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Humphrey Hawksley launch at the National Liberal Club
Critics are reaching for superlatives for the New Humphrey Hawksley thriller Operation icebreaker, and praise for the prescience of its plotting was much in evidence at a luminary-studded launch at the National Liberal Club (in the shadow of the London Eye) at which the author’s peers were lining up to praise him
Action! My Life and Career by Director David Wickes (in collaboration with Simon J Ballard)
Autobiographies by behind-the-scenes filmmakers can be something of a gamble. There’s no guarantee that a director whose touch in the cinema is absolutely sure-footed will be equally adroit when it comes to the written word and a curated version of their career. In the case of the director David Wickes, celebrated for his distinctive work on such series as The Professionals, The Sweeney and Van der Valk, we are guaranteed a particularly enjoyable and informative read because of one particular factor: the presence of co-author Simon J Ballard,
A THOUSAND SILENT CRIES: KAREN MILLIE-JAMES TALKS TO CRIME TIME
The truth does not set you free, not when it has been hidden for over thirty years, when every day presents no choice but to continue living behind a cloak of secrets and lies. There is no escape because to reveal the truth would be to open up Pandora’s Box and release a torrent of deadly evil….
Death at the Elephant House: Paul Waters talks to Crime Time
My new Irish-Indian cosy crime mystery, Death at the Elephant House, is not just inspired by its vivid, pulsating and historic Chandni Chowk setting, but by a painting I watched being created by the author and artist Abhishek Singh under a giant banyan tree in Delhi.
New Crime Blu-rays from Radiance & Indicator
ne might have thought that all the gialli of interest – those glossy, stylish and gruesome murder mysteries produced in Italy – had found their way onto silver disc by now, But clearly there are still some discoveries to be made. That’s very much the case with Romolo Guerrieri’s erotic THE DOUBLE….
The Chase: Felix Francis talks to Crime Time
y research included visits to galleries, both private and public, attendance at auctions (no bids from me!) and numerous discussions with art dealers and auctioneers. In my acknowledgements, I thank those artists, both living and dead, who made my year so rewarding and informative.
To the Max: September Crime with Maxim Jakubowski
It’s not all crime and murders you know! Leading my preferences this month are two outstanding speculative thrillers by American authors which are both highly distinctive but with eerie similarities or parallels. Add a spicy return to patriotic thuggery for James Bond, an old favourite hitman now working under duress for MI5, Shakespeare and Anne Marlowe on the historical prowl, an Atlanta-set social epic, a Nigerian detective facing UK mores, Ken Bruen’s final novel in his beloved Galway, etc… Something for all tastes.
VENICE NOIR
LUCY WORSLEY and IAN RANKIN revealed as headline speakers for the second edition of VENICE NOIR as full international programme is announced
To the Max: August Crime
Eddie Flynn redux (and all the more welcome for it…), the fall of Berlin, rural serial killers on the rampage, black widows on the prowl, a deep dive into India’s underworld, gothic haunted hotels, crime and drug running on American Indian reservations, the White House under attack and crimes on the streets of Sheffield: all the tasty highlights of August’s batch of criminous publications
The Last Retreat: Marina Palmer talks to Crime Time
A conflict photographer retreats to a luxury wellness estate in Northumberland only to discover the threats she faces there are as dangerous as those on the battlefield.
Barry Forshaw on August Crime in the Financial Times
Covering in the FT:
The Depths/Yrsa Sigurdardottir, Hodder
Wisdom Corner/David Heska Wanbli Weiden, S & S
All Killers Aboard/David Fennell, Orion
The Mermaid’s Cry/Kate Rhodes, Orenda Books
The Kingpin/A A Dhand, HQ
The Night Stairs/Erin Kelly, Harvill
The Venetian Redemption/Philip Gwynne Jones, Constable
They Say a Girl Died Here/Sarah Pinborough, Orion
What Would You Do if You Won the Lottery?
Ten years ago, while the kids were downstairs watching Sooty and my husband and I were having a few uninterrupted moments of peace over the Sunday papers, he asked what I would do if I won the lottery— a slightly pie in the sky question since neither of us ever buys a...
The Lizard: Domenic Stansberry talks to Crime Time
The events that brought The Lizard into being, the real-life circumstance, are very much backstage in the novel itself. There is a story beneath the story, all but hidden, an underworld that resists illumination.
Operation Icebreaker: Humphrey Hawksley talks to Crime Time
“I have this far-fetched idea.” “Shoot,” replied the FBI source on the other end of our encrypted line. “Nothing’s far-fetched in my trade.”
My thriller hero Rake Ozenna needed a fresh setting.
King Zero by Charlie Higson
Over the years, a variety of authors – from Kingsley Amis to Anthony Horowitz – have created new exploits for the late Ian Fleming’s superspy James Bond, with varying levels of success. But it’s safe to say that King Zero by Charlie Higson is unquestionably in the upper 007 echelons…
We started a crime festival by accident: Philip Gwynne Jones on Venice Noir
We started a crime festival by accident. No, we really did.
Just four years have passed since David Hewson, Gregory Dowling and I held an evening event in the upstairs room at Libreria Studium, just a short walk from Piazza San Marco. People were queuing down the stairs. Although to be fair, it is quite a small room.
BLOODY SCOTLAND REVEALS FINALISTS FOR 2026 McILVANNEY PRIZE
BLOODY SCOTLAND REVEALS THE FINALISTS FOR THE McILVANNEY PRIZE 2026 Winner to be presented at 5pm on Friday 18 September 2026
Two by Elmore Leonard, Three by B. Traven
Elmore Leonard: SPLIT IMAGES & LA BRAVA; B. Traven :THE TREASURE OF THE SIERRA MADRE, THE BRIDGE IN THE JUNGLE, THE DEATH SHIP, Penguin
Libraries, Manuscripts and the Original 007: Olly Jarvis talks to Crime Time
Research for my latest thriller, Language of Angels, led me to a very special place – the Old Library at st John’s College, Cambridge, built in the 1620s. Out of bounds for most readers, I was lucky enough to be granted a private tour of this extraordinary room.
Spies: A Summer Reading Feature
If you take a look at any of the streaming services, you will see a number of spy titles available to watch. From classic movies to brand new long-running series. As the author of a book on espionage films, Spies on Screen, I have been keeping an eye on the genre and it is booming as never before. Happily, I can say the same is true of spy fiction, which is also hitting the heights like no time since the Cold War…
John Bleasdale on the Challenge of Ellroy
Liverpool. 1996. Two white guys. Crime heads. Chandler. Hammett. Jim Thompson. Wanted something contemporary. Lawrence Block. Maybe? Scoped Waterstones. Blackwells. Charity shops. Oxfam. White Jazz? Demon Dog of Crime? What is this? £4.99 and a packet of Twix. 2 pints of bitter. Golden Virginia tobacco and a packet of Rizlas.