How I researched Hide Me by Ava McCarthy   Did you hear the one about the Irishman, the badger and the pygmy shrew? Apparently, they all originally came to Ireland on a boat from the Basque country. Well, maybe not the same boat. I stumbled across this entertaining piece of science while researching my latest thriller, Hide Me. For various reasons, I had flung my Irish heroine, Harry Martinez, into the Basque country of northern Spain, and now here it seemed that the Irish and the Basques had ancient and unique genetic links. Who knew? Research is always fun, but uncovering nuggets like these is what makes it so addictive. Setting is important to me. The best books are created when the writer knows her story world in intimate detail and understands the kind of people that populate it. So when I sent Harry to San Sebastián, naturally I went along for the ride. And so did my husband and children. In our house, for ‘research', read ‘family holiday'. But being a writer on location is nothing like being a tourist. Sure, we visited some local attractions, but mostly I looked for places where I might kill people. Forests, mountains, tall buildings. Cliff edges were always full of potential. In San Sebastián, I had rich pickings: steep river banks; thrashing water; the churning ocean driven by wind blasting across the Bay of Biscay. With my plot scenes in mind, I dragged my young family to graveyards and hilltops, backstreets and alleyways. We staked out the local police station, photographing it from all sides. A uniformed officer with a gun eventually asked us to move along. Read More

In the spirit of Halloween I asked the team to answer the following question: What book would you never read alone in an empty house? Don't forget to look below for your chance to win two of our most terrifying reads...   Laura: I have started Misery by Stephen King many times. I have only ever finished it once, in broad daylight, in a park full of people. My reason for this was simple. Passers-by could come to my aid should Annie Wilkes decide to jump out from behind a tree and smash a typewriter over my legs before dragging me off into the wilderness. When reading Misery you cannot help but picture the film. But I urge you to read the book. It is the kind of read that has you on the edge of your seat from start to finish as obsessive fan Annie flits between the personas of, carer, tormentor and would-be murderer to author Paul Sheldon. The build-up of suspense between Annie and Paul is staggering and when you reach the end I guarantee that your heart will be in your mouth. Helen: Anything by Neil White! I love Neil's books, I really do, but he sure does know how to set up a gruesome murder scene. He's a master of suspense, and as his killers stalk their victims, you know that someone's about to meet a seriously sticky end. I'm currently working on his new book, Beyond Evil, and it's opening scene stayed with me long into the dark October nights. Imagine, if you will, the victim tied to a bed. Behind him, a wall daubed in his own blood. And his body, with blood, guts, bones and sinew on show to the world, after having had a full autopsy carried out on it. Whilst he was still alive... Chilling? Gruesome? Oh yes. But I couldn't wait to find out who was behind it all. Brilliant stuff. Hannah: When I'm not checking every single cupboard and wardrobe in the house for skulking murderers, double-checking under my bed for the odd rapist, closing the curtains tight so that the lone eye of a madman can't peep through, and convincing myself that I can hear breathing coming from underneath my bed, I am reading crime and thriller fiction. I can't help it, I'm obsessed, and nothing will dissuade me from plunging into the latest in the genre. Read More

From hairdryers at dawn to radio 6 at dusk with the odd courtroom thrown in along the way, we give you a day in the life of Neil White. Most days start with the noise of the hairdryer at around seven.  My wife gets up before I do, and so her hairdryer stirs me. I don't spring into action exactly.  I have to get the children packed off for school. We've got three noisy boys, thirteen year old and ten year old twins, and so I spend a blurry hour lost in a flurry of making breakfasts and putting together packed lunches and getting myself ready. Once they are all sent on their way, scrubbed and fed, I set off for my day job.  As well as being a writer, I'm a solicitor by profession, and work as a prosecutor in the north west of England. My days are a mix of courtrooms, office work and providing advice to the police. I enjoy the courtroom the most. I like the drama, the arguments, and it is what attracted me to being a criminal lawyer. If I'm in one of the remand courts, I spend the day working through a pile of files, trying to keep people in custody if they ought to stay there, and agreeing that they shouldn't be in prison if that's the right thing to do. As I drive into work, I never know what I will face. It could be something as mundane as shoplifters, or as dramatic as a murder. If I'm not in a remand court, I conduct trials, anything from assaults and thefts to routine road traffic cases.   Read More

This is your chance to have your say about our books and to be part of the quest to find the next killer read! Our panel is made up of our initial volunteers, but each month we will be offering two lucky people the chance to be a guest reviewer… Read More

After a typical British summer of meteorological highs and lows, the Killer Reads team have got together to bring you the top ten from our summer fiction. Whether you're stay-cating or heading further afield, be sure to pack these in your suitcase or leave on your bedside table or use as a makeshift hat against the vengeful rain... The Chosen One By Sam Bourne Out now in paperback After fantastic reviews, this summer's biggest thriller has not disappointed. This is one not to be missed under any circumstances! The multi-talented Sam Bourne, author of the bestselling The Righteous Men, The Last Testament and The Final Reckoning returns with another gripping high-concept thriller. Bruised by years of disappointments, political advisor Maggie Costello is finally working for a leader she can believe in. She, along with the rest of America, has put her trust in President Stephen Baker. But suddenly an enemy surfaces: a man called Vic Forbes reveals one scandal about the new president, and quickly another. He threatens a third revelation - one that will completely ruin Baker. When Forbes is found dead, Maggie is thrown into turmoil. Could the leader she idolizes have been behind Forbes's murder? Has she been duped by his message of change and hope? Who is the real Stephen Baker? On the trail of the truth, Maggie is led into the roots of a massive conspiracy that reaches back into history - and goes right to the heart of the US establishment... Read More

Killer Reads: What inspired you to write Pretty Little Things? Jilliane Hoffman: My daughter was just eleven years old when a classmate of hers started a texting relationship via cell phone with a boy she’d met on the internet. She had pretended she was sixteen and he had claimed he was a teen, as well. This classmate then passed the telephone numbers and email addresses of all her fourth grade friends along to her new cell phone pal. The friends, being eleven year old girls, thought the whole thing was pretty funny and so they continued the ruse and ‘told’ this stranger that they were all 16. Read More

The hunt for a new crime writing talent is on! Fancy yourself as the next Stuart MacBride then keep reading. HarperCollins have teamed up with crime drama channel Alibi, the infamous Theakstons Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival and TV Times to uncover the UK’s hidden crime writing talent. The 'Search for a New Crime Writer' competition asks budding writers to submit a short crime fiction story via the Alibi website the competition opens on Monday 25th January 2010 and closes at midday on Sunday 16th May 2010. Our very own Stuart MacBride, author of the bestsellers Blind Eye, Cold Granite and Flesh House has lent his support to the competition by providing entrants with the story’s opening line... ‘In my experience, those who beg for mercy seldom deserve it’. There will be one winner with two runners up who are in line to win some rather special prizes. Read More