BEST OF CRIME with Lisa Cutts

Welcome to my latest BEST OF CRIME feature, looking at crime writers' top picks, from their favourite author and fictional detective to their best writing tip. 

Today I'm delighted to welcome 

LISA CUTTS

to share her BEST OF CRIME ...

... AUTHORS  

Agatha Christie is my favourite author. Long before I joined the police, I loved to read her books, now I appreciate them so much more. It’s fantastic to leave behind the world of DNA, CCTV, smartphones and technology to read about people and Christie’s wonderful perspective on what motivates people to murder each other. 

... FILMS/MOVIES

Murder on the Orient Express. Probably a little predictable that I love this film. I’m eagerly awaiting this year’s release and one of the few films I would make a point of seeing at the cinema. 

... TV DRAMAS

Life on Mars and Ashes to Ashes were genius TV dramas. I must admit, it took me some time to catch on as I very rarely watch crime dramas, but I’m so glad I did. I loved everything about them.

... FICTIONAL KILLERS

Sorry, I don’t have one. It’s probably the job I do but I’ll never have a favourite murderer, even a fictional one. It goes against the grain. 

... FICTIONAL DETECTIVES 

Briggs and Louis from The Detectives. Jasper Carrott and Robert Powell portrayed the most realistic detectives I’ve ever seen on television, and managed to make me laugh at pretty much anything they said and did. I think part of the reason I like them so much is because they were normal, and very daft. 

... MURDER WEAPONS

An icicle would make a genius murder weapon. Stab your victim, then one quick thaw and it’s gone.  Of course, to get an icicle of such size and durability, you would probably need to take your intended victim to somewhere much colder than Kent. 

    

... DEATH SCENES

Years ago I read several Dick Francis books in fast succession. One of the characters was killed off by wrapping paper mache around his head and leaving him to suffocate. I can’t recall the title of the book as I read six or seven within a month but the image has stayed with me for the last fifteen years. 

  

  

... BLOGS/WEBSITES

Police Oracle is very useful for keeping up to date with some areas of policing I’m a little out of touch with. There are always some funny stories on there too that sometimes come in useful. 

... WRITING TIPS

Sit down and do it. There are days when I really don’t want to, just like any other job, yet I find that those can be the most productive. If the words later on need a rewrite, so be it.  

... WRITING SNACKS

This usually comes in the form of a liquid snack. It’s when I think I do my best work. This blog feature was brought to you with the assistance of a g & t. 

About LISA CUTTS

Lisa Cutts is the author of four police procedural novels, based on her twenty-one years of policing experience. She works as a detective constable for Kent Police and has spent over twelve years in the Serious Crime Directorate dealing mostly with murders and other serious investigations.

An extract from her first novel, Never Forget, won the Writer’s Retreat competition in 2012 and was published by Myriad Editions in 2013. The second in the DC Nina Foster series, Remember, Remember, was published in 2014 and her third book, Mercy Killing, the first in a new series, was published by Simon and Schuster on 20^th October 2016. The second in the series, Buried Secrets is out in ebook now and the paperback is to be published on 2^nd November 2017.

Her debut novel, Never Forget, won the 2014 Killer Nashville Silver Falchion Award for best thriller.

She is also very proud to be the patron of the Rochester Literary Festival and writes a monthly column in Writing Magazine. She has also appeared on ITV’s This Morning in her capacity as both a crime writer and a murder detective. 

Find Lisa Cutts on her website, on her Facebook page and on Twitter - @LisaCuttsAuthor

About BURIED SECRETS 

Publisher's description

To most people, Detective Inspector Milton Bowman appears to have an ideal life. But some secrets aren’t buried deep enough. And Milton’s Monday morning will not follow routine as he is caught in a major car accident on the way to East Rise incident room. His friend and colleague DI Harry Powell is given the unenviable task of delivering the message to Bowman's wife, Linda. Except she’s been murdered.

The team, including DC Hazel Hamilton, begin to examine every aspect of their colleague’s life as suspicion and disbelief take hold of those embroiled in the investigation. A web of deceit that fooled them all for years means no one is to be trusted – the Bowman family, friends, colleagues, even Harry Powell is under suspicion. Nothing is as it appears and nobody seems to be telling the truth. 

Buried Secrets was published by Simon & Schuster on 2 November 2017.

Look out for more BEST OF CRIME features coming soon.

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Before It's Too Late by Sara Driscoll

Before It's Too Late
By Sara Driscoll
Published by Kensington Books (26 September 2017)
I received an Advance Reader Copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

Publisher's description

In this powerful K-9 crime thriller, FBI Special Agent Meg Jennings and her trusted search-and-rescue Labrador, Hawk, must race against the clock before a diabolical killer strikes again

Somewhere in the Washington, D.C., area, a woman lies helpless in a box. Beneath the earth. Barely breathing. Buried alive. In Quantico, the FBI receives a coded message from the woman’s abductor. He wants to play a game with them: decipher the clues, find the grave, save the girl. The FBI’s top cryptanalysts crack the code and Special Agent Meg Jennings and her K-9 partner, Hawk, scramble to the scene of the crime. Cryptic clues lead them astray and by the time they solve the puzzle, it’s too late. But the killer’s game is far from over . . .

Soon another message arrives. Another victim is taken, and the deadly pattern is repeated—again and again. Each kidnapping triggers another desperate race against time, each with the possibility of another senseless death. That’s when Meg decides to try something drastic. Break the Bureau’s protocol. Bring in her brilliant sister, Cara, a genius at word games, to decipher the kidnapper’s twisted clues. Meg knows she’s risking her career to do it, but she’s determined not to let one more person die under her and Hawk’s watch. If the plan fails, it could bite them in the end. And if it leads to the killer, it could bury them forever . . .

My verdict
I loved Lone Wolf, Sara Driscoll's first FBI K9 crime thriller. I found that to be a fast-paced read and a great start to the series. I couldn't put Before It's Too Late down either.

This is an emotional book from the outset. A woman is buried alive somewhere in Washington, D.C. On receiving a coded message, Special Agent Meg Jenning and her dog Hawk have a race against the clock to find the victim, but unfortunately it's too late. Then another woman goes missing and another coded message arrives...

Before It's Too Late is a great lesson in pacing and plotting. It's well-researched too, though the references to American history did pass me by - I'm not great on British history, let alone US history - but that didn't detract from the plot at all. The book is filled with thrills, action and suspense, and I'm sure I barely took a breath for most of it.

This crime thriller has plenty of heart, featuring some great teamwork, not just between the human characters but also between the humans and their canine partners (especially Meg with Hawk, her Labrador). So pleased that helpful journalist McCord back is back - journalists are often depicted very negatively in crime fiction. Love the return of Todd, Meg's firefighter boyfriend, too.

You get to know a lot about Meg's family life and background - she even involves her sister Cara (a whizz at codes and puzzles), which puts Meg's career on the line. As she embarks on this cat-and-mouse chase, she realises this is personal - and her past is coming back to haunt her.

While I'm sure Before It's Too Late could be read as a standalone, I still think it's a good idea to read Lone Wolf first - partly because you'll be missing out on another good book if you don't. This is turning out to be a favourite series of mine - and I can't wait for the next book!

BEST OF CRIME with Isabelle Grey

Welcome to my latest BEST OF CRIME feature, looking at crime writers' top picks, from their favourite author and fictional detective to their best writing tip. 

Today I'm delighted to welcome 

ISABELLE GREY

to share her BEST OF CRIME ...

... AUTHORS
Daphne du Maurier, especially for Rebecca and My Cousin Rachel, both masterpieces of unreliable narration, jealousy and sexual tension. Each time I re-read Rebecca I find the second Mrs de Winter even more sinister.

... FILMS/MOVIES
All The President’s Men and its recent successor Spotlight. The first made me want to be a journalist and the second added invaluable insight to the writing of The Special Girls.

... TV DRAMAS
It’s deeply flawed, but I still loved the first season of True Detective for the range of its ambition. It used the format of long-form drama to play with chronology and point of view, had great performances and, in rural Louisiana, a brilliantly gothic backdrop.

... FICTIONAL KILLERS
Although Count Fosco stops short of actual murder in Wilkie Collins’ The Woman in White, he is morally responsible for the death of Anne Catherick after her escape from the asylum. A cruel and fascinating villain, he is surely a prototype for many of the charmingly psychopathic fictional killers that followed. 

... FICTIONAL DETECTIVES 
For me it will always have to be Philip Marlowe, for slang so perfect that few guessed Raymond Chandler invented it, for his cynical sense of honour, and his deep and tragic vulnerability. Even if the plots sometimes don’t make sense, I want to know what Marlowe is going to make of it all.

... MURDER WEAPONS
I wrote an episode of Midsomer Murders in which someone was pushed under the turning wheel of a watermill. I spoke on the phone to someone at a National Trust watermill to find out how such a killing might occur. He had no proof of who I really was yet enthusiastically explained in great detail how easily I could murder someone. Perhaps one of us should have been more suspicious.

    

... DEATH SCENES
Dr Watson peering through the keyhole of the door to Bartholomew Sholto’s chamber and seeing by moonlight his bloodless countenance, a ghastly, inscrutable smile upon his face, in Arthur Conan Doyle’s The Sign of the Four.
  

... BLOGS/WEBSITES
The College of Policing There is a huge amount of forensic expertise online about everything from knots and maggots to cadaver dogs, but the best for lending an air of authenticity is the College of Policing website which is packed with useful procedural detail. https://www.app.college.police.uk/app-content/

... WRITING TIPS
Keep asking yourself why you are writing this book, why this is a book that no one else could ever write.

... WRITING SNACKS
When I first started writing it was black coffee and cigarettes, but now it is green tea and chocolate.

About ISABELLE GREY

Isabelle Grey is a crime novelist and former journalist who has also written for film, radio and television, including many popular crime dramas. Her crime series - Good Girls Don't Die, Shot Through The Heart and The Special Girls - are set in Essex and feature Detective Inspector Grace Fisher and the veteran tabloid crime reporter Ivo Sweatman. She has also written two earlier novels of psychological suspense.

Find Isabelle Grey on her website and on Twitter - @IsabelleGrey

About THE SPECIAL GIRLS

Publisher's description

'A white trainer caught the light, and Grace tracked the beam along khaki chinos and a smeared sweatshirt to short brown hair glistening with blood.'

DI Grace Fisher investigates the murder of a young doctor working at a summer camp for young girls with eating disorders. Professor Ned Chesham, the man behind the camp deep in the Essex countryside, is hailed as a miracle worker, but the murder of one of his team throws a spotlight on his work and the 'special girls' under his care.

Grace Fisher is pulled from the murder investigation to head up a cold case review involving Chesham himself. She must tread carefully: Chesham has just been knighted, he has friends in high places and any suspicion about his work risks damaging his patients even further. But the deeper Grace probes, the clearer it becomes that there is something rotten at the heart of his treatment programme.

As Grace peels away the lies that led to the young doctor's murder and uncovers the extent of the damage done to Chesham's patients, she realises how few people want her to get to the truth. Is there anyone she can trust with the horrifying secret of the special girls?

The Special Girls was published by Quercus on 6 April 2017.

Look out for more BEST OF CRIME features coming soon.

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BEST OF CRIME with Lloyd Otis

Welcome to my latest BEST OF CRIME feature, looking at crime writers' top picks, from their favourite author and fictional detective to their best writing tip. 

Today I'm delighted to welcome 

LLOYD OTIS

for his Dead Lands blog tour

to share his BEST OF CRIME ...

... AUTHORS

To pick one wouldn’t be fair to the others so this is just a short list. Raymond Chandler, his pulp fiction noir set the standard for the time and captured flawed attitudes and landscapes. Agatha Christie, for giving us the masterful Hercule Poirot, and I’m going to throw in George Pelecanos, for the comprehensive detail in some of his storytelling. 

... FILMS/MOVIES

The Godfather 1 & 2. What great adaptations of Mario Puzo’s books, and they are done so well. The acting is out of this world from Sonny (James Caan) to Michael (Al Pacino) and Connie (Talia Shire) and of course The Don (Marlon Brando). 

... TV DRAMAS

It’s difficult to ignore The Wire for its sheer scope in storytelling but there’s also Romanzo Criminale which charts the rise of Italian friends, Lebanese, Freddo and Dandi. It’s pretty much in-your-face stuff but it’s frighteningly engrossing, watching these friends make their way up in the crime underworld. I thought Southland was really good too, as it brought a sharp sense of realism, no matter how uncomfortable. 

... FICTIONAL KILLERS

I’m going to go for Patrick Bateman from American Pyscho. The book perfectly captures his menacing blood thirst. It’s all too unsettling. 

... FICTIONAL DETECTIVES 
I want to say Columbo, I do, but that wouldn’t be fair to Batman. The Bat has got a cool suit, hi-tech gadgets, a supercomputer, and he can handle himself. The end.

... MURDER WEAPONS
A slice of toast with extreme butter. Someone must have met their end with something like

... DEATH SCENES
(Possible spoiler alert!)  Paula Hawkins’ Girl on the Train.

I was totally unprepared for Anna helping Rachel out –  and I mean with the corkscrew. Ouch! I never went near a corkscrew for a whole week afterwards.

  

... BLOGS/WEBSITES
Believe it or not http://ebay.co.uk. It has a vintage clothing section which is really good when wanting to get a visual on clothing of yesteryear. And http://walkit.com, for getting the approximate walking time between two locations.

... WRITING TIPS

Simple. Read your story and be true to yourself. If you still believe in it afterwards, then don’t give up. 

... WRITING SNACKS

A healthy sounding, coffee and doughnuts. 

About LLOYD OTIS

Lloyd was born in London and attained a BA (Hons) in Media and Communication. After gaining several years of valuable experience within the finance and digital sectors, he completed a course in journalism. Lloyd has interviewed a host of bestselling authors, such as Mark Billingham, Hugh Howey, Kerry Hudson, and Lawrence Block. Two of his short stories were selected for publication in the ‘Out of My Window’ anthology, and he currently works as an Editor.

Find Lloyd Otis on his website, on his Facebook page and on Twitter - @LloydOtisWriter

About DEAD LANDS

Publisher's description

Dead Lands is a thrilling crime story set in the 1970s. When a woman's body is found a special team is called in to investigate and prime suspect Alexander Troy is arrested for the murder. Desperate to remain a free man, Troy protests his innocence, but refuses to use his alibi. Trying to protect the woman he loves becomes a dangerous game - questions are asked and suspicions deepen. When the prime suspect completes a daring escape from custody, DI Breck and DS Kearns begin the hunt. Breck wants out of the force while Kearns has her own agenda and seeks revenge. Breck has his suspicions and she wants to keep it from him, and a right-wing march provides an explosive backdrop to their hunt for Troy. Dead Lands is the thrilling debut of award winning short story writer Lloyd Otis, and intelligently covers issues of race, discrimination and violence in a changing 70s landscape.    

Dead Lands is published by Urbane Publications on 12 October 2017.

Look out for more BEST OF CRIME features coming soon.

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BEST OF CRIME with Lilja Sigurdardóttir

Welcome to my latest BEST OF CRIME feature, looking at crime writers' top picks, from their favourite author and fictional detective to their best writing tip. 

Today I'm delighted to welcome 

LILJA SIGURDARDÓTTIR

for her Snare blog tour

to share her BEST OF CRIME ... 

  

... AUTHORS

Arnaldur Indridason is our own Icelandic giant of crime writing. November 1^st each year is a date to look forward to, as it is the yearly publishing date of his new book. He writes Icelandic crime with international quality. 

... FILMS/MOVIES

Angel Heart from 1987. The symbolism, the voodoo, the search for self... so good. 

... TV DRAMAS

Wire in the Blood, based on Val McDermid´s stories and characters, is a favourite. 

... FICTIONAL KILLERS
The very talented Tom Ripley, created by Patricia Highsmith.

... FICTIONAL DETECTIVES 
Pierre Lemaire´s Camille Verhœven. Very short but very clever!

... MURDER WEAPONS

Well, Icelandic queen of crime Yrsa Sigurdardóttir has to own it with the vacuum cleaner. 

    

... DEATH SCENES

Peter James´s horrific and claustrophobic scene in Dead Simple, when a man is buried alive in a coffin, is stuck in my mind. 

  

... BLOGS/WEBSITES

www.bizarrepedia.com has all sorts of lists and links to all things bizarre and a collection of true crime blogs.

http://internationalcrimeauthors.com I read for my enjoyment. 

... WRITING TIPS

Write a story you love! 

... WRITING SNACKS

I know I should use the opportunity and name some of the traditional Icelandic foods that horrify the civilized world, like seared sheepshead or fermented shark … but, no. Just coffee! 

About LILJA SIGURDARDÓTTIR

Icelandic crime-writer Lilja Sigurdardóttir was born in the town of Akranes in 1972 and raised in Mexico, Sweden, Spain and Iceland. An award-winning playwright, Lilja has written four crime novels, with Snare, the first in a new series, hitting bestseller lists worldwide. Translation rights have been sold in eight countries to date, and film rights have been bought by Palomar Pictures in California. Lilja has a background in education and has worked in evaluation and quality control for preschools in recent years. She lives in Reykjavík with her partner.

Find Lilja Sigurdardottir on her website and on Twitter - @lilja1972

About SNARE

Publisher's description
After a messy divorce, attractive young mother Sonja is struggling to provide for herself and win sole custody of her son. With her back to the wall, she resorts to smuggling cocaine into Iceland, and finds herself caught up in a ruthless criminal world. As she desperately looks for a way out of trouble, she must pit her wits against her nemesis, Bragi, a customs officer, whose years of experience frustrate her new and evermore daring strategies. Things become even more complicated by the fact that Sonja is in a relationship with a woman, Agla. Once a high-level bank executive, Agla is currently being prosecuted in the aftermath the Icelandic financial crash.

Set in a Reykjavík still covered in the dust of the Eyjafjallajökull volcanic eruption, and with a nail-bitingly fast-paced and chilling plot and intriguing characters, Snare is an outstandingly original and sexy Nordic crime thriller, from one of the most exciting new names in crime fiction.

A snippet of my review

Snare is fresh and different, raw yet sophisticated with fleshed out characters and beautiful literary writing. This is a very dark yet easy read, with plenty of heart within its pages. 

Read the rest of my review here.

Snare is being published by Orenda Books on 1 October 2017.

Look out for more BEST OF CRIME features coming soon.

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