The Last 10 Seconds is one of those books that will quickly hook fans of the genre, and be pretty tough to put down. A one-sitting book, or a ‘have to get back to ASAP’ one, depending on your other commitments (or despite them), it’s easy to see why Kernick has quickly garnered quite the reputation in the UK. A fast, fun read – I’ll certainly read more of his work.

You can check out when Robotham and Kernick are appearing, and all the other great events at the upcoming The Press Christchurch Writers’ Festival here: http://www.chchwritersfest.co.nz/.

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So, what do you think of my reviews? Have you read BLEED FOR ME or THE LAST 10 SECONDS, or other Robotham or Kernick novels? Are you heading to the Christchurch Writers' Festival in September? Thoughts and comments welcome.