Last weekend I went to the artificial hill called Teufelsberg (Devil’s Hill), set in a lush forest on the outskirts of Berlin. The hill was built from the rubble left after the Second World W…

The topic of posthumous releases of author’s works has been on my mind a little lately, no doubt because of the Kafka rabbit hole I disappeared down! However, as I mentioned in my end of Sept…

Recovering from a near-fatal illness, Dalgliesh finds himself adjusting not only to survival but to the business of living again. While he was in hospital, Father Baddeley – an old friend of his fa…

Privilege, especially combined with wealth, can give the illusion of invulnerability. People in that position may even be oblivious to any danger around them – they feel safe. The fact is, though, …

Privilege, especially combined with wealth, can give the illusion of invulnerability. People in that position may even be oblivious to any danger around them – they feel safe. The fact is, though, that no-one is immune to tragedy.  And sometimes, privileged people can be in an even riskier position than ‘the rest of us.’ A quick look at crime fiction will show you what I mean.

Two years ago, as the 2024 Agatha Christie Festival came to a close, a trio of California lads who had bonded over their passion for the Queen of Crime vowed then and there that they would meet up …

As you might have surmised from my previous post, I’ve been enjoying life a little too much (when I haven’t been working) in September, and my reading reflects that. I only read seven b…

A look back at the past three months to see how I’m getting on with all the various challenges I set myself. Stats plus brief summaries of books reviewed for each challenge – the Classi…

Short Prose - Gabriela Marie Milton - Poet and Publisher, #1 Amazon Bestselling Author

I don’t quite know what it is about September, but it always seems to whizz past; maybe because I’m always back to work after the summer break and so things are frantic, with a lot of c…

Even the experienced DCI Robin Lyons is shocked when she’s called to a murder scene: a young woman found with her throat cleanly cut and no forensic traces left behind. The victim, Heather Pethick,…

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A tribute from a fan… It was announced yesterday that Scottish crime writer, Peter May, has died suddenly at the age of 74, as a result of a heart attack. May’s book, The Blackhouse, was one …

Reedsy's Nick Bailey weighs writing outside your usual genre — from new narrative tools to brand confusion and pen names.

I’ll write a separate post to summarise my reading activity for September, but I’ve also been involved in so many events and seen so many new things that I wanted to share these with yo…

Back in January I shared my thoughts about a wonderful book which I’d received as a Christmas gift from lovely Jacqui – “Souvenir” by Michael Bracewell. The book was basical…

Witchy Vibes for the Spooky Season

Several hundred years in the future, government has collapsed and essential services like power and water are reserved for the rich. In the decaying districts where everyone else lives, barter and …

For those who love Scandinavian crime, here’s the shortlist for the Petrona Award whose winner will be determined on October 22nd. This courtesy of Jackie Farrant of Raven Crime Reads –…

ALT: Thank You: You Are Amazing Rainbow Message

Book blurb Kavi Naidu is a great poet in the tradition of Wordsworth and Shelley (well, he thinks so, anyway). Pompous, sentimental and hell-bent on finding literary fame and romantic glory, he is …

How I Bring a Book into the World. Get yourself a hot drink or whatever … this will take a minute! I sometimes get asked what it takes to write and publish a book. The short answer is: Quite …

Stories don’t have to be long. It’s possible to tell a story within just a few words. To show you what  I mean, here are a few crime stories told in 50 words – what blog friend and academician Rob …

Stories don’t have to be long. It’s possible to tell a story within just a few words. To show you what  I mean, here are a few crime stories told in 50 words – what blog friend and academician Rob Kitchin has called Dribbles.  I Kevin paced back and forth. ‘Wasn’t Johnny supposed to be here by now?’ ‘Relax, man,’ Dylan reassured him.

Short Prose - Gabriela Marie Milton - Poet and Publisher, #1 Amazon Bestselling Author

I’ve been a keen reader of the British Library Crime Classics series since they first started reissuing Golden Age Crime back in 2012, and it’s been fascinating to watch the development…

British mystery at its best.

Maude Slocum has intercepted a poison pen letter addressed to her husband accusing her of adultery and wants private investigator Lew Archer to stop the letter writer. Archer points out the near im…

Helsinki, 1982. Recently divorced postal worker Ilmari Nieminen has promised his daughter a piano for Christmas, but with six days to go – and no money – he’s desperate.  A last-minute job offers a…

If you read crime fiction, you probably do so for the entertainment. And of course, crime fiction offers wonderful settings, fascinating bits of history, and memorable characters, among other thing…

If you read crime fiction, you probably do so for the entertainment. And of course, crime fiction offers wonderful settings, fascinating bits of history, and memorable characters, among other things. But did you know that crime fiction also offers some very important safety tips. It does! If you read enough crime fiction, you learn that there are some things that tend to put a person in grave danger.

The current state of the TBR, and a preview of four books I’ll be reading soon: The Eagle’s Throne by Carlos Fuentes, The Rainbird Pattern by Victor Canning, Rosemary’s Baby by Ira Levi…

Outstanding crime fiction from Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden shortlisted for the 2026 Petrona Award Seven impressive crime novels from Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden have been sho…

Despite having overflowing bookshelves and a mountainous TBR, I still always seem to amass multiple copies of individual titles, and today’s book is a good example of that. Back in the 1990s …

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It’s the book-lover’s biggest problem – how to file the ever-growing pile of books jostling for pole position on our shelves. Some file by genre, some by author, and some even file by the colour of…

Learn how to recognize when your manuscript is ready for beta readers and break free from the endless revision cycle.

Prior to 2014 I didn’t keep any kind of record of when I bought books, where they came from or anything like that; and the list I’ve kept since then has been very useful! However, one t…

As death approaches, Agrippa begins a memoir of his life and of the man he served for decades: Gaius Octavius Thurinus, later Augustus. Charged by Caesar to protect his sickly great‑nephew, Agrippa…

The woods can be deadly.

I intended to read more books by English authors in September, but so far I’ve only managed to read and review Helen Zahavi’s Dirty Weekend, which provoked a scandal at the time of publ…

Nocona Ketemoczy, is a former Marine of Comanche-Mexican heritage is now a Border Patrol agent. His past has left scars both visible and hidden. Since childhood, Ketemoczy has been haunted by visio…

James Harrison of Film Noir UK joins Sergio to preview the 2026 Film Noir Fest, which is taking place from 30 October to 1 November at the Plaza Cinema in Weston-Super-Mare. This year’s theme…

Have you ever gone somewhere or worked someplace where you were made to feel unwelcome? It’s distressing and can really wear on a person. It’s no wonder that in real life, we try to avoid those sit…

Have you ever gone somewhere or worked someplace where you were made to feel unwelcome? It’s distressing and can really wear on a person. It’s no wonder that in real life, we try to avoid those situations when possible. When it’s not possible, we leave as soon as we can. In fiction, though, that lack of comfort can make for effective tension and even suspense.

Short Prose - Gabriela Marie Milton - Poet and Publisher, #1 Amazon Bestselling Author

This is the story of five girls who attended a school for witches in the middle of nowhere in Maine. It starts with four of the women returning as adults for a memorial service for their professor …