NEW ON OUR BLOG

Hear about 'The Liar's Lullaby' from the very person who wrote it, if this doesn't convince you to pick it up - nothing will... (and you'll be seriously missing out if you don't!) Read More

Neil White answers our questions on the inspiration behind his novels, his role as Senior Crown Prosecutor and the book he wishes he'd written Killer Reads: How long have you been writing for? Neil White: I have been writing since 1994, when I decided that I would try to write a book when I was on holiday. After twelve years of work and rejections, I signed a publishing contract in 2006, and my first book, Fallen Idols, was published by Avon in 2007. KR: How much do you draw on real life in your work? NW: I write crime fiction that is meant to be contemporary, and so it is impossible not to draw on real life, particularly as I still work part-time as a Senior Crown Prosecutor. Although I do not use real cases of my own as plots, I pick up small asides and opinions from the police that do make it into the books, and I have gained an understanding as to what motivates the police on an individual and personal level. The same can be said for the actions and motivations of criminals, particularly those who view crime as a career option rather than an occasional blip. Read More

Ellen Horan gives us the inside scoop on the story behind her brilliant new novel, 31 Bond Street. Read More

Daniel Blake let's us in on his top ten favourite thriller authors Read More

Calling all Soul Murder fans! Over two blog posts, Daniel Blake explains why he chose to base Soul Murder in Pittsburgh and how long it took him to write this fantastic novel. Read More

Inspired by Soul Murder, guest blogger Adele from Un:Bound takes a look at the most Memorable Deaths in Fiction. Playing Cluedo as a child I always felt certain people should use certain weapons, I felt the game lacked verisimilitude otherwise. Professor Plum clearly would have to use the candlestick. Miss Scarlett should use the revolver like any self respecting femme fatale, Mrs Peacock, portrayed on her card as older and wealthy seemed a shoo in for the dagger since poison wasn’t an option, Colonel Mustard as an army sort ought to have the strength to use the rope and so on. I was possibly putting too much thought into the game, but a steady diet of Morse, Poirot, and Miss Marple will do that to a child. So the trend was set, it matters to me how you kill people. That's only reasonable though; there should be method to the madness and meaning to be found behind the method. In Soul Murder (Daniel Blake) the victims are burned alive. This is not only grotesque enough to be memorable, but also raises questions for both the detectives and the reader, the most fundamental of which is: why didn’t the killer take Scott Evil’s advice? “Just shoot him now … I’ll go get a gun and we’ll shoot him together ...” Read More

Q: Your first thriller, The Genesis Secret, was set around an ancient temple in southern Turkey, and The Marks of Cain takes us to the Pyrenees and the Namibian Desert. Do you travel to these places as part of your research? A: I try and visit all the locations in my thrillers – I like to think of it as a Tom Knox hallmark. About the only place I didn’t go to see for The Genesis Secret was the Isle of Man (I ran out of time) and Lalesh in Iraq (too dangerous). But everywhere else, from Dublin to Dorset to northern France – to Kurdistan, Istanbul and Tel Aviv – I visited them all. The same goes for Marks of Cain – I went to (or had already visited) the Basque country, Namibia, Arizona, the Monastery of Tourette, etc. There is nothing like actually going to a place to get those telling details that make a location come alive. For instance I recently visited an old Khmer Rouge lair in Cambodia for my third book. The house of the Khmer Dictator Pol Pot turned out to be situated right next to a dead lake. None of the guide books told me this (most don’t even mention the house). But a dead lake was perfect for my thriller, and I wouldn’t have known it existed without visiting the locale. Q: Do you prefer the research or the writing part of the process? A: The research and the rewriting are by far the most fun. The research is great because – let’s be honest – I get to travel to exotic locations, hopefully nice and sunny when it’s cold and rainy in England! And I am paid to do it – what could be better than that? Also I just like travelling. Read an extract from Tom's first novel The Genesis Secret Read an extract from Tom's latest novel The Marks of Cain Read More

Tom Knox, author of 'The Genesis Secret', reveals the inspiration behind his new novel, 'The Marks of Cain'. Out in April, this gripping new high-concept thriller is perfect for fans of Dan Brown and Sam Bourne. Read More

The gripping new high-concept thriller from the author of The Genesis Secret, perfect for fans of Dan Brown and Sam Bourne Read More

After the – apparently – bloodthirsty nature not only of my last couple of blogs, but also of my recent conversations with friends, I have decided that it is probably in the best interests of my immortal soul to try to avoid talking about torture or execution. Thus I shall… Read More

Thomas continues with series of blogs inspired by this month's publication of S.J. Parris' debut Heresy. Sometimes you read something that just makes you squirm and which you fervently hope never happened to anyone. So it was when early on in S.J. Parris's Heresy when it is mentioned that one of the Inquisition's torture techniques is to place a burning poker up the victim's rectum. Actually, I must admit that this is something that I have heard of before. During a history lesson when my class were learning about the Mediaeval monarchs of England [it's slightly strange how all that I remember of the years of history lessons that I sat through are a few tortures and odd deaths], the teacher informed us of the demise of Edward II. Read More

In an errant moment of boastfulness I recently revealed in conversation that I had 'read' Foxe's Book of Martyrs, which, as a vital component of S.J. Parris's novel Heresy, earmarked me as the perfect candidate to write a blog relating to the Inquisition [at least in the eyes of my betters and superiors]. Not that I have any problem with the actual writing of the blog. The difficulty lies more in the realization that assailed me when I first sat down to write; that a book that I had read briefly for a teenage history project had seeped from my memory. Read More