The Penguin 2017 Crime Fiction Party

After the excitement of the Hodder & Stoughton, Quercus, Headline & Mulholland; as well as the Macmillan Crime & Thriller Parties, showcasing their 2017 releases; the Shots team were delighted to be invited to the 2017 Michael Joseph / Penguin Crime Fiction Party.

We recall with warmth the modest affairs these gatherings that Penguin’s Crime Fiction parties used to be, hosted in the top floor room of a private Soho club in the West End. We all recall Publisher and Writer Rowland White standing on a rickety old chair welcoming us, and introducing the Penguin authors. Though since last year, Penguin have secured the whole ground floor rooms of Soho’s Union Club.

Again, the guest list was eclectic with writers, broadcasters, literary commentators, reviewers, bloggers, editors, booksellers all joining the Penguin Editorial and Marketing teams and of course their authors. It was good for the Shots Team to spend time with Chris Simmons of Crimesquad, broadcasters / reviewers Marcel Berlins and Mike Carlson, Laura Wilson, Craig Sisterson, Barry Forshaw and many others.

It was good to hear that Jon Courtney-Grimwood [aka Jack Grimwood] is just about to deliver his follow-up to last year’s remarkable MOSKVA, which was this award-winning writer of speculative fiction’s first foray into espionage fiction, and highly rated. It was good chatting to Journalist Craig Sisterson, and I thanked him for introducing me to the work of Paul Cleave who has just joined the Mulholland UK stable.

Penguin have developed their crime and thriller list actively over the last few years, injecting new names in with their best-selling writers; so it was good to see Jake Woodhouse, James Oswald, Matthew Frank, Howard Linskey with the Nicci French duo [Nicci Gerrard and Sean French], Tim Weaver, Matthew Hall  et al.

Gaby Young introduced us to Dutch Writer Walter Lucius, as Penguin are very excited about his British debut BUTTERFLY ON THE STORM, the first part of his bestselling Dutch Heartland Trilogy which is released on 30^th of March –

A hit-and-run on a woodland road near Amsterdam involving an Afghan boy is connected to a powerful international crime syndicate.

Journalist Farah Hafez, together with her colleague Paul Chapelle, gets caught up in an investigation that takes them all the way to Moscow and has greater political and personal ramifications than they bargained for. After this perilous journey, their lives will never be the same again.

Butterfly on the Storm, the first instalment of The Heartland Trilogy, is not only a fast-paced thriller, but also an intriguing tale of lost loves and ideals.

Read More Here

I was also delighted to finally meet debut novelist Matthew Richardson, as Publisher Rowland White had spoken to me about Matthew’s debut MY NAME IS NOBODY as he knows of my interest in espionage fiction as well as uncovering new work and machinations of the looking glass war that is spy-craft.

I would indicate that it worth marking your diaries on 13^th July, when it is released –

'I know a secret. A secret that changes everything...'

Solomon Vine was the best of his generation, a spy on a fast track to the top. But when a prisoner is shot in unexplained circumstances on his watch, only suspension and exile beckon.

Three months later, MI6's Head of Station in Istanbul is abducted from his home. There are signs of a violent struggle. With the Service in lockdown, uncertain of who can be trusted, thoughts turn to the missing man's oldest friend: Solomon Vine.

Officially suspended, Vine can operate outside the chain of command to uncover the truth. But his investigation soon reveals that the disappearance heralds something much darker. And that there's much more at stake than the life of a single spy...

My Name is Nobody is a sophisticated, pacey and accomplished debut novel by 26-year-old rising star Matthew Richardson. Appealing to fans of the TV series Homeland and The Night Manager - as well as I Am Pilgrim, Nomad, Charles Cumming and Robert Harris - this is a gripping, multi-layered and assured debut thriller that drips with an insider's knowledge of London's corridors of power.

Read more here

So before long, Rowland White welcomed us all to the 2017 Penguin Crime Fiction Party, though he didn’t require the old rickety chair of days now passed. His speech paid tribute to the writing duo PJ Tracy, one of the first acquisitions that he brought to the Penguin stable and his sadness in reporting the passing of Patricia Lambrecht.

Then it was time to mingle, with plenty of canapes and wine to lubricate the proceedings. Shots present some photos from the party.

Then it was time to thank Rowland and the Penguin team, as the Shots Team headed back into the London Evening.

For more information about the upcoming work from Penguin Click Here

Photos : © 2017 A Karim unless otherwise indicated