A riverrun, past Peter May’s Cast Iron

Meeting former journalist, screen-writer turned bestselling crime-writer Peter May, has become an annual highlight to start the year for the Shots Magazine Editors.

So thanks to Sophie Ransom and the Quercus Publishing team we met up with Peter in a restaurant in Farringdon, West London. Peter is published in the new riverrun Imprint managed by renowned publisher Jon Riley, who is also Peter’s long-standing Editor. In case you were wondering where this niche imprint gets its name, remember the opening to Finnigan’s Wake by James Joyce –

Riverrun, past Eve and Adam's, from swerve of shore to bend of bay, brings us by a commodius vicus of recirculation back to Howth Castle and Environs.

Joining the Shots Editors were several journalists including the ubiquitous Barry Forshaw, Jake Kerridge from The Telegraph, Jon Coates of The Express and of course the team from rriverun and Quercus.

So what has Peter in store for his readers in 2017 with CAST IRON?

In 1989, a killer dumped the body of twenty-year-old Lucie Martin into a picturesque lake in the West of France. Fourteen years later, during a summer heat wave, a drought exposed her remains - bleached bones amid the scorched mud and slime.

No one was ever convicted of her murder. But now, forensic expert Enzo Macleod is reviewing this stone cold case - the toughest of those he has been challenged to solve.

Yet when Enzo finds a flaw in the original evidence surrounding Lucie's murder, he opens a Pandora's box that not only raises old ghosts but endangers his entire family.

Fellow crime-writer Michael Jecks reviewed CAST IRON at Shots –

…........this was a seriously competent crime novel, with more twists and turns than the average anaconda. Peter May’s writing is … well, I’ll admit to a certain professional jealousy here. He writes with a precision and clarity that is all too rare nowadays. It is fluid, brilliant and entrancing. There’s an almost poetic quality to his sentences which I found just brilliant.

So, in short, would I recommend this book? Yes, and more, I am going to get a hold of his previous titles in the series too. It is clear that this book does not deserve to be read on its own. As an individual piece of work, it is very good. However, it leaves me feeling that I had read one of the later Harry Potter books without knowing the story of the main characters before. There is much that I look forward to learning of Enzo’s background.

I would rate this as a highly recommended novel.

Read Mike Jeck’s full review from Shots Magazine Here

CAST IRON is the 6th and Final Book in Enzo Files Series, and for those who only know Peter for his award-winning Black House [the Lewis Trilogy], or Entry island - you are in for a treat, as Quercus / riverrrun have released the Enzo Files backlist in Paperback.

So after some mingling and chatting over a most generous lunch; riverrun Publisher Jon Riley introduced Peter’s latest work

And then Peter spoke in his self-deprecating manner, and you can see the genuine warm relationship between author and publisher as well as how many of us got past the first page of Joyce’s Finnegan’s Wake.

We present a few photographs of the lunch with Peter May.

And a reminder, Shots have discounted copies of CAST IRON available from our bookstore HERE [50% off Cover Price]

Another remember, Peter continues his talks as he tours promoting CAST IRON, so if you wish to get a signed copy, see his itinerary below.

Always check with his web-page HERE in case of any changes, and remember to book ahead to ensure you get a seat, as Peter’s talks are always full houses as he is an extraordinary raconteur, and is as amusing as he is insightful.

In fact, apart from being an extraordinary writer of crime-fiction, he’s a top bloke.

Monday 16th January - PERTH

19.00           Culture Perth and Kinross in association with Waterstones Perth

St John’s Kirk, 31 St John’s Place, Perth

Tickets: £6

Tel for tickets:  01738 444949 (library) or 01738 630013 (Waterstones)                        

Tuesday 17th January - EDINBURGH

12.30-14.00        Formal signing at Waterstones Edinburgh

Waterstones West End, 128 Princes Street, Edinburgh EH2 4AD

Contact: Euan Tait


Email: Events.EdinburghWestEnd@waterstones.com


Phone: 0131 226 2666                                                                             

18.30            Edinburgh Library event in association with Blackwell’s

Edinburgh Central Library, George IV Bridge                                         

Tel:  0131 242 8000 (library) or 0131 622 8222 (Blackwell’s)                                      

Wednesday 18th January - GLASGOW

18.30            Glasgow Life in association with Waterstone’s Sauchiehall Street

Partick Burgh Halls, 9 Burgh Hall Street, Glasgow

Tickets: £8

Tel:  0141 353 8000 or 0141 332 9105 (Waterstones)                                

Thursday 19th January – MANCHESTER

19.00        WATERSTONES Manchester, Deansgate

Waterstone’s, Deansgate, Manchester

Tickets: £5/£3

Tel:  0161 837 3000                                                                                                 

Monday 23rd January - OXFORD

19.00            WATERSTONES Oxford

Waterstone’s, William Baker House, Broad St, Oxford OX1 3AF

Tickets: £5 or £3 with a Waterstones Loyalty Card
           

Tel:  01865 790212                                                                                                     

Tuesday 24th January - LONDON

19.00            WATERSTONES Kensington

Waterstone’s, 193 Kensington High St, Kensington

Tickets: £5 or £3 with a Waterstones Loyalty Card
  

Tel for tickets: 020 7 937 843

Shots Magazine would like to thank Sophie Ransom, Jon Riley and the riverrun and Quercus Publishing teams for an excellent lunch; and or course Peter May, for the wonderful, insightful read that is CAST IRON.