BritCrime's Best Books of 2016: Author @SJIHolliday recommends...

SJI Holliday recommends:

Jonathan Dark or The Evidence of Ghosts by A.K. Benedict

Maria King knows a secret London. Born blind, she knows the city by sound and touch and smell. But surgery has restored her sight - only for her to find she doesn't want it.

Jonathan Dark sees the shadowy side of the city. A DI with the Metropolitan Police, he is haunted by his failure to save a woman from the hands of a stalker. Now it seems the killer has set his sights on Maria, and is leaving her messages in the most gruesome of ways.

Tracing the source of these messages leads Maria and Jonathan to a London they never knew. Finding the truth will mean seeing a side to the city where life and death is a game played by the powerful, where everyone is lost but nothing is missing, and where all the answers are hiding, if only they listen to the whispers on the streets.

Shot through with love and loss, ghosts and grief, A K Benedict weaves a compelling mystery that will leave you looking over your shoulder and asking what lurks in the dark.

The Birdwatcher by William Shaw

Sergeant William South has always avoided investigating murder. A passionate birdwatcher and quiet man, he has few relationships and prefers it that way.

But when his only friend is found brutally beaten, South's detachment is tested. Not only is he bereft - it seems that there's a connection between the suspect and himself.

For South has a secret. He knows the kind of rage that killed his friend. He knows the kind of man who could do it. He knows, because Sergeant William South himself is a murderer.

Moving from the storm-lashed, bird-wheeling skies of the Kent Coast to the wordless war of the Troubles, The Birdwatcher is a crime novel of suspense, intelligence and powerful humanity about fathers and sons, grief and guilt and facing the darkness within.

'Grips the reader by the throat and never lets go'

Recommended by SJI Holliday, author of The Damselfly
https://www.facebook.com/SJIHolliday/
https://twitter.com/SJIHolliday

Five Ghost and Horror Stories to make your Spine Tingle

by Daniel Pembrey

With Halloween just round the corner, we wanted to give you a curated list of ghost and horror stories to really make your spine tingle. These picks come from five BritCrime members who will be appearing on a Halloween Crime and Horror panel at Waterstones King’s Road in London on Tuesday 1st November

SJI Holliday’s pick: The Woman In Black (1983) by Susan Hill

“Arthur Kipps, still traumatised after the horrific and tragic events that he witnessed many years before, reluctantly recounts the tale of his time spent at Eel Marsh House and the mysterious "Woman in Black" who haunted him then and still haunts him now. A dark gothic mansion on marshland cut off at high tide, banging doors, creaky rocking chairs and things that go bump in the night - this for me is the ultimate, classic ghost story. I read this book with a feeling of utter dread in my chest throughout, so tense it often made me forget to breathe. As Kipps says at the end ... They have asked for my story. I have told it. Enough.”

Amanda Jennings' pick: The Shining (1977) by Stephen King

“Jack Torrance becomes caretaker of the remote, unoccupied Overlook Hotel with his wife and son, Danny. Soon Danny, who possesses 'the shining', begins to witness the hotel's gruesome past in horrifying visions. When the snow comes, the hotel is cut off from the rest of the world and supernatural forces push Jack's sanity to the edge and threaten his family. Claustrophobic, atmospheric and downright terrifying, The Shining bewitched me as a teen. Unable to read fast enough it scared me so much I had to leave it outside my bedroom so the words couldn't get me in my sleep.”

Thomas Mogford’s pick: Thérèse Raquin (1867) by Emile Zola

“This classic French novel tells of how Thérèse and her lover, Laurent, bump off Thérèse’s husband, Camille, in a fake boating accident, and are fatally haunted by the consequences. It’s meant to be an example of ‘naturalism’ – cold scientific observation transposed to literature – but the supernatural and macabre bubble irresistibly to the surface. I’d love to write an updated version, but Michael Dibdin’s already done that in the brilliant Dirty Tricks (1991)."

Daniel Pembrey’s pick: The Vanishing (1984) by Tim Krabbe

"The Vanishing is about a young Dutch woman who disappears at a busy petrol station while going on holiday with her boyfriend. It has been adapted to the big screen twice (the Dutch version being the film to watch), and explores chance, the dark margins of consciousness and the agony of not knowing a beloved one’s fate. Just 115 pages long, it contains perhaps the most unsettling ending I’ve ever read in fiction."

Sarah Ward's pick: The Haunted Hotel (1879) by Wilkie Collins

“A glamorous Countess asks a doctor for his professional opinion as to whether she is evil or insane. About to be married to Lord Montbarry who has broken off his engagement to another woman, the Countess is convinced the jilted bride will be her downfall. In a Venetian hotel, a haunted room begins to bring the prophecy to pass. A classic ghost story in the Victorian Gothic tradition.”

Over to you: which stories you scared you most?

♠ Waterstones Crime and Horror Event, 1st November, King's Road, London

Chelsea has served as home to many stars of the horror genre, including Christopher Lee, Boris Karloff, writer Dennis Wheatley and of course Dracula-creator Bram Stoker. Join contemporary crime and horror writers SJI Holliday, Amanda Jennings, Thomas Mogford, Daniel Pembrey and Sarah Ward for this ghoulish celebration of dark delights.

The authors, who have set their novels across Europe, will also discuss the impact of location on their writing. SJI Holliday is the author of the Banktoun trilogy, set in East Lothian; Amanda Jennings based her novel In Her Wake in Cornwall; Thomas Mogford uses Gibraltar as the setting for his Spike Sanguinetti series; Daniel Pembrey's new Henk van der Pol detective series is set in Amsterdam; and Sarah Ward has the Peak District as the location for her Bampton series.

#BritCrime Festival: Sunday Afternoon Panel: The Replay

Lucy Atkins, Jenny Blackhurst, Rebecca Bradley, Tim Lebbon and Caroline Mitchell talk about writing, plotting, research, how to get published, top tips for aspiring writers... and more.

Don't miss this inspiring discussion between bestselling writers about their craft, prompted by questions from readers watching the panel live.



You can watch the replay here:

Crime Time UK: #BritCrime Festival Special Articles

A series of special BritCrime Festival articles have been published at Crime Time UK. Please click the links to read the articles.

BritCrime Festival: JM Hewitt talks to Crime Time
http://www.crimetime.co.uk/mag/index.php/showarticle/4590

Crime Conundrums: S. J. I. Holliday Talks To Crime Time
http://www.crimetime.co.uk/mag/index.php/showarticle/4599/

Exposure: Ava Marsh Talks To Crime Time
http://www.crimetime.co.uk/mag/index.php/showarticle/4598/

The Long Fall. Julia Crouch talks to Crime Time
http://www.crimetime.co.uk/mag/index.php/showarticle/4605/

The Secret Arts. Azma Dar talks to Crime Time
http://www.crimetime.co.uk/mag/index.php/showarticle/4619/




More about the BritCrime Festival, 15-17 July 2016 http://britcrime.com

Introducing Thriller Writer SJI Holliday

S.J.I. Holliday grew up in Haddington, East Lothian. She spent many years working in her family’s newsagent and pub before going off to study microbiology and statistics at university.

She has worked as a statistician in the pharmaceutical industry for over sixteen years, but it was on a six-month round-the-world-trip that she took with her husband ten years ago that she rediscovered her passion for writing.

Her first novel, Black Wood was published in 2015 and her second, Willow Walk, is out now.

You can find out more at www.sjiholliday.com and on Twitter @SJIHolliday and Facebook https://www.facebook.com/SjiHolliday

Free Sample: Willow Walk by SJI Holliday

You can try a free extended sample of the first six chapter of WILLOW WALK by SJI Holliday here.
When the past catches up, do you run and hide or stand and fight?

When a woman is brutally attacked on a lonely country road by an escaped inmate from a nearby psychiatric hospital, Sergeant Davie Gray must track him down before he strikes again. But Gray is already facing a series of deaths connected to legal highs and a local fairground, as well as dealing with his girlfriend Marie's bizarre behaviour. As Gray investigates the crimes, he suspects a horrifying link between Marie and the man on the run – but how can he confront her when she's pushing him away?

As a terrified Marie is pulled back into a violent past she thought she'd escaped, she makes an irrevocable decision. And when events come to a head at a house party on Willow Walk, can Gray piece together the puzzle in time to stop the sleepy town of Banktoun being rocked by tragedy once more?

PRAISE FOR WILLOW WALK

"Unflinching attention to detail lifts Holliday’s inventive and compelling second Banktoun novel to a whole new level."
– THE SUN, 4-stars

"A compelling tale of obsession and dark secrets that grips you from the first chapter and holds you right through to the startling and dramatic conclusion."
– AVA MARSH, author of Untouchable

"Chillingly nuanced, pulse-poundingly suspenseful, and totally unputdownable."
– CrimeThrillerGirl

"The kind of book I adore discovering, one that stays with me long after I’ve finished."
– JENNY BLACKHURST, author of How I Lost You

"Tense, atmospheric and gripping from page one. A first-rate psychological thriller.
– MASON CROSS, author of The Samaratin

"Feverish and intense, Willow Walk is a worthy follow up to S.J.I. Holliday’s highly regarded debut, Black Wood. A writer who doesn’t flinch in the face of twisted impulses and unspeakable desires, few can match her for the creation of truly disturbing characters."
– EVA DOLAN, author of After You Die

"A brilliantly dark and twisted tale that expertly builds the tension until you find yourself biting your nails to the quick as the pages fly by."
– STEVE CAVANAGH, author of The Defence

"The writing is sublime and the storyline is darkly delicious with some thought-provoking themes and genuinely intriguing characters."
– Liz Loves Books

You can try a free extended sample of the first six chapter of WILLOW WALK by SJI Holliday here.

BritCrime Authors Best Books of 2015 - Part 1

By SJI Holliday

After reading various 'book of the year' articles, we thought it made sense for us to share our BritCrime authors' favourites with you. What have crime writers been reading this year? You might be surprised! To shake things up a bit, these are not all books published this year, they're just books we've read this year... and they're not all crime - fancy that.

Nick Quantrill

♠ How to be Brave by Louise Beech
♠ Gun Street Girl by Adrian McKinty
♠ Living on the Volcano by Michael Calvin.

How to be Brave is a love letter to the power of stories. It’s about a mother whose teenage daughter is struggling to come to terms with being diagnosed with diabetes. The deal is that if she accepts her injections, they’ll share the diary of her great-grandfather’s incredible survival tale on a drifting raft in World War Two. I really didn’t expect it to be to my taste, but it blew me away.

♠♠♠ 

S.J.I. Holliday

♠ Untouchable by Ava Marsh
♠ Into The Darkest Corner by Elizabeth Haynes
♠ A Kind Worth Killing by Peter Swanson


Untouchable is a sexy, pacy thriller with an incredibly compelling protagonist - Stella/Grace, a helpline worker by day, a high-class escort by night. Why has has she chosen this path in life, when she clearly has friends and family who wish that she hadn't? She gets embroiled in the worst kind of hedonism with the worst kind of people, but there is a vulnerability there too - coming both from her, and from many of the lonely types she meets. This novel is beautifully written - it is captivating, gritty and intelligent. I couldn't get it out of my head.

♠♠♠ 

Helen Smith

♠ The Book of Strange New Things by Michel Faber
♠ The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd
♠ Last Night at the Lobster by Stewart O’Nan

The Book of Strange New Things is a moving book about loss. An English missionary travels to a faraway planet that has been settled by people from earth. His job is to keep the indigenous population happy by talking to them about the Bible. His separation from his wife, who is still on earth, leads to a gradual estrangement. It’s an extraordinary book - one of the best I’ve read in a long time. Partway through reading it, I realised the author’s wife was dying as he wrote it, which gave it an added, almost unbearable poignancy.

♠♠♠ 

Marnie Riches

♠ The Abrupt Physics of Dying by Paul Hardisty
♠ To Rise at a Decent Hour by Joshua Ferris
♠ The Farm by Tom Rob Smith


The Abrupt Physics of Dying has all the things I might look for in a thriller - a truly international plot set in Yemen about an environmental disaster; a conspiracy within heavy industry; political turmoil and corruption. Hardisty’s prose has a lyrical quality to it. His descriptions of the harsh Yemen landscape are vivid. His main character, Claymore Straker is a godless, fallible South African ex-soldier. Clay’s reflections on the devout Muslim beliefs of the Yemeni characters constitute intelligent soul-searching. There is even a love story at the book’s heart. But The Abrupt Physics of Dying, for all its literary finesse and environmentally aware politics, never loses pace. It’s gripping. It’s violent. It’s a bloody exciting read.

♠♠♠ 

Michael J. Malone

♠ The Death House by Sarah Pinborough
♠ The Cartel by Don Winslow
♠ Canary by Duane Swierczynski


The Death House is an exercise in how less can be so much more. Children are taken from their parents in this strange world and left in a sanatorium till the strange sickness they carry kills them. Yet even in this most bleak of places, love can flourish. Made me cry. Need I say more?

♠♠♠

C.L. Taylor

♠ Rubbernecker by Belinda Bauer
♠ A Man Called Ove by Frederik Backman
♠ First One Missing by Tammy Cohen


Rubbernecker won the Gold Dagger for best crime novel of the year at the Harrogate Crime Festival in 2014. I can't remember the last time I liked a character as much as I liked Patrick, or found a character so fascinating. I loved the setting - a dissection class and a neurological ward - and I was desperate for Patrick to solve the mystery of number 19's death. It was a gripping, darkly humorous and fascinating book that gave me serious writer envy.

♠♠♠ 

What were your favourite books this year? Tell us in the comments!


Come back tomorrow for Part 2.

Top Five Fictional Murder Weapons #writing

by S.J.I. Holliday

1. Pigs
Method: Breed some scary pigs, the big hairy boar type. Torment them and abuse them for several years. Feed them whole animals to get them prepared. Taunt them at your leisure. When they appear to be suitably feral, toss in your victim and leave the piggies to their dinner.

Cause of Death: Mauling, blood loss, shock.

Whodunnit? Popularised by Hannibal Lecter and The Mafia.

2. Superglue
Method: Gag first – a pair of socks should do it, held in place with a couple of layers of duct tape (right round the head, make sure it can’t slip off). Then the pièce de résistance – squirt the superglue up each nostril (be careful – don’t add too much or you’ll end up glued to the victim… that’s your alibi screwed right there), then pinch nose gently until the glue sets and the nostrils fuse.

Cause of Death: Suffocation.

Whodunnit? I believe both Craig Robertson and Fergus McNeill have used this method (in their books...)

3. Icicle
Method: Wearing big gloves with a good grip (maybe those silicon gauntlet oven gloves), select a very cold and spiky icicle from the roof of a ski lodge. Stab your victim through the heart or into the carotid artery, if possible. Note: can only be done in winter.

Cause of Death: Exsanguination (or they could possibly freeze to death first – either way, it’s a win)

Whodunnit? Christopher Brookmyre used this in his first novel, but he made it extra special by adding mercury to the tip of his lethal ice pole.

4. Leg of Lamb
Method: Another disappearing murder weapon… select one large leg of lamb (note: works best if frozen), take one drunk, cheating husband who is complaining about his dinner not being ready… wait until he is seated at the dining table, then bludgeon him to death with the meat. Once he’s dead, stick the lamb in the oven at 150 degrees for a few hours while you dig his grave. Don’t forget to braise. Enjoy with new potatoes and a sprinkling of fresh mint.

Cause of Death: Blunt object trauma.

Whodunnit? Roald Dahl in his Tales of the Unexpected short story, ‘Lamb to the Slaughter’. Dahl had form, too... I never trusted him after he drugged those pheasants in ‘Danny, the Champion of the World.’

5. Gold Paint
Method: Buy a large tin of gold paint. Wait until victim is asleep (possibly drug them so they don’t struggle). Undress them. Coat their entire body with the paint – don’t forget the nooks and crannies. Cross your fingers that it works, because you’ve only seen it on TV at Christmas after you’ve drunk half a bottle of sherry.

Cause of Death: Epidermal Suffocation (allegedly).

Whodunnit? Why, Auric Goldfinger, of course. The scamp.

♠♠♠

P.S. There’s a fabulously inventive murder weapon in Mark Edwards and Louise Voss’s soon-to-be-released novel ‘The Blissfully Dead’ – but I won’t spoil it for you… If you’ve got any other inventive fictional weapons, tell us in the comments!

P.P.S. Thanks to Marnie Riches for suggesting this topic as a blog post.

♠♠♠

S.J.I. (Susi) Holliday writes crime and horror. Her debut psychological thriller ‘Black Wood’ was published in March 2015.

Find out more at her website www.sjiholliday.com or on twitter @sjiholliday and facebook (SJI Holliday).

#ThrillerFest15 Report from New York City for #BritCrime Festival

by JF Penn
While the BritCrime online festival rocked the UK this weekend, several of the participating authors joined the International Thriller Writers’ (ITW) ThrillerFest in New York.

Simon Toyne, J.F.Penn and Peter James in New York #britcrime

Simon Toyne, SJI Holliday and J.F.Penn attended panels, cocktail parties and seminars with some of the biggest names in thriller and crime who have sold hundreds of millions of books between them.

Here are some interesting tidbits from behind the scenes …

Karin Slaughter interviewed Charlaine Harris, author of the Sookie Stackhouse series which became the TV series True Blood. It was a hilarious session as Charlaine has an infectious giggle and Karin has a sharp wit.

Charlaine used to do a form of karate as well as weightlifting to help improve her strength. The practice made her feel stronger inside and out and that personal change is something she brings to her books. People can change, but it’s often at great cost.



Charlaine doesn’t allow people behind her at book signings, because of a number of weird experiences with fans. Both Karin and Charlaine said that they won’t eat anything fans bake for them. They appreciate the thought but they also have haters who might try to poison them!

When asked what scares her, Charlaine said that the paranormal isn’t a problem at all. Humans are the real monsters because they look normal until you’re alone with them … she did say that those blow up men outside auto retailers really do creep her out though!

Simon Toyne, Mark Billingham and J.F.Penn #britcrime

 Mark Billingham noted in one panel that crime and thriller writers are the “smokers of the literary world.” There’s a kind of gang mentality, we protect each other and we are supportive. We’re also considered by many in the literary community as somehow less important, but Karin Slaughter pointed out that we’re the ones hitting the bestseller lists!

Lee Child with Mark Billingham

Lee Child interviewed Mark in a spotlight session and the two Brits had the crowd in stitches with tales of their respective Birmingham history. Mark talked about his former acting career with an enjoyable stint running around in forests for Maid Marian and Her Merry Men, as well as being the first human actor on Spitting Image. He also revealed a personal story about being a victim of crime and how his own visceral fear is used in his books.

In talking about London as a setting, Mark asked the mainly American audience whether they really wanted to keep London as 'heritage' rather than gritty. He explained that it’s a Jekyll and Hyde city with both beauty and darkness. His Tom Thorne crime thrillers explore both sides, always with an edge of humour. Mark also recommended BritCrime author Clare Mackintosh's new book, I Let You Go, as an example of a fantastic twisted plot.

David Morrell, author of historical crime novel, Inspector of the Dead ... and creator of Rambo!

 Peter James and Greg Iles talked about how covers rejected by bigger name authors often get handed down to the lesser known. It’s apparently common in the publishing industry. Peter James has hens named after the characters in his Roy Grace novels at his home in the Sussex countryside.

SJI Holliday at the Debut Author breakfast. J.F.Penn with Clive Cussler

CJ Lyons won the Best eBook Original award for Hard Fall, a Lucy Guardino FBI crime thriller. CJ is a former pediatric ER doctor whose life of crime fiction writing was inspired by meeting a serial killer. Lucy Guardino's character was inspired by a real life FBI Supervisory Special Agent whose favorite photo of herself was taken when she was eight months pregnant and shooting a Remington pump action shotgun during firearms re-qualifications.

Simon Toyne signed advanced reader copies of his upcoming novel, The Searcher at Thrillerfest, as well as taking charge of filming top authors on their writing tips. That video will be out in the next few months so keep an eye out! Simon loves to write at his place in France, an old presbyter, a French priest’s house located on the outskirts of a 13th century bastide, or fortified town. Simon also loves movies. His favorite film is Jaws and in his previous occupation in TV production, he once interviewed Stephen Spielberg. You can watch a video interview with Simon Toyne here on YouTube.

To add to the excitement, SJI Holliday was featured at the Debut Author breakfast and J.F.Penn fulfilled a dream of meeting Clive Cussler!

All in all, it was a fantastic Thrillerfest and today the BritCrime authors return home just a little worse for wear after the celebratory Gala Dinner last night … See you next year!

♠♠♠

♠  More about JF Penn

Panel 6: When the Past Won't Stay Buried: 12pm–2pm, Sunday 12 July #BritCrime

BritCrime Panel 6: When the Past Won't Stay Buried

12pm–2pm UK Time | 7am–9pm EST
Sunday 12 July

Live Q&A with the authors hosted on our Facebook page

♠♠♠

Jenny Blackhurst: How I Lost You

They told her she killed her son. She served her time. But what if they lied?

I have no memory of what happened but I was told I killed my son. And you believe what your loved ones, your doctor and the police tell you, don't you?

My name is Emma Cartwright. Three years ago I was Susan Webster, and I murdered my twelve-week-old son Dylan. I was sent to Oakdale Psychiatric Institute for my crime, and four weeks ago I was released early on parole with a new identity, address and a chance to rebuild my tattered life.

 This morning, I received an envelope addressed to Susan Webster. Inside it was a photograph of a toddler called Dylan. Now I am questioning everything I believe because if I have no memory of the event, how can I truly believe he's dead?

If there was the smallest chance your son was alive, what would you do to get him back?

After a lifetime of reading anything she could get her hands on, Jenny Blackhurst wrote her first book following the birth of her son and subsequent redundancy in 2011. She lives in Shropshire with her husband, two boys, and Woody the dog and is working on book number two.

 ♠♠♠ 

SLI Holliday, Black Wood

Something happened to Claire and Jo in Black Wood...

He spots the two girls through the cracked screen of beech, sycamore and leg-scratching gorse: a flash of red skirt and a unison of giggles . . . The smaller girl sees him first and she lets out a strange little squeak and jumps back, grabbing onto the other girl’s T-shirt, revealing a flash of milky white shoulder. He grins.

Something happened to Claire and Jo in Black Wood: something that left Claire paralysed and Jo with deep mental scars. But with Claire suffering memory loss and no evidence to be found, nobody believes Jo’s story.

Twenty-three years later, a familiar face walks into the bookshop where Jo works, dredging up painful memories and rekindling her desire for vengeance. And at the same time, Sergeant David Gray is investigating a balaclava-clad man who is attacking women on a disused railway, shocking the sleepy village of Banktoun. But what is the connection between Jo’s visitor and the masked man?

To catch the assailant, and to give Jo her long-awaited justice, Gray must unravel a tangled web of past secrets, broken friendship and tainted love. But can he crack the case before Jo finds herself with blood on her hands?

SJI Holliday grew up in East Lothian. A life-long fan of crime and horror, her short stories have been published in various places, and she was shortlisted for the inaugural CWA Margery Allingham competition. She is married and lives in London.

 ♠♠♠

Colette McBeth, The Life I Left Behind

Everyone tells her she's a survivor. No-one knows she's dead inside...

 She's dead but she's the only one who knows what really happened: 

What your friends have said.  What the police missed. Who attacked you. 

So if you want the truth who else are you going to turn to?

Colette McBeth had the idea for her first novel Precious Thing in 1998. Instead of writing it she went to work for the BBC where she spent 10 years as TV reporter. In 2011 she enrolled on the Faber Academy Novel Writing course and completed Precious Thing in 2012. She lives in West London with her husband and three children.

 ♠♠♠

 Clare Mackintosh, I Let You Go

The tense, twisty, emotionally compelling psychological thriller that everyone is talking about.

A tragic accident. It all happened so quickly. She couldn't have prevented it. Could she?

In a split second, Jenna Gray's world descends into a nightmare. Her only hope of moving on is to walk away from everything she knows to start afresh. Desperate to escape, Jenna moves to a remote cottage on the Welsh coast, but she is haunted by her fears, her grief and her memories of a cruel November night that changed her life forever.

Slowly, Jenna begins to glimpse the potential for happiness in her future. But her past is about to catch up with her, and the consequences will be devastating . . .

Clare Mackintosh is an author, feature writer and columnist. She has written for The Guardian, Sainsbury's Magazine, The Green Parent, and many other national publications, and is a columnist for Cotswold Life and Writing Magazine. Clare spent twelve years in the police force, working on CID, in custody and as a public order commander, and has drawn on her experiences for her début psychological thriller I Let You Go. She is currently writing her second novel, out next year.

♠♠♠

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