As I noted back in May, acclaimed British crime writer RJ Ellory (pictured right) will be touring New Zealand in early September in support of his latest book, SAINTS OF NEW YORK.
Now today (NZT - Thursday night in the UK) news filtered through from the Theakston's Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival in Harrogate, England that Ellory's book A SIMPLE ACT OF VIOLENCE has won the coveted Theakston's barrel. I should note that although only one of the voters on Crime Watch's 'Who should win the Theakston?' poll voted for this book, I have heard many great comments about Ellory's writing in general - so it's great to see hime given this accolade.
Further to my May email, the specific details of when and where Ellory will be appearing during his four days in New Zealand (8-11 September) are still not available. However a run-down of which cities he will be in on which days has been made available - so keep an eye out for events coming your way if you are in or near any of these locations:
- Auckland, Wednesday September 8
- Nelson & Wellington, Thursday September 9
- Wellington & Dunedin, Friday September 10
- Dunedin & Auckland, Saturday September 11
The blurb for RJ Ellory's Theakston winning novel, A SIMPLE ACT OF VIOLENCE, states: "Washington, embroiled in the mid-term elections, did not want to hear about serial killings. But when the newspapers reported a fourth murder, when they gave the killer a name and details of his horrendous crimes, there were few people that could ignore it. Detective Robert Miller is assigned to the case. He and his partner begin the task of correlating and cross-referencing the details of each crime scene. Rapidly things begin to complicate. The victims do not officially exist. Their personal details do not register on any known systems. The harder Miller works, the less it makes sense. And as Miller unearths ever more disturbing facts, he starts to face truths so far-removed from his own reality that he begins to fear for his life. This is a novel about trust, loyalty, and beliefs that are so ingrained which, when challenged, they leave people with nothing."I don't have a copy of A SIMPLE ACT OF VIOLENCE yet, but I do have copies of each of Ellory's latest two books, THE ANNIVERSARY MAN and SAINTS OF NEW YORK (an advance copy of the latter). I'm looking forward to reading both in the lead-up to his New Zealand tour.
Have you read any of RJ Ellory's work? What do you think of him winning the Theakston over the lifes of Mark Billingham's Gold Dagger-shortlisted IN THE DARK and Tom Rob Smith's much-acclaimed and awarded CHILD 44? Are you going to head to any of his events in New Zealand (or Australia and other tour stops)? Thoughts and comments welcome.
You know what I think, Craig! (have made that clear on BTZ!) - and get yer hands on a copy of ASAOV, it's no wonder it won the prize! A brilliantly 'intelligent' crime novel, I learned a lot about 'Black Ops.' and connections to the Indo-Chinese conflicts that made me want to go back and research that out of curiosity. (and Robert Miller is a very interesting character!)
ReplyDeleteWell done, Roger Ellory!!