Friday, 25 July 2025

Talking with Whyte Python’s author Travis Kennedy

 

Very rarely have I enjoyed reading a debut novel [that contained such an absurd plot] as I did last week with The Whyte Python World Tour by Travis Kennedy.

It kept me reading with my hands glued to the cover as if my life depended upon reaching the end.

It provoked thought and reflection, while it constantly made me smile and at several points - laugh out loud. It also made my eyes moist as I considered [and contextualised] my own life.

In a crazy world that depresses me and fills me with anxiety whenever I view the TV News – The Whyte Python World Tour – became an antidote as it made me feel good – it put a big smile on my face as it held me in its grip.

Without going totally hyperbolic – this debut novel was / is life-affirming.

I was first made aware of this extraordinary debut by Publisher Rowland White during the Michael Joseph Crime Party, held in February [Crypt at St Martins-in-the-Fields Trafalgar Square in London].

This year [2025] marks the 90th anniversary of the formation of Penguin Publishing.

Michael Joseph was a bestselling author before he turned publisher in 1935 – the same year Penguin paperbacks were launched. In 1985, exactly half a century after their mutual founding, Michael Joseph became the commercial imprint of Penguin Books. And now, it forms an important part of the PenguinRandomHouse Global Publishing Conglomerate.

Read More HERE

So what is The Whyte Python World Tour all about?

Set in the late 1980s, the author weaves the collapse of the Soviet Bloc into the era of peak heavy metal with the rise of a fictitious Los Angeles rock band Whyte Python. The band consists of four weird misfits - on Vocals Davy Bones (aka Lawrence Barkly), on Bass Guitar Spencer Dooley, on Lead Guitar (Robert) Buck Sweet and finally on Drums Richard Henderson aka Rikki Thunder.

Whyte Python is managed by the wimpy British producer Kirby Smoot for Andromeda Records and unbeknownst to the band, manipulated by the American Central Intelligence Agency’s Asian Intelligence Division [AID].

It appears that the Deputy Director of the CIA Ed Lonsa is reluctantly tasked to orchestrate a Cold War Psychological Operation against the Soviet Bloc. The Psy-Ops entitled Operation Facemelt is born, peopled by agents undergoing ‘disciplinary process’ though only three of them are aware that they are in this process. Firstly we have Amanda Price [aka Shawna Peppers] who works under the identity of rock and roll journalist Tawny Spice who is tasked with manipulating Drummer Rikki Thunders [from his band Qyksand] into joining Whyte Python. The other CIA agents being the insubordinates Catherine Stryker and Daryl Boone with the more conformist Bradford Mancuso.

As a thriller it is outstanding.

When I put the book down, I sat in silent contemplation and then downloaded the audio book narrated by Wil Wheaton as I wanted to revisit this crazy world again.

Read More HERE

After I put the book down, I had a few questions for the author Travis Kennedy, who kindly agreed to answer my queries.

I smiled during our dialogue, because it was little surprise to discover that I share the author’s enthusiasm for reading, including a passion for the works of Dennis Lehane - which I was unaware of when I read the book – and which may help [in part] to explain my own admiration for Travis Kennedy’s writing ability.

Ali: Welcome to Great Britain’s Shots Magazine.

Travis: Thank you for having me!

AK: We’re excited to introduce you to our readers, as this novel took over my life for two days as I read it over two sittings – is this really your first published work?

TK: Well, yes and no. It’s my first traditionally published novel, but I’ve had several short stories placed over the last dozen years or so - and I have been writing for my whole life. For many years, my career in public service demanded all of my creative energy, and I had to take a break from writing for myself. I was able to find my way back about twelve years ago, beginning with short stories and humour pieces. Believe it or not, this is chronologically the third complete novel that I have written.  My team made a decision to lead with THE WHYTE PYTHON WORLD TOUR, in part because of the speed of development on the film adaptation - but you will see the others!

AK: From your acknowledgements I see you come from a family that values books, libraries and reading. So would you care to tell us a little about your childhood and your reading?

TK: Oh, absolutely. Reading has been coded deeply into my personality since I was four years old. It’s the hobby that I love to do most. It makes my brain happy! My parents recognized this trait in me very early – especially my father, who I inherited it from. When I was very young, my family lived on a lake in New Hampshire. In many pictures from that era, you can see my parents and brothers playing in the water while I’m off in the distance, happily sitting under a tree with my nose in a book. When I was six years old, we moved to southern Maine, just outside of the City of Portland; and that first week, before all of the bags were unpacked, my father brought me to the Portland Public Library and signed me up for a library card. “There,” he said. “You’re home.”

What’s remarkable to me now as a dad myself is seeing the same quality in my own kids. My daughter is nine years old as I write this, and she is just like me. She reads relentlessly. Her school backpack is very heavy, because she never has fewer than two novels stuffed in between her lunchbox and schoolwork. Needless to say, she is delighted that her dad works in the publishing business now. She travels with me to book stores when I go in to sign stock, and she keeps a record of each store and what she found special about it. My son is six, and so he’s less impressed by Dad’s new line of work; it’s not strange or exciting to him at all, it's just what I do for a living. But reading came to him even more naturally than it did for me. Our house is absolutely littered with books.

AK: And of that time can you tell us which novels / stories were you favourites and why?

TK: I was an absolute book vacuum. I loved books across all genres, and had countless favourites. But I gravitated the strongest toward storytelling that put kids in the middle of adventures with genuine stakes. I probably loved Roald Dahl’s books the most. I read CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY at least a dozen times throughout my childhood – in one instance, three times in a row. There’s a real ominous feeling in his work, that the little heroes actually might not make it out okay. I loved the film The Goonies for the same reason. Stories that took their child heroes seriously.

AK:….But what books was/were the one[s] that made you want to pick up a pen / pc and write yourself?

TK: Jumping ahead to the modern era: think the two biggest inspirations for me as an adult to really GO FOR IT and dedicate myself to writing were Elmore Leonard and Dennis Lehane. When reading Elmore, you always get the feeling that he was smiling on the other side of his typewriter. There’s so much charm to his work, a sense that he’s enjoying himself. Elmore made it clear to me that you’re allowed to have fun with writing, and to let that sense of fun and joy in the exercise make its way onto the page. And then I picked up A DRINK BEFORE THE WAR by Dennis Lehane, and that voice just grabbed me with both hands in the first chapter and wouldn’t let me go. He was rewriting my own inner monologue in Patrick Kenzie’s sly Boston accent. I had to try to do that, too. I got such joy from reading both of those writers’ work, and I felt a kinship with them in how my own mind likes to tell stories, and together they pushed me into going for it.

AK: Who do you read now days?

TK: I’m still a vacuum! I still bounce around from genre to genre, fiction to non-fiction and back. I love great crime thrillers that break the standard mold. Every Michael Koryta book is a must-read for me. There’s a great writer who is also from Maine named Ron Currie Jr, who wrote an amazing crime fiction book called THE SAVAGE, NOBLE DEATH OF BABS DIONNE that has that grand, operatic feeling of Dennis Lehane and Don Winslow’s work. But I read everything. On the other end of the spectrum, I loved ATMOSPHERE by Taylor Jenkins Reid. John Scalzi’s WHEN THE MOON HITS YOUR EYE. Chris Whitaker, Fredrik Backman, Benjamin Stevenson, Richard Osman, Stephen King. I love Percival Everett. The book about Lorne Michaels was great.

AK: So onto The Whyte Python World Tour…..the central premise is what could be described as ‘Cherry’ - the CIA using a Heavy Metal band in the 1980s to influence disaffected East Europeans fed of Soviet Oppression…where did this weird idea come from?

TK:   Good question! I’ve had a longtime fascination with that specific era of music called “glam metal,” the party-themed rock anthems played by so-called “hair bands” of the 1980s. I was just a kid when they were on top of the world, and so they were really comical in my eyes. Like feral real-life muppets, wearing leather and spandex with makeup and wild hair and singing these infectious, harmless anthems. About twenty years ago, I started to read autobiographies of some of the big stars from that time – Slash, Motley Crue, Poison, etc – and I discovered that more often than not, the rock Gods on stage often came from challenging childhoods and were misfits until they found each other through music. They were overlooked and underappreciated, and then playing in these bands unlocked their superpowers. It seemed like there was a fun story in that; the idea that they had these secret identities that you only saw when the stage lights came on.

Then five years ago, I listened to a podcast called “Wind of Change,” produced by the very talented investigative reporter Patrick Radden Keefe. He was chasing a pervasive rumour that the CIA wrote the song “Wind of Change” for the hit German metal band The Scorpions, as a psyop to usher the Eastern Bloc’s youth into democracy at the end of the Cold War through the power of soft metal. He couldn’t prove it, of course; and I suspect that it isn’t true. But the concept married perfectly with the theme I had been chewing on, on and off, for almost twenty years about the glam metal guys having secret powers. This was it! And as a fiction story, divorced from any responsibility to tell the truth, I could make it whatever I wanted. 

AK: And so did you plot extensively or run with the idea until you had a narrative that could be licked into shape? And end-to-end how long did it take to physically write the novel?

TK: Before I wrote a word, I wrestled with the idea of how to tell the story. I wanted it to be a first-person narrative, like you’re reading a rockstar’s autobiography; but I also wanted the readers to understand pretty quickly what was going on, unbeknownst to our hero, Rikki Thunder. I didn’t really let myself think about the arc of the story until I figured out how to tell it, which took a little time. Once the solution came to me that the correct way to write this book is to break all narrative rules – it can be first person sometimes, and third person sometimes, and occasionally told through music montage – the book poured out of me as fast as I could keep up with it. Because breaking all the rules is metal! The unique format didn’t just allow me to tell the story how I wanted to tell it; it made it FEEL more like a frenzied, rule-breaking hair band video. The first draft took about three months. But that being said, I’ve worked more on this book than anything I’ve done in my life. There were, easily, twenty rounds of revisions; the first several by me alone, then a bunch with my agent and more again with my editor at Doubleday. So, while the first draft happened fast, the book took a little over two years to truly complete.

AK: I consider a major strength in the narrative are the [very] minor characters, who you define so very deftly, but yet they sit up straight on the page, such as Bass Guitarist Spencer Dooley’s [possibly] imaginary friend ‘Kevin’ or the East Berlin shopkeeper Josef Weidermann, or the Plumber Ben Pratt and Rikki’s old school friend Ron……less is more….would you care to comment?

TK: First, thank you! That compliment means a lot to me, because there is definitely some risk in introducing a large cast of characters in a novel and asking your readership to try to keep them all arranged in their minds. I’m glad to hear it worked for you. I think if you’re going to create a character, you owe it to them to make them unique and feel lived-in, and cared about. I think the old writing adage of “show, don’t tell” is CRITICAL when you’re creating minor characters who still need to feel real; we don’t need to know everything about Ron and his personal backstory, but we feel like we know it anyway only because of how he looks and dresses and moves. Same with Ben Pratt; the minor details (clean shirt, soft voice, big, pawlike hands) tell us he’s a gentle giant, and give us the warm feelings toward him that Rikki feels and remembers. That should be enough for the reader to get an imprint without feeling smothered by description about someone they’re not going to spend much time with, especially because I’m going to ask you to keep track of a lot of supporting characters more thoroughly.

AK: Are you a follower of Heavy Metal yourself? And if so, which bands do you rate form that genre?

TK: I am – but not at all exclusively. Music is very much like books to me – I love it if it’s done well, and spend time in whatever genre that matches my mood. I’ve mellowed quite a bit in my 40s now, but writing the book has been a really fun exercise in reconnecting with these musical roots from my youth! The fun thing about “metal” or “glam metal” or “hair bands” is that they’re all such flexible terms, and a lot of music aficionados love to fight over your exact question:

what qualifies? Because Poison is so different from Guns N’ Roses, which is so different from Van Halen or Motley Crue, or Def Leppard, or Iron Maiden, or Motorhead or Metallica or Bon Jovi and so on. Fans of all of that music – which is an enormous spectrum of sound – love to fight over this. I think that when we think of the era, we qualify bands with these titles (metal, glam, hair, etc) based on the look and the attitude, more than the melodies and the themes. We see massive hair, defying gravity thanks to cans of Aquanet; and ripped jeans, and spandex, and makeup, and we say “that’s metal.” It’s a time and a place and a vibe, more than a uniform style of music.

AK: So what’s next for Travis Kennedy?

TK: Lots! I’m plotting out a new novel now – it’s not in the world of Whyte Python, but I have a strong feeling that those muppets will be back eventually. I’m also supporting the work of the film adaptation of the book, and I have a few other film projects in various stages of development. I’m incredibly fortunate to be able to write full-time now, and it feels like I finally have time for all of the ideas that have been scrambling over each other to get to the front of the line. It’s a very exciting time!

AK: Thank you your time and insight.

TK: Truly, it’s my pleasure. Thanks for reading!

Shots Magazine would like to thank Publisher and Senior Editor Rowland White and from Publicity Lily Evans at Michael Joseph imprint of PenguinRandomHouse UK

For more information > https://whytepython.com/ and https://traviskennedy.com/

Promotional Photos / Images are © Brian Fitzgerald / Fitzgerald Photo / Travis Kennedy / PenguinRandomHouse / Little Brown Publishing / Ali Karim / Audible

Thursday, 24 July 2025

Crimes of the System by Jon Atli Jonasson

 

Above: Jon Atli Jonasson at Capital Crime London, 2025

We’ve been energised by the recent debut in English of the work of Icelandic writer, screenwriter, playwright and poet Jon Atli Jonasson; reviewing BROKEN last month when it was released in Hardcover by Corylus Books and now on the eve of its debut in Paperback on August 1st 2025 – the author agreed to give Shots Magazine’s readers a little insight -

My first foray into crime writing came in the form of a serialized radio drama centered on Iceland’s most notorious criminal case: the Guðmundur and Geirfinnur case. The case involves the disappearance of Guðmundur Einarsson and Geirfinnur Einarsson in 1974. Although they had the same last name, they were not related. Six individuals were convicted of their suspected murders, based primarily on confessions — often referred to as the Reykjavik confessions—obtained by police during prolonged and intense interrogations. Notably, the convictions were secured without the discovery of the victims’ bodies, eyewitnesses, or any forensic evidence.

In the years that followed, public opinion in Iceland shifted, with many believing the six were wrongfully convicted. On 27 September 2018, 44 years after the disappearances, the Supreme Court of Iceland acquitted five of the original six suspects. In 2013, an official police investigation report was submitted to the Office of the State Prosecutor. On 24 February 2017, the Interior Ministry's Rehearing Committee recommended that the case be reheard by the Supreme Court of Iceland. As part of its evaluation, the commission's review of the 1974 Geirfinnur case incorporated the work of Gísli Guðjónsson, a former Icelandic detective and internationally renowned expert on suggestibility and false confession, whose research introduced the concept of "Memory Distrust Syndrome.” This theory suggests that under severe psychological stress — including conditions like solitary confinement and sleep deprivation — a person may lose confidence in their own memory and instead place undue trust in external sources, such as interrogators. This can ultimately result in false confessions made in an effort to end the psychological pressure.

My serialized radio play uses the premise of the hardships the defendants were subjected to under the solitary confinement. This case didn’t just devastate the lives of the accused — it cast a long shadow over many others as well. For decades, it stood as one of the most profound and lasting scars on Icelandic society. In March 2013, following an 18-month investigation, the Icelandic government released a report exposing serious flaws in the original police inquiry. It highlighted systemic incompetence and instances of abuse, including the use of solitary confinement, improper administration of medication, inhumane treatment such as water torture and sleep deprivation, denial of legal representation, and a presumption of guilt. The report also noted the absence of key elements typically required for a credible case: forensic evidence, the victims' bodies, and any clear motive. The case contains too many complexities to be adequately addressed in a single blog post. However, it is evident that the accused were perceived not merely as criminals but as a significant challenge to the established order. They were young individuals introducing new ideas. This was fundamentally a generational conflict, in which the older generation employed the full force of the legal system and the media to suppress societal change.

The government’s report on the case reveals only a small part of the full story. My main concern with the report is that it was authored by representatives of the very system responsible for this miscarriage of justice. It managed to erase the human experience behind the text in the way bureaucracy does so efficiently. When I wrote my version of events as a serialized radio play, I went directly to the source. I spoke with the accused who were still alive, retired police officers, and others connected to the case. I had access to their secret prison diaries and personal letters. I also talked with their children — many of whom grew up largely without them—as well as other family members, retired journalists, and prison guards.

The purpose of this blog post isn’t to portray myself as a hero. I was simply searching for compelling drama. However, during the research and scriptwriting process, I began to recognize the deeper potential of the crime genre. How it can tell big stories. I’m a big fan of Richard Price and his masterpiece novel Clockers which is set in a fictional New Jersey city called Dempsy. His brilliant depiction of everyone involved in the drug trade — criminals and law enforcement alike—stands as a great example of how crime fiction can vividly explore systemic urban decay and the social forces that trap individuals within it. Richard Price continues the tradition established by Swedish authors Sjöwall and Wahlöö, who pioneered crime fiction as a sharp critique of social and political institutions. Like them, Price uses the genre not just to tell a story, but to expose deeper societal issues.

This approach strongly influenced the framing of my first crime novel, Broken, set in contemporary Iceland. I also felt it had been a while since anyone in Iceland had written a crime thriller that explores the state of the nation from both the perspectives of law enforcement and the criminal world. Crime is constantly changing and evolving. During my research I came across a new type of criminal with a mind-set that contrasts sharply with the traditional gangster. They don’t get their hands dirty in the same way; instead, they follow a morning routine, read biographies of Elon Musk and Steve Jobs, and view themselves more as entrepreneurs than drug dealers; violence is delegated to experts: The Icelandic underworld has also grown more intricate because of the arrival of foreign gangs in Iceland and the type of crimes being committed. As the divide between the wealthy and the impoverished grows wider, social tensions escalate, leading to increased desperation among those left behind. This fuels a rise in violent crime, including more frequent murders. Xenophobia also plays a significant role, further destabilizing already fragile social structures.

But at the core of my novel, I still hope you find a story of two flawed but compassionate cops determined to make a difference.

(c) 2025 Jon Atli Jonasson


Shots Magazine would like to thank Quentin Bates of
Corylus Books for his help in getting this article from the author of Broken.

Read the Shots Review HERE

All photos © 2025 Quentin Bates, Marina Sofia and Michael Stotter

Monday, 21 July 2025

In The St Hilda's Spotlight Olivia Isaac-Henry

Name:- Olivia Isaac Henry

Job:- Author

Instagram: @OliviaIsaacHenryAuthor

Facebook: @oisaachenry

X: @oisaachenry

Introduction: 

Olivia Isaac-Henry is the author of 4 books. Her most recent book due out in September is Hallow Hill. She is also the occasional keyboard player in experimental electronic band.

Current book? 

The Changeling, Victor LaValle. Apollo Kagwa believes his wife is suffering from post-natal depression when she declares their son is ‘not a baby’. Tragedy ensues, and in his quest to find the truth, Apollo discovers places and people no one knew existed in New York. Partly a musing on fatherhood, this novel also delves into ancient lore and fairytale, in a world where witches and changelings definitely do exist. 

Has any gothic book spooked you and if so which one and why?

The Woman in Black by Susan Hill. The whole atmosphere of Eel Marsh House leaves you shivering and checking for The Woman in Black out of the corner of your eye. 

Which two gothic writers would you invite to dinner and why?

Mary Shelley and Edgar Allan Poe. Not only were they fabulous writers, but they led fascinating, if tragic, lives. 

How do you relax?

I’m addicted to streaming dramas, especially anything crime or horror related. Currently I’m watching Finnish detective series Arctic Circle, the scenery is stunning and the plot goes off in a completely unexpected direction. 

Which gothic book do you wish you had written and why?

Jamaica Inn by Daphne du Maurier. I read this when I was about eleven or twelve. At the time I was down in Cornwall on a camping holiday with my family. We bought the book at the actual Jamaica Inn. I read it in a day and I thought it was the most exciting novel ever. The final reveal stunned me. One day I’d love one of my books to have the same effect on a reader as that one had on me. 

If you were to write a gothic book where would you set it and why?

Two of my novels lean toward the gothic: Sorrow Spring, which is already published, and Hallows Hill, which comes out in September. Both are set in Worcestershire, where I grew up. It’s a beautiful county with plenty of legends and folklore to use as inspiration. Also, because it’s not as well known as counties like Cornwell and Yorkshire, people come to it with fewer expectations. 

How would you describe your latest published book?

Sorrow Spring is a folk horror novel with a crime-mystery element. In the present day a woman attempts to discover what happened to her aunt, last seen in the village of Sorrow Spring in 1978. The novel goes back and forth in time to unravel her fate, which is linked to the ancient customs and beliefs of the village. 

With Detecting the Gothic: tales from the Dark Heart of Crime Fiction the theme at St Hilda's this year, which are you three favourite gothic authors or books

Melmoth - Sarah Perry

We Have Always Lived in the Castle - Shirley Jackson

The Night Film - Marisha Pessl

Which 3 gothic films would you rewatch and why?

Let the Right One In – This Swedish film is disturbing on multiple levels, not least because it reminds you that humans far exceed vampires in their vice and savagery.

Angel Heart – Just mesmerizing. It has fantastic performances by Mickey Rourke and Robert de Niro and one of the all time greatest twists. A couple of watches are required to spot all the clues. 

Sinners – I’ve only just seen this one at the cinema, and I haven’t had a chance for a rewatch, but this film definitely requires one, as there’s so much to unpack. Again, it’s not just about vampires but the society that spawns them. It’s visually stunning with great performances and a stomping soundtrack. 

What are you looking forward to at St Hilda's?

I’m looking forward to chatting with the other authors. Some I know already. Others I’m keen to meet. 

Hallows Hill by Olivia Isaac-Henry (Harper Collins Publishers) Out in September.

Have they stirred an ancient evil…or is there a killer in their midst? Twenty years ago, on Halloween night, a group of teenagers performed a summoning ritual on Hallows Hill. The next day, one of them was dead. Mia has never forgotten the chilling vision she saw that night, and which she believes foretold the death. Now the remaining friends gather for Halloween again. But when another death occurs, Mia starts to doubt everything around her. Is there a malevolent supernatural force that means them harm, or is human evil at play? Mia must take a long, hard look at her friends, herself and the folklore of Hallows Hill. Can she find the answers before all of them are dead?



Information on how to buy online tickets can be found here. The programme can be found here.


Friday, 18 July 2025

Ngaio Marsh Award for Best Novel

 The longlist for this year’s Ngaio Marsh Award 
for Best Novel 

Return To Blood by Michael Bennett (Simon & Schuster)

The Hitchhiker by Gabriel Bergmoser (Harpercollins)

A Divine Fury by D V Bishop (Macmillan)

Leave the Girls Behind by Jacqueline Bublitz (Allen & Unwin)

Woman, Missing by Sherryl Clark (HQ Fiction)

Hell’s Bells by Jill Johnson (Black & White)

The Mires by Tina Makereti (Ultimo Press)

A Fly Under the Radar by William Mccartney

Home Truths by Charity Norman (Allen & Unwin)

17 Years Later by J P Pomare (Hachette)

Okiwi Brown by Cristina Sanders (The Cuba Press)

A House Built on Sand by Tina Shaw (Text Publishing)

The Call by Gavin Strawhan (Allen & Unwin)

Prey by Vanda Symon (Orenda Books)

The Bookshop Detectives: Dead Girl Gone by Gareth & Louise Ward (Penguin)

The finalists for Best Novel, Best First Novel, and Best Non-Fiction will be announced in mid-August, with the finalists celebrated and the 2025 Ngaio Marsh Award winners announced as part of a special event in conjunction with WORD Christchurch and the Court Theatre on Thursday, 25 September.

Theakston's Awards Announced

 


Topical thrillers triumph at Theakston awards as Abir Mukherjee’s Hunted wins

Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year 2025



Festival Dates: 17 – 20 July 2025  

www.harrogateinternationalfestivals.com

#TheakstonsAwards #TheakstonsCrime 

Thursday 17 July 2025: Hunted by Abir Mukherjee has been announced as the winner of the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year 2025, the UK and Ireland’s most prestigious crime fiction award, presented by Harrogate International Festivals at a special ceremony on the opening night of the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival.

Hunted is a “riveting” topical thriller set in London and the US in the final week of a toxic presidential campaign, as two devastated parents find themselves in a race against time – and the FBI - to track down their children who are suspected of terrorist atrocities. Exploring themes of radicalisation, prejudice and racism, the judges described Hunted as “a thought-provoking, intriguingly taut, propulsive and highly original thriller.”

Selected for the Festival’s celebrated ‘New Blood’ panel supporting fresh talent in 2016, Abir Mukherjee’s crime novels include the bestselling Wyndham & Banerjee series set in 1920s India. He grew up in Scotland and now lives in Surrey. 

Abir Mukerjee receives a £3,000 prize, as well as an engraved beer cask handcrafted by one of Britain’s last coopers from Theakston’s Brewery.

On winning the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year, Abir Mukherjee said: 

It's such an honour to win the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year. ‘Hunted’ was a tough book to write – it took me four years - and it's such a privilege that the judges and the readers have taken it to their hearts. It means so much to me. I've been coming to the Festival for 10 years and I didn't think it could ever get any better - but it just has!

Hunted was selected by a judging panel made up of journalists, broadcasters and representatives from the Award’s sponsors, with the public vote counting as the eighth judge, from an incredibly strong shortlist which also included The Cracked Mirror by Chris Brookmyre, The Mercy Chair by M.W. Craven, The Last Word by Elly Griffiths, Deadly Animals by Marie Tierney and All the Colours of the Dark by Chris Whitaker. 


The McDermid Debut Award, named in recognition of world-famous crime writer Val McDermid, was won by David Goodman for A Reluctant Spy, it was also announced. 

A Reluctant Spy is a high-concept spy thriller about a tech executive who agrees to lend his identity to an elite intelligence agency in return for a helping hand through life, but gets far more than he bargained for when he finds himself in hostile territory having to do the job of a trained espionage operative to avoid a global conflict. David Goodman is a writer of espionage and speculative fiction who lives in East Lothian, Scotland. 

David Goodman receives a £500 cash prize. The award was presented by Chair of Judges, Val McDermid, and Simon Theakston, Chairman of T&R Theakston.

Val McDermid, Chair of Judges, said:

If you think you've read every twist in every area of the genre, think again. Our winner has found a new take and delivers it with pace and propulsive storytelling. David Goodman's ‘A Reluctant Spy’ is a sparkling new entry in the canon, with a vivid and unfamiliar setting as well as a gripping cast of characters. Don't start it last thing at night or you might miss breakfast!” 

On winning the McDermid Debut Award, David Goodman said: 

It’s an incredible honour to win the McDermid Debut Award. I wrote a speech because I worried about forgetting to thank people and I never thought in a million years I'd actually get to say it out loud. It's an amazing feeling!” 

Bestselling novelist Elly Griffiths received the Theakston Old Peculier Outstanding Contribution Award in recognition of her remarkable crime fiction writing career and “unwavering commitment to the genre.” 

Elly Griffiths is the author of the Dr Ruth Galloway Mysteries; the Brighton Mysteries, the Detective Harbinder Kaur series and an exhilarating new series featuring time-travelling detective Ali Dawson. Griffiths, who has been shortlisted an impressive seven times for the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year, including this year, was highly commended in 2023 for The Locked Room and served as Festival Programming Chair in 2017. 

Elly Griffiths said: ‘It means the world to me to receive this award. Sixteen years ago, when I wrote my first crime novel, I received such a warm welcome from the Theakston's Old Peculiar Crime Writing Festival and from other, more established, authors. Now, 32 books later, I’m thrilled to be honoured in this way and humbled to join the ranks of previous winners. I hope to continue the tradition of welcoming new writers and giving back to the crime-writing community.'

Griffiths is the latest in a line of acclaimed authors to have received the coveted award, with previous winners including Sir Ian Rankin, Lynda La Plante, James Patterson, John Grisham, Lee Child, Val McDermid, P.D. James, Michael Connelly and last year’s recipient, Martina Cole.

2025 AWARD WINNERS: 

WINNER of the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year 2025: Hunted by Abir Mukherjee (Vintage; Harvill Secker)  

WINNER of the McDermid Debut Award: A Reluctant Spy by David Goodman (Headline)  

Theakston Old Peculier Outstanding Contribution Award: Elly Griffiths (Quercus)

Simon Theakston, Chairman of T&R Theakston, said:  

It is fantastic to have two highly original thrillers winning top honours at the Theakston Old Peculier Awards tonight. Our Novel of the Year winner, ‘Hunted’ by Abir Mukherjee is a high-octane masterpiece with a rollercoaster plot that will stay with me for a long time, while the McDermid Debut Award winner ‘A Reluctant Spy’ by David Goodman is an engrossing and highly entertaining novel that had me hooked right from the start. We are delighted that Elly Griffiths has been awarded the Theakston Old Peculier Outstanding Contribution award in recognition of her exceptional contribution to crime fiction and unwavering commitment to the genre over a remarkable career.” 

The award winners were revealed at the Old Swan Hotel in Harrogate, during the opening ceremony for the world’s largest and most prestigious celebration of crime writing, Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival (17-20 July), which this year features a stellar line up of bestselling authors and fan favourites including Lee and Andrew Child, Irvine Welsh, Attica Locke, Kate Atkinson, Paula Hawkins, Kate Mosse, Steph McGovern, Val McDermid and Mark Billingham.

The Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year 2025 is presented by Harrogate International Festivals and sponsored by T&R Theakston Ltd, in partnership with Waterstones, and is open to full-length crime novels published in paperback between 1 May 2024 and 30 April 2025. The winner receives £3,000 and a handmade, engraved beer barrel provided by T&R Theakston Ltd.  

Tuesday, 15 July 2025

In The St Hilda's Spotlight - Stuart Turton

Name: - Stuart Turton 

Job: - author and journalist

Website: - https://www.Stuturton.com

Instagram @stuturton

X @stu_turton

Introduction

Stuart Turton is the bestselling author of The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle (aka 7 ½ Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle) which won the 2018 Costa Book Award for First Novel, Best Novel in the 2018 Books Are My Bag Readers Award and was also shortlisted for the Debut book of the Year at the Specsavers National Book Awards and longlisted for both the CWA New Blood Dagger  and the Gold Dagger at the  CWA dagger awards. In 2019 it was shortlisted again for the Best Debut Novel at the Strand Magazine Critics’ Awards and longlisted for the Glass Bell Award. The Japanese edition of the book was shortlisted in 2019 For the Best Honkaku Mystery Novel translated into Japanese in the last decade. 

His second book, The Devil and the Dark Water won the 2020 Books Are My Bag Fiction Award and was shortlisted for the CWA Ian Fleming Steel Dagger and the Japanese version was nominated for the 2023 Mystery Writers of Japan Award for Mystery Fiction in Translation.

His most recent book is The Last Murder at the End of the World and was longlisted for the 2025 Theakstons Crime Novel of the Year

Current book? (This can either be the current book that you are reading or writing or both)

I’m currently reading the North Woods by Daniel Mason and it’s so astonishingly good that I want to quit reading, sulk, and then immediately try to replicate its ambition and beauty. It’s wondrous, expanding the scope of what a novel can be while telling a great story. God, I’m depressed again now.

Have any gothic book spooked you and if so which one and why?

I’m not easily spooked, unfortunately. Typically, I find gothic novels so daft that I end up laughing rather than trembling. This is sort of what I’ll be talking about at the festival, actually.

Which two gothic writers would you invite to dinner and why?

The Bronte sisters. I reckon they’d drive each other absolutely nuts and it would be fun to watch.

How do you relax?

Relax? I could do my job in a bed with no material difference to the outcome. Honestly, there’s nothing hard about it. Relaxing is for people with work to do. 

Which gothic book do you wish you had written and why?

I’m good on that front. If I’d written Dracula or Frankenstein, I’d be long dead, and would have spent my entire life without the internet. No thanks!

If you were to write a gothic book, where would you set it and why?

There’s always a bit of gothic in my novels, so I’ve sort of covered what I wanted to do. My first novel was set in a creepy old house with secrets in every corner, and my second was set on a haunted boat. I feel like I’ve got my gothic fix.

How would you describe your latest published book?

Agatha Christie does Lost. Except weirder.

Which 3 gothic films would you rewatch and why.

Oh god, I don’t really watch many movies. Can I pass?

What are you looking forward to at St Hilda’s?

I really like being let out of my office and chatting with people with similar interests. It’s a lovely way to spend an afternoon.

 

The Last Murder at the End of the World by Stuart Turton (Bloomsbury Publishing)

Abi keeps them safe. One hundred and twenty-two islanders and their three beloved scientists live in harmony, kept safe from a poisonous security barrier with the help of Abi's instructions. Niema keeps the islanders occupied. Niema is one of the scientists who remembers what life was like before the fog. She ensures that all of the islanders have a job to do, and everyone loves her. Almost everyone. Emory can't stop asking questions.

But then one of the scientists is found dead, and their murder triggers the dropping of the security barrier. The only way to reinstate it is to find the killer. But can Emory ask the right questions? They have 107 hours to solve the murder before the fog sweeps in. Can they stop the end of their world?

 


Information on how to buy online tickets can be found here. The programme can be found here.


Monday, 14 July 2025

Longlist for 2025 McIlvanney Prize Scottish Crime Novel of the Year

 

Whispers of the Dead, by Lin Anderson (Macmillan)
The Midnight King, by Tariq Ashkanani (Viper)
The Dying Light, by Daniel Aubrey (HarperNorth)
Carnival of Lies, by D.V. Bishop (Macmillan)
Unsound, by Heather Critchlow (Canelo)
The Moon’s More Feeble Fire, by Allan Gaw (Polygon)
The Good Father, by Liam McIlvanney (Bonnier)
Paperboy, by Callum McSorley (Pushkin Press)
The Good Liar, by Denise Mina (Vintage)
Gunner, by Alan Parks (John Murray)
Death of Shame, by Ambrose Parry (Canongate)
Midnight and Blue, by Ian Rankin (Orion)
A Thief’s Blood, by Douglas Skelton (Canelo

The McIlvanney Prize, named in honor of William McIlvanney, author of the novel Laidlaw, will be presented on Friday, September 12, during this year’s Bloody Scotland International Crime Writing Festival. Previous winners include Chris Brookmyre, Craig Russell, Francine Toon, Peter May, and Charles Cumming.

Saturday, 12 July 2025

The Case of the Mad Doctor by P D Lennon

 Settling down to read Kei Miller’s poetry* one day, it never crossed my mind that the idea for my first historical crime novel lay within his acclaimed verses. An eighteenth-century serial killer? In Jamaica?

As a crime fiction writer, this was a real “Whoa!” moment. This piece of Jamaican legend had managed to evade me. How? I do not know. I re-read page 47 about five times, intrigued by the knowledge that in or around 1760, a Scotsman sailed silvery blue oceans to the tropical climes of Jamaica for a new life and brought violence. He could have brought tartan, a few kilts or shawls to show off, but no. True, a great majority of Europeans also came to kill, but they had navies and the blessing of queen or king and country. Scottish immigrant Doctor Lewis Hutchinson had no navy, just cruel intent and ammunition. Bows, arrows, muskets and plenty of lead balls.

For years, I delayed writing about Doctor Hutchinson (referred to as ‘Hutchison’ in some journals) because information about his early life is quite scant. Believed to be born in the year 1732, he was twenty-eight when he left Scotland for Jamaica. Where he obtained medical training is unknown. His name is nowhere to be found in the register of Edinburgh physicians, nor was he a student or graduate of Edinburgh Medical School. Where he lived in Scotland or what informed his decision to leave that country is also a mystery.

Although Hutchinson’s infamy is rooted in Jamaican crimes, I do wonder if he was always a brutish fellow who fled Scotland to avoid law enforcers. He settled in Pedro, St Ann, a tiny remote district on the island and built a home boldly titled Edinburgh Castle. Before long he was accused of stealing cattle to start a cattle business - the first sign of his descent into lawlessness. His encore was to launch a vicious assault upon his neighbour, Dr Jonathan Hutton, of such severity that the victim returned to England for a trepanning operation. This was a mere taster of what Hutchinson could do. A lot more evil was concealed up his ruffled cuff sleeves.

Somehow, someway, this mysterious character belonged in a story. What I had to do was work out a structure, and that evaded me for some time until I saw an article about a book called Black Tudors. I liked the idea of gainfully employed Black people in King Henry VIII’s time and wanted to write about a clever Black man. After all, literature has to find space for a different type of hero. They can’t all be Tom Holland lookalikes. King Henry’s Tudor era was sixteenth century. Doctor Hutchinson’s reign of terror came much later in the Georgian era. A light bulb went off. I decided that my tale would be about a smart Black Georgian, a fictional hero to take down the Mad Doctor. Originally entitled The Adventures Of Isaiah Ollenu, it was later changed to The Case of the Mad Doctor in consultation with my astute editor, Craig Lye.

The desolate district of Pedro would have been too restrictive as a setting for the entire book. Instead, much of the island is on show. Spanish Town (St Jago de la Vega), St Catherine, was the capital city and features prominently throughout. A few of the imposing buildings from that era still exist in Spanish Town square, some as ruins, others as local government facilities. The populous and popular Kingston gets a look in too, as does Montego Bay where a magnificent ball is held. Determined to include Jamaican folklore - as not many books do - I added elements of magical realism in the tale, including African mermaids and a rolling calf. Yes, Jamaica’s most terrifying four-legged duppy gets a whole scene to run riot.

Despair can be a close companion when conducting research into what was a barbarous time for people in Africa, the West Indies and the Americas, but creating art through pain is something that writers of dark fiction must get used to.

In the colonial era, unimaginable cruelty was inflicted upon human beings, enslaved and forced to work in degrading conditions to ensure Europe grew wealthy. Doctor Hutchinson ran a sugar plantation and owned enslaved Africans. While we do not know much about their lives, they deserve a voice and were given one.

Combining fiction with dark fact to produce entertainment is a delicate task. Early on, I realised that the only way to write the tale without falling into depression was to include a good dose of humour, which tone is set from chapter one. Whether you chose to root for the good guys or the bad guy, I hope you savour the antics of the very different characters.

 

The Case of the Mad Doctor by P D Lennon (Canelo Press) Out Now.

Inspired by the true story of Jamaica’s first serial killer. Jamaica, 1772. Caribbean jewel, or a killer's playground? On the island of Jamaica, people have started disappearing without trace. Have they run away, trying to start new lives in the British colony under assumed names, or is something darker afoot? Some of the missing had taken out large life insurance policies before leaving England, and so word of the vanishings reaches Bristol when relatives try to collect their pay outs. With suspicion of a grand fraud in the air, ambitious Black barrister’s clerk Isaiah Ollenu is thrown together with pious insurance agent Ruben Ashby and ordered to the Caribbean to investigate. But, confronted by prejudice, untoward characters and vengeful spirits, the task may cost this unlikely duo more than either man is willing to pay…

P D Lennon can be found on X @PaulaDL16 and on Instagram @pauladl16

*Kei Miller - The Cartographer Tries to Map a Way to Zion, Carcanet Press.