Hello there,
So, it’s officially got to that time of year again when we wake up for work and it’s dark, and then we get home from work, and guess what…it’s dark.
So, as there will be many of you out there jetting off for some Autumn sun, or maybe you’re going off for a nice traveling session (I’ve recently spoken to many a soon-to-be intrepid explorer – seems the travel bugs come around again), or even if, like me, you’re going to power through the winter months with layers of clothes and mugs of hot chocolate, then fear not I’ve got a plan that means we can all journey round the world together.
Follow this link to our world map of travel Killer Reads. Read the extracts and journey to cities you know and love, or get lost in towns you’ve never even heard of. If you are off on your travels this autumn to any of these locations (or any other destinations from your favorite thrillers) then please feel free to send us images from locations mentioned in those thriller books and films to killerreads@harpercollins.co.uk or tag Killer Reads in the photo on facebook so the team can journey all over the world this Autumn as well…
One of our authors that loves to feature her favorite New York City hangouts in her Ellie Hatcher novels, especially Never Tell, is Alafair Burke. So if you happen to be headed to the Big Apple why not visit a few of the hot spots mentioned in her books (listed below) and send the KR team your crime scene travel snaps…
Gotham Bar & Grill, 12 East 12th Street. High end call girl Stacy Schecter arranges a dangerous date at this Alfred Portale restaurant, always a trusted classic, even though it’s “more upscale than the dives she frequented with friends.”
Website: gothambarandgrill.com
Molly’s, 287 Third Avenue. Ellie chows down while her abstemious partner, J.J. Rogan, picks at his vegetable sandwich, at this “Irish pub two blocks from the precinct with sawdust floors and arguably the best burgers in Manhattan.”
Telephone number: 212-889-3361
Otto, 1 Fifth Avenue. Ellie and ADA Max Donovan call this Mario Batali wine bar in Greenwich Village their “place.” The actual head bartender, Dennis, even makes a cameo.
Website: ottopizzeria.com
Ouest, 2315 Broadway. Rogan follows mogul Sam Sparks to this Upper West Side treat. Ellie’s take? “A restaurant Rogan knew, and she didn’t. Definitely expensive.”
Website: ouestny.com
Park Bar, 15 East 15th Street. Also mentioned in City of Fear, Ellie’s brother, Jess, meets a friend at this Union Square neighborhood gem.
Telephone number: 212-367-9085
Plug Uglies, 257 Third Avenue. Thanks to “an absurdly cheap happy hour,” this bar is an after-shift precinct standby and one of the few spots in Manhattan where Ellie’s brother can afford to pick up the tab.
Telephone number: 212-780-1944
Royalton Hotel, 44 West 44th Street. Living a risky double life, real estate broker Katie Battle “bypassed the hotel lobby’s suede sofas, leather-covered walls, and steel tables and headed directly for the wood-paneled Bar 44.”
Website: royaltonhotel.com
Sala 19, 35 W 19th St. Ellie and Max Donovan eat tapas on their first date. As Ellie notes, “I love anything that involves getting to eat seven different kinds of food in a single sitting.” (Incidentally, the author was married at Sala’s other location on Bowery.)
Website: salanyc.com
Dos Caminos, 373 Park Avenue South. Ellie meets reporter Peter Morse here for margaritas and dinner. Although “much fancier than her usual take-out Mexican fare,” Ellie supposes “that had been the point when Peter had selected it.”
Website: brguestrestaurants.com
Tenjune, 26 Little West 12th Street. Thanks to her connection with the bouncer, victim Rachel Peck breezes past the velvet rope to enjoy her last night out at this meatpacking district club.
Website: tenjunenyc.com
Mesa Grill, 102 Fifth Avenue – The bad guy finds Rachel Peck while she is bartending at this Bobby Flay standard.
Johnny’s Bar, 90 Greenwich Avenue. This hole in the wall is the favored hangout for Ellie and Jess. “Johnny’s Bar on Greenwich Avenue is roughly the size of a typical suburban closet – the walk-in kind with enough room to accommodate the typical suburban wardrobe. In Greenwich Village, however, people are not typical, and Johnny’s Bar has just the right dimensions for a kick ass watering hole. Ellie wasn’t sure how she even knew the bar’s name. The sign out front read ‘Bar.'”
Website: johnnysbarnyc.com