Some bookish news!

 According to Deadline news Harper Collins have confirmed its big multimillion-dollar, multi-book deal with Michael Mann. Harper Collins is to be the “home” of Michael Mann books.  The first novel to be published will be a collaboration with The Cartel author Don Winslow. The novel will be about the complex relationship between two Organized Crime giants, Tony Accardo and Sam Giancana and will be published in 2017.  More information can be found here.

Also with London Book Fair starting today various things have been happening on the book front.

According to the Bookseller Trapeze’s commissioning editor Sam Eades has pre-empted a debut author’s killer crime series within 48 hours of receiving the manuscript.  The full news can be ready here.  The author is a former paramedic and the TV rights have also been bought by Sid Gentle whose adaptation of the Durrell’s is currently being shown on television.  The first book in the series is Ragdoll and will be published in January 2017 in hardback, e-book and audio.

In other book news Headline have bought the high concept thriller by Faber Academy graduate Felicia Yap entitled The Day After Yesterday.  Headline have also snapped another high concept thriller from debut author Nick Clarke Windo.  The book is entitled The Feed and is set in a near future world where people can download a social media feed directly to their brand. More information can be found here. The Feed is due to be published in 2018.

Karen Sullivan of Orenda Books also bought the world English rights to Norwegian crime writer Kjell Ola Dahl’s next two books in the Gunnarstranda series.  The two titles The Faithfull Friends and The Ice Swimmer will be published in 2017.  More information can be read here.

Fans of Alienst author Caleb Carr will welcome the news that he is to return to the series after 20 years. According to EW, Carr will return to the historical mystery with two new books. The first of the books is set 20 years after The Angels of Darkness.

Avon have bought Katerina Diamond’s two new psychological thrillers.

Fiona Barton’s novel The Widow is set for the screen with (according to the Bookseller) the TV rights being bought by the production company Playground.

Michael Joseph have also bought the trilogy Mad, Bad & Dangerous to Know by debut writer Chloé Esposito. Another Faber Academy graduate the first book in the series Mad is due to be published in June 2017.  More information from the Bookseller can be found here.

Jonathan Cape is due to publish a new book in September by Ian McEwan. The novel entitled The Nutshell is according to the Bookseller a classic story of murder and deceit.

In job news Alison Hennessey has moved from Harvill Secker to become editorial director of Bloomsbury Crime.  More information via The Bookseller can be found here.

Sandstone Press have also (according to booktrade info) signed second novels by German crime writer Volker Kutscher and David McCallum. The Silent Death is the second book in the Gereon Rath series and will be published in May 2017.  Provisionally entitled Once a Upon a Crooked Time is the second book in the Harry Murphy series by McCallum and it is to be published in mid-2017.

Mark Billingham is also to have three new novels published by Little Brown.   According to Booktrade info, the first of the three novels will be published in 2017.  His newest novel Die of Shame is due to be published on 5^th May 2016.

Reviews in January 2016

It was a big start for 2016 with 28 reviews appearing online. Many thanks to the reviewers themselves.

Antonio Manzini	Black Run	28 January, 2016
Eva Dolan	Tell No Tales	28 January, 2016
Stuart Prebble	The Insect Farm	28 January, 2016
Neely Tucker	Murder, D.C.	27 January, 2016
Acorn Media	And Then There Were None (DVD)	27 January, 2016
David Mark	Dead Pretty	27 January, 2016
James Donovan	Strangers on a Bridge	21 January, 2016
Keith Jacobsen	Sisters of Fury	20 January, 2016
Susanna Gregory	The Chelsea Strangler	20 January, 2016
Elizabeth Haynes	Behind Closed Doors	19 January, 2016
Jason Matthews	Palace of Treason	18 January, 2016
David Young	Stasi Child	18 January, 2016
Martin Hill	The Last Refuge	18 January, 2016
Eva Dolan	After You Die	17 January, 2016
John Lescroart	The Fall	17 January, 2016
Aga Lesiewicz	Rebound	14 January, 2016
Claudia Piñeiro	Betty Boo	12 January, 2016
Hester Young	The Gates of Evangeline	12 January, 2016
Michael Ridpath	Shadows of War	12 January, 2016
Johnathan Moore	The Poison Artist	11 January, 2016
Arrow Films	Arne Dahl: The Complete Second Season.	11 January, 2016
Haken Nesser	A Summer with Kim Novak	11 January, 2016
Kevin Wignall	A Death in Sweden	03 January, 2016
David McCallum	Once a Crooked Man	03 January, 2016
Joseph Finder	The Fixer	03 January, 2016
Gerald Seymour	No Mortal Thing	03 January, 2016
Peter May	Coffin Road	03 January, 2016
Michael Connelly	The Crossing	03 January, 2016

Open Channel D : David McCallum talks to Shots Ezine

It was quite the coup when we heard last year that Sandstone Press in Britain had gained rights to publish David McCallum’s debut crime novel Once a Crooked Man. I asked the publishers to please let me have an early read, as I had been a fan of Scotsman David McCallum since his early days acting in The Man from U.N.C.L.E. and then followed his varied career, though younger people perhaps know of him more affectionately as NCIS medical examiner Dr. Donald "Ducky" MallardNCIS

, rather than Illya Nickovitch Kuryakin.

So Sandstone Press were as good as their word, and I tore through this good natured international caper narrative in two sittings, for it has the pace of sprint, with a quirky style that made me smile when I put the book down.

I wrote at the time –

The narrative is striated with a dry wit that helps the reader overlook some of the more surreal events that follow Murphy’s miss-adventures. Reminiscent of Buchan’s The Thirty-nine Steps, or Hitchcock’s North-By-Northwest or one of Westlake’s Dortmunder novels, the pace is relentless, but with a knowing style, and one that is as engaging as it is furious. Naturally there is romance against this gonzo-chase backdrop, and soon Murphy finds the direction he was looking for, as all heads turn as the hunt goes by, including Lizzie Carswell, a special agent, but who is she really working for?

The writing style makes one query why McCallum hadn’t penned a crime novel before, for like The Man from U.N.C.L.E character Ilya Kuryakin, he is as resourceful as a writer, as he is an actor. I feel that it won’t be long before another crime thriller will be forthcoming, highly recommended and very different, where the genre is filled with tales of Noir, we have this light and highly energetic tale, that makes one smile while we turn the pages with impatience, as well as ruminating about the significance of coincidence in our lives.

Read the full review from Shots here and it seems we’re not the only critics to have their head turned by this debut.

So despite David’s very busy schedule traversing the Atlantic, he found time to ‘Open Channel D’ and discuss a little on how his new foray into crime writing came about.

Ali : Welcome to Shots Ezine David, so let’s ask the most obvious question first; how did you find yourself writing a crime novel, Once a Crooked Man?

David: I sat down with the intention teaching myself to write over 15 years ago. The ensuing manuscript went in and out of drawers until about four years ago when I took it out and decided that what I had written deserved to be finished.  Once a Crooked Man is the surprising result.

Ali : And so were you a reader in your youth? And what about your reading in the Crime, Mystery and Thriller genre?

David: When I was growing up there was an extensive library in our living room and I read all the books I could lay my hands on. These included many detective novels. And of course the Strand magazine with the Sherlock Holmes stories.

Ali : Was Once a Crooked Man your first approach to creative writing, as it seems such an assured debut?

David : It seems that over the years I subconsciously developed a personal style of writing. This is quite a surprise to me and I only hope that in attempting to write a second book I can rediscover this again.

Ali : When you sat down to write, did you have the plot buttoned-downed, or did you follow a less rigid path, with perhaps just an outline?

David: The entire exercise started with the idea an actor being handed a suitcase with $1 million in it. All of the other characters created and developed themselves over the years and I never had a complete plot in mind. It simply evolved.

Ali : I couldn’t but help myself picture David McCallum as your main protagonist Harry Murphy, as the old adage ‘write what you know’ often hints at; however the book does contain investigators, criminal families, romance and security issues, so did the novel require much research?

David: Yes. I worked with DEA and with the State’s Attorney in upstate NY. In fact, I did more research than was necessary, but it was very enjoyable. 

Ali : Once a Crooked Man, is good natured fun, which is the veneer that covers a dark tale, so how careful were you with humour within a crime novel?

David: I never consciously attempted any humour. It appeared all by itself.

Ali : So what’s next in store for David McCallum? More US TV? NCIS? and is there any credence to the rumors of a Sapphire and Steel feature film, but more crucially, are we likely to see you return to the crime novel?

David: The publishers have asked me to write a second book. There is no credence to a Sapphire and Steel film. I am in negotiations for another year of NCIS.

Ali : So any hints for those considering penning a debut crime thriller?

David: The moral of the story is if you want to write a book all you have to do is put your butt on a seat and get on with it. That’s all I did!

Ali : Thank you for your time, and we are eagerly awaiting a new work from David McCallum

David : Pleasure’s all mine, glad you liked Once a Crooked Man

Shots Ezine would like to thank Ruth Killick and Sandstone Press for arranging this interview; and for Shots readers, remember we have discounted copies available from the Shots Bookstore here, and for the curious, you can download the opening chapter from David’s American Publishers, St Martin’s Press here

If you like caper driven narratives, and enjoy a quirky crime / mystery novel; we would recommend Once a Crooked Man, highly, and are looking forward to a follow-up.