Showing posts with label Barbara nadel. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Barbara nadel. Show all posts

Thursday, 15 January 2026

Bloody Barnes - It's Murder on The Green


 Friday 6th February to Sunday 8th February 2026

Bloody Barnes is a brand-new crime writers' festival in London. From 6-8th February this year, southwest London will play host to a fabulous array of authors, including Mark Billingham, Sophie Hannah and Vaseem Khan. There is also the announcement of the inaugural Cob and Pen Award for the crime book of the year.


The Programme

Friday 6th February

18.00 to 19.00: Death is Scent Amanda Carr with Sarah McCartney.

Find out how fragrance has been used to kill and get to sniff some deadly ingredients!

20.00 – 21.00: The Talk is all of Murder! Mark Billingham and Graham Bartlett.

Award winning author, Mark Billingham, creator of iconic homicide detective Tom Thorne in discussion with fellow author and ex-homicide detective Graham Bartlett.

Saturday 7th Feb

10.00 to 11.00: Who poisoned Bad Boy Bob? Hilary Whitehall .

Bob is a handsome, very naughty dog living on Barnes Common. Everybody loves him. Or do they? Listen to Hilary’s story, solve the clues and help Hilary and police dog Zippy uncover the poisoner. For 5+ year olds.

12.00pm to 13.00pm. Criminal Minds Martin Edwards, Antony Johnston with Victoria Dowd.

Victoria in forensic examination of two of our most thrilling, multi-award-winning authors.

14.00 to 15.00: A Party to Murder Trevor Wood, Graham Bartlett, Bernard O’Keefe.

Get together with these doyens of detection. It will be killing!

16.00 – 17.00: Abracdabra -it’s murder! Tom Mead with Victoria Dowd

Join these wizards of the locked room mystery to find out how they dunnit!

18.00 19.00: Dying in Place Mark Ellis, Barbara Nadel, Vaseem Khan with Anne Mullins

Anne will find that from London to Istanbul to Mumbai its murder all the way with these incomparable writers

20.00 to 21.00 : There is nothing like a dame! Sophie Hannah & Victoria Dowd.

Two award winning writers on murder at its trickiest.

Sunday 8th Feb

10.00 to 11.00 Crime for the young Sophie Cleverley with Sam Blake

Girls - and boys - just wanna have fun’ - and that’s what they get solving crimes with these two brilliant writers for the young.

12.00 to 13.00: What lurks beneath Bernard O’Keefe.

Find out just how bloody Barnes can be with O’Keefe’s DI Garibaldi.

14.00 to 15.00 Right Royal Murder S.J. Bennet & Sam Blake with Tom Mead

Tom Mead in discussion with the kick ass queens of detection.

16.00 to 17.00: The Trial for Murder Nick Waring.

Nick reads Charles Dickens’ spine-chilling short story.

18.00 to 19.00 Murder Most Noir Johana Gustawsson & Thomas Enger with Harriett Gilbert

Feel the chill as Harriet Gilbert talks to the scions of Scandi murder

20.00 to 21.00 I Spy Frank Gardner with Vaseem Khan

It’s live and let die! with Gardner’s spy Luke Carlton and Vaseem’s first of the Q mysteries.

Tickets are on sale now and can be bought here.



Sunday, 23 November 2025

Forthcoming books from Headline Publishing

 January 2026

Kate stretches her legs and turns on the TV while James washes away the traces of their morning. She watches in horror at the unfolding news: the hotel they are staying in has been taken under siege. She should be making her way home, working on appearing normal, getting ready to re-enter family life with her loving husband Vic and their two adored children. Instead, she is trapped somewhere she shouldn't be, with a man she definitely doesn't love. How will she begin to tell Vic what she is doing here? If her body is found, will it give up the secret of what she's been up to? She's been so careful hiding the evidence of her affair: write nothing down, leave no trace. Will he begin to understand why? For now, Kate can only hide, take a deep breath, and reflect on the series of choices she's made that have brought her to this moment. What will her marriage and her life look like, if she makes it out? Room 706 is by Ellie Levenson

Anatomy of an Alibi is by Ashley Elston. Everyone at Chantilly's Bar noticed out-of-towner Camille Bayliss. Red lips, designer heels, sipping a Negroni. But that woman wasn't Camille Bayliss. It was Aubrey Price. Camille Bayliss appears to have the picture-perfect life; she's married to hotshot lawyer Ben and is the daughter of a wealthy Louisiana family. Only nothing is as it seems: Camille believes Ben has been hiding dirty secrets for years, but she can't find proof because he tracks her every move. Aubrey Price has been haunted by the terrible night that changed her life a decade ago, and she's convinced Benjamin Bayliss knows something about it. Living in a house full of criminals, Aubrey understands there's more than one way to get to the truth - and she may have found the best way in. Aubrey and Camille hatch a plan. It sounds simple: For twelve hours, Aubrey will take Camille's place. Camille will spy on Ben, and the two women will get the answers they desperately seek. Except the next morning, Ben is found murdered. Both women need an airtight alibi, but only one of them has it. And one false step is all it takes for everything to come undone.

The Nowhere Girls is by Carmel Harrington. On a cold afternoon in December 1995, two young girls are found abandoned on a platform at Pearse Station in Dublin. Thirty years later, investigative journalist Vega is determined to find out what happened to the so-called 'Nowhere Girls'. Where did their mother go? Why did no one come forward to claim them? And where are they now? Searching for answers takes her on a journey with twists she never could have imagined. And one that could put everything else she knows at risk; including her new relationship, her career, and her life as she knows it. 


February 2026

Two teenage girls. One murdered classmate. And a modern-day witch trial that will divide the nation. When 18-year-old Christian Shaw is found dead in an Edinburgh park, the city reels - and the shock only deepens when police charge her best friends, Eliza Lawson and Isobel Smyth, with her murder.  As social media explodes and headlines scream for justice, rumours of bullying spiral into something darker: whispers of rituals, obsession, and a teenage pact gone wrong. Matthew Phillips, a respected heart surgeon, is reluctantly called for jury duty on the case. But as the trial unfolds - and the girls reveal a chilling defence no one saw coming - he begins to question everything: the motives, the evidence, even his own judgement. Who's telling the truth? Who can be trusted?  And what really happened to Christian Shaw? Let the Witch Trial begin . . Witch Trial is by Harriet Tyce.

The Other Child is by Amy Carver. You'd know your son anywhere . . . wouldn't you? Louise has never felt the deep bond with her son, Alfie, that other mothers talk about. Now three, Alfie is volatile, difficult - and Louise can't help but blame herself. Then he makes a new friend, Jacob, and everything changes. Alfie becomes calmer. Happier. Louise should be thrilled - until she meets Jacob's mother and starts noticing strange coincidences: the same hospital, same birth date. . . and Jacob looks eerily like Louise's husband. As doubt spirals into obsession, Louise's suspicions deepen. With Jacob, she feels a bond she's never had with Alfie - an unsettling, impossible connection. And soon, she's forced to confront the unthinkable: What if her child isn't really hers?

March 2026

Whidbey is by T Kira Madden. You want to know who did it, but that was never the question. Or, it was never the right one. Birdie Chang doesn't know much about Whidbey Island, only that it is far. On the ferry, she has an unnerving encounter with a stranger, where she finds herself telling him everything: how she was sexually abused as a child, how the perpetrator now walks free, how the calls and emails from him haven't stopped and she is on the run; how she wants to kill him. The stranger poses a shocking question - if she agrees, he will murder the man who hurt her, with no strings attached. She gives him a name. On the other side of the country, Mary-Beth receives a phone call from the police: her only son has been murdered. What follows is a complex story of three women connected through one man: Birdie, a woman on the run from her past and her abuser; Mary-Beth, the abuser's loving mother; and Linzie, a former reality star turned bestselling memoirist, and another victim of the same man. Whidbey is a gripping whodunnit and a searingly perceptive and astonishingly original novel that asks the crucial question of who has real power over a story: the one who lives it, or the one who tells it? Women are rarely in receipt of what they are owed.

When MJ Hudson, an old work acquaintance, shows up at Dr Kez Lanyon's house in the middle of the night, Kez knows she has no choice but to help. At the prestigious boarding school that MJ's daughter attends, a teacher has been killed and a pupil is missing. And it seems that the same thing happens every few years. Only this time, the school haven't been able to cover things up and MJ's daughter and her group of nice, quiet friends are right at the heart of the scandal. Undercover as the new school therapist, Kez quickly realises there are some seriously powerful, well-connected forces at play. And by continuing to investigate the mystery, perhaps even stepping outside the law to do so, Kez risks putting her own family in serious danger. Because no one wants their secrets aired. And some will go to any length to keep them buried. The Quiet Girls is by Dorothy Koomson.

Romania, 1989: a grey place of mysterious queues, ubiquitous informers and daily news flashes about a man-eating bear that is terrorising the country. Amidst the daily drudge of work, rationing and careful conversation with neighbours, two lives unexpectedly collide when an idealistic police detective, Constantin, is tasked with solving a string of grisly murders, and a rebellious school child, Lia, is unwittingly drawn into her elderly neighbour's seditious plot. Astronaut is by Oana Aristide 

April 2026

Welcome to the Family is by Kate Gray. Holiday with your in-laws can be murder . . . Rosie Riley is nervously excited about meeting the Fraser family. She's head-over-heels for her boyfriend Theo and she hopes that spending a fortnight with the Frasers at their luxury Tuscan villa is a good sign of where their relationship is headed. Fenna Fraser has been part of the family for years. She's always enjoyed the glam annual holiday, but this year she's especially tired with a new baby in tow and she fears her mother-in-law will be more critical than ever. No one is good enough for her sons. It starts as the perfect family holiday. It ends with one of these women arrested for murder. Who is guilty? Who is the victim? And did they deserve it? . . .


When murder strikes at Bathory College's 25-year reunion, the clues to the killing can be found a quarter of a century ago on Graduation Day 2000. As the secrets, tragedies and betrayals from twenty-five years before played out at the reunion, someone from the Class of 2000 was taught a deadly lesson. Twelve witnesses - or are they suspects? - from the Bathory students and staff recount events in the years 2000 and 2025 while the murder trial unfolds before us. But who is the victim? Who is accused of being the killer? And is the right person even on trial? The truth will be uncovered... but only by degrees. A Degree of Truth is by Maz Evans.

The Perfect Accident is by Tess Stimson Could you sacrifice one life to save many? What if that life was your son's?  This year, for the first time, the high school prom will be held on a luxurious cruiser on the lake. Sisters Amy and Iris are excited to be chaperones at the event, seeing their sons all dressed up. It's a proud moment. But, tonight, the boat will sink. And as darkness falls, secrets unravel and the air starts to run out, one of the sisters will be forced to make a split-second decision - to save her own son and let her nephew and twenty-one other teenagers drown. And then, a year later, one of the teenagers will wake up from her coma, ready to tell everyone what really happened at the bottom of the lake. And someone needs to keep her quiet - for good. A pulse-pounding novel of small-town secrets, lies and betrayal - with a twist you won't see coming. 

The Writer and the Traitor: Graham Greene, Kim Philby and the Great Betrayal is by Robert Verkaik. The friendship between Graham Greene and Kim Philby is one of the most mysterious of the twentieth century. Greene, the internationally lauded novelist who wrestled with the themes of faith and betrayal in his work. Philby, the British intelligence-officer-turned-spy for the Soviets, and one of the most reviled men of his era. The two men met as young MI6 officers in war-torn London, working together to defeat the Nazis. But after Greene suddenly resigned just days before D-Day, questions started to arise. He turned back to literature, using his experience in the intelligence services as a backdrop for his novel Our Man in Havana and the screenplay of The Third Man. Lurking within the pages lay suspicions of his friend, with characters and plots echoing Philby's life. Was Philby the real 'third man'? Did Greene's work contain coded messages and warnings of betrayal to M16?

May 2026

As the youngest of three sisters, Charity Wills is used to getting what she wants. When she was a teenager, she fell in love with the dashing bad boy next door and married him. If she wants something beautiful and expensive in a shop, she discreetly puts it in her bag - the Old Bill be damned. If she has enemies that need seeing to, her father-in-law can pull some strings to make the problem go away. So when Charity finds herself suddenly on her own - her beloved Little Danny in prison and no sign of a much-wanted pregnancy on the way - she is at a loss. She wants to start pulling her weight in her influential crime family. But as she works to pull off a plan that will fly under the radar of the law, an old enemy of the Wills family grows ever nearer, determined that Charity will not have her happily ever after . .  Charity is by Linda Calvey

Serpent's Tongue is by Barbara Nadel. As the youngest of three sisters, Charity Wills is used to getting what she wants. When she was a teenager, she fell in love with the dashing bad boy next door and married him. If she wants something beautiful and expensive in a shop, she discreetly puts it in her bag - the Old Bill be damned. If she has enemies that need seeing to, her father-in-law can pull some strings to make the problem go away. So when Charity finds herself suddenly on her own - her beloved Little Danny in prison and no sign of a much-wanted pregnancy on the way - she is at a loss. She wants to start pulling her weight in her influential crime family. But as she works to pull off a plan that will fly under the radar of the law, an old enemy of the Wills family grows ever nearer, determined that Charity will not have her happily ever after . . 

June

The Midnight Guests is by Alex Hay. 1923. Diana Gold, owner and impresario, throws open the doors to the most opulent new hotel in London. As the champagne flows and the chandeliers shimmer, millionaires and gamblers rub shoulders with film stars and royalty. Everyone who's anyone is here. Everyone, that is, except two guests due at midnight. Powerful and dangerous, they've dragged Diana from the gutter and taught her all she knows. Her fate rests in their hands. If everything goes right, a whole new life awaits. One mistake will cost her everything. For this is much more than a hotel - it's the heart of Diana's intricate masterplan. Over twenty-four fateful hours, her guests will learn why they're really here. And Diana will take perfect care of them - unless they take care of her first. But when a body is found in the depths of the hotel, Diana's lavish opening night suddenly spirals out of control. . .

Every traitor was once trusted. Jamie Tulloch and Sam Li never intended to be spies. Jamie, a former exec at a tech company, found himself caught up in a mission and discovered a taste for the secret world while Sam, a burnt-out corporate lawyer, was unexpectedly talent spotted by MI5. When both are plunged into covert training, they find themselves pitted against each other for their final evaluation - Exercise Red Poacher. Every year, MI6 trainees must evade capture, infiltrate sensitive sites and report back with the right intel, while their peers at MI5 try to stop them. But things take a sinister turn when they witness the apparent murder of one of their fellow recruits. Is it all part of the exercise? Or is someone trying to weaponise this game of spies into something far more deadly? Solitary Agents is by David Goodman.



Wednesday, 15 January 2025

Icon of Genre Announced for Final CrimeFest

 CrimeFest has announced an icon of the genre, Lee Child, will take part in its final convention in May 2025.

One of the UK’s leading crime fiction conventions, which is hosted in Bristol supported by title sponsor Specsavers, CrimeFest announced 2025 will be its final event after 16 years.

Organisers have said they are putting all their energy into making the final event one to remember.

The celebratory finale features a record number of Diamond Dagger recipients in attendance.

Alongside Lee, fellow Diamond Dagger recipients confirmed are Peter Lovesey, Simon Brett, Lindsey Davis, Martin Edwards, and John Harvey, as well as in spirit, John le Carré (with his two sons) and Dick Francis (as represented by his son, the crime writer Felix Francis). 

Le Carré’s sons are the film producer Simon Cornwell, who is behind adaptations of his father’s work, including The Night Manager for the BBC starring Tom Hiddleston and Olivia Colman; and Nick Harkaway who, to much acclaim, recently brought back his father’s famous literary creation, George Smiley, with his novel, Karla’s Choice.

John Harvey has written over 100 books, including his series of jazz-influenced Charlie Resnick novels. Harvey has a number of short stories due for publication this year, including his story Criss-Cross in Playing Dead, a new collection of stories written by members of the Detection Club, edited by Martin Edwards, and published in March. Also out in March is his new poetry collection, Blue in Green, published by Shoestring Press.

Also confirmed is the Icelandic author known as the Queen of Nordic thrillers, Yrsa Sigurdardottir, who is also a regular face at CrimeFest and will return to help celebrate CrimeFest’s sixteen years.

Also attending is the award-winning author Barbara Nadel, author of the much-loved Inspector Cetin Ikmen series, adapted for TV as The Turkish Detective starring Haluk Bilginer, which aired on BBC2 in June 2024. Trained as an actress, Barbara Nadel used to work in mental health services. She now writes full time and has been a visitor to Turkey for over twenty years. The latest in her Cetin Ikmen series, The Wooden Library, is out in May. She also has a new title in her Hakim and Arnold series, The East Ham Golem, out this February.

Adrian Muller, co-host of CrimeFest, said: “Lee Child, alongside American author Jeffery Deaver, has played a very special role in our history. Both were special guests at our very first CrimeFest, they were there for our fifth anniversary, and for our tenth anniversary. Jeffery has prior commitments; however, we’re working on him participating in CrimeFest remotely, and we're thrilled Lee will be there in person to help celebrate our final year.

The Jack Reacher creator, whose books have been adapted to the big and small screen by Tom Cruise and for Amazon Prime, will attend with his brother and co-writer, Andrew, who has taken over writing the series. 

Lee Child said: "Sadly all good things come to an end - and Adrian Muller's Bristol CrimeFest is one of the very best things ever. It is a warm, friendly, relaxed, and inclusive festival, hugely enjoyable for authors and readers alike. Myles, Liz, Donna and Adrian, their team of volunteers - and Dame Mary from Specsavers - have my sincere thanks for many delightful weekends over the years."

Already announced for the long-weekend [15 – 18 May] at Bristol’s Mercure Grand Hotel is the author and CWA chair, Vaseem Khan, who will be Toastmaster at the CrimeFest Awards night. Vaseem is author of the Malabar House historical crime series set in Bombay. Upcoming is his continuation of the James Bond franchise with Quantum of Menace, the first in a series featuring Q.

2025 also welcomes the return of author Cathy Ace, who will close the Gala Dinner event. Cathy's Cait Morgan Mysteries have been optioned for TV by the production company, Free@Last TV, which is behind the hit series, Agatha Raisin.

CrimeFest was created following the hugely successful one-off visit to Bristol in 2006 of the American Left Coast Crime convention, and CrimeFest runs on the US model. The first CrimeFest was organised in June 2008. 

Unlike other major crime fiction events in the UK, any commercially published author who signs up can feature on a panel. In this way, CrimeFest has provided many authors with a platform they would not have been offered elsewhere in the UK. 

Donna Moore, author and co-host of CrimeFest, said: “We’re proud to be a unique and perhaps the most democratic crime fiction event in the UK. Readers have discovered and met writers they otherwise may never have heard of. All delegates – be they authors, readers, from the book trade, or aspiring writers – come together as equals to celebrate the genre they love. We very much appreciate the talent and ongoing support of much-loved regulars, along with first-time attendees.”

The convention also continues its Community Outreach Programme. In partnership with the independent Max Minerva’s Bookshop and participating publishers, CrimeFest gifts thousands of pounds of crime fiction books for children and young adults to school libraries.

With thanks to Specsavers, librarians, students, and those on benefits are offered significantly discounted tickets.

To find out more, or to book your spot as a delegate, go to: https://www.crimefest.com/



Friday, 20 May 2022

In The Lyme Crime Spotlight :- Barbara Nadel

 Name:- Barbara Nadel

Job:- Author

Twitter:- @BarbaraNadel

Introduction:

Barbara Nadel is the author of three different series. The Inspector Çetin Ikmen books which are police procedurals set in Istanbul, Turkey. The Francis Hancock Series featuring a crime-solving undertaker and the Mumtaz Hakim and Lee Arnold Series who have a small detective agency. Deadly Web the seventh book in the Inspector Ikmen series won the CWA Silver Dagger in 2005. In 2006 Last Rites was the winner of the Swedish Jury magazine's Flintyxan ("Flint Axe") award for Best Historical Crime Novel. In 2008 Ashes to Ashes won the London Borough of Redbridge Big Book of the Year Award and in 2010 Sure and Certain Death won the London Borough of Redbridge Crime Fiction Book of the Year Award.

Current book: 

This is called 'Bride Price' and is an Inspector Ikmen mystery.

Favourite Book: 

'The Alexandria Quartet' by Lawrence Durrell.

How do you relax? 

I don't. I appear to be incapable.

Which book do you wish you had written and why:

'Dan Leno and the Limehouse Golem' by Peter Ackroyd. To me this is the epitome of a mysterious London book. And because London is my home and I was brought up with tales of its music halls, magicians and seers, I wish I'd written this.

What would you say to your younger self if you were starting out as an author?

Have confidence in your talent and don't be put off by those who tell you you're bound to fail.

Why do you prefer to write two different series as opposed to a standalone novel and would you consider writing a standalone novel? 

I think I have to have my psychologist's hat on here. In series, I like to see how characters develop over time and how they respond to different scenarios and challenges across the courses of their lives. I have many ideas for standalone books and would love to write one or more in the future. Plans are afoot, but not yet come to fruition.

What are you looking forward to at Lyme Crime? 

So much! Seeing so many friends is the big one for me. Also going somewhere I've never been before and, of course, Derek Farrell's 'Noir at the Bar'.

Bride Price by Barbara Nadel (Headline) Out Now

When jeweller Fahrettin Muftugolu is found dead in his apartment in the Istanbul district of Vefa, it looks like suicide. Searching the jeweller's home, Inspector Mehmet Suleyman and his team come across a hoard of extraordinary artefacts including solid gold religious relics and a mummified human head. But are they real and, if so, who owns these priceless possessions? As his colleagues begin their investigation, Suleyman is distracted by troubles of his own. His wedding to Gonca Serekoglu is days away, but when Gonca receives her bridal bedcover from a Roma haberdasher and discovers that it is covered in blood, she sees this as a curse on their marriage. Suleyman asks his old friend Cetin Ikmen to help him uncover the truth, but the task is not that simple... Meanwhile, as the stories swirling around Muftugolu become increasingly sinister, the dead man's wife appears, laying claim to his valuables, and Suleyman is drawn into a dark and dangerous world of smuggling and savagery . . .

Tickets can be bought here :- https://www.lymecrime.co.uk/tickets--contact.html


Monday, 9 May 2022

Being by the seaside at Lyme Crime!

 

What do Barbara Nadel, Amanda Jennings, Charlotte Philby, DV Bishop and William Shaw all have in common? 

Aside from the fact that they are all great authors, they are all due to be at Lyme Crime taking part in various panels and they have all agreed to respond to some questions from me. So look out for some mini interviews from them on the Shotsblog. 

Up first will be D V Bishop who is the author of the brilliant Cesare Aldo historical mysteries set in Renaissance Florence.

Tickets and information can be found here.

Thursday, 3 February 2022

Line-up for Lyme Crime announced

The line-up for Lyme Crime has been announced and there is a wealth of authors attending. It is going to be a wonderful event and I shall be moderating a panel.



Come and spend a murderously good weekend by the sea in sunny Dorset, so do not miss out. Early bird tickets go on sale from March!

https://www.lymecrime.co.uk 

Saturday, 14 November 2020

Books to Look Forward to From Headline Publishers

January 2021

On a bright sunny day in Port Silver, ex-journalist Martin Scarsden misses a call from his girlfriend Mandy. Checking his voicemail later, all he hears is her terrified scream before the phone cuts off. Back at the house, he finds a policeman unconscious on the floor, and Mandy gone. So starts a twisting tale of intrigue and danger, as Martin probes the past of the woman he loves, a woman who has buried her former life deep. And for the first time, Mandy finds denial impossible, now the body of a man has been discovered - a man to whom she was engaged to marry. It's time to face her demons once and for all; it's time she learned how to trust. Trust is by Chris Hammer.

Run For Cover is by Michael Ledwidge. On the run from a shadowy cabal of the world's most powerful men, ex-Navy Seal Michael Gannon heads to the safest place he can think of: his war buddy's ranch in the wilds of Utah. But when his friend's brother is found dead in the rocky mountains, Gannon realizes he can't stay off grid. Is the death connected to a string of grisly murders occurring in national parks...or something even more sinister? Flushed from cover, Gannon finds himself sucked into a lethal conspiracy that has infiltrated the highest levels of the US government.

February 2021

Shiver is by Allie Reynolds. When Milla is invited to a reunion in the French Alps resort that saw the peak of her snowboarding career, she drops everything to go. While she would rather forget the events of that winter, the invitation comes from Curtis, the one person she can't seem to let go. The five friends haven't seen each other for ten years, since the disappearance of the beautiful and enigmatic Saskia. But when an icebreaker game turns menacing, they realise they don't know who has really gathered them there and how far they will go to find the truth. In a deserted lodge high up a mountain, the secrets of the past are about to come to light.

The charred remains of an elderly woman are discovered in a burned-out game-keepers cottage, hidden away in woodland to the west of Edinburgh. Clearly no accidental fire, Detective Inspector Tony McLean suspects that neither is this simply a grim arson attack. There is far more to the victim than her humble surroundings might suggest, and something ritualistic to her horrific murder. Nor will it be the only case of death by fire that Tony and his team will be faced with. This is only the beginning, and with such evil clouding the air, Tony begins to wonder what else will burn . . . What Will Burn is by James Oswald.

Finlay Donovan is Killing It is by Elle Cosimano. Finlay Donovan, single mum and floundering crime writer, is having a hard time. Her ex-husband went behind her back to fire the nanny, and this morning she sent her four-year-old to school with hair duct-taped to her head after an unfortunate incident with scissors. Making it to lunch with her literary agent is a minor victory but, as she's discussing the plot of her latest crime novel, the conversation is misinterpreted by a woman sitting nearby as that of a hit-woman offering her services to dispose of a 'problem' husband. And when the woman slips Finlay a name and a promise of a large sum of cash, Finlay finds herself plotting something much bigger than her novel. And, after all, they do always say: write what you know. . .

March 2021

Blackout is by Simon Scarrow. Berlin, December 1939As Germany goes to war, the Nazis tighten their terrifying grip. Paranoia in the capital is intensified by a rigidly enforced blackout that plunges the city into oppressive darkness every night, as the bleak winter sun set.When a young woman is found brutally murdered, Criminal Inspector Horst Schenke is under immense pressure to solve the case, swiftly. Treated with suspicion by his superiors for his failure to join the Nazi Party, Schenke walks a perilous line - for disloyalty is a death sentence.The discovery of a second victim confirms Schenke's worst fears. He must uncover the truth before evil strikes again.As the investigation takes him closer to the sinister heart of the regime, Schenke realises there is danger everywhere - and the warring factions of the Reich can be as deadly as a killer stalking the streets . ..

What if today was your last day... A bomb has exploded during a fashion show, killing a beautiful model on the catwalk. The murderer is still at large... and he may strike again. Yet this is the least of Police Commissioner Christian Verger's worries. His fiancee Viola has left him. He has to keep his tumultuous past a secret. To make things worse, his voice assistant Alexa is 99.74% sure he will die tomorrow. Moving from snowy 1980s Montana to chic 1990s Manhattan to a drone-filled 2030s Britain, Future Perfect is by Felicia Yap and is an electrifying race to solve a murder before it's too late. Yet it is also a love story, a riveting portrait of a couple torn apart by secrets, grief and guilt. A twisted tale of how the past can haunt a person's future and be used to predict if he will die... or kill.

Breakout is by Paul Herron. A lethal storm. The most deadly prison. Who will survive the night? Jack Constantine - a former cop who killed one of his wife's murderers in an act of vengeance - is serving his time in Ravenhill penitentiary, a notorious 'supermax' home to the most dangerous convicts in the country. When an apocalyptic superstorm wreaks havoc across the USA, the correctional officers flee the prison...but not before opening every cell door. The inmates must fend for themselves as lethal floodwaters rise and violent anarchy is unleashed. Teaming up with Kiera Sawyer, a Correctional Officer left behind on her first day of work, Constantine has one chance of survival - he must break out of a maximum security prison. But with the building on the verge of collapse, and deadly chaos around him, time is running out...

April 2021

1606. A year to the day that men were executed for conspiring to blow up Parliament, a towering wave devastates the Bristol Channel. Some proclaim God's vengeance. Others seek to take advantage.In London, Daniel Pursglove lies in prison waiting to die. But Charles FitzAlan, close adviser to King James I, has a job in mind that will free a man of Daniel's skill from the horrors of Newgate. If he succeeds.For Bristol is a hotbed of Catholic spies, and where better for the lone conspirator who evaded arrest, one Spero Pettingar, to gather allies than in the chaos of a drowned city? Daniel journeys there to investigate FitzAlan's lead, but soon finds himself at the heart of a dark Jesuit conspiracy - and in pursuit of a killer. The Drowned City is by K J Maitland.

A Darker Reality is by Anne Perry. The threat of a second world war means no one is safe... Elena Standish, a young English photographer working for MI5, is on holiday in America, attending her grandparents’ golden wedding anniversary party in Washington DC, when one of the guests is murdered. It is a hit and run by a car that belongs to Elena’s grandfather and he is immediately arrested. With connections to many political circles, including a close link to the President, Elena’s grandfather is convinced that his enemies are trying to frame him. And with the help of handsome British spy James Allenby, Elena must uncover the truth before it is too late... 

Forfeit is by Barbara Nadel. Double murder. Dark secrets Bitter betrayal It is the early hours of the morning when Turkish TV star Erol Gencer and Syrian refugee Wael Al Hussain are found dead at a house on the outskirts of Istanbul, but it is unclear whether Erol killed Wael before committing suicide or if it was a double murder. Inspector Mehmet Suleyman is on leave, as his teenage son is visiting from Ireland, but when Detective Kemil Gursel’s transsexual ex-lover, Pembe, is also murdered shortly after confessing that Wael had been one of her clients, Suleyman knows he must step in to help Kemil solve this complex case. Meanwhile, retired inspector Cetin Ikmen is pursuing the truth behind Wael’s wife’s story that she and Erol’s wife, Betul, had met over a year ago and plotted to kill each other’s husbands. From different directions, Ikmen and Suleyman close in on a killer whose double life has lead to greed, betrayal and murder... 

Inspector Lu Fei is a weary cop in a remote, northern Chinese town where the theft of a few chickens counts as a major crime. But when a young woman is brutally murdered - with her heart, lungs and liver removed - he suddenly finds himself under intense scrutiny from the ruling party in Beijing. Determined to find her killer, Lu Fei must navigate a society where politics can be deadly, corruption is rife, and the powerful are protected. As evidence connects the case a string of unsolved murders, Lu must decide what he is prepared to risk in search of justice. City of Ice is by Brian Klingborg.







Saturday, 1 February 2020

Crime at the North London Story Festival

The theme for the event in 2020 is ‘Crime’. As a Story Festival – rather than the more traditional Literary Festival – we are hosting speakers and putting on a range of events that address the full spectrum of crime as a genre and entertainment format. Speakers include: Stephen Kelman, author of the Booker-shortlisted Pigeon English which provides a unique insight into the experience of young Londoners and gang violence; PD Viner, author of The Last Winter of Dani Lancing; Barbara Nadel, creator of the fictional Turkish detective Çetin İkmen; Paul Gilbert, Executive Producer for Sky on BulletproofTin Star, Strike Back and Sky One’s up-coming sci-fi show, Intergalactic; and Ceri Jackson, the Hendon and Finchley Times-trained journalist who created Shreds: Murder in the Docks, the hit BBC true crime podcast.

As well as these speakers the University campus will be transformed into an immersive crime scene through various interactive experiences, including a locative campus-wide sleuthing game; an escape room, ‘Heist’; Human Cluedo; a VR forensic crime scene; a true crime podcast station; and a workshop on reporting crime with Google News Lab.

Details here and the programme can be found here.

Or email James Graham j.graham@mdx.ac.uk


Friday, 26 May 2017

Ottomania! by Barbara Nadel

 


When I was a kid in the 1960s and 1970s the idea of monarchy becoming a relevant political force seemed laughable. In 1973 the king of Greece, Constantine, was deposed in a military coup which constituted the last overthrow of monarchy in a Europe that had been gradually getting rid of its royals since the beginning of the twentieth century. In 1979 the Shah of Iran fell and royal families seemed to be on their way out.


Of course in the UK we had and still have our constitutional monarchy which has no political power. But then in 1978 something a bit strange happened in Spain when the Spanish monarchy was restored in the wake of the dictatorship of the fascist leader Francisco Franco. Suddenly Spain had a king and continues to have one to this day.

In the Turkey of my youth one didn't often talk about the sultans who had once ruled what had been, until 1923 (when the Turkish Republic was born) the Ottoman Empire. Occasionally you'd meet someone, someone else would tell you was a prince or princess, but in very hushed tones as if talking about violent death. Until this current century it was considered very backward-looking and  almost shameful to talk about a vanished empire and its archaic system of governance. To be one of 'them' was something that people kept dark.

And indeed when I started writing my Ikmen books back in the 1990s, this had not changed. Those who know my crime novels will recognise immediately that I referred to this phenomenon when I devised the character of Inspector Mehmet Suleyman. Back in the old days of the empire, he would have been a prince, but in the modern world of the Republic, he's just a man whose background is slightly 'exotic'.

However, as time has progressed, things have changed in Turkey. Now, rather than be ashamed of one's Ottoman heritage it is considered a badge of honour. Indeed, when the then head of the royal house of Osmanoglu died in 2009, he was given a state funeral which was attended by government ministers as well as thousands of members of the public.

I have reflected this in my books as Mehmet Suleyman's ancestry becomes more prominent in his life, even though he is not always happy about this. Not all of the vast Osmanoglu family are. Many of them don't even live in Turkey and some see what could be called the rehabilitation of the empire as a backward step.

But whatever the rights and wrongs, what has been called Ottomania, a yearning for the old days of empire, is a real force in Turkey these days. Allied to many of the beliefs and philosophies of the ruling party, love for all things Ottoman is very common and is becoming big business. I can remember a time when you couldn't give Ottoman furniture away. Not now.

In light of this development when I came to writing what is Ikmen book number 19, it was no surprise to me or anyone else that I turned to Ottomania for inspiration. The House of Four is the story of Ottoman relics, both architectural and human and is a study of what happens when families collude in hiding both themselves and their secrets from the world. It's also about how being 'royal' albeit with no power, can cause people to behave in ways that are not always adaptive. Indeed, I would say that on one level 'The House of Four', as well as being a murder mystery, is also an exploration of what it means to be exalted above others by virtue of one's status at birth. The more I dug into the subject the more I came to realise that it is a really unhealthy way to be. It certainly is for the royal characters in this book!

How Mehmet Suleyman will fare in this brave new world of Ottomania, I will leave the reader to discover. But life is changing for him in ways he never dreamed of back in the 1970s. I know how he feels. 

Read John Parker's review here.
Read Barbara's feature on mental illness here

The House of Four by Barbara Nadel, published by Headline 18th May 2017.
 

Wednesday, 24 May 2017

Events for your Diary


Tuesday 6th June, 6.30pm

 


 
Heffers Bookshop and British Library Publications invite you to an evening discussing Lois Austen-Leigh’s The Incredible Crime. This crime novel by a great, great niece of Jane Austen – supposedly written on the very desk used by her illustrious ancestor – has been shrouded in mystery since it fell out of print. Now the British Library is re-issuing The Incredible Crime as part of the library’s Crime Classics series.
 
Tickets are £4 in advance and available from theincrediblecrimeatheffers.eventbrite.co.uk.



Thursday 15th June, 6.30pm

 

 

Join Len Tyler and Suzette Hill, two of Heffers' crime fiction favourites, as they talk about their new books A Herring in the Smoke and Shot in Southwold.
 
Tickets are £4 in advance and available from tylerandhillatheffers.eventbrite.co.uk.


Thursday 6th July, 6.30pm

 
Thursday July 6th sees the return of What's Your Poison? - Heffers' summer crime and detective fiction party. Join us for an evening of author readings, cocktails and brilliant books! Authors taking part include Clare Carson, Susan Grossey, Guy Fraser-Sampson, Christina James, Erin Kelly, Christina Koning, Abir Mukherjee, Peter Murphy, Barbara Nadel, Louise Penny, Kate Rhodes, Lesley Thomson and Felicia Yap.
 
Tickets are £6 in advance and available from whatsyourpoison2017.eventbrite.co.uk.

Friday, 24 February 2017

Deal Noir Programme


9.00      Registration

9.45        Deal or No Deal – is there such a thing as Kent Noir? Katerina Diamond, Frances Fyfield, Susan Moody & William Shaw - Moderator – Ayo Onatade

10.45     New Blood – debut authors talk about their road to publication: Fiona Cummins, Claire Evans, Paul Harrison & Mark Hill
Moderator – Sarah Ward

11.45     A Suitable Job For A Woman – what profession do you give a female protagonist if  she is not a police officer: Steph Broadribb, Janet Laurence, Nicola Upson & Louise Voss - Moderator – William Shaw

12.45     Lunch

2.00      Killers: Home and Away – British authors who use foreign locations – where and why? Quentin Bates, David Hewson, Barbara Nadel & Daniel Pembrey - Moderator – Andy Lawrence

3.00       Tough Nuts & How To Crack Them – the grittier side of crime fiction writing? Hugh Fraser, Simon Michael, Linda Regan & Rod Reynolds - Moderator – Barry Forshaw

4.00        Series Characters & Locations – how to create them so they keep on giving? Guy Fraser-Sampson, SJI Holliday, Leigh Russell &Sarah Ward-Moderator – Craig Sisterson

5.00        My Favourite All-time Crime Book
                Panel to be announced

5.55        Presentation of the Deal Noir 2017 Flash Fiction Award and Closure
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