Forthcoming Crime Books From Michael Joseph

 January 2023

The Drift is by C J Tudor. Survival can be murder... During a deadly snowstorm, Hannah awakens to carnage, all mangled metal and shattered glass. Evacuated from a secluded boarding school, her coach careered off the road, trapping her with a handful of survivors. Meg awakens to a gentle rocking. She's in a cable car stranded high above snowy mountains, with five strangers and no memory of how they got on board. Carter is gazing out of the window of an isolated ski chalet that he and his companions call home. As their generator begins to waver in the storm, the threat of something lurking in the chalet's depths looms larger. Outside, the storm rages. Inside one group, a killer lurks. But which one? And who will make it out alive?

Blood is thicker than water . . . and murder is best kept in the family. At first the townspeople of Cherryvale welcome the arrival of medium Kate Bender and her family. Kate's messages from the Beyond give their dreams hope, and her mother's potions cure their ills - for a price. No one knows about their other business, the shortcut they offer to a better life. And why shouldn't Kate's family prosper? They're careful. It's only from those who are marked, those who travel alone and can easily disappear, that the Benders demand their pound of flesh. But even a gifted seer like Kate can make a misstep. Now as the secrets festering beneath the soil of the family orchard threaten to bring them all to ruin, the Benders must sharpen their craft - or vanish themselves . . .All the Blood We Share is by Camilla Bruce.

You Should Have Told Me is by Leah Konen. When Janie and Max welcomed their newborn daughter, they hoped life would be complete. But six weeks in, Janie is sleep-deprived and struggling to adjust - she relies on Max more than ever. Until the night he doesn't come home. Alone with her baby and desperate for answers, Janie searches for Max. But when a woman's body is found, his disappearance raises serious alarms - for Janie, and for the police. The harder she looks for him, the more Janie realises how much Max has been hiding. And when it becomes clear he's the prime suspect in the murder, Janie faces an awful question: How much does she really know about the man she loves? . . 

February 2023

As a child, Evan Smoak was plucked out of a group home, raised and trained as an off-the-books assassin for the government as part of the Orphan program. When he broke with the program and went deep underground, he left with a lot of secrets in his head that the government would do anything to make sure never got out. When he remade himself as The Nowhere Man, dedicated to helping the most desperate in their times of trouble, Evan found himself slowly back on the government's radar. Having eliminated most of the Orphans in the program, the government will stop at nothing to eliminate the threat they see in Evan. But Orphan X has always been several steps ahead of his pursuers. Until he makes one little mistake . . . Now the President has him in her control and offers Evan a deal - eliminate a rich, powerful man she says is too dangerous to live and, in turn, she'll let Evan survive. But when Evan left the Program he swore to only use his skills against those who really deserve it. Now he has to decide what's more important - his principles or his life. The Last Orphan is by Gregg Hurwitz.

March 2023

The Half Burnt House is by Alex North. Katie always looked after her beloved younger brother Chris - until she left him alone for one selfish afternoon, and their picture-perfect family fell apart. Although Chris survived the attack, the scars ran deeper than the ones left across his face. Now they're adults, and they haven't spoken in years. Then she gets a call, from Detective Laurence Page. Page is facing an unusually disturbing crime scene. Alan Hobbes, a distinguished and wealthy philosophy professor, has been brutally murdered. Hobbes was living in a sprawling mansion - but one that remains half-ruined by a decades-old fire, wind and rain howling through the gaping, creaking roof. Page only has one suspect: Chris, caught on CCTV at the house. But he has plenty of questions. What could cause a man as wealthy as Hobbes not to repair his home? Why did he seem to know his death was coming, yet do nothing to stop it? And why was he obsessed with a legendary local serial killer? But Katie only has one thing on her mind. She knows this is her last, best chance to finally save her brother, and make up for her negligence all those years ago. But she can't possibly imagine just how much danger he's in...

April 2023

Aisling's two sons, Ethan and Finn, mean everything to her. Ever since becoming estranged from her own parents, though, she's always felt like a piece of her is missing. Desperate to find answers - about her family, and herself - Aisling uploads her DNA to an ancestry website, and is thrilled when it finds a match. But instead of finding answers, she comes face to face with a detective. Aisling's DNA is a match for a recent crime scene - the latest in a string of murders by a dangerous serial killer, known as 'the bonfire killer'. And the police have three lead suspects: her father, or one of her two sons. Aisling would do anything for her family - but can she protect a killer? A Killer in the Family is by Gytha Lodge.

May 2023

Just Another Missing Person is by Gillian McAllister. Olivia: 22 years old. No history of running away. Last seen on CCTV, entering a dead-end alley. And not coming back out again. Missing for one day and counting . . . Julia is the detective heading up the case. She knows what to expect. A desperate family, a ticking clock, and long hours away from her daughter. But Julia has no idea how close to home it's going to get. Because her family's safety depends on one thing: Julia must NOT find out what happened to Olivia - and must frame somebody else for her murder . . . What would you do?

Vienna, 1946 A brilliant German scientist spirited out of the ruins Nazi Europe in search of a new life. Moscow, 1964 A rising star of the British diplomatic service whose job is not what it seems. London the Present day. A once promising academic offered an opportunity to seal his place in history. Their stories, their lives, and the fate of the world, are bound by a single document: The Scarlet Papers. The devastating secrets contained within teased by a brief invitation: Tomorrow 11AM. Take a cab and pay in cash. Tell no one. The Scarlet Papers is by Matthew Richardson.

June 2023

The Last Goodbye is by Tim Weaver. One day ago … On the night Tom Brenner and his nine-year-old son Leo visit the Seven Peaks theme park, they head straight for the ghost house. They go in. But they don't come out. Somewhere inside the ride, impossible as it seems, the two of them simply vanish. Forty Years ago....When Rebekah Murphy was three, her mother walked out of their childhood home and never returned. Nearly four decades on, Fiona Murphy is still missing. But then, out of the blue, a letter arrives in the post. It says it's from Fiona. What is the connection? Missing persons investigator David Raker is hired by Rebekah to find out if the letter is actually from Fiona - and, if it isn't, why someone would pretend to be her. But this is a mystery whose secrets were never meant to be found. And as Raker starts to connect the dots from Fiona to the Brenners, he begins to realise he can't trust anyone - even the people closest to him...

When she's gifted a once-in-a-lifetime Antarctic cruise, Olivia has never been anywhere so spectacular. Huge cliffs of ice loom up to the sky. The sun never sets over the sparkling sea. And there's a killer on board... Unable to sleep in the endless eerie daylight, Olivia has no idea who she can trust. And if she can't figure it out soon, she won't make it back alive. Midnight is by Amy McCulloch.

Night Will Find You is by Julia Heaberlin. Vivvy Bouchet saved a boy's life when she was a child, after a premonition. That boy is now a Texas police officer, who has always believed Vivvy is psychic. He convinces her to help him solve a high-profile cold case: three-year-old Lizzie Solomon disappeared in broad daylight from her home. A body was never found, but the child's mother, Nicolette, is in prison for the disappearance, loudly proclaiming her innocence. When a popular podcaster hears of Vivvy's involvement in the case, his conspiracy theories about the missing child, and Vivvy too, have an army of fans hanging on every dangerous word. But when it becomes clear there may be a kidnapper - or killer - still on the loose, Vivvy knows there's more to lose than her reputation. Because the difference between the truth and a lie can mean life or death . . .

Books to look Forward to from Penguin and Michael Joseph

January 2018

Looking back, it all started on the day of the fair and the terrible accident.  When 12 year old Eddie first met the Chalk Man.  It was the Chalk Man who gave Eddie the idea for the drawings; a way to leave secret messages between his group of friends.  And it was fun, to start with, until the figures led them to the body of a young girl.  That was 30 years ago and Ed had thought the past was behind him.  Then he receives a letter containing just two things: a piece of chalk, and a drawing of a stick figure.  As history begins to repeat itself, Ed realizes that the game was never over…. Everyone has secrets.  Everyone is guilty of something.  And children are not always so innocent.  The Chalk Man is by C J Tudor.

A truck driver loses control in central Edinburgh, ploughing into a crowded bus stop and spilling his vehicle's toxic load. The consequences are devastating. DI Tony McLean witnesses the carnage. Taking control of the investigation, he soon realises there is much that is deeply amiss - and everyone involved seems to have something to hide. But as McLean struggles to uncover who caused the tragedy, a greater crisis develops: the new Chief Superintendent's son is missing, last seen in the area of the crash . . . The Gathering Dark is by James Oswald.

February 2018

Sins Like Scarlet is by Nicolás Obregón.  Inspector Kosuke Iwata, formerly of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police, is now working as a private investigator in California. He may have left his home country behind him, but the crimes he has to face here are just as horrific, and as mystifying. A dead transgender woman is found out on the train tracks near LA's Skid Row. A Mexican homicide investigator riddled with cancer and corruption. A river of dirty money flowing through the Sonoran Desert. And a mother's secrets, tracing all the way from 1970s Tokyo to Japan's 48th prefecture - Torrance, California. Lives untangle, fates converge and blood is spilled as Inspector Iwata returns.

Hellbent is by Gregg Hurwitz.  To some he was Orphan X. Others knew him as the Nowhere Man. But to veteran spymaster Jack Johns he was a boy named Evan Smoak.  Taken from an orphanage, Evan was raised inside a top secret programme designed to turn him into a deadly weapon. Jack became his instructor, mentor, teacher and guardian. Because for all the dangerous skills he instilled in his young charge, he also cared for Evan like a son. And now Jack needs Evan's help. The Orphan programme hid dark secrets. Now those with blood on their hands want every trace of it gone. And they will stop at nothing to make sure that Jack and Evan go with it.  With little time remaining, Jack gives Evan his last assignment: to find and protect the programme's last recruit. And to stay alive long enough to uncover the shocking truth ...

Everything is Lies is by Helen Callaghan.  No-one is who you think they are Sophia's parents lead quiet, unremarkable lives. At least that is what she's always believed.   Everyone has secrets.  Until the day she arrives at her childhood home to find a house ringing with silence. Her mother is hanging from a tree. Her father is lying in a pool of his own blood, near to death.  Especially those closest to you The police are convinced it is an attempted murder-suicide. But Sophia is sure that the woman who brought her up isn't a killer. As her father is too ill to talk it is up to Sophia to clear her mother's name. And to do this she needs to delve deep into her family's past - a past full of dark secrets she never suspected were there . . .What if your parents had been lying to you since the day you were born?

March 2018

Is Moscow pulling the strings? Urgent, topical and shot through with insider knowledge, this is thriller writing on a grand scale.  Russian counterintelligence chief Colonel Dominika Egorova has been a recruited asset of the CIA - stealing Kremlin secrets for her handler Nate Nash - for over seven years. In the dazzling finale of the Red Sparrow trilogy, their forbidden and tumultuous love affair continues, mortally dangerous for them both, but irresistible. In Washington, a newly-installed administration is selecting its cabinet members. Dominika hears whispers of a closely-held Kremlin operation to place a mole in a high intelligence position. If the Kremlin's candidate is confirmed, the Russians will have access to all the names of assets spying for the CIA in Moscow, including Dominika's. Dominika recklessly immerses herself in the palace intrigues of the Kremlin, searching for the mole's identity, and stealing as many of President Putin's secrets for her CIA handlers before her time runs out. With a plot ripped from tomorrow's headlines, The Kremlin's Candidate is by Jason Matthews and is a thrilling conclusion to the trilogy than began with Red Sparrow and Palace of Treason.

Exhibit Alexandra is by Natasha Bell. Alexandra Southwood: a devoted mother, a talented artist and now a missing wife. Marc's world is seemingly perfect, complete with two daughters and a loving wife. Until the day she vanishes. Police, friends and family pull together to find Alex but their hopes quickly turn into a nightmare as the missing person case becomes a murder investigation.  But Marc refuses to accept his wife is dead and embarks on his own frantic search which leads him into the heart of the New York art world that so gripped his wife.  Meanwhile, in a locked room, news clips of the police investigation and the family's grief are played out in front of a terrified woman. It is Alex. As the weeks pass all she can do is torment herself with images of her family's life without her. As Marc begins to piece together hidden parts of Alex's life, he begins to question whether he really knew her at all . . . But this is Alex's story.

Before Detective Inspector Hulda Hermannsdottir of the Reykjavik Police is forced into early retirement she is told to investigate a cold case of her choice, and she knows just the one.  A young woman found dead on remote seaweed-covered rocks. A woman who was looking for asylum and found only a watery grave. Her death ruled a suicide after a cursory investigation.  But Hulda soon realizes that there was something far darker to this case. This was not the only young woman to disappear around that time. And no one is telling the whole story.  When her own force tries to put the brakes on the investigation Hulda has just days to discover the truth. Even if it means risking her own life . . .  The Darkness is by Ragnar Jónasson.

A global threat.  The world's sea levels are rising at an alarming rate, too quickly to be caused by glacier melt. A risk so big it sends Kurt Austin, Zoe Zavala and the NUMA team rocketing around the world in search for answers.  A desperate mission. Their hunt takes them from the shark-filled waters of Asia to the high-tech streets of Tokyo to a forbidden secret island, but it's in the East China Sea that a mysterious underwater mining operation is discovered. A devastating endgame Kurt uncovers a plot more dangerous than they could have imagined: a plan to upset the Pacific balance of power, threatening the lives of millions. It falls to the NUMA team to risk everything to stop it and save the world from the coming catastrophe.  The Rising Sea is by Clive Cussler and Graham Brown. 

April 2018

‘Once I had cleared the bottles away and washed the blood off the floor, I needed to get out of the flat.' Cordelia Russell has been living on the Cote d’Azur for ten years, posing a posh English woman fallen on hard times. But her luck is running out. Desperate to escape her grotty flat and grim reality, Cordelia spends a night at a glittering party. Surrounded by the young, beautiful and privileged she feels her age and her poverty. As dawn breaks she stumbles home through the back streets. Even before she opens her door she can hear the flies buzzing. It hasn’t taken long for the corpse in her bedroom to commence decomposing.  Skin Deep is by Liz Nugent. 

The Insider is by Matthew Richardson.  Oscar Quinn is the best and the brightest of his generation. The youngest fellow at All Souls College, Oxford, he's destined for a glittering academic career. But then a mysterious letter arrives inviting him for an interview with Parliament's Intelligence and Security Committee. The role hasn't been advertised. He appears to be the only candidate. And the salary on offer seems almost too good to be true.Soon Quinn finds himself plunged into the heart of power. He gets his own office in the Palace of Westminster, a cut-price deal on a luxurious apartment in Chelsea and a chance to work on some of the nation's most highly-classified secrets. But when he learns that the security services are asking questions, Quinn begins to discover a dark truth buried at the centre of his new life. The last person to do his job died suddenly, and now his apartment is under surveillance and his movements are being watched. Was the previous researcher's death really just an accident? Or something much worse?  Trapped in the middle of a terrifying conspiracy, Quinn is forced to consider stepping outside the law to save those he loves. But who can be trusted? And can he survive long enough to find out...

Paper Ghosts is by Julia Haeberlin.  Having lived his life suspected of being a serial killer, Carl Louis Feldman begins his journey into old age at a nursing home in Texas. Though he was never charged with any crimes, the staff aren't sorry to see him go when his estranged daughter arrives to take her father on what could be his last road trip.  When Carl protests that this is not his daughter at all, the nurses are all too ready to excuse it as a product of his steadily deteriorating mind. But were those old suspicions about him true? And if he is an honest man, who has just driven him away from safety?

Angel in the Shadows is by Walter Lucius.  Farah Hafez raised her head and stared into the camcorder's reflective black hole.  'Now say what I want you to say. And do it convincingly. You can save this girl's life.'  That's when the words came. Unexpected and forceful. Like vomit.'   I, Farah Hafez, support the jihad against President Potanin's criminal regime.  'He smiled coldly and pulled the trigger anyway.  After investigating what appeared to be a simple hit-and-run, journalist Farah Hafez became caught up in a web of crime and corruption that led to her kidnap. Detained in Russia, she was forced to pledge her allegiance to a terrorist group on camera. Now sought by international security and members of the criminal class alike, Farah flees to Jakarta to continue her investigation while her friends and allies attempt to clear her name from across the globe. If Farah is ever going to regain her freedom, she needs to discover the root of the evil that bought her here. The problem is that discovering this might cost her her life.

May 2018

Major Tom Fox is despatched to East Berlin to bring home a traitor who defected to escape justice. But it's clear that there's more at stake than an old man wanting to return home to face the music. Powerful forces on both sides of the Iron Curtain stand to lose if the defector is given his day in court. Fox soon finds that in the upside-down world of Cold War Berlin he's operating alone in the enemy's backyard, unsure of who he can trust. And if Fox is going to succeed in his mission, let alone escape with his life, he will need to draw on skills learned during a past he's trying to forget . Nightfall Berlin is by Jack Grimwood. 

 . .

The untitled book is by Tim Weaver. A woman walks into a police station and tells officers she's been missing for eight years. She has no phone and no ID, just a piece of paper with a name on it: David Raker.  Raker specializes in locating missing people. After his wife died, they became how he coped and moved on - and, almost a decade later, the disappeared aren't just his job any more, they're his life. So when the police call him, Raker agrees to meet the woman.  But this is no ordinary case - and no ordinary woman.  She looks exactly like his dead wife. She knows everything about their marriage, their history, even private conversations the two of them had. And soon, everything Raker thought he knew about his life, and about the woman he loved, will be exposed as a devastating lie . . .

June 2018

The Dead Ex is by Jane Corry.  I wish he'd just DIE. 'He said in sickness and in health. But after Vicki was attacked at work and left suffering with epilepsy, her husband Daniel left her for his mistress. So when Vicki gets a call one day to say that he's gone missing, her first thought is 'good riddance'. But then the police find evidence suggesting that Daniel is dead. And they think Vicki had something to do with it. What really happened on the night of Daniel's disappearance?  And how can Vicki prove her innocence, when she's not even sure of it herself?

The Poison Bed is by E C Fremantle and is a chilling, noirish thriller ripped straight from the headlines.  A king, his lover and his lover's wife. One is a killer.  In the autumn of 1615 scandal rocks the Jacobean court when a celebrated couple are imprisoned on suspicion of murder. She is young, captivating and from a notorious family. He is one of the richest and most powerful men in the kingdom. Some believe she is innocent; others think her wicked or insane. He claims no knowledge of the murder. The king suspects them both, though it is his secret at stake. Who is telling the truth? Who has the most to lose? And who is willing to commit murder?

On a break between missions, Jack Ryan Jr is asked by his mother to visit Sarajevo and track down a girl whose life she saved during the war. Finally, he thinks, life might be quietening down. That's until he meets Aida - grown from a child into a beautiful and selfless woman. Jack finds himself drawn to her, not to mention impressed by her dangerous work helping Syrian refugees enter Europe. But the region is increasingly unstable, and just as Jack lets his guard down, Aida is violently kidnapped by the Serbian mafia.  With no official status, Jack's pleas for help fall on deaf ears, and he realises he must act alone to save the woman he loves. But as the simmering tensions threaten to bubble over, Jack will soon discover Bosnia is a dangerous place to fly solo…  Tom Clancy’s Line of Sight is by Mike Maden. 

July 2018

A woman and child are found locked in a basement room, barely alive. No-one knows who they are - the woman can't speak, and there are no missing persons reports that match their profile.  The elderly man who owns the house claims he has never seen them before. The inhabitants of the quiet Oxford street are in shock - how could this happen right under their noses?  But DI Adam Fawley knows that nothing is impossible. And that no-one is as innocent as they seem....  In the Dark is by Cara Hunter.

On Her Majesty’s Secret Service with Matthew Richardson

It was in March that I had a quiet chat with Publisher and Writer Rowland White at Penguin-Random House’s Crime & Thriller party. I’ve known Rowland for many years, as we were both Undergraduates from Liverpool, though Mr White is much younger than I and he went to the University while I went to the Polytechnic. But more importantly we share a common interest in thriller fiction. I asked my usual question when surveying the upcoming offerings from publishers; a question I know is one that rattles within the industry –

“So Rowland, what have you got coming that is new, fresh and vibrant in your thriller list?”

Rowland, smiled “I think you’ll like this debut, it’s very special, from a young writer named Richardson, Matthew Richardson” a name that meant little to me “it’s titled ‘My Name is Nobody”, he continued thrusting a review copy into my hands.

I have enjoyed much of what Rowland White and his colleagues at both Penguin-Random House / Michael Joseph as well as his own imprint have recommended – especially when it comes to espionage thrillers.

So Rowland described MY NAME IS NOBODY

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

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

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

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

Espionage thrillers are a particular interest of mine, as anyone sharing time in a bar with me will attest to, so broke the spine of the debut and found myself reading long into the night.

Our reviewer Amy Myers concurred that this debut is indeed one to grab as she wrote –

My Name is Nobody is a spy thriller based around the machinations of MI6 in London. Despite the activities of our security services being deeply cloaked in shadow;

Richardson makes the activities on display appear truly authentic; and frighteningly so.

Read the Full Review HERE

So as MY NAME IS NOBODY hits our bookshelves today, Shots Magazine tracked down Matthew Richardson as we had a few questions to ask.

Ali       So firstly Matthew, can you tell us a little about where the fascination to write an espionage thriller came from?

Matthew        The first books I really remember reading for fun were Agatha Christie novels. So when it came to writing a book of my own I was in no doubt that I wanted to write something that was story-driven. My first interest in the world of politics and espionage came about through reading the works of le Carré and Frederick Forsyth, so having a go at a spy thriller of my own seemed the logical next step.

AK       So tell us about your early reading, and which books made an impression

MR      It was The Ghost by Robert Harris that really made me want to write thrillers. I was already interested in politics, but the novel showed how politics and espionage are inevitably interlinked. Harris also manages to write sentences to die for while never compromising on narrative drive. Much harder than it looks.

AK       Specifically, what authors do you read currently, and why?

MR      I like reading broadly across all genres. John Grisham is a real favourite. Robert Harris, as mentioned above. Otherwise an eclectic mix: Ruth Ware, Frederick Forsyth, Sebastian Faulks, William Boyd, Hilary Mantel, David Baldacci. For sheer fun, I still don’t think many can beat Dame Agatha.

AK       Tell us a little about your first writings, and what inspired you?

MR      I wrote a lot through university, honing the structural and stylistic side of things but searching for a story and an angle on the world. It was only when I started working in Westminster that I felt I had found a story to tell.

AK       I see you were in academia for a period in Durham and Oxford, could you tell us a little about that time, and what it brought to your writing?

MR      I think my time studying English at Durham and Oxford allowed me to read enough to understand the basics of style and character. The sheer volume of material to digest makes you very comfortable with the written word.

AK       And at Oxford, you didn’t get a tap on the shoulder from Her Majesty’s Secret Service…….laughing….?

MR      No. I was too busy trying to become a writer……laughing…..

AK       And where did the idea for ‘My Name is Nobody’ spring from?

MR      I started working in Westminster as a researcher and speechwriter and soon discovered that Westminster is much smaller than it looks on TV. People call it the Westminster Village, almost like Midsomer with the nuclear codes. I thought it was the perfect setting for a spy thriller. It started with setting and then moved to character. But just walking the streets of Westminster during my lunchbreaks was enough to get inspired.

AK       I see you are represented by Euan Thorneycroft, so tell us how you found your debut novel in print; and the journey to Penguin-Random-House?

MR      I seem to be one of the few people who got my foot in the door through the slush pile. I submitted three chapters to Euan and everything went from there.

AK       So was it the plot or the character of Solomon Vine [your protagonist] that helped shape the narrative?

MR      The plot changed across the various drafts, but the character of Solomon Vine stayed the same. He was the one constant from beginning to end. So definitely character.

AK       And did you plot heavily or rely on an outline and just follow the muse?

MR      A mix of both. As it went through the various drafting stages, the plot and back story began to get progressively more complicated. By the time I reached the final draft I needed a proper plan to make sure everything fitted together.

AK       And tell us about your work in political journalism as your debut is hugely topical in these days of perplexing geo-politics?

MR      My work has mainly been in speechwriting and research. Working in politics has certainly given me an insight into what goes on behind the scenes and how disorientating it can often feel when you’re in the trenches as these things are happening around you.

AK       And what’s next for Matthew Richardson?

MR      Book two is going through the editing stage now. It should be out in summer 2018. Watch this space!

AK       Thank you for your time

A         Thank you.

Shots have copies of this remarkable debut available from our bookstore HERE and it comes highly recommended. 

The Penguin 2017 Crime Fiction Party

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Read More Here

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Read more here

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

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

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

For more information about the upcoming work from Penguin Click Here

Photos : © 2017 A Karim unless otherwise indicated