From The Bookshelf – Page 29

Beyond The Rage – Q&A Michael J Malone

I am delighted to be able to welcome Michael J Malone to the blog. Michael is here to talk about his latest book, Beyond The Rage, but I could not resist asking about some of his other work too.

Shall we begin with a little shameless self-promotion? Who is Ray McBain and how does he know Kenny O’Neill?

Ray McBain is the detective whose story first came to light in my debut crime novel Blood Tears. He knows Kenny because they went to school together and became best mates. Life sent them in very different directions. Ray, as I said is a police detective. Kenny is a criminal.

Beyond the Rage saw a shift in focus away from McBain and you made Kenny (previously considered the ‘bad guy’) the hero of the story. What prompted this change?

About 4/5 years ago, while the first 2 books (both featuring Ray as the hero) were going the rounds of the publishers and receiving rave rejections, I hit upon this idea. I wanted to keep writing in the series, but the thought of writing a 3rd McBain book and it receiving the same reception as the first 2 was a bit of a worry. So I thought, why not change the focus of the series every now and then? Write about Kenny, then back to Ray, then over to Alessandra Rossi, then back to Ray etc etc etc. I thought this was highly original, but I’ve since found other authors who do this.

Beyond The Rage, recently sat at #1 spot in Scottish Crime over on Amazon. How much of a boost does that give you as you plot your next book?

It’s great to know that people are reading Rage – but in terms of a boost, not so much. I’m in THAT writing phase of the next book where I think every word I’m putting down is crap.

You are currently working on a new McBain novel. Are we allowed to ask for a progress report?

See above answer. Feels like I’m wading through treacle. I’m about two thirds of the way in, so I’m on the home strait. I still haven’t decided who the killer is, so that should be interesting.

Shifting focus to last year – you worked with Bashir Saoudi on a book called The Guillotine Choice. What is The Guillotine Choice and how did this collaboration come about?

The Guillotine Choice is a novel based on the true story of Bashir’s father. As a young man in Algeria during the late 1920’s, rather than send his cousin to the guillotine, he kept his mouth shut and was sentenced to 40 years hard labour in Devil’s Island. (The same prison that housed Papillon).

And the book came about after a random meeting in a coffee shop in Ayr, followed by a whole series of random meetings. (I think Bashir was stalking me. Only joking, Bash.)

You are very involved in writing workshops (even managing to get this blogger to a seminar in the past) is the support and encouragement of like-minded writers an invaluable part of the writing process for you?

Absolutely. This can be a lonely and difficult job. And the only people who really “get” it are other writers. I received a lot of help and encouragement from other writers when I was learning my craft, so I try to give back where I can.

You once told me that you are not the only Michael Malone that writes crime fiction. Do you know if readers ever get you confused with the other guy?

They do! I was invited to speak to a group of readers in Kansas recently. I should have pretended I was the other guy and asked for some generous expenses. And every now and again I get messages of FB from people who think I’m him. He’s a talented guy so I’m happy if some of that rubs off on me.

It is not all about gritty Glasgow crime though – I believe you also have a few poetry collections in the back catalogue?

This is true. Before the crime novels came out, I had about 200 poems published in small presses and literary magazines. I still write the odd poem, but I tend to keep my creative impulses for fiction these days. It is a demanding task.

You publish a daily newsletter (The Michael Malone Daily) which I receive through Twitter. How do you source material and is it principally articles which interest you?

This is all automatic. I had two minutes work setting it up a few years back and now I have no input whatsoever. I just goes on working. Might be tricky when I pop my clogs and this online newspaper thing carries on publishing and people are going, is he not dead?

You can often be found ‘in discussion’ with the great and good of Scottish writers. You assist at book launches, host quiz events or mediate writer panels – how do you land a gig like that and how hard is it to get a word in once the ‘shy and reclusive’ writers get into the spotlight?

How do I get involved? People ask me. I think it’s cos I smile a lot and I’m cheap. For cheap, read free. Well, a bottle of single malt actually.

When I do these things, my job is to get the “shy and reclusive” writers to talk. It’s about them, not me. So I’m happy if I can’t get a word in.

On a final note, Bloody Scotland is coming soon – are you involved again this year?

Yes, and I’m really looking forward to it. There’s a cracking line up of authors. SO much talent out there. I’m doing an event on the Sunday afternoon with the lovely Caro Ramsay and the equally lovely, but less blonde, Douglas Skelton. If I survive the 5-a-side football match, that is. It will be a blast. You should all come.

My thanks to Michael for taking time to chat. I also need to thank him for encouraging me to write – my blogging is a direct result of Michael’s encouragement to attend a writers workshop many moons ago.

Michael is on Twitter at: @michaelJmalone1

At online here: mjmink.wordpress.com

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July 4

Follow You Home – Mark Edwards

It was supposed to be the trip of a lifetime, a final adventure before settling down. But after a perfect start, an encounter with a young couple on a night train forces Daniel and Laura to cut their dream trip short and flee home.

Back in London, Daniel and Laura vow never to talk about what happened that night. But as they try to fit into their old lives again, they realise they are in terrible danger—and that their nightmare is just beginning…

Thanks to Thomas & Mercer for the review copy which I received through Netgalley

Daniel and Laura are young and in love, they have been travelling and enjoying the trip of a lifetime. Everything is rosy and life is good. Until Daniel decides to save a little money by skipping on a private train cabin for their journey through Romania; opting instead for seats in the standard accommodation.

After an uncomfortable (and extended) conversation with a young Romanian couple Daniel and Laura try to catch some sleep in an empty sleeper carriage. They awake to find themselves confronted by an officious train official demanding their tickets – tickets which seem to have been stolen while they sleep. Unable to explain their predicament the couple are thrown from the train in the middle of nowhere.

Their attempts to get back to civilization lead them to an old farmhouse standing all alone in the Romanian countryside. They venture inside and then we read of them fleeing like the hounds of Hell are on their tails.

What Happened?

This is the question which will draw you in and keep you reading. The story picks up with Daniel and Laura when they are back in London, whatever happened in the house has had a profound impact upon both of their lives and their idyllic romance lies shattered and broken. They both agreed never to speak of the events which led to their breakup, however, friends keep pushing for answers and Daniel is determined to try and win Laura back.

As the story unfolds we are treated to more snippets of information regarding what occurred in Romania as Daniel tries to share his remarkable story with someone. Yet it seems that someone is determined Laura and Daniel’s story will remain untold and is determined to ensure that the events witnessed in the Romanian farmhouse remain a secret forever.

What struck me most about Follow You Home was that much of what occurred was very, very plausible and very, very sinister. I had a distinct feeling of unease reading of Laura and Daniel’s paranoia about being followed/watched. Despite all the horror books I have read over the years, Mark Edwards managed to unsettle me more than most of the ghouls and ghosts have ever achieved. There were a couple of nights where I slept with the covers all the way over my head, just to keep me safe through the night (that’s how it works).

Follow You Home is ‘delightfully’ twisty and creepy – a proper thriller which you should definitely seek out.

Mark Edwards is on Twitter: @mredwards

He is also online at http://vossandedwards.com

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June 29

Evil Games – Angela Marsons

The greater the evil, the more deadly the game …

When a rapist is found mutilated in a brutal attack, Detective Kim Stone and her team are called in to bring a swift resolution. But, as more vengeful killings come to light, it soon becomes clear that there is someone far more sinister at work.

With the investigation quickly gathering momentum, Kim soon finds herself exposed to great danger and in the sights of a lethal individual undertaking their own twisted experiment.

Up against a sociopath who seems to know her every weakness, for Detective Stone, each move she makes could be deadly. As the body count starts to mount, Kim will have to dig deeper than ever before to stop the killing. And this time – it’s personal.

Thanks to Bookouture for my review copy which I received through Netgalley

After a strong debut appearance in last year’s Silent Scream DI Kim Stone returns in Evil Games and it is a well named book!

There is a lot going on for DI Stone, a successful operation which her team worked hard to pull off is now under jeopardy. A violent rapist is attacked yards from his home, despite his previous crimes Kim and her team need to ensure he receives their best efforts in finding his attacker.

As investigations proceed Kim finds herself coming into contact with a dangerous sociopath. Her own personal traumas still haunt Kim so facing an adversary who has the skill (and the inclination) to undermine a person’s weaknesses for entertainment places her in a vulnerable position.

Kim tries to explain to her colleagues that the sociopath (no spoilers) is not all that they may appear, however, her suspicions seem so unlikely that she struggles to convince anyone that there is substance to her suspicions. It seems that Kim’s own lack of social skills make her an unlikely candidate to identify issues in someone else’s behaviour.

Two books into a series and Angela Marsons has established a lead character that you will fully get behind. Readers cannot fail to engage with DI Stone and, despite her obvious character flaws, you know why she behaves the way she does and it just makes you root for her more.

Evil Games are just that – Kim is facing an ‘Iago-esk’ opponent who can manipulate the weak and vulnerable. These victims are turned into weapons by the sociopath and set off back to their tormented lives to lash out and harm others – just to see what they do. It is quite troubling reading at times but Angela Marsons handles it brilliantly – my sense of injustice was roused many times during Evil Games.

Evil Games is highly recommended. I grudged any time that I had to stop reading it and was disappointed when it ended – if that is not a sign of a good book then I am not sure what is!

Evil Games is published by Bookouture and is available now.

Angela Marsons is on Twitter: @WriteAngie

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June 16

Hotel Arcadia – Sunny Singh

Sam is a war photographer famous for her hauntingly beautiful pictures of the dead. After a particularly gruelling assignment, she checks into an expensive hotel. Unfortunately she has chosen the exact moment terrorists attack the hotel.

Abhi, the hotel manager, begs her to stay quiet and stay put. Abhi has never wanted to be a hero; a disappointment to his army father and brother. He thought he’d come to a safe haven at the hotel, a place where he could be himself. Now stuck inside the sealed-off manager’s office in the middle of a terrorist attack, he is desperately trying to keep those still alive safe. His lover Dieter is amongst the hostages in the bar and the photographer Sam, refusing to stay in her room, is roaming through the hotel taking pictures, potentially coming face to face with the terrorists at any moment.

My thanks to Sunny for a review copy of her beautiful book.

Hotel Arcadia is a tense read. From the outset the two key players, Sam and Abhi are in constant danger of being discovered and killed by the terrorists that have taken over the luxury Hotel Arcadia.

We read of guests gunned down in cold blood and explosives being rigged around the hotel to prevent the security forces storming the building. The guests that were fortunate to escape the initial attack have locked themselves in their rooms hiding from the terrorists that roam the corridors leaving carnage in their wake.

Sam is a war photographer who has experienced the worst of humanity, capturing images of the victims of atrocities around the world. She is relaxing at Hotel Arcadia when the attack hits. Using the skills learned in combat zones Sam will leave the confines of her room to capture the images of death within the luxurious slaughterhouse.

Abhi is a hotel employee. He has access to the security cameras within the hotel and can contact any of the guests hidden in the rooms to provide reassurance and keep them informed of the ongoing danger. Abhi can also communicate with the security forces assembling outside the hotel and keep them appraised of the makeshift defences the gunmen are building (and update them with news of further deaths).

Sam and Abhi are in contact with each other and Abhi can give Sam some guidance as to when it may be safe to leave her room, where the gunmen are within the building and also guide her towards food. However, Abhi also wants a favour from Sam and it is one which will cut him to the core to ask for.

This is an outstanding read, the juxtaposition of war zone and luxury hotel creates such powerful images. I loved the tension that Sunny Singh generated each time Sam left the safety of her room it had me frantically flicking the pages urging her to get her back to safety.

A gripping, thoughtful read and one that will remain long in my memory.

Hotel Arcadia is published by Quartet Books and is available now in Hardback and digital format

Sunny Singh is on Twitter: @sunnysingh_nw3

And online at http://www.sunnysingh.net/

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June 7

Interview With Aly Sidgwick – Lullaby Girl

Today I am delighted to welcome Aly Sidgwick to the blog. Aly has kindly agreed to answer a few of my questions about her debut novel Lullaby Girl:

To open, I believe that I have to ask the most obvious question: what prompted the idea of a story about a girl with amnesia?

There were two main inspirations for the book. One was my long standing fascination with people on the edge of sanity- specifically people who’ve lost their sense of self- and the second was my own history of anxiety. The fragility of the human soul fascinates me, as does that ‘no man’s land’ people enter after they’re pushed beyond their limits. The rule book goes out of the window, then, and people can make wild decisions. Kent’s ‘Piano Man’ had gone through that process, and so had the Japanese girl whose desperate pilgrimage to Fargo ended in her death by hypothermia. Their stories moved me, because I’ve always been afraid of tipping over that ‘edge’ myself. When I started writing LG I was in recovery from a nervous breakdown, and was still heavily medicated. In a way the book was my attempt to make sense of what had happened to me. I wanted to create a fragile character, who’d reverted to a simple state in order to survive.

In Katherine’s sanctuary while she recovers there are two central carers. Rhona (who struck me as a Guardian Angel) while Joyce was the Nurse Ratched figure. Was Joyce a bully or was she worn down and frustrated by Katherine’s behaviour during her ‘recovery’.

I’m so glad you picked up on the Nurse Ratched similarity! With Joyce, it wasn’t so much about her being a bully… Rather, I wanted her to be vain, brusque and impatient, in a way that jarred with Kathy’s frame of mind. She’s the sort of carer who follows a script without any real empathy with the patient. However, I did want to leave it quite open… Joyce isn’t just being unkind for the sake of unkindness. She’s short tempered, so Katherine’s difficult behaviour pushes her buttons.

As a supplemental to this – does a story benefit from the presence of a bully to get readers on the side of the central character?

Every story’s got to have an antagonist, hasn’t it? I liked creating a character who’d cause tension, but it wasn’t a direct attempt to gain the reader’s sympathy for Kathy. The tension between them was my only goal.

Lullaby Girl covers a fair bit of mileage as the story unfolds. Are many of the locations in the story places you have visited (and are perhaps special to you)? Or does the remoteness of Scotland’s Highlands just provide a convenient hideaway for Katherine?

The places in the story are based on places I’ve lived, but taken to the extreme. For instance, I actually did live in a little wooden house on a hill in the country near Oslo, and I did have a boyfriend who lived in Trondheim. I spent a lot of time in Trondheim and Oslo, so my own observations of those places made it into the book. But the northern town in LG is fictional, as are the people and story. I’ve also spent a lot of time in the north-western Scottish highlands, so that landscape is very dear to me. I’m drawn to the wilderness and to isolated, northern communities, both here and in Scandinavia, so I wanted to describe the places I love. But those landscapes also produce a certain mentality- gentle yet fierce, deep thinking, resourceful and just a wee bit dark. Those landscapes and those people create a good backdrop for a story, and it felt right to place a fragile character in such a barren, wild landscape.

Within the story there are numerous therapies and treatments described for Katherine – are these recounted with a degree of artistic licence or have you had to research how an amnesiac would be taken through a ‘recovery’ program?

Artistic Licence! Some of the treatment is based on my own experience, some is based on a close friend’s, who has stayed in an institution. The rest is how I imagined it would be. I also made space for the fact that Gille Dubh is not set in a metropolis! In the highlands, certain services are altered to accommodate the isolated setting. For example, some remote schools have less than twenty pupils, of all ages, and their lesson structure is rescheduled to accommodate this. I wanted to create the feeling that Gille Dubh is separated from the rest of the world, and kind of makes up its own rules.

As I read Lullaby Girl I was telling friends (and Tweeting) how much I was enjoying the story but also that it was traumatic! I engaged with the plight of the Lullaby Girl and was often upset with how she was dealt blow after blow – was it hard to create a heroine then wake up each day with the aim of destroying her world around her?

I didn’t really think of it that way! Yeah, Katherine has a hard time! Her history was originally slightly lighter, but with the rewrites it became worse and worse. I lost myself in the planning really, so I became slightly detached. I wanted to create an event that was bad enough to send her into meltdown. It became like a mathematical equation!

You have set some of the more shocking scenes in Norway and Katherine encountered several very nasty people there – do you think you may now need to write a second book that portrays Norway in a more positive light? I am worried that you may be taken off the Norwegian Tourist Board’s Christmas Card List!

Haha! I think you’ll find nasty people no matter where you go in the world. I adore Norway and the Norwegian people… Kathy does have her little love affair with the place initially. I ended up using its ‘foreign-ness’ as a weapon against her. Her promised land ended up isolating her instead of nurturing her. I think a lot of people feel like an outsider when they emigrate, especially when there’s a change of language. Kathy’s situation was made worse by her isolation.

Sorry…back to the more serious questions: can you share your road to publication with us? Your profile on Amazon suggests you started writing in secret, at what point did you feel you had to share your work?

I’d been writing for about a year before I told anyone what I was doing. In the beginning it felt really special, and I didn’t want to detract from the ‘magic’ by blathering too soon. Then I truly had the bug, and knew I couldn’t stop writing. Telling people made it more real. It was a relief to finally explain what I was doing with all my spare time!

I believe that you have worked for some time as a tattoo artist? Over the years are there any stand-out designs or ideas that people have requested?

Yes, I’ve been doing it for quite a while. There are certain ‘trends’ in tattooing that come and go. When I started out, tribal was all the rage. Now it’s gone full circle, and is considered ‘retro.’ I’m a custom artist, which means most of the designs are my own, and people come to me for my particular style. I do a lot of patternwork, plants and animals.

I would also love to know what the oddest tattoo you have provided was?

My pal Danne asked me for a skeletal Abraham Lincoln in a flaming wheelchair with a tommygun. That was pretty much the oddest one I’ve done.

If you were to describe what books are on your bookshelves what would you single out? Which authors or what types of book feature most prominently?

There’s a big old chunk of Haruki Murakami and Neil Gaiman, some vintage sci fi, some Crimethinc, Jon Ronson, Alasdair Gray, China Mieville, Mary Doria Russell, David Mitchell… The rest is a real mix. My absolute favourite writer is Shirley Jackson, and two books I’ve loved recently are ‘Dark Matter’ by Michelle Paver and ‘The Humans’ by Matt Haig. I also have some Norwegian books and comics.

Are you able to share if you are working on a new title?

Yes, I’m currently working on a new project. It’s too early to talk about really, but the story is set in the highlands, and part of it is set in the 1960s.

Aly, many thanks for your time. I absolutely adored Lullaby Girl and I hope many more people get to discover Katherine’s story.

Thank you! It’s been fun!

Lullaby Girl is published by Black & White Publishing and is available now in both paperback and digital format.

Aly Sidgwick is on Twitter: @Menacegrrl

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May 26

Only The Brave – Mel Sherratt

When one of the notorious Johnson brothers is murdered and a bag of money goes missing, a deadly game of cat and mouse is set in motion.

DS Allie Shenton and her team are called in to catch the killer, but the suspects are double-crossing each other and Allie has little time to untangle the web of lies.

As she delves deeper into the case, things take a personal turn when Allie realises she is being stalked by the very same person who attacked her sister seventeen years ago and left her for dead.

Set over forty-eight tension-filled hours, Only the Brave is the latest gut-churning police procedural from acclaimed author Mel Sherratt.

Thanks to Mel Sherratt and her publishers, Thomas & Mercer, for the chance to read Only the Brave through Netgalley.

Only the Brave is the third novel in the Allie Shenton series. It picks up events after Follow The Leader and concludes the story arc first established in Taunting the Dead. I believe that Only the Brave could be read and enjoyed as a stand-alone novel (Ms Sherratt covers all the background required) however, reading all three books in order would be beneficial to get the full impact of the story. It would also be a good way to enjoy three cracking books.

Minor spoiler there – Only The Brave is indeed cracking. The story plays out over a two day period, the cast of suspects is relatively small and they all interlink in some way. Everyone has a secret, everyone is working to protect themselves and (it seems) everyone is prepared to lie to the police.

Seeking to unpick the lies is Allie Shenton, however, Allie has her own share of personal problems – not least the unwelcome attentions of a stalker who has previously attacked her sister and now has his sights set on Allie. Juggling the pressure of murder investigation and the challenge of being there for her family is taking its toll on Allie and the cracks are starting to show.

The suspect pool in this novel are a particularly nasty lot and Mel Sherratt has done a masterly job of highlighting their worst traits, their neurosis, anxiety and deceitful natures. There is no love lost between the characters and they will gladly sacrifice friendship or loyalty to save their own skins. All this makes for fun reading and you cannot help but feel more than a little smug as each get a dose of their own medicine.

I raced through Only The Brave and enjoyed every second. I like Mel Sherratt’s writing style which is nicely grounded: gritty and believable stories that are fun to read. I hope that Allie Shenton will return in the future, she is a character I want to read more of.

Mel Sherratt is on Twitter: @writermels

And is online at : http://melsherratt.co.uk/

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May 17

The Girl Who Wouldn’t Die – Marnie Riches

HE’S WATCHING HER. SHE DOESN’T KNOW IT…YET

When a bomb explodes at the University of Amsterdam, aspiring criminologist Georgina McKenzie is asked by the police to help flush out the killer.

But the bomb is part of a much bigger, more sinister plot that will have the entire city quaking in fear.

And the killer has a very special part for George to play…

A thrilling race against time with a heroine you’ll be rooting for, this book will keep you up all night!

Marnie Riches suggested I would enjoy her book – she was absolutely right. This ticked all the right boxes and the twists were too clever for me. Many thanks Marnie!

Right from its explosive opening to the dramatic endgame, The Girl Who Wouldn’t Die kept me hooked. Marnie Riches has created a fascinating character in Georgina (George) McKenzie and her debut story is a strong start for what I hope will become a long and successful series.

The majority of the story is set out in Holland, a country I confess to knowing little about. I enjoyed the depiction of the seemingly relaxed Dutch society, the Amsterdam Red Light District (and marijuana consumption) that I expected to read about are included but the further inclusion of university life added a new dimension and made the feel of the city come to life.

George is a student at the university in Amsterdam. She is balancing her studies with her personal investigation into the deaths that are occurring around the city. The police have enlisted her help as they recognise her online blog could be used to flush out a bomber who targeted the University buildings. Having been given a small insight into the investigation George feels compelled to follow her personal investigation as she second-guesses the official investigation: she feels the police are following the wrong path to track down the bomber. What George does not realise is that the person she is tracking has already found her…

Running alongside George’s investigations is the story of Ella. Ella lives with her mother in London, they are being targeted by a local gang of kids who seem intent on terrorising Ella while she is at home, their attentions are unwelcome and the peril is increasing. The activities of a gang of badly behaved kids in London seemed a long way from the hunt for a bomber in Amsterdam so I was keen to see how Ella and George’s stories would overlap (I assumed they would). The ‘No Spoilers’ rule is very much in force here but I did love what Marnie Riches did to Ella and her mum over the course of the story.

The Girl Who Wouldn’t Die is one of the tales I cannot discuss too much as the enjoyment comes from discovering the twists for yourself. There are some nasty folk hanging around Amsterdam and you implore George to keep away from them. Marnie Riches places some red herrings in our path to keep the identity of the killer well hidden and she does it extremely well – safe to say I was miles off solving this one!

I reached the end of The Girl Who Wouldn’t Die and was delighted to learn that Georgina McKenzie is due to return later this year in The Girl Who Broke The Rules. You can sign me up for that one right now, this is a series I will be happy to spend time with.

The Girl Who Wouldn’t Die is currently available online in digital format. It is published through Maze and Avon (Harper Collins).

Marnie Riches is on Twitter: @Marnie_Riches

At online at http://marnieriches.com

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May 14

Don’t Turn Around – Caroline Mitchell

You don’t know him. But he knows you.

Soon he would be able to touch her, to feel the warmth of her blood. And when the time came, nothing would stop him.

As D.C. Jennifer Knight investigates a routine stabbing in the quiet town of Haven, she is shocked at what seems like a personal message from beyond the grave.

When more bodies are found, Jennifer is convinced the killings are somehow linked.

What she discovers is more chilling than she could possibly imagine. The murders mirror those of the notorious Grim Reaper – from over twenty years ago. A killer her mother helped convict.

Jennifer can no longer ignore the personal connection. Is there a copycat killer at work? Was the wrong man convicted? Or is there something more sinister at play …

With her mother’s terrifying legacy spiralling out of control, Jennifer must look into her own dark past in a fight not only to stop a killer – but to save herself and those she loves.

My thanks to Bookouture for my review copy which I received through Netgalley.

In the dim and distant past I went through a phase of reading many ghost stories/supernatural thrillers. My recollections of those books were that there were some outstanding stand-alone novels, they frequently took place in rural locations and the emphasis was on chills. I don’t remember any of them being police procedurals where the focus was on the police rather than the unseen menace. To this end Don’t Turn Around was a welcome surprise.

The focus is on DC Jennifer Knight – she becomes embroiled in an investigation which seems to be mirroring the crimes committed some 20 years earlier by a vicious murderer that called himself Grim Reaper.

Very quickly it becomes clear that clear that all may not be as it seems as Jennifer as suspects begin to act in the most unnatural manner – almost as if they were taking on a new personality during their interviews.

Mysterious occurrences start to come thick and fast and it soon becomes apparent that DC Knight is facing an unearthly opponent. I really enjoyed the change to the more conventional crime thriller as when paranormal foes are introduced it does feel that ‘anything goes’ and I was intrigued to see where the story may head.

Suffice to say that Caroline Mitchell delivered an entertaining thriller which certainly played out in the most unexpected way. Don’t Turn Around is positioned as the start of an ongoing series featuring DS Knight and promises more supernatural chills – I am certainly in favour of that and will be keen to see what else may come forward for Jennifer Knight to face.

One slight niggle (very slight) was that initially I felt Jennifer’s relationship with her colleague Will was too jokey and that it distracted from the development of the characters. Stick with it as this settles down but as the characters were being introduced I found them slightly irritating – by the end of the book I was more comfortable with their partnership, ride it out as it is worth sticking with this one.

There is a suggestion that this will appeal to fans of James Oswald – have to agree with that and it is nice to see new voices making something different work so well.

Am looking forward to seeing what comes next for DS Knight but well worth picking up Don’t Turn Around to see how the journey begins.

Caroline Mitchell is on Twitter: @Caroline_writes

And can be found at www.caroline-writes.com

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May 8

Deborah Install – A Robot in the Garden Q&A

Today I am delighted to welcome Deborah Install to the blog to discuss the wonderful A Robot In The Garden. We chatted a few days before publication but the good news is that you can pick up the Tang’s adventure now as A Robot In The Garden was published on 23rd April.

I suppose the first question has to be: why a robot?

That’s a good question – and the honest answer that I don’t know! He just came to me like that. The whole premise came out of the name, ‘Acrid Tang’ (off the back of a conversation about nappies!) and that just always sounded like a robot to me. The conversation happened one night, and by the next morning the outline of Ben, Tang and Bollinger were there, as was the journey. I grew up in the heyday of Star Wars and The Terminator, though, so perhaps I was always going to write a robot book, I just never knew it!

In the book robots are commonplace and form part of most households, is the story set at some point in the near future or in an alternate ‘now’?

I was very keen that Ben and Tang’s world should be a recognisable world, where the only real difference was that AI is household, so I guess when I started writing I probably had in mind an alternate reality. Since writing the book though robot technology seems to have leapt ahead and now there is a real possibility that robot carers and the like will be available soon, so as it happens the book could be set in the near future.

Tang is depicted as having a somewhat comical appearance – the robot that other robots look down upon and laugh at (cyber bullying as it were). Why did Tang have to be so different?

I think because I started with Tang and knew exactly what he looked like I sort of retrofitted the androids, making them up to date and shiny and therefore providing a point of antagonism between Ben and Amy, with the latter wanting one of the shiny ones. Tang also parallels Ben, both being broken but in different ways, so there was an opportunity to cement their friendship as they faced a critical world together. When I describe the difference between Tang and the rest of the AI around him I liken them to phones – smartphones are so prevalent now that those without often get gently teased about it. I put in the conversation between Lizzie and Ben about phones to help the allusion. That said, Tang is only like a retro phone on the outside, of course, but other AI don’t seem to see this.

I described Tang in my review as childlike and noted that he could behave like a toddler: many of his conversations certainly exhibit perfect toddler logic. Is Tang a young robot or are his frustrating/endearing traits down to an innocence?

It’s a bit of both, I think. That Tang is like a toddler was a large part to do with injecting humour – a quick look at friends’ facebook posts about their children tells me that toddlers are inherently funny, and it’s a feature of life as a parent that can be identified by many. Weirdly, though, when I wrote the book my own son was a small baby and not talking, but he’s actually got more and more like Tang as time has gone on – he evens hops from foot to foot in excitement. Tang’s personality is also down to his experience – he has a darker edge when it comes to Bollinger. For example Ben has to tell him that it is unkind to leave Bollinger possibly at risk, but I guess that’s a toddler thing too, learning empathy.

Could we see Tang return, perhaps next time mirroring a stroppy teenager?

Absolutely. Though obviously he isn’t subject to the hormones of a teenager, he is subject to some of the experience of one – the wish to exercise independence and the possibility of falling in love. I have plans but whether they are realised depends entirely on whether readers want to see them! 🙂

I loved the book cover – my eyes were drawn to it and I found I wanted to know what the story behind the title was. How much input did you have regarding the cover, in particular how the robot was drawn?

None at all. I am a big believer in people being allowed to do the job they’re hired to do, so I was happy to leave it to the professionals at Transworld and the wonderful Neil Gower to create the cover. I’m not saying I’ll never want input into a cover, but at this stage of my career I’m happy to accept that I don’t know anything!

How long did it take to get Tang from an idea to full publication?

I have been very, very lucky. I started writing Tang in autumn 2012, got my agent in September 2013 and the book was picked up by Transworld in early summer in 2014. I have been told this is pretty fast.

As we are now just days from the official publication date how does it feel?

It’s amazing. It’s only when it got to about six weeks before publication that I started to allow myself to be really excited, though, otherwise I think I’d have burned out. It’s been my ambition since childhood, and 30 years is a long time to incubate a dream so sometimes it almost feels a bit like it’s happening to somebody else. I can’t really describe it, except to say I can’t wait to hold the book in my arms just like you would a newborn baby!

Could you outline A Robot In The Garden in one sentence?
(My initial effort of The Man and Robot Bro-mance Roadtrip is not going to cut it).

Oh, I don’t know, I think that’s a pretty good assessment! My early elevator pitch whilst I was still writing was something like ‘Short Circuit meets Round Ireland with a Fridge’, but the book moved on so far since then that I don’t think that really covers it. So let’s see…how about: broken man finds broken robot and through a series of comedy capers both are fixed? I kinda like that.

In the author notes at the end of A Robot In The Garden you take time to thank the writing groups you have worked with. Had you started working on a novel prior to joining a writing group or did the book stem from the groups?

I had, yes. I’ve been writing fiction since I could pick up a pencil, and attempting novels since my late teens, with a break in my twenties while I gained some life experience! I joined Solihull Writers’ Workshop with a novel that had been shelved for a while with the intention of picking it back up again, and I did, but after a break from the group for a few months while I had my baby I went back with a new little project about a man and a robot…I just felt I wanted to write something lighter and funnier than my previous, which was a serious YA science fantasy.

I grew up in the 80’s and have fond memories of Metal Mickey, K9, Johnny 5 and R2-D2. I now have two kids and cannot immediately think of any robots in their TV or films (though R2 is still kicking around I suppose). Is it time Robots were cool again?

I think so! This year seems very much to be the Year of the Robot, with films like Ex Machina and Chappie both out this quarter, and ARITG, of course. We are so close to integrating the kind of robots we all imagine into society that it makes sense for us to explore our relationship with them at this time. Also, robots aren’t just for boys and sci-fi fans – you’d be amazed at the bias when you mention the word ‘robot’.

I always like to know what other people are reading, what would I see on your bookshelves?

Unsurprisingly I love funny novels, especially where the humour is well-observed. I am a big fan of Alexander McCall-Smith and Nick Hornby. I’m also a bit of a sucker for historical crime, such as C.J. Sansom. Aside that, I’ll give any sort of novel a go, really, you never know when something different will capture your imagination.

Which authors have you found inspiring?

The Handmaid’s Tale made a big impression on me as a teen, and Margaret Atwood has been a great inspiration to me as a woman writing future-set novels. I also can’t let the question go by without mentioning the wonderful late Terry Pratchett, whose legacy is such an incredible inspiration. Lessons in world-building and character creation. J.K. Rowling, similarly. I think she is the Queen of Characters, and I admire her ethos on social politics and what she has chosen to do with her success.

Finally, do you have any new projects underway that you can share?

Indeed! I have already mentioned the possibility of more Tang, but also I’m writing a separate project involving time travel (also comedy), where I hope to do the same with that as I did with robots in this one, i.e. time travel is just a thing that happens, rather than a big deal, as such. Where I focused on friendships and relationships in ARITG this one will look at work and career frustrations.

Many thanks to Deborah.

Deborah Install is on Twitter: @DeborahInstall

A Robot In The Garden is published by Doubleday and can be purchased in physical and digital format : http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/0857523023/ref=s9_simh_gw_p14_d0_i1?pf_rd_m=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE&pf_rd_

My Review is here: https://grabthisbook.net/?p=478

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April 1

Serial Killers a discussion with Alexandra Sokoloff

In my recent conversations with David McCaffrey and Karen Long I posed a question asking why they felt readers loved a story about a Serial Killer. I had planned to ask the same question of Alexandra Sokoloff but she suggested that she would have LOTS to say on that topic.

This was too good an opportunity to pass up! I asked Alex if she would be interested in answering a few questions just on the subject of Serial Killers and I am delighted to share our resulting conversation.

I shall start with my established opening gambit: why do we love a serial killer story?

I think the serial killer has become an iconic monster, like a vampire or werewolf or zombie (maybe replacing the pretty much defunct mummy!). This icon is of course a very idealized version of what a serial killer actually is. And I think it was Thomas Harris who mythologized the serial killer to classic monster status, although Stevenson’s Jekyll/Hyde, Stoker’s Dracula (supposedly based on the real-life Vlad the Impaler), and various depictions of Jack the Ripper were strong precursors. We are fascinated by the idea of pure evil in a human being.

However, the other component of why we love a serial killer story is because most authors (and screenwriters and filmmakers) who write about serial killers are dishonestly romanticizing them and leaving out the unmitigated, repellent malevolence of these men. About which more in a minute.

And there is also an unfortunate percentage of the population that gets off on reading about rape, torture, and murder.

Was Jack the Ripper the first recorded serial killer or has he just become the most famous?

There were certainly recorded serial killers before Jack the Ripper. The Harpe brothers in the US in the 1700’s, Gilles Garnier in France in the 1500’s, Thug Behram in India in the late 1700’s, just to name a few. Military campaigns have always provided an outlet for serial killers, as have the institutions of slavery and the Inquisition.

When I hear the term Serial Killer I automatically assume that it is an American phenomenon – I put this entirely down to Hollywood. However, am I right and does America really have the lion’s share of the known Serial Killers?

Well, of course America is going to have a greater proportion of serial killers simply because the US has a larger population than most countries. The way I understand it, the seeming rise in the number of serial killers in the late twentieth century was due to the increasing number of people who owned automobiles and the increasingly transient nature of the American population. People started moving long distances to find work, for example, and started changing jobs frequently, and so it was easier to kill and move on, making it easier to avoid detection. A serial killer is by definition a successful one, at least for a while.

Is it likely that there are serial killers operating undetected right now? If so would you care to hazard a guess at the numbers that may be involved?

According to the FBI, absolutely. The Bureau estimates, some say conservatively, that between 35 and 50 serial killers are operating in the US in any given year. I figure they know what they’re talking about.

Taking the last question a step further, do you believe a ‘successful’ killer could cover their tracks multiple times for a long period of time?

Yes, there have been killers who have managed that. The Green River Killer, for example, who for years was able to hide an increasing number of bodies in the vast forested areas of the Pacific Northwest.

Keeping this question on a fictional level, do you have favourite serial killers from books or film where you liked the angle that the writer(s) adopted?

There’s really only one author for me in that department – Thomas Harris with Red Dragon and The Silence of the Lambs. Harris did a completely brilliant thing, there. In the 1970’s Special Agents Robert Ressler and John Douglas of the FBI’s Behavioral Science Unit (now called the Behavioral Analysis Unit) began a series of interviews with incarcerated serial killers to see what made these men tick and hopefully develop strategies for catching them. The agents, along with Professor Ann W. Burgess, compiled their findings into a textbook and started to train agents as profilers. This new department got a lot of press and media attention and a large number of authors jumped all over that research. But judging by the books that resulted, very, very few of those authors seem to have actually read those interviews.

Thomas Harris, though, took the same research that was available to everyone, and used a combination of absolutely precise fact and police procedure and a haunting mythological symbolism to create those first two books, Red Dragon and The Silence of the Lambs (and then Hannibal sort of went off the rails, if you ask me…). The result was two of the best horror/police procedural blend novels ever written. The killers Jame Gumb (Buffalo Bill) and Francis Dolarhyde were both more and less than human. And Lecter, of course, is a mythic archetype of the evil genius.

And then everyone jumped on the bandwagon and there are now hundreds of Lecters-lite, if you will.

I love those two books of Harris’s for their mythic resonance. But I have a real problem with the way most authors portray serial killers because it’s so incredibly dishonest. They romanticize and poeticize serial killers – portraying them as evil geniuses that play elaborate cat and mouse games with detectives and law enforcement agencies. Yeah, right. These men are not geniuses. They don’t leave poems at crime scenes or arrange their victim’s bodies in tableaux corresponding to scenes of great art or literature. They are vicious rapists who brutalize their victims because the agony of those victims gets the killer off, and a large number of them continue to have sex with the corpses of their victims because they are that addicted to absolute control and possession.

That’s evil. But the serial killer subgenre as a whole has perpetrated a very unrealistic view of what these monsters really are. Most authors who write about serial killers don’t show the sexual correlation. They skirt around the issue of rape. The worst ones sexualize the violence – fetishizing women’s bodies, sexualizing the torture of women, conveniently ignoring the fact that many of these killers rape and torture and kill men and children as well, and basically avoid portraying the pure horror of what these men actually do.

I’ve always found it extremely troubling and that’s been a big motivator for me in writing the Huntress Moon series. I’ve set out to shatter a lot of myths, there, and to counter all this glorification of violence.

Without seeking to glorify their actions are there lesser known serial killers that you are surprised are not better known given the extent of their crimes – for example a European who is not known in America?

Yes, as I’m doing more research into UK crime and criminals, I’m learning about killers that I hadn’t heard of, or hadn’t heard much of. The US is very ethnocentric!

I enjoy the Hitman books by Lawrence Block and I suppose that by broad definition a Hitman is a serial killer, however the two are generally considered very differently (certainly in fiction). Is this perhaps simply down to money (Hitman) over personal agenda (serial killer) or is there a more subtle distinction?

I think there are very unsubtle distinctions. Serial killers are most often rapists who have graduated to murder as they crave more and more control over helpless victims. Hitmen are not serial killers, but mass killers, which is a very different psychology than sexual homicide. For hit men the motivation is usually financial, for contract killers; or organizational, as when members of the Mafia or a gang kill on order from a higher up in the organization. (Other mass killers also have financial motivation, like the Black Widow killer, who marries or mates and then kills for the spouse’s or lover’s insurance money or property). But there are similarities, of course – a lot of hitmen and contract killers are sadists, as are a large percentage of serial killers.

Do you think some killers are born with a disposition to kill (a Natural Born Killer, if you will)? Or is it likely they are a result of environmental circumstances and external forces?

I think scientific studies have made it pretty clear that it’s a combination of both. According to Scientific American, there’s a certain enzyme, monoamine oxidase A, that is linked to increased aggression if it’s below normal level, and certain genes that predispose people to low levels of this enzyme. There are also genes that determine how serotonin is processed in the body, and a certain variant of that gene seems to be a predictor of hostile behavior. There are other studies that point out that people with these genes who are raised in stable environments are less inclined to act out violently.

Childhood abuse can contribute to violent behavior: many serial killers had abusive childhoods. But many children who were abused don’t grow up to be abusers. It’s also clear to me from the FBI reports on the role of fantasy in the development of rapists and killers that exposure to violent media can be a factor.

Overall, the more interesting question to me is, why are there so more men than women who either are born with the disposition to rape and kill, or who develop the urge to rape and kill?

The proportions of violent men to violent women are so overwhelming that it makes me wonder why we’re not studying that question.

My profound thanks to Alexandra Sokoloff who I hope will return to the blog in the near future to discuss her forthcoming book Cold Moon.

During April 2015 both Huntress Moon and Blood Moon are just £1 on e-book through Amazon.co.uk (links below).

AlexandraSokoloff.com

The Huntress/FBI Thrillers: Out now!

UK Huntress Moon http://amzn.to/1wEwxZo

UK Blood Moon http://amzn.to/1CPG4Uw

UK Cold Moon http://amzn.to/1xBtA2U

US Huntress Moon http://amzn.to/1z3pSh5

US Blood Moon http://amzn.to/1EqoKax

US Cold Moon http://amzn.to/1ymNA6b

Alexandra Sokoloff is the bestselling, Thriller Award-winning and Bram Stoker and Anthony Award-nominated author of eleven supernatural, paranormal and crime thrillers. The New York Times has called her “a daughter of Mary Shelley” and her books “Some of the most original and freshly unnerving work in the genre.”

As a screenwriter she has sold original suspense and horror scripts and written novel adaptations for numerous Hollywood studios. She is also the workshop leader of the internationally acclaimed Screenwriting Tricks for Authors workshops, based on her Screenwriting Tricks for Authors workbooks and blog.

Her Thriller Award-nominated Huntress Moon series, following a haunted FBI agent on the hunt for a female serial killer, is out now from Thomas & Mercer.

Website: http://alexandrasokoloff.com

Twitter: @alexsokoloff

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