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Mr Burke’s “Rising Sun” landmark for Scorpion

Delighted that the latest James Lee Burke, HOUSE OF THE RISING SUN by the small UK publisher Scorpion Press will have an insightful tribute by his daughter and noted thriller writer Alafair.  The edition

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Name of the Rose

The Name of the Rose (1983) was not just a novel but a way of thinking about the world. At the passing of its author Umberto Eco it is appropriate to reflect on the

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Charles Cumming – A Colder War

In A Colder War Britain’s secret intelligence operations in the Middle East are severely curtailed; botched schemes and the deaths of double agents suggests to the spymasters that a mole is a work.  When

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Wallander’s creator Mankell passes

Henning Mankell, creator of Kurt Wallander, passed away after a year long fight with cancer. His novels were favourites with modern crime fans across the world for ironically displaying an angst about the state

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Intrigue and Eric Ambler

In a recent BBC radio broadcast John Gray recalls the life and work of the thriller writer Eric Ambler and finds uncomfortable echoes of today’s society in the pages of his novels. “What they reveal

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Second hand books bought at Hay

For as long as I can remember I have visited second hand bookshops with my ‘wants’ list.  Mostly, I am disappointed and buy something else that catches the eye.  But this time the second

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Second Hand Bookshops in the UK

The internet has caused a drift away from the retail high street so it was good to see that some second hand bookshops are making strident efforts to bring customers back. Some glorious second hand

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Doctorow – Golden Age of Dreams

Last night I heard on the radio that New York writer E L Doctorow had died aged 87 years. The radio was an appropriate means of conveying the news for he was a writer

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Medal Auction Commemorates Violette Szabo

Medals commemorating the wartime service of Violette Szabo sold at auction today in London for £260,000. Ms Szabo’s gritty and heroic efforts as a secret agent of the Special Operations Executive during World War

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Christopher Lee and the thriller tradition

The long and ubiquitous career of Christopher Lee (1922 – 2015) as film actor can tell thriller fans that the novels of action in which he appeared on screen still give us much to