2024 Capital Crime Programme

 LEONARDO ST PAUL’S, LONDON

30 MAY - 1 JUNE 2024

WWW.CAPITALCRIME.ORG    

THURSDAY 30TH MAY

Registration for Capital Crime 2024 12:00 - 18:00

Goldsboro Bookshop open from 12:30 – 19:30

LONDON STAGE

1. The Anatomy of a Crime: From Crime to Conviction. A factual, entertainment driven, account of the timeline from crime to conviction presented to you by specialists in their field live on stage. Experience crime scene briefings to bitesize trial and have your say in whether the accused is guilty or should walk free! Perfect for: Those writing crime novels looking for a factual representation of the events from crime to conviction; Those who want to see some of their favourite authors execute their day jobs including: Senior Investigating Officer, Detective, Crime Scene Investigator, Judge and Barristers.  With  Judge - Nicola Williams  Barrister - Helen Fields  Barrister - Nadine Matheson  Senior Investigating Officer - Graham Bartlett            Crime Scene Manager - Kate Bendelow            Detective Inspector - Kate London

SIGNINGS FROM EVENT 1 in the Goldsboro Books on-site book shop

2. Whose Crime is it Anyway? Capital Crime’s Debut Quiz Show Two teams (made up of five debut authors on each team) test their knowledge of each other’s books. The game show style event will be presented by actor Paul Clayton who will guide the teams through the rounds in the following format. The aim of our quiz is to stage an engaging, entertaining event for both audience and authors, and help welcome debut authors to the crime community with their peers.  Team 'Moguls of Mystery' Katrin Juliusdottir, T. M. Payne, Suzy Aspley, Roxie Key and Claire Coughlan vs.  Team 'Thoroughbreds of Thrillers' Claire Wilson, Liza North, Tom Baragwanath, Fiona McPhillips and Ellie Keel

SIGNINGS FROM EVENT 2 in the Goldsboro Books on-site book shop

3. Goldsboro Books’ 2024 Class of Debut Authors with Jennie Godfrey, Sarah Brooks and Samuel Burr moderated by David Headley

SIGNINGS FROM EVENT 3 in the Goldsboro Books on-site book shop

4. Rob Rinder’s SUSPECT Authors: A Game of Two Truths and A Lie where nothing is quite as it seems... with Claire McGowan, Joseph Knox and Louise Candlish

SIGNINGS FROM EVENT 4 in the Goldsboro Books on-site book shop

5. Breaking the Fourth Wall: Prolific Powerhouses Anthony Horowitz and Elly Griffiths talk about writing authors as fictional characters, creating impossible puzzles, and making improbable stories probable!

SIGNINGS FROM EVENT 5 in the Goldsboro Books on-site book shop

6. LEADING WOMEN: TENNISON AND VERA MEET Lynda La Plante and Ann Cleeves in conversation with Lisa Howells on shattering the glass ceiling in male dominated worlds, creating internationally-loved characters with longevity, and would Tennison and Vera work well together on a case?

SIGNINGS FROM EVENT 6 in the Goldsboro Books on-site book shop

PUBLIC EVENTS OUTSIDE OF THE SCHEDULE: All WEEKEND & DAY TICKET HOLDERS WELCOME

12:00 – 13:45 DHH Pitch An Agent Session

19:30 – 21:00 The Annual Capital Crime Fingerprint Award Ceremony. Hosted by Paul Clayton. Taking place on the London Stage, Category finalists will be announced on 4 April 2024.

FRIDAY 31ST MAY 2024 

Registration for Capital Crime 2023 9:30 - 17:30 

Goldsboro Bookshop open from 10:00 - 19:30 

Time	LONDON STAGE	GOLDSBORO BOOKS STAGE
10:00-10:50	1. Classic Crime for the Modern Age with C. L. Miller, Tom Hindle and Paula Sutton in conversation with participating moderator Ian Moore	2. Sins of the Past: Historical Crime with L. C. Tyler, Laura Shepherd-Robinson, Sally Smith with participating moderator S. J. Parris
	SIGNINGS FROM EVENT 1 & 2 in the Goldsboro Books on-site book shop	SIGNINGS FROM EVENT 1 & 2 in the Goldsboro Books on-site bookshop
11:05 – 11:55	3. The Art of Revenge with Steve Cavanagh, Nilesha Chauvet, Saima Mir and participating moderator Araminta Hall	4. The Following Books are Based on a True Story with Hallie Rubenhold, Linda Calvey, Eleni Kyriacou  and participating moderator Matt Nixson
	SIGNINGS FROM EVENT 3 & 4in the Goldsboro Books on-site book shop	SIGNINGS FROM EVENT 3 & 4in the Goldsboro Books on-site book shop
12:10 – 13:00	5. Finding A Balance: Combining Social Tensions, Morality and ‘Entertainment Factor’ in Crime Fiction with Kellye Garratt and Vaseem Khan in conversation with participating moderator Ed James	6. A Violent Heart: Deadly Relationships with Lily Samson, Kristina Perez, David Fennell and participating moderator Fiona Cummins
	SIGNINGS FROM EVENT 5 & 6 in the Goldsboro Books on-site book shop	SIGNINGS FROM EVENT 5 & 6 in the Goldsboro Books on-site book shop
	Lunch	Lunch
14:00 – 14:50	7. Bingeable Series: The beauty of falling in love with a series with Stig Abell, Will Dean, Erin Young and participating moderator Tariq Ashkanani	8. Dissecting Science’s Impact on Crime Fiction with Jo Callaghan, Marie Tierney, Jack Anderson and participating moderator Dr Shahed Yousaf
	SIGNINGS FROM EVENT 7 & 8 in the Goldsboro Books on-site book shop	SIGNINGS FROM EVENT 7 & 8 in the Goldsboro Books on-site book shop
15:05 – 15:55	9. Argylle: Authors of Mystery Tammy Cohen and Terry Hayes in conversation with Jake Kerridge	10. Playing with Ghosts: Haunting pasts and not-so-hidden horrors with Natalie Marlow, Kaaron Warren, Syd Moore and participating moderator Anita Frank
	SIGNINGS FROM EVENT 9 & 10 in the Goldsboro Books on-site book shop	SIGNINGS FROM EVENT 9 & 10 in the Goldsboro Books on-site book shop

16:10 -17:00	11. The Locked In Feast with Alex Michaelides and participating moderator Lucy Foley A succulent conversation that will quench your appetite for all things ‘locked in’ - from isolated islands to dinner parties gone wrong these bestselling authors spill the beans on creating the perfect cast of characters and that authors that have influenced them.
	SIGNINGS FROM EVENT 11 in the Goldsboro Books on-site book shop
17:15 – 18:05	12.A Culture of Armchair Detectives: A J Finn & Lisa Jewell interviewed by Nadine Matheson Discussing the appeal of catching 'detective fever', and when the police get it wrong can only authors, podcasters and armchair detectives save us?
	SIGNINGS FROM EVENT 12 in the Goldsboro Books on-site book shop
18:15 – 19:10	13. Compulsive Crime: Mass consuming your favourite books and TV shows is not a new phenomenon, but it is certainly more popular than ever before. These bestselling authors reveal their secret to creating compelling characters and stories that we just can't get enough of and what it's like keeping up with demand. With A. A. Dhand, M. W. Craven & Jane Casey and participating moderator S J Watson
	PUBLIC EVENTS OUTSIDE OF THE SCHEDULE: All WEEKEND & DAY TICKET HOLDERS WELCOME
	LAUNCH PARTY ANNOUNCEMENT COMING SOON
20:30 – 22:00	CRIME QUIZ hosted by A. J. West on the London Stage Are you ready to put your crime knowledge to the test in this hilarious quiz night?

SATURDAY 1ST JUNE 2024 

Registration for Capital Crime 2023 

9:30 - 17:00 Goldsboro Bookshop open from 10:00 - 19:00 

Time	LONDON STAGE	GOLDSBORO BOOKS STAGE
10:00 – 10:50	1. Setting the Pace: A masterclass in adding fuel to high octane thrillers with Kim Sherwood, Sarah Pearse, Eva Björg Ægisdottir, T. M. Logan and participating moderator Abir Mukherjee	2. Murderous Medicine with Christie Watson, Eleanor Barker-White, Ambrose Parry and participating moderator Suzie Edge

SIGNINGS FROM EVENT 1 & 2 in the Goldsboro Books on-site book shop

11:05 – 11:55

3. Funny Fiction: Crime and comedy, a match made in heaven! With Suk Pannu, Andrew Hunter Murray and Rev Richard Coles with participating moderator A. J. West

4. From Space to the Psychological: The universal appeal of thrillers with Doug Johnstone , Luca Veste, Becca Day and participating moderator C. M. Ewan

SIGNINGS FROM EVENT 3 & 4 in the Goldsboro Books on-site book shop

12:10 – 13:00

5. Tales That Bind: The art of creating multi-layered narratives, settings and characters that will rip your heart out with Chris Whitaker, Vanessa Walters & Erin Kelly moderated by Victoria Selman

6. More Than Meets the Eye: Supernatural Sleuthing with Alice Bell and Kristen Perrin with participating moderator Stuart Neville

SIGNINGS FROM EVENT 5 & 6 in the Goldsboro Books on-site book shop

LUNCH

14:00 – 14:50

7. SPECIAL EVENT TO BE ANNOUNCED IN THE COMING

8. One Sitting Reads: What’s the secret to writing books that you just can’t put down? With Ruth Mancini, Greg Mosse, Emma Christie and participating moderator Robert Rutherford

SIGNINGS FROM EVENT 7 & 8 in the Goldsboro Books on-site book shop

15:05 – 15:55

9. John Connolly and Mark Billingham in conversation

SIGNINGS FROM EVENT 9 in the Goldsboro Books on-site book shop

16:10 -17:00

10. History in the Making with Val McDermid & Kate Mosse in conversation

SIGNINGS FROM EVENT 10 in the Goldsboro Books on-site book shop

17:15 – 18:05

11. The Scottish Masters: Ian Rankin and Irvine Welsh interviewed by Harriet Tyce

SIGNINGS FROM EVENT 11 in the Goldsboro Books on-site book shop

PUBLIC EVENTS OUTSIDE OF THE SCHEDULE: All WEEKEND & DAY TICKET HOLDERS WELCOME

18:30 – 19:30	The CWA Launch National Crime Writing Month at Capital Crime Lineup coming soon
21:00 – 23:00	FUN LOVIN’ CRIME WRITERS Val McDermid, Mark Billingham, Chris Brookmyre, Stuart Neville, Luca Veste and Doug Johnstone Rock the London Stage at Capital Crime 2024! (Individual event tickets on sale)

Capital Crime Announces Full Line up!

    

London’s Capital Crime Festival Announces Full Lineup With 50% Of Tickets Already Gone

London’s highly anticipated Capital Crime Festival is back this May 30th to June 1st, with an impressive 50% of weekend tickets already sold before the full schedule was announced this week. Industry giants are set to reveal all at this year's festival, giving guests the unprecedented opportunity to delve into the secrets behind their favourite mysteries, and even meet their crime fiction heroes face to face in this three day crime spectacular.

Included in the mega line up this year is Hugh Howey, the brilliant mind behind Apple TV’s Silo, Elly Griffiths, the creative force driving the Dr. Ruth Galloway series, Val McDermid, whose literary works served as the inspiration for Wire In The Blood, and Ann Cleeves, the genius behind beloved characters Vera and Jimmy Perez from Shetland. And that’s not all, fan favourite band, Fun Lovin’ Crime Writers, will be playing their first show in London for several years.

Festival Director Lizzie Curle commented: “The uptake in tickets this year has been phenomenal. 50% of weekend tickets were sold out before the complete schedule was unveiled, underscoring the escalating demand for crime fiction. It's evident that people are seeking escapism in the current climate, and this heightened interest is substantiated by the data on Google Trends - searches for terms like 'murder mystery books' have surged by an impressive 350% in the last year!

Featuring over 100 renowned writers of crime and thriller, the festival will host over 30 different events, from exclusive launch parties, thought-provoking talks and panels, interactive quiz shows and book signings throughout three jam-packed days. Huge notable names confirmed include:

• Ian Rankin, creator of Inspector Rebus

• Trainspotting author Irvine Welsh

• Ann Cleeves, author of the Vera and Shetland series

• Rising star of US crime fiction Kellye Garrett

• Author and barrister Rob Rinder

• Alex Michaelides, author of the global bestseller The Silent Patient

• And bestselling author and screenwriter Anthony Horowitz

Also returning are the festival’s Fingerprint Awards, which this year saw authors including Erin Kelly and Adele Parks celebrated; and the social outreach initiative, which aims to demystify the industry for young Londoners considering a career in publishing.

Standard weekend and day tickets are on sale now whilst stocks last, along with individual event tickets at a limited capacity. Due to the increased demand for tickets this year those interested in attending are encouraged to book early to avoid disappointment.

Hostile Environments by Slava Faybysh

Anyone who has spent time in a leftist organisation has probably had a lot of haters. I myself was knee deep in a radical union for a while, and there was a guy once who wrote a full thirty pages detailing why I sucked. Then he went through the trouble of making copies of his screed and passing it out to everyone. A committee had to be put together to read the charges, and they decided it was “just a misunderstanding.”

That was only one example of the uphill battle I faced when I tried to dedicate my life to the left. Sometimes the left, despite its claim to be building a better world, can feel like a hostile place where everyone criticizes everyone over minor differences of opinion. For some reason, I had willingly placed myself in that environment. (I should note, though, that the other issue is that I can be a dick at times.)

These days, it seems like the whole world has become a more hostile place. Right-wing parties seem to be gaining ground everywhere. Like the newly elected president of Argentina, a real piece of work. This is a guy whose symbol is the chainsaw. He wants to take a chainsaw to anything even remotely smacking of socialism. He’s also a denialist who claims that upwards of 30,000 people weren’t killed and tortured and disappeared during the 1976–1983 dictatorship, that the number was less than 10,000.

Milei was only six years old at the time of the coup, and luckily there are still people around who have firsthand knowledge of what happened. Elsa Drucaroff is one of those people. She was eighteen at the time, working at a leftist magazine, when she heard the news that this guy named Rodolfo Walsh had been ambushed by the Argentine Army. Rodolfo Walsh against the full force of the Argentine Army, alone, armed with a measly .22 calibre pistol. He didn’t stand a chance. But he went down fighting.

After he was killed, Elsa Drucaroff went on to become a literature professor at the University of Buenos Aires, where one of the authors she taught classes on was this self-same Rodolfo Walsh. And decades later she went on to write a book about him, too, called Rodolfo Walsh’s Last Case. It’s a fictionalized account of the end of his life, pieced together with the few facts available and packaged in the form of a fast-paced thriller. When I got the opportunity to translate the novel, I jumped on it. I knew very little about the Argentine Dirty War before I read the novel, and I had never even heard the name Rodolfo Walsh, though he was an incredibly important figure in Argentine history.

Rodolfo Walsh was a journalist and a writer of fiction, and he was the first to write true crime. Written almost a decade before Truman Capote’s In Cold Blood, Walsh’s Operation Massacre is a work of investigative journalism about some Peronist workers killed at a garbage dump outside Buenos Aires. Walsh also wrote detective novels and short stories. 

One of his stories, called “That Woman,” was exceedingly bizarre, but based on real events. In 1955, Evita Perón’s dead body was stolen by the military dictatorship and whisked away to an anonymous gravesite in an undisclosed location in Italy. The military had the bright idea this would come as a blow to Perón’s supporters.

Elsa took the character of Colonel König from this story written by Walsh. In Elsa’s version, the man who had been in charge of stealing Evita’s body in 1955 “has grown bulky, but cannot yet be called elderly.” He’s also a bit of a blunderer (endearing, though) and while he’s dedicated his life to the Argentine military, he’s not quite comfortable with all the torture and raping and killing, and he decides to help Walsh figure out what happened to his daughter. 

Both Walsh and his daughter (in the book and in real life) were members of an armed guerrilla group called Montoneros. People did not know this at the time, but Walsh was the head of intelligence for this group. Rodolfo Walsh’s Last Case centres around Rodolfo’s search for his daughter. After a standoff between the five militants at Vicki’s house and 150 troops, there are conflicting accounts as to whether she was killed along with the other four, or taken alive, which would have meant she’d be tortured, pumped for information, and eventually killed anyway.

But for me, it’s about a guy who’s struggling, nearly completely isolated, against a vicious dictatorship that’s consolidating power. A guy who tries to reason with his own organization, and they won’t take him seriously. A guy stuck between loved ones who are in danger and disappearing and an organization that’s being decimated. It’s about what a man does when things go to shit, and I mean really go to shit, on a personal level and all over the country. Luckily, I don’t think we’ve reached that point yet in the present day, but it sometimes feels like we’re moving in that direction.

Rodolof's Walsh's Last Case by Elsa Drucaroff (Corylus Books) Out Now. Translated by Slava Faybysh

A key figure in the politics and literature of Argentina, Rodolfo Walsh wrote his iconic Letter to my Friends in December 1976, recounting the murder of his daughter Victoria by the military dictatorship. Just a few months later, he was killed in a shoot-out - just one of the Junta's many thousands of victims. What if this complex figure - a father, militant, and writer who delved the regime's political crimes - had also sought to reveal the truth of his own daughter's death?  Elsa Drucaroff's imagining of Rodolfo Walsh undertaking the most personal investigation of his life is an electrifying, suspense-filled drama in which love and life decisions are inseparable from political convictions as he investigates the mystery of what happened to his own daughter.

The head of intelligence for Montoneros, a clandestine Peronist organisation co-ordinating armed resistance against the dictatorship, Rodolfo Walsh was also a prolific writer and journalist, seen as the forerunner of the true crime genre with his 1957 book Operation Massacre.

What if beneath the surface of his Letter to my Friends lay a gripping story lost to history?

A key figure in the politics and literature of Argentina, Rodolfo Walsh wrote his iconic Letter to my Friends in December 1976, recounting the murder of his daughter Victoria by the military dictatorship. Just a few months later, he was killed in a shoot-out - just one of the Junta's many thousands of victims.

What if this complex figure - a father, militant, and writer who delved the regime's political crimes - had also sought to reveal the truth of his own daughter's death? 

Elsa Drucaroff's imagining of Rodolfo Walsh undertaking the most personal investigation of his life is an electrifying, suspense-filled drama in which love and life decisions are inseparable from political convictions as he investigates the mystery of what happened to his own daughter.

The head of intelligence for Montoneros, a clandestine Peronist organisation co-ordinating armed resistance against the dictatorship, Rodolfo Walsh was also a prolific writer and journalist, seen as the forerunner of the true crime genre with his 1957 book Operation Massacre.

What if beneath the surface of his Letter to my Friends lay a gripping story lost to history?

You can find Elsa Drucaroff on X at @Elsa_Drucaroff and on Instagram at @elsadrucaroff

Photo of Slava Faybysh photo by Acie Ferguson

Photo of Elsa Drucaroff by Héctor Piastri

Inaugural McDermid Debut Award launched.

                              

Harrogate International Festivals launches inaugural 

McDermid Debut Award 

to spotlight new generation of crime writing talent 

Festival Dates: 18 – 21 July 2024 

www.harrogateinternationalfestivals.com 

#Theakstons Awards 

14th March 2024 : Submissions have opened for Harrogate International Festivals ’ new award, the McDermid Debut Award for new writers, offering a unique opportunity to be recognised among the best in the crime fiction genre . The Award will be presented on the opening night of the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival ,the world’s largest and most prestigious celebration of crime fiction. 

Named in recognition of world-famous crime writer,Val McDermid, who co- founded the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival in 2003 and whose dedication to fostering new voices in crime fiction through the New Blood panel is legendary, this new Award seeks to continue her legacy, celebrating and platforming the best debut crime writers in the UK. 

Val McDermid said: ‘Curating the New Blood panel over twenty years exposed me to an extraordinary range of crime fiction I might otherwise have missed. I’m hoping that this new a ward will do the same for the army of avid readers out there looking for new talent.’ 

The McDermid Debut Award is open to full- length debut crime novels by UK and Irish authors published for the first time in hardback or paperback original between 1 May 2023 and 30 April 2024, with submission s closing on the 21st March . A shortlist of six titles, selected by an academy of established crime and thriller authors, will be announced on Thursday 13th June, with the winner determined by a judging panel of industry experts, including literary, broadcasting and media figures. All shortlisted authors will receive a full weekend pass to the Festival. The Award will be presented at the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Awards event on Thursday 18th July , the opening night of the Festival , with the winner receiving a £500 cash prize. 

Chief Executive of Harrogate International Festivals, Sharon Canavar, said: ‘We are delighted to announce this new award honouring Val McDermid, one of the icons of the genre, and we can’t wait to discover the stars of the future, be they writers of psychological thrillers or murder mysteries.’ 

Simon Theakston, Chairman of T&R Theakston Ltd, commented: ‘The Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival has always highlighted the best in crime fiction and the new McDermid Debut Award will help readers discover the next generation of crime fiction authors. I am sure this new award will attract even more of the best of crime writing talent and I very much looking forward to welcoming them along with all our friends t o this year’s Harrogate gathering.’ 

Submissions are also now open for the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year , the UK and Ireland’s most prestigious crime and thriller writing award. Previous winners include Mick Herron, Lee Child, Stef Penney, Val McDermid, Clare Mackintosh, Mark Billingham, Chris Brookmyre, Steve Cavanagh and Denise Mina. 

KEY AWARD DATES: 

• The McDermid Debut Award and the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year are currently open for submissions . The deadline for receipt of entries is 23.59 (GMT) Thursday, 21st March . 

•The Shortlists of the McDermid Debut Award and the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year will be announced on Thursday 13^th June . 

• Both Awards, along with the Award for Outstanding Contribution to Crime Fiction will be presented at the opening n ight of the Festival on Thursday 18^th July. 

The Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival , which celebrates its 21^st year in 2024, is delivered by the north of England’s leading arts Festival organisation, Harrogate International Festivals, and forms part of their diverse year- round portfolio of events, which aims to bring immersive cultural experiences to as many people as possible. 

This year’s event is curated by bestselling crime writer and 2024 Festival Programming Chair Ruth Ware, with the programming committee, and Special Guests include global bestsellers and fan favourites Chris Carter, Jane Casey, Elly Griffiths, Erin Kelly, Vaseem Khan, Dorothy Koomson, Shari Lapena, Abir Mukherjee, Liz Nugent and Richard Osman. Classic Weekend Break Packages, Author Dinners and tickets for Creative Thursday are on sale now. 

To book tickets, please call +44(0)1423 562 303 or email:- info@harrogate- festival.org.uk . More information about tickets and packages can be found here. The full programme for this year’s Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival will be announced in April 2024 . 

Crime fiction: past, present and future with Simon Brett

 

The following talk is part of the launch of the Open University’s new Introduction to European Crime Fiction course

Wed, 17 Apr 2024 13:00 - 14:00 BST (online)

The team is delighted to welcome Simon Brett OBE, Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature and author of over one hundred published books.

About the talk

Crime fiction is the most popular literary genre in Europe today. In conversation with the Open University’s Bill Alder, author Simon Brett will lead us on a journey of discovery of crime fiction’s past, present and future.

He will share his thoughts on different types of crime fiction from the “golden age” mystery to the “hardboiled” thriller, from the “police procedural” to “cosy crime”, looking at different types of plots, detectives and approaches, and reflecting on the growing influence of non-Anglophone crime fiction from the latter years of the twentieth century to the present.

About the speaker

Simon Brett is a British author of detective fiction, a playwright, and a producer-writer for television and radio. He is best known for his mystery series featuring Charles Paris, Mrs. Pargeter, Fethering, and Blotto & Twinks. His radio credits have included The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, I’m Sorry I Haven’t a Clue and Just a Minute, and a number of his Charles Paris stories have been adapted for BBC radio, featuring the acclaimed actor Bill Nighy. Simon Brett is a former President of the Detection Club and a recipient of the Crime Writers’ Association Diamond Dagger award.

To attend the online talk/get the link, register here. 

Why We Love The Bad Guy by Rachel Wolf

Why are we so obsessed with the bad guys? There are so many books and films where the antagonists are more compelling than the protagonists. From Satan in Paradise Lost to Tyler Durden in Fight Club, I do enjoy loving a baddie. 

Five Nights is a novel set on a cruise ship, where a billionaire and his family and guests sail from Portsmouth to New York. Over the course of the cruise, secrets spill out and someone will die. 

I wanted to write a novel about the hugely wealthy – particularly those who are selfish and entitled – and look at how badly they’d behave when something threatens their wealth and lifestyle. I also wanted to watch how characters change when tempted with great riches. Greed is a powerful motivator! 

In writing about these characters, I also wanted the novel to be one people enjoyed reading. Do we love bad guys? I decided we did. But why?

I suppose one of the reasons we feel drawn to antagonists is because of a secret desire to release all the shackles on our own behaviour. It’s freeing to live vicariously through fictional characters, enjoying bad behaviour with no consequences. We spend so much of our lives trying to live well – obeying rules and being aware of the importance of trying to get things right. 

There are a few characters in Five Nights who don’t think twice about what they say. They never spend time considering the consequences of their behaviour and trying to get things right – and this was a lot of fun to write. They are rude, selfish, and they talk to other characters in ways I’d never speak to someone in real life. Sometimes when I write, I choose characteristics from people I know – certain tells or manners of speech that make someone distinct. I also put together mood boards with images of how they might dress, and things they may say, eat, watch or places they’d visit. I did this quite carefully for the Scarmardos because I just don’t have the usual pool of people in my day to day life for inspiration. I needed their terrible qualities to be exaggerated and inflated, as much as their wealth.

I think another aspect of the appeal of the ‘bad guy’ is confidence, although this runs a tight line with conceit. There’s nothing quite as attractive as a lack of self-doubt. People tend to be plagued by self-doubt. We question ourselves repeatedly, we play over scenes from our lives in our heads like a bad rehearsal. How wonderful if we never doubted ourselves at all! Characters who never question themselves, however, are often narcissistic and ultimately selfish and sometimes cruel. When Hugh Grant went from the bumbling Charlie of Five Weddings to the charming Daniel Cleaver of Bridget Jones, he’d never seemed more attractive. He never once pauses to stumble over his words or repeatedly apologise for his inadequacies. 

This is certainly true of some of the characters in Five Nights. They live a life focused on their own pleasure, no matter how it might affect others. They don’t second guess their decisions. This is as attractive as it is repellent and it was great fun to play with when writing the novel. No one wants to marry a Daniel Cleaver, but a mini-break could be a lot of fun.

Emily, my protagonist in Five Nights, finds herself briefly the object of some love-bombing by the Scarmardos. Adoration and flattery can be very appealing – these men certainly know how to turn on the charm when they need to. In practice, love-bombing can be a very selfish tactic. It’s often done in order to deflect, or to get someone on side and to reel them in, so that you can behave badly later and get away with it! Yet to be the object of love-bombing, bombarded with charm and attention, does have its moment. Emily needs to be on her toes. She is out of her comfort zone, surrounded by threatening letters, mysterious happenings and threatening behaviour. 

Attention, and its sudden withdrawal, can also make relationships seem more exciting. The on/off element, the will he call question. Reliable, steadfast partners might be what we want in real life, but on the page, we want something a little more exciting. We go on rollercoasters to feel our sense of balance upended, and we search for fictional bad guys for much the same reason. 

Writing Five Nights gave me ample opportunity to study bad behaviour and to try to work out why it can seem so appealing. I hope readers enjoy reading about my entitled characters. They are certainly characters you love to hate!

Five Nights by Rachel Wolf (Head of Zeus) out now at £9.99 as a paperback original 

A powerful family. A luxury cruise. A killer on board… You're invited to join the infamous Scarmardo family on a five night voyage aboard their glamorous new ship. It's a chance to see your best friend, Belle, newly married to Mattia Scarmardo. You haven't seen her in years. Five - On the first night, you'll be wrapped up in the glamour of the ship. Four - On the second night, you'll wonder who is sending you threatening notes. Three - On the third night, someone will die. Two - On the fourth night, you'll discover that someone knows the truth of what you did. One - On the last night, you'll be left for dead. Will you make it back to shore alive.

International Thriller Awards Nominees Announced

 

The International Thriller Writers announced the Nominees for the Thriller Awards. 

BEST HARDCOVER NOVEL  

All The Sinners Bleed by S.A. Cosby (Flatiron Books) 

Her Deadly Game by Robert Dugoni (Thomas & Mercer) 

It's One of Us by J.T. Ellison (Harlequin – MIRA Books) 

The Secret Hours by Mick Herron (Soho Crime) 

Fixit by Joe Ide (Mulholland Books) 

The Drift by C.J. Tudor (Ballantine Books) 

 

BEST AUDIOBOOK 

The Peacock and the Sparrow by I.S. Berry (Atria) Narrated by Pete Simonelli 

The Last Orphan by Gregg Hurwitz (Macmillan) Narrated by Scott Brick 

The Housemaid's Secret by Freida McFadden (Bookouture) Narrated by Lauryn Allman 

The House of Wolves by James Patterson, Mike Lupica (Hachette Audio) Narrated by Ellen Archer 

Bad Summer People by Emma Rosenblum (Macmillan) Narrated by January LaVoy 

BEST FIRST NOVEL 

The Peacock and the Sparrow by I.S. Berry (Atria) 

The Golden Gate by Amy Chua (Minotaur) 

Scorched Grace by Margot Douaihy (Zando) 

Lenny Marks Gets Away with Murder by Kerryn Mayne (Bantam Books) 

Perfect Shot: A Thriller by Steve Urszenyi (Minotaur) 

BEST PAPERBACK ORIGINAL NOVEL 

Hide by Tracy Clark (Thomas & Mercer) 

The Paleontologist by Luke Dumas (Atria) 

The Spy Coast by Tess Gerritsen (Thomas & Mercer) 

To Die For by Lisa Gray (Thomas & Mercer) 

Cave 13: A Joe Ledger and Rogue Team International Novel by Jonathan Maberry (St. Martin’s Griffin) 

Call the Dark by J. Todd Scott (Thomas & Mercer) 

BEST SHORT STORY 

Slot Machine Fever Dreams by Chris Bohjalian (Amazon Original Stories) 

These Cold Strangers by J.T. Ellison (Amazon Original Stories) 

An Honorable Choice by Smita Harish Jain (Wildside Press) 

Rush Hour by Richard Santos (Akashic Books) 

Unknown Caller by Lisa Unger (Amazon Original Stories) 

One Night in 1965 by Stacy Woodson (Down & Out Books) 

BEST YOUNG ADULT NOVEL 

Red as Blood by Sorboni Banerjee, Dominique Richardson (Wolfpack Publishing LLC) 

Where He Can't Find You by Darcy Coates (Sourcebooks Fire) 

Where Echoes Die by Courtney Gould (Wednesday Books) 

Where Darkness Blooms by Andrea Hannah (Wednesday Books) 

Stateless by Elizabeth Wein (Little, Brown & Co.) 

BEST E-BOOK ORIGINAL NOVEL 

The Vulture Fund by Jeff Buick (Self-published) 

The Bigamist by Rona Halsall (Bookouture) 

A Good Rush of Blood by Matt Phillips (RunAmok Books) 

Close Her Eyes by Lisa Regan (Bookouture) 

The Killing Room by Robert Swartwood (Blackstone Publishing) 

The In-Laws by Laura Wolfe (Bookouture) 

Congratulations to all the nominated authors.

ITW will announce the winners at ThrillerFest XIX on Saturday, June 1, 2024 at the Sheraton New York Times Square Hotel, New York City.