I have a passion
for writing, and whenever I can, I try to help new writers improve their
expertise so that one day they’ll complete their first book. My first book,
born from a few-hundred-word short story at my writing group, turned into a
three-book thriller series called FAVOURS. Since then, I’ve branched out by
publishing a rom/com, a humorous ghost story as well as a standalone thriller.
Agatha Christie published her first book as the result of a dare, which proves
you can do it if you really want to.
It's a recipe for an
exciting thriller with a breathtaking climax.
Stir together a
PRICELESS DIAMOND, an Afro-Brazilian beauty, a young lawyer, a Maharajah, an uncle, and a
wealthy businessman. Infuse with FAVOURS, given and taken; theft, frame-up, and
betrayal. Toss in a $12 million reward. Spread the blend across three
continents, sit back and enjoy.
What I found remarkable about this book is
that it was Christie’s first published book. Written over 100 years ago, here was a fully-formed Poirot with an established fact-finding system and method of
deduction. Memorable, Belgian, polite, small, slightly overweight, fastidious
in dress, and reliant on his "little grey cells" to solve the crime. I loved his
difference from all other detectives.
After I read it and realised it was her
first novel, I imagined being the lucky publisher on whose desk it first landed.
I would have broken out the champagne and celebrated my successful future.
Amazingly, she was rejected by six publishing houses before being accepted. It
was they who suggested changing the ending where Poirot reveals all, from a
courtroom to the house’s library. And the rest . . . . At the end of this and all other Poirot
stories, I find myself saying: Ah, of course!
I admire Christie’s ability to maintain
this Poirot formula over so many stories and still have the reader trying to
figure out the crime right to the moment when they walk into the
library/lounge/dining room.
One morning at Styles Court, an Essex country manor, the elderly owner is found dead of strychnine poisoning. Arthur Hastings, a soldier staying there on sick leave from the Western Front, ventures out to the nearby village of Styles St. Mary to ask help from his friend Hercule Poirot, an eccentric Belgian inspector. Thus, in this classic whodunit, one of the most famous characters in detective fiction makes his debut on the world stage. With a half dozen suspects who all harbor secrets, it takes all of Poirot’s prodigious sleuthing skills to untangle the mystery—but not before the inquiry undergoes…
I chose this book as it was the one that
introduced me to Morse, not the code but the Detective Chief Inspector. Apart
from being an excellent crime solver, he is also a superb Times crossword
solver. I liked that this cerebral activity was a clue in itself to his method
of disentangling the threads linking the criminal to the murder. In that
respect, he resembles Poirot, like Morse, a man of limited physical activity.
I found the man, rather than the policeman,
was an enigma. He can be charming, but mostly he’s curt, cranky, and cynical. He
has a passion for Real Ale, Scotch Whisky, and pubs but loses himself in
classical music and opera. He’s a bachelor, sometimes a little lecherous, but he
loves and admires women.
I was amused by the fact no one knew his
first name. If asked, he would say it was Inspector. In fact, his name
isn’t revealed until the penultimate story in the thirteen-book series. Despite Morse’s bluntness, stubbornness, and taciturn nature, I found I had, as did his colleagues, a tremendous respect
for him as a crime solver.
Last Bus to Woodstock is the novel that began Colin Dexter's phenomenally successful Inspector Morse series.
'Do you think I'm wasting your time, Lewis?' Lewis was nobody's fool and was a man of some honesty and integrity. 'Yes, sir.' An engaging smile crept across Morse's mouth. He thought they could get on well together . . .
The death of Sylvia Kaye figured dramatically in Thursday afternoon's edition of the Oxford Mail. By Friday evening Inspector Morse had informed the nation that the police were looking for a dangerous man - facing charges of wilful murder, sexual assault and rape.…
As a multi-genre author, I was interested
to see how the creator of a world-famous boy wizard was going to change her
name and turn her hand to crime writing. I relished the result: the first outing for
a new private investigator, a character called Cormoran Strike.
Known simply as
Strike, he is a P.I. with a handicap (aren’t they all?). Not just the common
ones; excessive drinking, difficult relationships, and so on, Strike lost half
his right leg whilst serving in Afghanistan. Retiring from service, the ex-MP becomes a
private investigator. He has few clients, no money, and is scruffy and unkempt
because he sleeps in his office. But he does have a motto, "Do the job and do
it well."
In social relationships, Strike isn’t a
likable character; demanding and sometimes just plain rude. He has lost his
last assistant. I warmed to him the more his traits stacked up against him. The more the writer developed the character
in the story, the more I loved Strike’s individuality, eye for detail, and
determination to solve the crime, which he does with the help of his new,
extremely able assistant.
'The Cuckoo's Calling reminds me why I fell in love with crime fiction in the first place' VAL MCDERMID
-----
Now a major BBC drama: The Strike series
When a troubled model falls to her death from a snow-covered Mayfair balcony, it is assumed that she has committed suicide. However, her brother has his doubts, and calls in private investigator Cormoran Strike to look into the case.
Strike is a war veteran - wounded both physically and psychologically - and his life is in disarray. The case gives him a financial lifeline, but it comes at a personal cost: the…
CJ Sansom, a renowned historian, released
this first fiction novel to huge acclaim. I was fascinated to find the investigator
was a London lawyer during the reign of Henry VIII. It ticked all the boxes: history, a juicy murder, crime, and mystery. I was not disappointed. In my own writing, I endeavour to make my
characters individual and memorable and, therefore, look for that in books I
read.
The protagonist, lawyer Matthew Shardlake,
has the brain, persistence, and vision of a Holmes or Poirot in uncovering the
clues and is admired by all for his ability to win cases. Despite this, one
thing continually erodes his confidence: he is a hunchback. Not restricted by
twenty-first-century political correctness, his enemies take delight in
reminding him of this. I loved the way the author handled that.
I enjoyed the detective story in an
entirely different setting. It is a magnificent first book; I have continued to enjoy
Shardlake stories.
Awarded the CWA Diamond Dagger - the highest honor in British crime writing
From the bestselling author of Winter in Madrid and Dominion comes the exciting and elegantly written first novel in the Matthew Shardlake Tudor Mystery series
Dissolution is an utterly riveting portrayal of Tudor England. The year is 1537, and the country is divided between those faithful to the Catholic Church and those loyal to the king and the newly established Church of England. When a royal commissioner is brutally murdered in a monastery on the south coast of England, Thomas Cromwell, Henry VIII's feared vicar general, summons…
This was Lee Child’s first Jack Reacher
novel written after leaving a lengthy career in television. I read it years
before I got the writing bug. Along with the rest of the world, I loved Reacher
from the outset, a no-nonsense ex-US Army military policeman. A loner who
believes in justice, he freewheels around America, walking into trouble and bumping
into people with problems that he helps to solve. He’s a big man you can’t
forget or miss; Reacher is six feet five.
I knew the theme was familiar, but the
character was original, exciting, and tough. Frequently called hardboiled,
Reacher hurts people if he has to, sometimes has to kill the ones who want him
dead, but he’s a man you want on your side. He doesn’t pussyfoot around. He gets
things done. A genuine hero.
I found, like the man, that the writing was
sharp, tight, and concise. Every word mattered. When writing a book containing
violence, depending on the scene, I have found myself thinking: What would Jack
Reacher do?
Ex-military policeman Jack Reacher is a drifter. He's just passing through Margrave, Georgia, and in less than an hour, he's arrested for murder. Not much of a welcome. All Reacher knows is that he didn't kill anybody. At least not here. Not lately. But he doesn't stand a chance of convincing anyone. Not in Margrave, Georgia. Not a chance in hell.
I’ve worked in journalism, politics, and public policy for 30-plus years and watched as the extreme voices gained the most traction on either side of a debate. On social media, these minority views often dominate the discussion. 48 States is a stand-alone novel highlighting the problems of extremist viewpoints in a civil society. I also have another book series that features a political consultant who discovers she's a witch and joins a secret society that uses magic to manipulate elections to protect humanity. Bottom line: if I can’t fix political discourse for a living, I can write science fiction novels that contemplate how to do it.
True Blood meets Supernatural in the kickoff of this urban paranormal fantasy series from an acclaimed author. Readers enter a dystopian San Francisco filled with empaths and vampires embroiled in political unrest—and Book 1 is just the beginning.
Much as she wishes otherwise, superstar political consultant Olivia Shepherd was born a powerful empath. It’s a legacy she walked away from long ago—but when she wakes up one morning to find Elsa, a tenacious time-walker, standing in her kitchen, she realizes she can no longer ignore her gifts. She is quickly plunged into the hidden world of powerful “Others” and drafted…
True Blood meets Supernatural in the kickoff of this urban paranormal fantasy series from an acclaimed author. Readers enter a dystopian San Francisco filled with empaths and vampires embroiled in political unrest—and Book 1 is just the beginning.
Much as she wishes otherwise, superstar political consultant Olivia Shepherd was born a powerful empath. It’s a legacy she walked away from long ago—but when she wakes up one morning to find Elsa, a tenacious time-walker, standing in her kitchen, she realizes she can no longer ignore her gifts. She is quickly plunged into the hidden world of powerful “Others” and drafted…
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