The Return of Martina Cole

After a break in 2018, which was unprecedented for the hard-working Queen of the Gangland Thriller; Martina Cole returned with a bang publishing “No Mercy” last week via her longstanding publishers Headline. She has worked with the same publishing team, the same literary agency and the same PR agency since she debuted with Dangerous Lady.

Martina was one of the guests at the Inaugural Capital Crime, held earlier this month – Click HERE about that extraordinary event from The Crime Readers Association, and HERE from The Rap Sheet.

Below she is on TV’s Loose Women talking about the challenges she and many women face –

So what were our thoughts as to Cole’s return after 2017’s Damaged?

There is a great deal of death in this novel, violent death as little is as it seems. Beneath the surface gloss the veneer is thin, like ice on a thawing lake. Thankfully, Cole’s dark humour and witty one-liners make the reader smirk, even if at times it feels inappropriate. Horror and humour (as emotions) are the yin and the yang that help make this novel flow, until the conclusion is reached and then we think, and we ponder.

No Mercy is an insightful look under the shadow world that lies millimetres from the one we normally perceive. It is a welcome addition to the work of Martina Cole, further cementing her reputation as one the World’s toughest crime writers.

But a warning. 

No Mercy as a title is eponymous, for it reveals that many of the characters contained in the narrative receive no quarter, as family bonds can be shattered, and when they are, there will be plenty of claret flowing.

Read the full review of “NO MERCY” from Shots Magazine HERE

The launch of a Martina Cole novel has become arguably one the most celebrated literary events that celebrates crime writing, as these links indicate –

The Business 2008, and Here, 2014’s The Good Life, 2013’s REVENGE, 2016’s Betrayal, and of course 2017’s Damaged.

To celebrate Martina Cole’s return, the Shots Team of Mike Stotter, Ayo Onatade, Mike Ripley and I joined an eclectic gathering in London, where a colourful party had been organised for the launch of NO MERCY.

We were welcomed by Headline Publishing –

There were far too many guests to name, so we have included an array of photographs which may indicate the amusing nature of the gathering.

And Barry Ryan’s video THE MAKING OF DANGEROUS LADY is an amusing introduction to the work of Martina Cole –

Photos © 2019 A Karim (and T Mearns), cover art © 2019 Headline Publishing.

Don’t forget that Martina Cole will be appearing in November 2019 at Murder One in Dublin, Ireland where she will be in conversation with Steve Cavanagh – More Information HERE

More information about the work of Martina Cole, click HERE

Books to Look Forward to from No Exit Press and Oldcastle Press

November 2019

Reap The Whirlwind is by Mark Timlin.  Poor old Nick Sharman may be dead and gone, but there's still life left in the old dog yet - as Mark Timlin shows in this collection of stories about his memorable detective. Follow Sharman as he rocks through the underworld of 90s London and beyond with more than a helping hand from his old mate Detective Inspector Robber, both men still sharp as a pair of tacks. There's murder, mayhem and maybe a few laughs on the way - plus an interesting soundtrack.

December 2019

Doesn’t trust the police.  She used to be one…. Harden by ten years on the murder squad, DNA analyst Doctor Sian Love had seen it all.  So when she finds human remains in the basement of her new house, she knows the drill.  Except this time its different.   This time, its personal.  Dead Flowers is by Nicola Monaghan 

Trust Me I’m Dead is by Sherryl Clark.  She hasn't seen her brother in years. Now, he's dead.  When Judi Westerholme finds out her estranged brother has been murdered, she assumes it's connected to his long term drug addiction. Returning home, she is shocked to discover he had been clean for years, had a wife – now missing – a child and led a respectable life. But if he had turned his life around, why was he killed in a drug deal shooting? And where is his wife?  Desperate to know what really happened, Judi sets out to uncover the truth, even though it means confronting her own traumatic past. But she's not the only one looking for answers...

January 2020

In the aftermath of a mass shooting at a mosque in Quebec, the local police apprehend Amadou Duchon - a young Muslim man at the scene helping the wounded - but release Etienne Roy, the local priest who was found with a weapon in his hands. The shooting looks like a hate crime, but detectives Esa Khattak and Rachel Getty sense there is more to the story. Sent to liaise with a community in the grip of fear, they find themselves in fraught new territory, fuelled by the panic and suspicion exploited by a right-wing radio host. As Rachel and Esa grapple to stop tensions shutting the case down entirely, all the time, someone is pointing Esa in another direction, a shadowy presence who anticipates his every move. A Deadly Divide is a piercingly observed, gripping thriller that reveals the fractures that try to tear us all apart: from the once-tight partnership between detectives Esa and Rachel, to the truth about a deeply divided nation.  A Deadly Divide is by Ausma Zehanat Khan.

February 2020

The Coldest Warrior is by Paul Vidich.  In 1953, at the end of the Korean War, Dr. Charles Wilson, an Army bio-weapons scientist, died when he “jumped or fell” from the ninth floor of a Washington hotel. As his wife and children grieve, the details of his death remain buried for twenty-two years.  With the release of the Rockefeller Commission report on illegal CIA activities in 1975, LSD is linked to Wilson’s death, and suddenly the Wilson case becomes news again. Wilson’s family and the press are demanding answers, suspecting the CIA of foul play, and men in the CIA, FBI, and White House conspire to make sure the truth doesn’t get out.  Enter agent Jack Gabriel, an old friend of the Wilson family who is instructed by the CIA director to find out what really happened to Wilson. It’s Gabriel’s last mission before he retires from the agency, and his most perilous as he finds a continuing cover-up that reaches to the highest levels of government.  Key witnesses connected to the case die from suspicious causes, and Gabriel realizes that the closer he gets to the truth, the more he puts himself and his family at risk.

March 2020

Robert B Parker’s Blood Feud is by Mike Lupica.  Sunny Randall is "on" again with Richie, the ex-husband she never stopped loving and never seemed to be able to let go, despite her discomfort with his Mafia connections. When Richie is shot and nearly killed, Sunny is dragged into the thick of his family's business as she searches for answers and tries to stave off a mob war. But as the bullets start flying in Boston's mean streets, Sunny finds herself targeted by the deranged mastermind of the plot against the Burke family, whose motive may be far more personal than she could have anticipated...

April 2020

Southern Cross Crime is by Craig Sisterton.  Australian and New Zealand crime and thriller writing is booming globally, with antipodean authors regularly featuring on awards and bestseller lists across Europe and North America, and overseas readers and publishers looking more and more to tales from lands Down Under.   Hailing from two sparsely populated nations on the far edge of the former Empire – neighbours that are siblings in spirit, vastly different in landscape – Australian and New Zealand crime writers offer readers a blend of exotic and familiar, seasoned by distinctive senses of place, outlook, and humour, and roots that trace to the earliest days of our genre. Southern Cross Crime is the first comprehensive guide to modern Australian and New Zealand crime writing. From coastal cities to the Outback, leading critic Craig Sisterson showcases key titles from more than 200 storytellers, plus screen dramas ranging from Mystery Road to Top of the Lake. Fascinating insights are added through in-depth interviews with some of the prime suspects who paved the way or instigated the global boom, including Jane Harper, Michael Robotham, Paul Cleave, Emma Viskic, Paul Thomas, and Candice Fox. 

May 2020

The opioid epidemic has reached Paradise, and Police Chief Jesse Stone must rush to stop the devastation in the latest thriller in Robert B. Parker's Jesse Stone series.  When a popular high school cheerleader dies of a suspected heroin overdose, it becomes clear that the opioid epidemic has spread even to the idyllic town of Paradise. It will be up to police chief Jesse Stone to unravel the supply chain and unmask the criminals behind it, and the investigation has a clear epicenter: Paradise High School. Home of the town's best and brightest future leaders and its most vulnerable down-and-out teens, it's a rich and bottomless market for dealers out of Boston looking to expand into the suburbs.  But when it comes to drugs, the very people Jesse is trying to protect are often those with the most to lose. As he digs deeper into the case, he finds himself battling self-interested administrators, reluctant teachers, distrustful schoolkids, and overprotective parents...and at the end of the line are the true bad guys, the ones with a lucrative business they'd kill to protect.  Robert B Parker’s The Bitterest Pill is by Reed Farrel Coleman. 

A Testament of Character is by Sulari Gentill.  In fear for his life, American millionaire Daniel Cartwright changes his will, appointing his old friend Rowland Sinclair as his executor.  Soon murder proves that fear well founded.  When Rowland receives word of Cartwright’s death, he sets out immediately for Boston, Massachusetts, to bury his friend and honour his last wishes. He is met with the outrage and anguish of Cartwright’s family, who have been spurned in favour of a man they claim does not exist.  Artists and gangsters, movie stars and tycoons all gather to the fray as elite society closes in to protect its own, and family secrets haunt the living. Rowland Sinclair must confront a world in which insanity is relative, greed is understood, and love is dictated; where the only people he can truly trust are an artist, a poet and a passionate sculptress.

June 2020

Robert B. Parker's beloved PI Sunny Randall returns on a case that blurs the line between friend and foe...and if Sunny can't tell the difference, the consequences may be deadly.  When Sunny's long-time gangster associate Tony Marcus comes to her for help, Sunny is surprised--after all, she double crossed him on a recent deal, and their relationship is on shakier ground than ever. But the way Tony figures it, Sunny owes him, and Sunny's willing to consider his case if it will clear the slate.    Tony's trusted girlfriend and business partner has vanished, appears to have left in a hurry, and he has no idea why. He just wants to talk to her, he says, but first he needs Sunny to track her down. While Sunny isn't willing to trust his good intentions, the missing woman intrigues her--against all odds, she's risen to a position of power in Tony's criminal enterprise. Sunny can't help but admire her, and if this woman's in a jam, Sunny would like to help.  But when a witness is murdered hours after speaking to Sunny, it's clear there's more at stake than just Tony's love life. Someone--maybe even Tony himself--doesn't want this woman on the loose...and will go to any lengths to make sure she stays silent.  Robert B Parker’s Grudge Match is by Mike Lupica.

Sherlock’s Sisters by Nick Rennison is also being published in June.

A clever, accomplished Cambridge graduate with a good job and an attentive lover, Imogen Lester seems to have the world at her feet.  But when her parents are murdered abroad while working for the Diplomati Service, she is suddenly thrown headlong into a murky world of espisonage and organised crime.  When she is charged with drug trafficking, even Ben Schroeder’s skills may not be enough to save her – unless a shadowy figure from Ben’s past can survive long enough to unmask a web of graft and corruption.  Verbal is by Peter Murphy.

July 2020

Gabby Leggett left her Boston family with dreams of making it big as a model/actress in Hollywood. Two years later, she disappears from her apartment. Her family, former boyfriend, friends--and the police--have no idea where she is and no leads. Leggett's mother hires Spenser to find her, with help of his former apprentice, Zebulon Sixkill, now an L.A. private eye.  Spenser barely has time to unpack before the trail leads to a powerful movie studio boss, the Armenian mob, and a shadowy empowerment group some say might be a dangerous cult.  It's soon clear that Spenser and Sixkill may be outgunned this time, and series favourites Chollo and Bobby Horse ride to the rescue to provide backup. From the mansions of Beverly Hills to the lawless streets of a small California town, Spenser will need to watch his step. In Hollywood, all that glitters isn't gold. And not all those who wander are lost.  Robert B Parker’s Angel Eyes is by Ace Atkins. 

DS Geraldine Steel knows well that circumstances are rarely as simple as they first seem.  As she struggles to shake off her suspicions about a controlling family patriarch, who also happens to be a highly unpopular local council leader, tensions, coincidences and complications begin to pile up – and then a body is found.  Deadly Revenge is by Leigh Russell.

Quantum by Patricia Cornwell (Extract) Cheltenham Literature Festival 70th Anniversary Blog Tour

1

DECEMBER 3, 2019

NASA LANGLEY RESEARCH CENTER HAMPTON, VIRGINIA

I CAN’T SAY for sure when the century-old tunnel was sealed off like a tomb.

Probably around the same time it began popping up in 8-pitch type as a nondescript feature on utility site maps hardly anyone ever sees. Crammed with high-pressure steam pipes and other mechanicals, the section of tunnel designated 1111-A was at some point given the code name Yellow Submarine.

“Never publicly or in print,” I’m explaining to NASA police major Fran Lacey, miserably scuffing behind me on the steep, gloomy stairs. “Mid- to late ’70s is about right for when this might have occurred,” I add, as if she’s listening or cares. “that’s what I get if I factor in the data and do the math.”

Crickets is her response, the same one I’ve been getting, and I turn around, checking on her, fully aware she’s not talking back. May as well enjoy that while it lasts. Except I don’t. I feel bad for her. But that doesn’t mean I’ll cut her any slack. Nope.

“In other words, in the Dark Ages, when you were coming along,” tossing in a dig whenever I can. “And way back then not even NASA had a glimmer about what was ahead. If they’d known, we wouldn’t have the problem I’m trying to make you handle sooner rather than later.”

I pause again for a response that isn’t coming. Our feet slowly thudding on concrete steps nosed with steel safety plates painted screaming yellow. Going down a few. Stopping every second or two as it gets warmer and stuffier the deeper we descend. More like steamy summer than the dead of winter, both of us clearing our throats and sweating.

“I’m guessing some dorky systems engineer or member of the intelligence community was to blame. A Beatles fan at any rate, and therefore most likely after 1968,” I continue to download information Fran couldn’t be less interested in right now.

Talking nonstop in rhythm to our descent. Feet thud-thudding. Another pause or two. Punctuated by the off-gassing of her loud exasperated sighs and coughs. Prompting me to turn around, finding her the same as last I looked, flipping me off with both middle fingers, messing with me the way she usually does. But not really. Because believe me when I say that nothing about this is funny to a legendary badass cop known for being afraid of nothing.

On permanent loan from Hampton PD, Fran oversees investi- gations for NASA Langley’s protective services. Or what’s essentially our police force of some 70 uniformed officers and a dozen special agents, all armed and federally sworn to ensure security and enforce the law on campus. In addition, she supervises NASA’s and the City of Hampton’s joint Marine, Aviation and Crime Scene Units. Plus our mobile response teams, riot squad and SWAT.

Not to mention providing executive protection for visiting VIPs. And coordinating with the military police on Langley Air Force Base, separated from our center by guard gates and an 8-foot-high fence topped with barbed wire. Suffice it to say, Fran is not someone to dismiss, disrespect or underestimate. that doesn’t mean I’m letting her off easy by offering empathy or the slightest hint about how much it secretly bothers me to put her through this ordeal. Or any. But if I’m really her investigative partner and closest ally and friend, then for me to give in to her problem would be the worst thing I could do. It would be selfish and dangerous. Worst case, it could be catastrophic. “I’ll take your profane sign language as a yes. You’re doing okay,” responding to her latest doubly offensive gesture, and it’s pointless to react personally when she’s distressed to the max.

“Shut up,” she manages to gasp, and thankfully her current unpleasantness is predictable and for the most part inconsistent with who she is the rest of the time.

But extreme anxiety, no matter how buried or quiet, rarely makes anyone more cooperative or nicer. Her mop of dark hair plastered to her scowling brow beneath her cockeyed hard hat, her safety glasses constantly fogging up. Staring at her boots, watching every tentative step as she makes her way down a claustrophobic dusty stairwell that she’s avoided like the plague in the past. And would continue to do so were it up to her. Fortunately, it isn’t. Even if she outranks me. Technically.

“The reason I know, obviously, is their iconic album by that name didn’t come out until then,” I answer what she doesn’t ask. “Yellow Submarine. We’re all living on one, a metaphor for spaceship Earth, right? Which is appropriate considering what’s down here, as you’re about to see,” I carry on as if oblivious to her fear of confined anything. Including caves, orthopedic casts, subways, seat belts, handcuffs, bunkers, submarines and most of all, tunnels, and it’s not that I’m insensitive. But as matters relate to her phobias, I’m her sponsor and never her enabler. Meaning I wasn’t happy about her refusal to shadow me along this very route when I ran a routine network analysis inside the Yellow Submarine tunnel yesterday. A very important test. In fact, critical in light of current circumstances, and Fran would have none of it. She stopped answering my text messages or calls on the subject. She ducked and dodged. I worked without her.

Excerpted from Quantum by Patricia Cornwell with permission of Thomas & Mercer. Copyright © 2019 by Cornwell Entertainment, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

Quantum by Patricia Cornwell, published by Thomas & Mercer

On the eve of a top secret space mission, Captain Calli Chase detects a tripped alarm in the tunnels deep below a NASA research center. A NASA pilot, quantum physicist, and cybercrime investigator, Calli knows that a looming blizzard and government shutdown could provide the perfect cover for sabotage, with deadly consequences.  As it turns out, the danger is worse than she thought. A spatter of dried blood, a missing security badge, a suspicious suicide—a series of disturbing clues point to Calli’s twin sister, Carme, who’s been MIA for days.  Desperate to halt the countdown to disaster and to clear her sister’s name, Captain Chase digs deep into her vast cyber security knowledge and her painful past, probing for answers to her twin’s erratic conduct. As time is running out, she realizes that failure means catastrophe—not just for the space program but for the safety of the whole nation.

ASK ME NO QUESTIONS – and why write about identical twins?

The germ of the idea for Ask Me No Questions started at a supermarket late at night. I imagined a woman walking the aisles, followed by a mysterious man in black. He thinks she’s someone else, in a case of mistaken identity. But why? I wondered. Perhaps he’s confusing her for her identical twin? And where is this identical twin now?

This woman became Thea Patterson and the man became Mortimer. From this tiny scene, Ask Me No Questionswas born.

So why twins? At the end of the day, I like to write about what I’m interested in. After all, writing and researching a book (and editing, and editing again…) takes the best part of a year, so why not write about something you’re fascinated in?

I read every news article and watched every documentary I could get my hands on. I studied Psychology at university and was always especially interested in twin studies. Scientists love to examine what happens to the same thing under different conditions, so identical twins who have grown up separately are ideal. How much of an influence does nature (their DNA) versus nurture (their families and home life) have? Even when identical twins have never met, they have similarities in their lives. From the small, such as driving the same type of car, to the more significant, like the same body language and gestures. These can’t be explained by mere coincidence, surely? There’s something incredible going on in those cells and neurons.

Strangely, many of my friends are identical twins, and I interviewed them to get insight into what it was like. While most of them talked about how annoying it was to be asked the same old questions (‘can you read each other’s minds?’ ‘can you feel each other’s pain?’) they did mention a few things that made me take note.

My friend told me about a game he played when they were teenagers. Taking a stack of cards, he held up one by one, while his twin had to guess what was on it. He got the first ten completely right. It freaked them out so they stopped, and they haven’t been able to replicate it since. My other friend, based in the UK, knew exactly when her twin sister was going into labour. In New Zealand.

It’s phenomenon like this that keeps me interested, that made me sit up a little straighter in my seat. The unknowable creates a fascination. It gives us something to wonder about.

But my friends also talked about the unique bond they had with their twins. One pair described viewing themselves as a collective, not as individuals. There was no sense of self outside the other. My other friends weren’t quite so connected, but all discussed the closeness, and being two halves of a whole. Fights were moved on from and quickly forgotten without saying sorry. After all, you’re fighting with yourself, so where’s the need for apologies?

They all talked about their mannerisms being similar; all could predict what the other would do in any given situation. And all had an innate sense of protection, at any cost.

So I followed the story to its next conclusion: if you take two sisters who look identical, with an unbreakable bond across eighteen years of their life, what happens when one does something unthinkable? Is it possible to forgive? And what if they both fell in love with the same man? What then? It’s these dilemmas I had so much fun exploring in Ask Me No Questions, and I hope you’ll enjoy reading what happens in the book.

Ask Me No Questions by Louisa De Lange (Orion Publishing)

Twins have a special bond someone will kill to break.  As children, Gabi and Thea were like most identical twin sisters: inseparable. Now adults, Gabi is in a coma following a vicious attack and Thea claims that, until last week, the twins hadn't spoken in fifteen years. But what caused such a significant separation? And what brought them back together so suddenly?  Digging into the case, DS Kate Munro is convinced the crime was personal. Now she must separate the truth from the lies and find the dangerous assailant - before any more blood is spilled 

BAD TURN: Charlie Fox is on the loose in Europe by Zoë Sharp

One of the things I’ve always enjoyed about writing the Charlie Fox books is that they are not tied to one location. A part of me can see the attraction of a familiar locale and I know it might be a good idea to do this. After all, tours of Rebus’s Edinburgh, Morse’s Oxford, or Aimée Leduc’s Paris are undoubtedly popular.

But every time I sit down to write the next instalment in this series, deciding where she’s going to be heading off to is one of the things that keeps me hooked. The very nature of Charlie’s job in close protection means she has to be minutely aware of her surroundings. I take it as a challenge to try to weave in as much of the ever-changing dynamic between Charlie and her environment as I can into the fabric of the story.

For BAD TURN, number 13 in the series, I wanted a real European setting. I took Charlie to a bodyguard training school in Germany for one of the early books, HARD KNOCKS, and on a bikers’ fast trip around Ireland in ROAD KILL, but this time out I decided it was high time she made a return to mainland Europe.

I’d driven down to the southern area of France just before starting BAD TURN, and the scarcity of both people and other vehicles once we got away from the cities really set my imagination going. Tailing someone without other traffic to use as cover, for example, would present its own difficulties for Charlie.

The open agricultural land around the Midi-Pyrénées, with its open fields of sunflowers and occasional stunning pieces of modern architecture like the Millau Bridge, took my breath away.

There seemed to be a lot of half-derelict farmhouses that made my DIY fingers twitch to get stuck into them but provided ideal places of cover and concealment, as did the swathes of woodland.

But when I visited several of the magnificent local chateaux, including castles that had been in the same family line for a thousand years, I knew I’d found one of my main locations for the book. I borrowed aspects of a couple of them and created the Chateau de Bourdillon, complete with French aristocrat in residence. The fact he happened to have a somewhat unusual occupation was beside the point…

And then, of course, there was Italy. I’ve spent quite a bit of time in Tuscany and Umbria and couldn’t resist BAD TURN visiting some areas that were very familiar to me, as well as others where I had to wing it a little more.

I borrowed the small island of Isole Minore on Lake Trasimeno, for example. In reality, the island is state owned and uninhabited but when you create your own version of the world, you are allowed to bend the rules. I made it the home of a wealthy Italian with a particular wish for privacy. I placed on the island a combination of abandoned monasteries and palaces for him to be restoring. Of course, there would be more reconstruction work to be done after Charlie left than there was when she arrived…

With her love of big motorcycles, Charlie’s no stranger to high-speed chases but I thought I’d take a different tack this time. It didn’t mean I couldn’t have some fun—as well as adding tension—by putting her in a small and somewhat underpowered vehicle like a Fiat Cinquecento. (And if you’re a fan of Fiat 500s, you’d better read that bit with your eyes closed. Let’s just say it doesn’t end well for that poor little car.)

Reintroducing Charlie to a European setting for BAD TURN was quite a ride and I’m already planning book #14. Where will she be next time around? Well, having spent a number of books working overseas, I think she might be ready to return home to the UK. The only question is, will the UK be ready for Charlie Fox?

Bad Turn by Zoë Sharp

Charlie has quit her job in close protection, been turned out of her apartment, and is apparently out of luck.  House-sitting in rural New Jersey has to be the pits—TV and TV dinners. A far cry from Iraq... Bulgaria... Afghanistan. Unlucky or not, she happens to be around at the right time to foil a violent kidnap attempt on Helena, wife of billionaire arms dealer, Eric Kincaid.  Kincaid offers her a job looking after Helena. The rumours about Kincaid’s business empire say he’s gone over to the dark side, but Charlie is in no position to be fussy. And protecting people against those who want to do them harm is what she’s good at. But when the threats against the Kincaids escalate, and then follow the couple over to Europe, Charlie’s really going to have to up her game. It’s time to take the fight to the enemy.  Charlie’s at her best putting an end to trouble. Now she must learn to strike first. And hope that the Kincaids don’t discover the secret she’s been keeping from them, right from the start.

Read the first three chapters of BAD TURN

https://www.zoesharp.com/books/bad-turn-opening-chapters/

BAD TURN is published in ebook, mass-market paperback, hardcover and Large Print editions on September 27 2019. For more information visit www.ZoeSharp.com

Capital Crime Mystery Panels

Widows Screening & Mystery Panels Revealed

CAPITAL CRIME, CAPITAL ENTERTAINMENT In two days, we throw open the doors to the Grand Connaught Rooms and welcome hundreds of crime and thriller fans to Capital Crime. FRIDAY FILM We're pleased to announce we shall be screening WIDOWS, the brilliant film directed by Steve McQueen, adapted from Lynda La Plante's seminal series. The screening is open to all Friday Day Pass and Weekend Pass holders. MYSTERY PANELS FRIDAY On Friday, we're thrilled to be welcoming two brilliant authors to Capital Crime to talk about the experience of having their novels adapted for screen. SJ Watson is an international bestseller whose debut novel, Before I Go To Sleep, was adapted into a major motion picture starring Nicole Kidman, Colin Firth and Mark Strong. Paula Daly is the critically acclaimed author of six novels. Her books are being adapted for the new ITV series, Deep Water, starring Anna Friel. They will be talking to Capital Crime co-founder and screenwriter, Adam Hamdy. SATURDAY Adam Hamdy will be back on Saturday as part of a panel on the Craft of Writing. He'll be in conversation with his partner in Capital Crime, David Headley, the founder of DHH Literary Agency and Goldsboro Books, and Vicki Mellor, Fiction Publishing Director at Pan Macmillan. A number of Capital Crime passholders have asked for a panel on writing advice, so if you're an aspiring author, come along. There will be an opportunity to ask questions of the panellists. You can find the final Capital Crime schedule here: https://www.capitalcrime.org/capital-crime-schedule/ FREE SHIPPING We’re pleased to announce our festival bookseller, Goldsboro Books, is offering free UK shipping on books bought at the festival, so you don’t have to worry about carrying a suitcase full of signed books home with you. Let Goldsboro take the strain while you enjoy meeting your favourite authors and discovering new ones. International shipping is also available. Please ask staff for details. CAPITAL ENTERTAINMENT, CAPITAL VALUE We’re also delighted to announce that all pass holders will be entitled to complimentary tea and coffee at the festival, courtesy of the fine folks at Pan Macmillan. Weekend pass holders will be entitled to two complimentary drinks from the bar at the opening night drinks party, thanks to DHH Literary Agency. And Saturday and weekend pass holders will be entitled to two complimentary drinks from the bar at the Saturday night drinks party, thanks to Amazon Publishing. All our pass holders will also receive a fantastic goody bag packed with books, samplers and freebies. VOTE! VOTE! VOTE! Pass holders are currently voting for the Amazon Publishing Readers' Awards. If you're a Capital Crime pass holder, visit www.capitalcrime.org, log into your account and cast your votes today. If you have any questions about Capital Crime, please try our FAQs: https://www.capitalcrime.org/faqs/ If you're planning to come to Capital Crime and haven't booked your pass, you're running out of time, and we're running out of tickets. Click here https://www.capitalcrime.org/capital-crime-schedule/to book your passes or visit www.capitalcrime.org

Countdown to the Daggers

The countdown is on for the world-famous Crime Writers’ Association (CWA) Daggers, which honour the very best in crime writing.

Tickets are now available for the Dagger Awards gala dinner, which takes place from 6.30pm at the Leonardo Royal Hotel London City.

The oldest awards in the genre, created in 1955, the CWA Daggers have been synonymous with quality crime writing for over half a century. 

The night is compered by Barry Forshaw, one of the UK’s leading experts on crime fiction.

Barry Forshaw said: “It's a starry evening showcasing the most prestigious prizes in the crime fiction world - the Oscars of the genre - and I'm always pleased and privileged to emcee it. Not least for the chance to rub shoulders with the very best writers and publishers at a very convivial event.”

A Dagger is considered something of a holy grail for crime authors as well as one of the highlights on the awards’ calendar for the publishing world.

Winners of the Daggers - including the Gold for best crime novel, the Ian Fleming Steel for best spy or thriller, the ALCS Gold for Non-fiction, the John Creasey (New Blood) for first-time authors, and the Sapere Books Historical Dagger - will be announced on the night.

UK Libraries have also shortlisted six crime authors for the prestigious Dagger in the Library. M C Beaton, Mark Billingham, John Connolly, Kate Ellis, C J Sansom and Cath Staincliffe have been nominated by librarians, chosen for their body of work and their support of libraries.

The 10 coveted Daggers will also be complemented by a new category for the book trade - the Best Crime and Mystery Publisher of the Year.

Robert Goddard has already been announced as the recipient of the elite Diamond Dagger. Goddard will be presented with the award on the night in celebration of his career and contribution to the crime genre.

Guest speaker on the night is the writer, broadcaster, dramatist and journalist Lynne Truss, famed for Eats, Shoots and Leaves alongside her comic crime novel, A Shot in the Dark.

Tickets are limited. For ticket details and to book a place –

https://thecwa.co.uk/the-daggers/cwa-dagger-awards-gala-dinner-2019 

or contact admin@thecwa.co.uk Discounts are available for tables of 10 or 12.

2019 CWA DAGGER SHORTLIST IN FULL:

CWA GOLD DAGGER

Claire Askew: All the Hidden Truths (Hodder & Stoughton)

M W Craven: The Puppet Show (Constable)

Christobel Kent: What We Did (Sphere)

Donna Leon: Unto Us a Son is Given (William Heinemann)

Derek B Miller: American by Day (Doubleday)

Benjamin Wood: A Station on the Path to Somewhere Better (Scribner)

CWA IAN FLEMING STEEL DAGGER

Megan Abbott: Give Me Your Hand (Picador)

Dan Fesperman: Safe Houses (Head of Zeus)

Luke Jennings: Killing Eve: No Tomorrow (John Murray)

Stephen Mack Jones: Lives Laid Away (Soho Crime)

Holly Watt: To the Lions (Raven Books)

Tim Willocks: Memo from Turner (Jonathan Cape)

CWA JOHN CREASEY (NEW BLOOD)

Claire Askew: All the Hidden Truths (Hodder & Stoughton)

Alex Dahl: The Boy at the Door (Head Of Zeus)

Chris Hammer: Scrublands (Wildfire)

Vicky Newham: Turn a Blind Eye (HQ)

Laura Shepherd-Robinson: Blood and Sugar (Mantle)

Vanda Symon: Overkill (Orenda)

CWA ALCS GOLD DAGGER FOR NON-FICTION

Sue Black: All That Remains (Doubleday)

Mikita Brottman: An Unexplained Death (Canongate)

Claire Harman: Murder by the Book (Viking)

Kirk Wallace Johnson: The Feather Thief (Hutchinson)

Ben Macintyre: The Spy and the Traitor (Viking)

Hallie Rubenhold: The Five (Doubleday)

CWA INTERNATIONAL DAGGER 

Dov Alfon: A Long Night in Paris, tr Daniella Zamir (Maclehose Press )

Karin Brynard: Weeping Waters, tr Maya Fowler & Isobel Dixon (World Noir)

Gianrico Carofiglio: The Cold Summer, tr Howard Curtis (Bitter Lemon Press)

Keigo Higashino: Newcomer, tr Giles Murray (Little, Brown)

Håkan Nesser: The Root of Evil, tr Sarah Death (Mantle)

Cay Rademacher: The Forger, tr Peter Millar (Arcadia Books)

CWA SAPERE BOOKS HISTORICAL DAGGER

Liam McIlvanney: The Quaker (Harper Fiction)

S G MacLean: Destroying Angel (Quercus Fiction)

Abir Mukherjee: Smoke and Ashes (Harvill Secker)

Alex Reeve:  The House on Half Moon Street (Raven Books)

C J Sansom: Tombland (Mantle)

Laura Shepherd-Robinson: Blood and Sugar (Mantle)

CWA SHORT STORY DAGGER

Martin Edwards: Strangers in a Pub in ‘Ten Year Stretch’ edited by Martin Edwards and Adrian Muller (No Exit Press)

Syd Moore: Death Becomes Her in ‘The Strange Casebook’ by Syd Moore (Point Blank Books)

Danuta Reah: The Dummies’ Guide to Serial Killing in ‘The Dummies’ Guide to Serial Killing and other Fantastic Female Fables’ (Fantastic Books)

Teresa Solana: I Detest Mozart in ‘The First Prehistoric Serial Killer and Other Stories’ by Teresa Solana (Bitter Lemon Press)

Lavie Tidhar: Bag Man in ‘The Outcast Hours’ edited by Mahvesh Murad and Jared Shurin (Solaris)

DAGGER IN THE LIBRARY

M C Beaton

Mark Billingham

John Connolly

Kate Ellis

C J Sansom

Cath Staincliffe

DEBUT DAGGER 

(A competition for the opening of a crime novel by an uncontracted writer)

Shelley Burr: Wake

Jerry Crause: The Mourning Light

Catherine Hendricks: Hardways                                                                                

David Smith: The Firefly                                                                               

Fran Smith: A Thin Sharp Blade  

BEST CRIME & MYSTERY PUBLISHER DAGGER

Faber & Faber

Harper Fiction (HarperCollins)

HQ (HarperCollins)

No Exit Press (Oldcastle Books) 

Orenda Books

Pushkin Vertigo (Pushkin)

Raven Books

DIAMOND DAGGER        

Presented to Robert Goddard.