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11/01/2004: "Good News for a New Year"
It was both surprising and a little disappointing that no crime novel or crime writer featured with any significance in BBC's Big Read programme - not a trace of Minette Walters and Ian Rankin, let alone Agatha Christie or Conan Doyle. By comparison in The Times list of the best selling fiction of 2003 there were five crime fiction novels in the top ten: Blow Fly by Patricia Cornwell; Blue Horizon by Wilbur Smith; The King of Torts by John Grisham; The Know by Martina Cole; and Big Bad Wolf by James Patterson. This all goes to show that in the popularity stakes, crime fiction is very much alive and kicking.
And as we enter a new year, the publishers' lists are bursting with old and new talent. One of the most enterprising and satisfying of projects comes from Orion with their New Blood selection. They call it 'a fresh injection of crime talent' and for once a publisher's blurb is accurate. Orion has published nine (count 'em) nine novels by new crime writers all at the accessible hard cover price of £9.99. This is a most encouraging and enterprising experiment. The novels themselves cover various aspects of the crime scene. Here's a brief digest:
Phoenix by John Connor
Karen Sharpe is an ex-MI5 undercover agent working for the West Yorkshire police. A double killing in a remote part of the Pennines brings her double trouble.
Frozen by Richard Burke
The central character, Harry, tries to make sense of the attempted suicide of the woman he loves. The publishers refer to it as 'a warm satisfying first novel.'
Bloodless Shadow by Victoria Blake
Samantha Falconer is a private investigator 'with a past' (haven't they all?). Oxford provides the backdrop to the mystery - a woman has gone missing from the university - but this is not the city of dreaming spires and refined academia. Blake reveals the dark underbelly where danger and murder lurk in the shadows.
Judgement Calls by Alafair Burke
A toughie, this one, about a thirteen year old who has been abducted, drugged and anally raped. Samantha Kincaid, Deputy DA in Portland's Vice and Drugs Division is called in to discover if the man the girl identifies as her attacker is really guilty.
The Stone Angels by Stuart Archer
An atmospheric crime thriller set in Buenos Aries. Comisario Miguel Fortunato is aware of political interference in his investigation of a difficult murder case.
The Devil's Redhead by David Corbett
A noir novel set in Las Vegas about two lovers who battle to be together against a backdrop of drugs and violence.
The Columbian Mule by Massimo Carlotto
The story is set in the deep Italian criminal underworld. Originally written in Italian but now translated by Christopher Woodall. The author used his experience of being framed for a murder he did not commit to give the novel a strong and exciting authenticity.
The Third Person by Steve Mosby
This is a tale of Jason's search for his missing girlfriend. He becomes convinced that she has been abducted by someone she met through the internet. The publishers claim that the novel is full of 'gut-wrenching twists and turns.'
The Jasmine Trade by Denise Hamilton
This novel bears the following appraisal from none other than Michael Connelly: 'More than a good crime story. Read it and learn.' Eve Diamond ('a new series character') is a journalist for the Los Angeles Times who follows up the story of a young bride who is found shot dead in her brand new car. When the dead girl's family refuse to help the police with their enquiries, she realises there more to the crime than meets the eye.
The fact that all these are first novels and are being launched by one publisher with more than a few fanfares indicates that the world of crime writing is robust and thriving. Good news, certainly, as we begin a new year.
David Stuart Davies on Monday, November 1st 2004 @ 03:41 PM GMT [link]