From my desk to yours

Christmas time is not only a time for joy and laughter, but it’s also a time to take a step back and slow down; enjoy some time to kick back and relax after what has, quite frankly, been one heck of a year. With that in mind, I’ve curated a list of Christmas-themed crime and thriller novels to get you in the mood for the holidays and for you to indulge in with your favourite tipple and a mince pies. These reads will have you gripped to the edge of your seat from Christmas Eve all the way to New Years day!

Whether you’re looking for a read for yourself, or a present for the crime fiction lover in your life, click the images to find out more – and try to shop indie if you can! If you’re after gift ideas for your writer friends, check out my Shop Small Gift Guide for writers, or why not give the gift of editing this year?

Last month, I was delighted to be invited by the UK Crime Book Club to speak in one of their Ask the Expert slots. So far, the series has featured publishers, police specialists as well as marketing aficionados, and now it was my turn to talk all about editing!

If was a fantastic evening, and Samantha and I chatted all about editing, writing crime fiction and, strangely enough, cheese, along with much more. If you weren’t able to watch the interview live, it’s now available to view both on the UK Crime Book Club YouTube channel (see below), so do check it out. It is a great chance to find out more about what an editor does in general, how I personally help authors with their manuscripts, as well as the nuances of working in the grisly but addictive world of crime fiction, in a fun and informal format.

If you enjoyed that, don’t hesitate to get in touch if you have any questions, and follow me on social media (links at the bottom of the page) for more news, updates, and general chit chat.

And don’t forget to check out the UK Crime Book Club interviews with my authors Catherine Yaffe, Simon McCleave, Sally Rigby and Morgan Greene!

Congratulations are in order for one of my fabulous authors, Simon McCleave Author, who has just announced his publishing deal with Avon Books UK!

As an editor, one of the greatest pleasures of the job is seeing your authors go from strength to strength, and it’s been an utter privilege watching Simon’s star rise higher and higher. It seems like a lifetime ago that we started work on The Snowdonia Killings back in 2019, and now book ten in the series, The Seine River Killings comes out later this week (bookmark your diaries, folks!). All that hard work has certainly paid off! Very proud editor, indeed!

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I am privileged to work with some well-established authors, but one of the most exciting parts of being an editor is working with debut authors with debut authors on their first novels, helping them to launching their writing careers. There is nothing that beats the excitement around a debut, especially when they are as gifted a storyteller as Laura J Sillett.

It was a privilege to work on Laura’s debut, LET ME SLEEP, a psychological dystopian thriller that is laden with pace and twist at every turn.

I was delighted to get the chance to ask Laura some questions ahead of publication day – today – discussing what inspired her to write crime and thriller, and why the Victorians knew how to do crime right!

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Crime, suspense and thriller is a genre that I’ve always loved, but sometimes it takes a little while for authors to find their way to the dark side, if you will. Brona Nilsson is a long-time author but a debut crime novelist, and I was delighted to work with her on her first mystery: The Sound.

So, it was a privilege to be invited to work with Brona on this new path on her writing journey.

A man overboard on a ferry. A shooting in a cinema. Is ex-policewoman Lyra Norton’s best friend next?

When her best friend’s father-in-law dies in the Sound between Sweden and Denmark, Irish forensic linguist Lyra Norton rushes to Sweden to comfort her. When Olive’s own father is murdered, Lyra realizes that the case is much bigger than anyone anticipated and nowhere near solved.

Piecing together clues with the help of a local policewoman, Lyra establishes several twisted motives for the murders. When the authorities lose interest, she must choose between the quiet life of an academic or a return to solving crimes.

Can Lyra find the murderer before Olive becomes the next victim?