"Rich in character and place, beautifully written" - review of THE VANISHING PLACE

THE VANISHING PLACE by Zoe Rankin (Moa Press, August 2025)

Reviewed by Craig Sisterson

On the remote West Coast of the South Island, vast forests stretch out between mountain ranges and rugged beaches. There, in the small town of Koraha, not a lot happens - until a young girl with blood on her hands walks out of the bush and into the local store, collapsing to the floor.

She can't - or won't - speak to anyone. It's the town's sole policeman who recognises her face. She looks exactly like a local girl who disappeared twenty years ago. She has the same red hair. The same green eyes. What horrors has she left behind in the bush? Who will come looking for her? And what secrets are about to come to light?

A twisty and daring thriller about how those close to you can be even more dangerous than the deadliest wilderness. 

Scotland-born author Zoë Rankin’s passion for the outdoors seeps through the pages of her outstanding debut The Vanishing Place, which takes readers deep into the rugged, deadly magnificence of the New Zealand bush. It’s a compelling, atmospheric tale set on the ‘wild West Coast’ of her adopted homeland’s South Island, entwined with smalltown secrets, past sins, atypical upbringings, and religious fervour. With an exceptionally strong sense of people and place; you can almost smell the fern-encrusted undergrowth as you read, hear the babbling streams and birdsong, and feel the scratching anxiety of just how easy it would be to vanish in such isolated back country.

As we begin, Effie is a highly capable police officer on the Isle of Skye in Scotland who has a habit of sometimes stubbornly getting in over her head. Putting herself and others in danger, with the best of intentions. She has always loved remote places, despite mixed memories of growing up in a cabin deep in the bush outside of Koraha, a tiny West Coast settlement, before escaping to the far side of the world as a teenager. But when a girl who looks just like Effie stumbles into a Koraha store, covered in blood, bringing back echoes of a troubling past to the small community, Effie is called back to New Zealand to try to find answers, including what happened to the rest of her own family?

There is a lot to love about The Vanishing Place. Rankin, who has won prizes for her short story writing and been knocking on the door of the (novel) publishing world for a while, masterfully immerses readers in Effie’s tale, past and present, along with that of Lewis, the boy who saved her many years ago, and is now a sole-charge policeman on the West Coast who is trying to deal with Anya, the bloodied young girl who’d appeared out of the bush. The Vanishing Place is an exceptionally well-crafted thriller, rich in character and place, beautifully written.

[This review was first published in the Summer 2025 issue of Deadly Pleasures magazine in the USA]

Craig Sisterson is a lawyer turned writer, editor, podcast host, awards judge, and event chair. He's the founder of the Ngaio Marsh Awards, co-founder of Rotorua Noir, author of Macavity and HRF Keating Award-shortlisted non-fiction work SOUTHERN CROSS CRIME, editor of the DARK DEEDS DOWN UNDER anthology series, and writes about books for magazines and newspapers in several countries.

"Parental fears and gut-punch storytelling" - review of THE GOOD FATHER

THE GOOD FATHER by Liam McIlvanney (Bonnier, June 2025)

Reviewed by Craig Sisterson

Gordon and Sarah Rutherford are normal, happy people with rich, fulfilling lives. They have a son they adore, a house on the beach and a safe, friendly community in a picture-postcard town. Until, one day, Bonnie the labrador comes in from the beach alone. Their son, Rory, has gone - the only trace left behind is a single black sandal.

Their lives don't fall apart immediately. While there's still hope, they dig deep and try to carry on.

But as desperation mounts, arms around shoulders become fingers pointed - at friends, family, strangers, each other. Without any answers, only questions remain. Who can they trust? How far will they go to find out what happened to Rory?

And the deadliest question of what could be worse than your child disappearing? When the truth begins to emerge, they find themselves in a world they could barely have imagined..

It is a seemingly ordinary August day that fractures the lives of Gordon and Sarah Rutherford. Late summer on the west coast of Scotland; their seven-year-old Rory enjoying the beach outside the family home with their dog Bonnie. Then Bonnie comes home alone. Gordon and Sarah wander the beach. No sign of Rory. The police are called. Questions. More extensive searches. More questions. Hours pass. Days. Months. 

Award-winning novelist Liam McIlvanney, a professor at the University of Otago, may be a self-confessed ‘slow motion crime writer’ who doesn’t produce the book-a-year of many peers, but The Good Father demonstrates once more why his tales are always well worth the wait. 

What could be worse than your child disappearing? A seemingly ordinary day, something Rory had often done, playing near the house with their dog. A safe community in their small town, he’d always returned home. Until he didn’t. Guilt. Fear. Whispers and gossip. How do your neighbours see you now; how do you see yourselves?

McIlvanney takes parental fears and delivers gut-punch storytelling; he is a great writer alongside being a great storyteller. The sentences sing, as Gordon and Sarah’s happy lives are eroded away day by day. It’s the hope that kills. What could be worse than your child disappearing? The Good Father is a quietly terrifying tale that upturns expectations without pyrotechnics, and from an author who’s already collected major writing awards in both hemispheres, may somehow be his best work yet. 

Craig Sisterson is a lawyer turned writer, editor, podcast host, awards judge, and event chair. He's the founder of the Ngaio Marsh Awards, co-founder of Rotorua Noir, author of Macavity and HRF Keating Award-shortlisted non-fiction work SOUTHERN CROSS CRIME, editor of the DARK DEEDS DOWN UNDER anthology series, and writes about books for magazines and newspapers in several countries.

"Unusual, terrific crime thriller" - review of THE TRIALS OF MARJORIE CROWE

THE TRIALS OF MARJORIE CROWE by CS Robertson (Hodder & Stoughton, 2024)

Reviewed by Craig Sisterson

How do you solve a murder when everyone thinks you're guilty? Marjorie Crowe lives in Kilgoyne, Scotland. The locals put her age at somewhere between 55 and 70. They think she's divorced or a lifelong spinster; that she used to be a librarian, a pharmacist, or a witch. They think she's lonely, or ill, or maybe just plain rude. For the most part, they leave her be.

But one day, everything changes. Local teenager Charlie McKee is found hanging in the woods, and Marjorie is the first one to see his body. When what she saw turns out to be impossible, the police have their doubts. And when another young person goes missing, the tide of suspicion turns on her.

Is Marjorie the monster, or the victim? And how far will she go to fight for her name?

Burn the witch. History doesn’t repeat but it often rhymes, as they say, and in Scottish author CS Robertson’s terrific standalone thriller the rhyming echoes from the past involve witchcraft, and how women who stand apart from ‘normal society’ have been persecuted throughout the centuries; sometimes fatally, often by their closest neighbours. Think the Salem Witch Trials, where 200 people were accused of witchcraft on the flimsiest of evidence, and two dozen executed or died in custody.

In The Trials of Marjorie Crowe, twice a day the titular character walks the same route through and around the village of Kilgoyne, determinedly keeping on track even when that means walking right through a pub where she can face stares and jeers. She’s the village metronome, the ‘weird old lady’ living on the outskirts that some kids taunt, and others are fascinated by. How old is Marjorie, and is she a retired librarian, a former pharmacist, or a witch? When local teen Charlie McKee is found hanging in the woods, the village begins to turn on Marjorie. Then social media. Burn the witch. 

Then another youngster goes missing… 

Marjorie can’t explain her actions or trust her own recollections. Is she a victim, or a monster?

Robertson deftly draws readers into an unsettling, character-centric crime story that dips into the occult while being horrifyingly plausible. Internet pile-ons akin to historic lynch-mobs. Fears of anyone different, or anything that’s not easily explained. Interspersed vignettes about real-life Scottish women accused of witchcraft in centuries past, and executed, are a poignant reminder of how easily distrust is stoked into persecution, how those in power may abuse it, and the ubiquitous-ness of misogyny. History doesn’t repeat, but rhymes. Burn the witch.

An unusual, terrific crime thriller

Craig Sisterson is a lawyer turned writer, editor, podcast host, awards judge, and event chair. He's the founder of the Ngaio Marsh Awards, co-founder of Rotorua Noir, author of Macavity and HRF Keating Award-shortlisted non-fiction work SOUTHERN CROSS CRIME, editor of the DARK DEEDS DOWN UNDER anthology series, and writes about books for magazines and newspapers in several countries.

"Fascinating characters and strong Scottish setting" - review of VIOLENT ENDS

VIOLENT ENDS by Neil Broadfoot (Constable, 2023)

Reviewed by Craig Sisterson

Having the wrong client can be murder... The voice was smooth, cultured, almost tender as it oozed from the phone into Connor Fraser's ear. "I've heard about you, Mr Fraser, and I'm very impressed by your work. So I've decided to employ you. I am going to kill Father John Donnelly sometime in the next seven days. And you are going to stop me - or die trying. "

The thought it's a sick joke lasts for as long as it takes Connor to find that £70,000 has been deposited into his PayPal account, and for him to receive an email with a picture of his grandmother. With no choice but to make a deal with the devil, Connor races to unmask a killer before he strikes and uncovers a mystery that stretches back decades, threatening the people closest to him.

Just like Australian crime writing runs far deeper than modern royalty like Jane Harper, Candice Fox, and Chris Hammer, there’s a lot more to Tartan Noir than the award-winning series and standalones of international bestsellers like Ian Rankin, Val McDermid, and Denise Mina. 

Dig a little and you’ll find gems like the terrific Connor Fraser series by Neil Broadfoot.

In this fifth outing, Fraser - a former Belfast policeman who now works close protection from the heart of Scotland, the student city of Stirling where monuments to Rob Roy and William Wallace stand and Robert the Bruce’s castle looms over landscapes made famous by ancient battles and Braveheart – faces a puzzling job. An unknown, cultured voice on the phone says he’s deposited £70,000 in Fraser’s account, that he’s hiring Fraser to protect village priest Father John Donnelly. 

The hitch? The voice on the phone is the one who’s going to try to kill Donnelly. Fraser must stop him, or die trying. Let the games begin. But why would someone want to a Catholic priest? Or this one in particular, at least. On the face of it there are few whiffs of scandal in Donnelly’s past. As Fraser digs into things while trying to keep the priest alive, he juggles professional and personal relationships with local police, dogged journalists, long-time friends, and loved ones now in danger. 

Broadfoot, a former journalist for national newspapers in the UK, conjures a cracking tale that rolls along smoothly, drawing us in with action and character both. This particular instalment in what is an excellent series overall delves into both Scottish policing and firefighting (the latter an organisation Broadfoot understands well as a former advisor to the Strathclyde Fire & Rescue Service), along with the priesthood and the state of modern journalism. From drone attacks to feisty press conferences and political power plays, Broadfoot keeps readers engaged with a gritty and twisting, page-whirring tale. Fascinating characters and a strong evocation of the Scottish setting and underlying issues facing the nation-within-a-nation add further layers. A very good read. 

Craig Sisterson is a lawyer turned writer, editor, podcast host, awards judge, and event chair. He's the founder of the Ngaio Marsh Awards, co-founder of Rotorua Noir, author of Macavity and HRF Keating Award-shortlisted non-fiction work SOUTHERN CROSS CRIME, editor of the DARK DEEDS DOWN UNDER anthology series, and writes about books for magazines and newspapers in several countries.

"Wonderful, unlike anything else you'll read this year" - review of THE CRACKED MIRROR

THE CRACKED MIRROR by Chris Brookmyre (Abacus, 2024)

Reviewed by Craig Sisterson

You know Johnny Hawke. Hard-bitten LAPD homicide detective. Always in trouble with his captain, always losing partners, but always battling for the truth, whatever it takes.

You know Penny Coyne. The little old lady who has solved multiple murders in her otherwise sleepy village, despite bumbling local police. A razor-sharp mind in a Sunday best hat.

Against all the odds, against the usual story, their worlds are about to collide. It starts with a dead writer and a mysterious wedding invitation. It will end with a rabbit hole that goes so deep, Johnny and Penny might just come to question not just whodunnit, but whether they want to know the answer.

Miss Marple meets Michael Connelly could be an easy tagline for award-winning Scottish author Chris Brookmyre’s superb new novel, but that distillation severely underplays all that is going on in The Cracked Mirror, a truly mind-bending mystery.

Yes, Penny Coyne is a tweed-wearing, elderly librarian in a sleepy Scottish village who has helped the local constabulary solve many murders (or done so despite their bumbling). And yes, Johnny Hawke is a hard-bitten LAPD homicide detective with a maverick streak who’s willing to bend the rules to find the truth and catch the bad guys. More interested in justice than procedures and rules. 

At the start, as Brookmyre flicks readers between unfolding mysteries in Scotland and Los Angeles, it almost seems like The Cracked Mirror is two books that have been misprinted into one. A cocktail of sub-genres, individually tasty yet unusually mixed. Then Penny and Johnny’s worlds begin to mesh, as she answers a mysterious wedding invitation at a Scottish manor, and Johnny trails a person of interest to the very same venue. Coincidence, or something bigger at play. As the oddball pairing are thrust together, The Cracked Mirror becomes a helter-skelter thrill ride that will have readers furrowing their brow and whirring through the pages. 

Are the echoes among some tragic suicides coincidence or something worse? Why are Penny’s local police targetting Johnny, a fellow cop even if one from across the pond? As the stakes are raised and the action intensifies, Brookmyre rides the absurdity curve to something wonderfully creative and masterfully told. The Cracked Mirror is a crime tale with storytelling at its heart – the trail Penny and Johnny follow snakes through screenwriting, book publishing, and video games companies – and with plenty of heart among the hurly burly and high stakes. Some wonderful easter eggs for genre fans, too.

Overall, The Cracked Mirror is a terrific tale that’s unlike anything else you’ll probably read this year, and in a strong year with plenty of outstanding contenders, I've got to agree that it was a worthy recent winner of the 2024 McIlvanney Prize, the annual prize for best Scottish crime book of the year.

Craig Sisterson is a lawyer turned writer, editor, podcast host, awards judge, and event chair. He's the founder of the Ngaio Marsh Awards, co-founder of Rotorua Noir, author of Macavity and HRF Keating Award-shortlisted non-fiction work SOUTHERN CROSS CRIME, editor of the DARK DEEDS DOWN UNDER anthology series, and writes about books for magazines and newspapers in several countries.

Mina, Russell, McSorley and Morrison: 2023 McIlvanney finalists revealed

 

This morning the finalists for the 2023 McIlvanney Prize have been announced, with the following four books emerging from a very strong longlist of contenders for Scotland's prestigious annual crime writing award, named in memory of the 'Godfather of Tartan Noir', the great William McIlvanney: 

SQUEAKY CLEAN by Callum McSorley (Pushkin): the judges said: "A wonderfully rich and funny new voice in Scottish crime. McSorley has created characters you invest in and plot that keeps you hooked right from the start."

 

THE SECOND MURDERER by Denise Mina (Vintage): the judges said: "Seriously stylish and oozing with attitude, this Philip Marlowe mystery is an exquisite read."

 

CAST A COLD EYE by Robbie Morrison (Macmillan): the judges said: "A story inhabited by brilliantly drawn characters. Not just a crime novel but a vivid and immersive account of life in Glasgow in the 1930s."

 

THE DEVIL'S PLAYGROUND by Craig Russell (Little, Brown): the judges said: "Mesmerising from the start. Devilishly dark and dripping with menace. A breath-taking masterclass in twisty crime writing."

The judges for the 2023 McIlvanney Prize 2023, being BBC Scotland presenter Bryan Burnett, former editor of The Sunday Times Scotland Jason Allardyce, and Category Manager for Waterstones, Angie Crawford, were unanimous in their praise for all four finalists. 

The quartet includes two previous winners, Craig Russell and Denise Mina, a previous winner of the Bloody Scotland Debut Prize, Robbie Morrison, and debut author Callum McSorley.

 

The four finalists, along with the authors shortlisted for the Bloody Scotland Debut Prize, will lead a torchlit procession from Stirling Castle to the Albert Halls on Friday 15 September where the winners of both prizes will be revealed and interviewed on stage by BBC Radio Scotland’s Janice Forsyth. 

These events are part of a three-day annual showcase of crime writing at Bloody Scotland, which is Scotland's international crime writing festival. Both prizes are again sponsored by The Glencairn Glass, Kirsty Nicholson, Design and Marketing Manager at Glencairn Crystal, said: 

"Now in our third year of sponsoring these prestigious awards with the Glencairn Glass, we’re very proud to be a part of this amazing Scottish annual event in the world of crime fiction. We continue to be impressed and enthralled by the talented authors who enter and we wish everyone the very best of luck."

The 2023 Bloody Scotland festival begins at 1.30pm on Friday, 15 September, with the final event concluding at 2pm on Sunday 17 September. It takes place at various venues in the historic centre of Stirling, including the Albert Halls, Trinity Church, and the Golden Lion Hotel. 

Legendary Scottish authors Val McDermid, Liam McIlvanney, and Denise Mina
at the torchlit parade at a past Bloody Scotland

Guest review: WAKING THE TIGER

WAKING THE TIGER by Mark Wightman (Hobeck Books, 2021)

Reviewed by Karen Chisholm

Singapore, 1939. A young Japanese woman is found dead on the dockside, her throat slashed. Inspector Maximo Betancourt is working a new beat, one he didn’t ask for. Following the disappearance of his wife, his life and career have fallen apart.

A distinctive tiger tattoo is the only clue to her identity

Once a rising star of Singapore CID, Betancourt has been relegated to the Marine Division, with tedious dockyard disputes and goods inspections among his new duties.

Who is she? And why are the authorities turning a blind eye?

But when a beautiful, unidentified Japanese woman is found murdered in the shadow of a warehouse owned by one of Singapore’s most powerful families, Betancourt defies orders and pursues those responsible. What he discovers will bring him into conflict with powerful enemies, and force him to face his personal demons.

WAKING THE TIGER is set in 1939 Singapore. Dripping with sense of place and time, there's something vaguely reminiscent of Chandler's styling, and the excellent Inspector Le Fanu series by Brian Stoddart in the characterisation and plot.

Inspector Maximo Betancourt is working a new beat, that he never wanted. Following the disappearance of his own wife, everything has collapsed around him, including his career. Once a rising star of the Singapore CID, he's been relegated to the Marine Division, adjudicating dockyard disputes and conducting goods inspections.

The discovery of an unidentified Japanese woman, murdered in the shadow of a warehouse owned by one of Singapore's most powerful families, Betancourt investigates, defying orders and social norms, bringing him into conflict with some of the most powerful people in Singapore. In the end, the fate of his wife, and his future with his much-loved young daughter fight the dead woman for attention.

An excellent plot and strong mystery elements are enhanced by the social history lesson that comes with WAKING THE TIGER. Subtly presented, as part of the overall story, this novel touches on the cultural tensions within Singapore and the politics of the time, particularly the attitudes of the ruling classes (including the British) and the way that the tensions sit across the entire region. It all went to a really strong sense of place and time, avoiding at all times that sense of sitting through a lecture.

Part of the success of WAKING THE TIGER was that sense of balance - informative and rich in detail, without being laggy or dragged down by it. Populated by excellent, flawed characters with plenty of their own problems to be getting on with that remain engaging and lively company. Set in a place and time that's beautifully evoked, never once resorting towards tell, not show, WAKING THE TIGER was a very entertaining and rewarding read.

Karen Chisholm is one of Australia's leading crime reviewers. She created Aust Crime Fiction in 2006, a terrific resource - please check it out. Karen also reviews for Newtown Review of Books, and has been a judge of the Ned Kelly Awards and Ngaio Marsh Awards. This review was first published on Karen's website; she kindly shares some of her reviews of crime and thriller novels written by Australians and New Zealanders on Crime Watch as well as on Aust Crime Fiction. 

Review: 1979

1979 by Val McDermid (Little, Brown, 2021)

Reviewed by Craig Sisterson

1979. It's the winter of discontent, and Allie Burns is chasing her first big scoop. One of few women in the newsroom, she needs something explosive for the boys' club to take her seriously.

Soon Allie and fellow reporter Danny Sullivan are making powerful enemies with their investigations - and Allie won't stop there. When she discovers a terrorist threat close to home, she devises a dangerous plan to make her name.

But Allie is a woman in a man's world . . . and putting a foot wrong could be fatal.

Back in the ‘Golden Age of Detective Fiction’ there were four leading authors dubbed the Queens of Crime: Agatha Christie, Ngaio Marsh, Margery Allingham, and Dorothy L Sayers. Their output thrilled readers and critics alike, then and since, and has been enjoyed by generations. Chatting to some fellow critics and awards judges a while back, we wondered who’d be the modern, living equivalents?

For me, you write the names Val McDermid and Sara Paretsky with permanent marker, then debate the other two spots (with many marvelous contenders). Pioneers both, McDermid and Paretsky have continued to elevate the crime genre thirty five-plus years on from their debuts. 

Scottish author McDermid continues to push herself to new heights, a decade after she received the prestigious Cartier Diamond Dagger, which honoured her outstanding career in crime fiction and impact on our genre. Recently she has taken the protagonists of both her active, long-running series (cold case detective Karen Pirie in one series, psychologist Tony Hill and chief detective Carol Jordan in the other) through some fascinating arcs. Audacious ones, even, in the latter case.

Now, McDermid launches her first new series in almost twenty years, and it’s a belter from the beginning. In 1979, young Glasgow reporter Allie Burns is keen to make a mark in her misogynistic newsroom, so when her colleague Danny Sullivan asks for help on a story linking powerful businessmen to criminal activity, she leaps at the chance. Meanwhile Allie may have uncovered a homegrown terrorist threat relating to cries in some quarters for Scottish nationalism and independence. Will Allie and Danny’s investigations become career-making stories, career-ending ones, or worse?

McDermid masterfully immerses readers in late 1970s Glasgow, a time of rising political tensions and a changing society, delivering a compulsive novel that’s further enriched by the echoes of McDermid’s own past as a pioneering journalist battling against prejudice on multiple fronts in that era. It's a troubled time, with the threat of terrorism from across the Irish Sea, and perhaps closer to home, and the looming presence of Margaret Thatcher ascending to power in the UK, upturning life as many knew it. 

Allie Burns is a fascinating centrepiece who's easy to follow, and if McDermid hadn't already confirmed 1979 was kickstarting an ongoing series, both she as a character and readers alike would be yelling for one. An excellent tale from a storyteller who continues to set the bar high. 

Craig Sisterson is a lawyer turned features writer from New Zealand, now living in London. He’s interviewed hundreds of crime writers and talked about the genre on national radio, top podcasts, and onstage at festivals on three continents. He's been a judge of Australian, Scottish, and NZ crime writing awards, and is co-founder of Rotorua Noir. He's the author of the HRF Keating award-shortlisted non-fiction book SOUTHERN CROSS CRIME, and the series editor of acclaimed anthology DARK DEEDS DOWN UNDER. You can heckle him on Twitter. 

Review: THE HERETIC

THE HERETIC by Liam McIlvanney (HarperCollins, 2022)

Reviewed by Alyson Baker

From the award-winning author comes a much-anticipated sequel to the Scottish Crime Book of the Year The Quaker…

1975 – a fire rages through a tenement building, killing a woman, her child, and two men. A man is tortured to death and his body dumped in the city. A bomb blast disintegrates a pub and shatters its surroundings. The Glasgow Serious Crime Squad is tasked with discovering who lit the fire, who killed the man, who bombed the pub. DI Duncan McCormack, recently returned from six years in the Met in London, heads up the squad.

Reading THE HERETIC, you smell the stench of uncollected rubbish, feel the fear of those who worry about retribution from the Maitland gang, “Walter Maitland ruled the whole city”. You sense the heat of the fire, the horror of the bomb blast. You read about a society that is misogynist and cruel, one that doesn’t get to display its homophobia, as gay relationships are scrupulously hidden, but you know it is there. There’s an atmosphere of unfinished business. McCormack has returned to Glasgow where he solved the case of the serial killer nicknamed the Quaker. Although, as he stands by the grave of a woman whose body does not belong to the name on the gravestone, he knows that case still has loose ends.

McCormack has returned at the encouragement of DCI Flett, but Flett has had a heart attack, so McCormack is reporting to DCI Alan Haddow. Haddow hates McCormack because in bringing down the men behind the Quaker, he brought down Peter Levein, a high ranking cop to whom many had hitched their careers, Haddow included. McCormack has broken the promise of backing up your colleagues, “how’s anyone supposed to trust you now?” McCormack’s new team is made up of DC Liz Nicol, who had a good start in the force, before the ‘integration’ of women officers ruined it for her and other women. DC Iain Shand is on the team, a prickly obnoxious officer who is oddly keen – McCormack doesn’t trust him one bit. And DS Derek Goldie. Goldie was McCormack’s partner on the Quaker case, so his career options have plummeted and he bears much resentment.

THE HERETIC describes hierarchies, the echelons of sex workers, gangsters, police officers, politicians – with members always wanting to rise up, or being forced down, their respective caste system. It is easy to see the big picture, the turf wars, the endless jockeying for position. But Nicol and McCormack know it is often personal grievances behind atrocities. Nicol sees prostitutes as people with information, not “hoors” or “slappers” – Shand’s words – and she gets some valuable intel. Many of the characters were either in ‘care’ as children, or they had connections with children’s homes, one in particular: Auldpark.

The characters in THE HERETIC are vividly drawn. Nicol with her tragic backstory, determined to succeed in her career. Christopher Kidd, a young man with ambitions, motivations, and a load of guilt. Alex Kerr, one of Maitland’s henchmen, making a brief but memorable appearance as a man with a colourful history who is on the cusp of death. Maitland’s feisty young son: “There’s more than one way to kill a family.” Eileen Elliot, daughter of Gavin Elliot, the man who had been tortured in a very specific way before being killed. She is an intriguing woman who neither the reader nor McCormack takes at face value. And then there is McCormack …

We first met McCormack in The Quaker, and we learn more about him in THE HERETIC. He’s a Highlander, a Catholic, and he’s gay. He lives in a time-slip of a flat he inherited from his gran. He draws the line at the polis being in the pockets of gangsters, but he is not above trashing a pub to get a point across. He has kept a pile of unopened letters from a single person, and he doesn’t take or return tearful phone calls. When his lover arrives from London, he lives with a tense mix of love and constant fear. He copes with the hostility of his fellow officers, and has a tolerable working relationship with Goldie. He gets on well with Nicol, apart from the occasional spat, and they have a banter that shows McCormack’s sense of humour.   

The atmosphere of THE HERETIC is like around-the-fire-storytelling, the narrative coming at you as the dark closes in, and you really want to hear how the clan’s hero conquers all evil. But it is never that simple. One character remembers serving in Belfast: “It’s as if a war is happening in a different dimension to everyday life” – that is the feeling the reader gets, that there are parallel realities in Glasgow, and maybe the polis are operating on the wrong plane. There is another sequence of letters in the writing, these the only first person narrative in the book, they are unsent and provide yet another sad dimension to this profound novel.

The three mysteries are complex, with many characters and no obvious connection between many of them. But McCormack and Nicol keep at it, they question all their assumptions, and eventually the connections fall into place, and the mysteries are solved. But that doesn’t make anything better, “This is Glasgow … We don’t do uplifting.” THE HERETIC is dark, tragic, but compelling reading – you want to keep reading, you want good things to happen, because you care about McCormack – hopefully we will meet him again in further mysteries. 

Highly recommended.

Alyson Baker is a crime-loving former librarian in Nelson. This review first appeared on her blog, which you can check out here. 

Spooky high schools and Glaswegian Bridget Jones: an interview with Lisa Gray

Kia ora and haere mai, welcome to the latest weekly instalment of our 9mm interview series for 2021. This author interview series has now been running for over a decade, and today marks the 224th overall edition. 

Thanks for reading over the years. I've had tonnes of fun chatting to some amazing writers and bringing their thoughts and stories to you. 

My plan is to to publish 40-50 new author interviews in the 9mm series this year. You can check out the full list of of past interviewees here. Some amazing writers.

If you've got a favourite crime writer who hasn't yet been featured, let me know in the comments or by sending me a message, and I'll look to make that happen for you. Even as things with this blog may evolve moving forward, I'll continue to interview crime writers and review crime novels.

Today I'm very pleased to welcome lifelong Glaswegian Lisa Gray to Crime Watch. Lisa is a familiar face to festival goers on the British crime writing scene, having regularly attended various events over recent years as a keen reader, books columnist for a Scottish newspaper, and aspiring writer, before breaking through with her own bestselling debut THIN AIR in 2019. 

That novel introduced heroine Jessica Shaw, a headstrong California private investigator who specialises in missing persons. She's reappeared since in BAD MEMORY and DARK HIGHWAY. It's been a rapid rise as a crime writer for Lisa, who dreamed of writing books since she was young and cut her storytelling teeth as a football journo for more than 15 years - a job that veered from freezing days at Scottish football matches to meeting icons of the game like David Beckham and Diego Maradona. 

Since the release of THIN AIR in mid 2019, Lisa has become a #1 Amazon bestseller, as well as a Washington Post and Wall Street Journal bestselling author. Lisa's tales take readers into the gritty side of California, the grime behind the Hollywood facade and glamour. "Mazey Los Angeles noir for fans of Sara Gran. I’m liking it a lot," said legendary author Ian Rankin of THIN AIR.

But for now, Lisa Gray becomes the latest crime writers to stare down the barrel of 9mm. 

9MM INTERVIEW WITH LISA GRAY

1. Who is your favorite recurring crime fiction hero/detective?

I have a bad habit of falling in love with characters in books. First it was Mark Billingham’s Tom Thorne and Jeffrey Tolliver in Karen Slaughter’s Grant County series. Then it was Jack Reacher (seriously, who doesn’t fancy Reacher?) and Harry Bosch. If I had to pick just one, I’d go for Michael Connelly’s hero, Bosch—Harry just has it all. I’d love to have a beer with him, out on his deck with that incredible view of Los Angeles, as the sun sets over the city.

2. What was the very first book you remember reading and really loving, and why?

As a teen, I was totally hooked on the Sweet Valley High series and would drag my dad around every library in Glasgow to find the ones I hadn’t read yet. I was also a big fan of the Point Horror books, especially those written by RL Stine. And I was obsessed with STRANGER WITH MY FACE by Lois Duncan. Basically, I liked anything that involved spooky things happening to American high school kids.

3. Before your debut crime novel, what else had you written (if anything) unpublished manuscripts, short stories, articles?

I was a sports reporter for around 20 years so I wrote many, many thousands of words about football that were published in newspapers in the UK and abroad. I also wrote a non-fiction sports book about Rangers FC and it was a real buzz seeing that on the shelves of book stores. Other than sports-related stuff, there were a few short stories that probably weren’t very good. My debut, THIN AIR, was my first proper attempt at writing a novel.

4. Outside of writing and writing-related activities (book events, publicity), what do you really like to do, leisure and activity-wise?

I’ve recently taken up knitting. Before you laugh, it’s actually pretty cool these days. No, seriously, it is! Jessica Jones star Krysten Ritter is an avid knitter and she’s cool, right? So far, I’ve knitted a snood, a headband and beanie hat and they’re not too bad. However, I’ve resisted the urge to force my efforts onto family and friends as Christmas and birthday gifts. For now anyway…

5. What is one thing that visitors to your hometown should do, that isn't in the tourist brochures, or perhaps they wouldn’t initially consider?

Take a wander around the city centre and see all the amazing street art as part of the Glasgow Mural Trail, then grab an outside table at one of the restaurants on Royal Exchange Square for a bite to eat and some people-watching. When it gets too chilly, head along to the Horseshoe Bar to experience a pint in a typical Glasgow pub and, if you’re feeling brave or drunk enough, have a go at the karaoke in the lounge upstairs.

6. If your life was a movie, which actor could you see playing you?

Renée Zellweger circa the first Bridget Jones movie. That opening scene of Bridget in her PJs on the couch with a glass of wine? That’s pretty much me so all Renée would have to do is work on her Glaswegian accent.

7. Of your writings, which is your favourite or a bit special to you for some particular reason, and why?

I’ll always have a soft spot for my debut, THIN AIR. It was the book that allowed me to fulfil my dream of being a published author and to write books for a living. It’s also the one that’s sold the most copies so far! Is it the best? Hopefully not as I want to keep getting better with each book.

8. What was your initial reaction, and how did you celebrate, when you were first accepted for publication? Or when you first saw your debut story in book form on a bookseller’s shelf?

A heady cocktail of joy, disbelief, excitement, relief and nerves. I celebrated with a fish supper and a fancy bottle of champagne (no supermarket own make for such a big occasion).

9. What is the strangest or most unusual experience you have had at a book signing, author event, or literary festival?

I’m still very much a newbie, and 2020 was a write-off for live events, so I haven’t done many author events yet. I did go to all the big crime writing festivals for years as a reader and, a few years back at Bloody Scotland, an author came up to me in the bar and told me how much she had enjoyed my panel earlier that evening. I tried to think what panel she was talking about and asked if she thought I was the Scottish author Caro Ramsay. “Yes!” she replied, enthusiastically. I told her I was really sorry but I wasn’t Caro Ramsay. What I should have said was: “I know, wasn’t I bloody amazing?”

Thank you Lisa, we appreciate you chatting to Crime Watch.

You can find out more about Lisa Gray and her writing here, and follow her on Twitter. 

Review: CITY OF VENGEANCE

CITY OF VENGEANCE by DV Bishop (Pan MacMillan, 2021)

Reviewed by Craig Sisterson

Florence. Winter, 1536. A prominent Jewish moneylender is murdered in his home, a death with wide implications in a city powered by immense wealth.

Cesare Aldo, a former soldier and now an officer of the Renaissance city’s most feared criminal court, is given four days to solve the murder: catch the killer before the feast of Epiphany – or suffer the consequences.

During his investigations Aldo uncovers a plot to overthrow the volatile ruler of Florence, Alessandro de’ Medici. If the Duke falls, it will endanger the whole city. But a rival officer of the court is determined to expose details about Aldo’s private life that could lead to his ruin. Can Aldo stop the conspiracy before anyone else dies, or will his own secrets destroy him first?

I'd heard a bit about this debut historical novel for a couple of years, so I was stoked to finally get my hands on a copy earlier this year. While DV Bishop is a first-time crime writer, he has a long history as a storyteller in comics, on radio and onscreen, and in a variety of other novels. That, combined with the fascinating 'backcover blurb', had me salivating. 

Verdict? CITY OF VENGEANCE is an excellent read that exceeded my high expectations. The kind of book that has you clamouring for the next from the author, and hoping the gap won't be too long. 

We're introduced to Cesare Aldo, a rather remarkable character, in an action-packed opening where he fends off an attack from bandits and saves the life of Jewish moneylender Samuele Levi as the pair are travelling through the countryside back to Florence. But while Aldo gets Levi safely back to the city, despite some near misses, he didn't lengthen the man's life for long. Soon after their return, Levi is murdered in his own home, and Aldo finds himself caught up in a troubling investigation. 

Matters are further complicated by another murder: a young man dressed as a courtesan who gets so badly battered by two men in an alleyway that he later dies. For some reason, the ruler of Florence  Alessandro de’ Medici takes an early and immediate interest in the case, questioning Aldo's boss at the Otto di Guardia e Balia about it even before the 'attempted' is removed from the 'murder'. When news of the moneylender's murder breaks, the Duke ramps up the pressure even more on his criminal court. 

Why the pressure to uncover the culprit before the feast of Epiphany that week? 

As Aldo investigates, he uncovers signs of a conspiracy against the Duke – but who is behind any planned coup? Meanwhile, the brutal death of the young man in an alley threatens to reveal dangerous secrets and upend many lives, including Aldo’s own. 

Bishop has crafted a sumptuous historical thriller that blends pacy storytelling with richly drawn characters and a fascinating setting brought wonderfully to life in a really vivid and sensory way. 

At the heart of CITY OF VENGEANCE is Cesare Aldo, an intriguing protagonist who is a man of the law who is breaking the law (of the times). A man giving all of himself to a regime and superiors that could see him imprisoned or worse if his secret came to light. His sexuality is a Sword of Damocles. 

In a strange way, I think there's a bit of Harry Bosch in Cesare Aldo (the iconic protagonist from Michael Connelly's outstanding series in modern Los Angeles) - in that Aldo is an honourable man that is full of some contradictions, who loves his city and is determined to protect its people, even as he stands a bit apart and is fully aware of all the flaws in the place he loves and protects. 

Bishop takes readers deep into the court intrigue and power plays of Renaissance Florence. 

We soak into the grandeur and grime of the sixteenth century city where a modern tourist spot like Ponte Vecchio was then awash with blood and offal every evening thanks to its butcher shops, and many rulers terms were cut short thanks to the machinations of those closest to them. 

Everything is interwoven so wonderfully - characters, setting, storylines. 

CITY OF VENGEANCE is a triumph of a first crime novel. I opened the book with high expectations, and closed it after a wonderful ride, keen to read more from Cesare Aldo and DV Bishop. 

Craig Sisterson is a lapsed Kiwi lawyer who now lives in London and writes for magazines and newspapers in several countries. He’s interviewed hundreds of crime writers and talked about the genre on national radio, top podcasts, and onstage at festivals on three continents. Craig's been a judge of the Ned Kelly Awards, McIlvanney Prize, is founder of the Ngaio Marsh Awards and co-founder of Rotorua Noir. His book SOUTHERN CROSS CRIME, was published in 2020.

Review: COLD GRANITE

COLD GRANITE by Stuart MacBride (HarperCollins, 2005)

Reviewed by Craig Sisterson

DS Logan McRae and the police in Aberdeen hunt a child killer who stalks the frozen streets. Winter in Aberdeen: murder, mayhem and terrible weather!

It's DS Logan McRae's first day back on the job after a year off on the sick, and it couldn't get much worse. Four-year-old David Reid's body is discovered in a ditch, strangled, mutilated and a long time dead. And he's only the first. There's a serial killer stalking the Granite City and the local media are baying for blood.

Soon the dead are piling up in the morgue almost as fast as the snow on the streets, and Logan knows time is running out. More children are going missing. More are going to die. And if Logan isn't careful, he could end up joining them!

Few writers can mix brutality and belly laughs quite like Scottish author Stuart MacBride, whose long-running Aberdeen crime series starring DS Logan McRae can have you cringing on one page, chuckling on the next. Even if you've come to the series a little later (the most recent instalment, ALL THAT'S DEAD in 2019, is the thirteenth novel to go along with a handful of short stories and novellas), it's well worth going back to the beginning with this very first instalment. A superb start to a terrific series. 

MacBride engages readers from the outset in this first appearance of DS Logan McRae, as well as bringing cold, damp Aberdeen to drizzly life on the page. McRae has just returned from a year out recovering from a very serious stabbing, and is a likable protagonist who's easy to follow even as he's quickly hemmed in on all sides. If he wanted to ease himself back in, he's out of luck. 

Freezing rain drums down onto the crime scene tent as McRae soaks in the view of the mutilated body of a young boy. Not bad enough? He's then graced with the arrival of pathologist Dr Isobel MacAlister, his ex who could make the rain seem warm. As more children disappear and further bodies are found it becomes clear there's a serial killer at work. High stakes, intense pressure. And how do some in the media seem to know so much about what's going on? 

If you can handle crime fiction that veers far away from cosy (okay, let's be blunt - things get quite gruesome in the early Stuart MacBride novels) then there's lots to like in COLD GRANITE. 

MacBride flips on its head the tradition of the genius detective or maverick investigator, with DS Logan McRae being more of a determined everyman than a super-cop. In fact it's his colleagues and superiors who provide the colour and over-the-top personalities, such as sweets-loving am-dram fan DI Insch and the sharp-tongued chain-smoking lesbian DI Steel. In a way the city of Aberdeen is a character itself. 

There's terrific banter and black humour among the Aberdeen cops as they investigate some tough crimes, including the death of a four-year-old boy. I thought MacBride nailed a quite authentic sense of a team, with all its varied personalities who tread on each others' toes and give each other plenty of stick even as they work together towards a common goal. MacBride has a great touch for character relationships and team dynamics (complete with realistic if coarse language and off-colour humour). 

Overall, COLD GRANITE was an early showcase for what was then an exciting new voice in Tartan Noir, who has since gone on to become an established great of modern Scottish crime writing. 

MacBride's storytelling is high quality and well worth a read by those not concerned by weak stomachs. Dark crimes and dark humour - one for the fans of authors like Mo Hayder, Mark Billingham, Paul Cleave, and Sebastian Fitzek. With COLD GRANITE, MacBride came strong out of the gate. 

Craig Sisterson is a lapsed Kiwi lawyer who now lives in London and writes for magazines and newspapers in several countries. He’s interviewed hundreds of crime writers and talked about the genre on national radio, top podcasts, and onstage at festivals on three continents. Craig's been a judge of the Ned Kelly Awards, McIlvanney Prize, is founder of the Ngaio Marsh Awards and co-founder of Rotorua Noir. His book SOUTHERN CROSS CRIME, was published in 2020.

Review: THE LESS DEAD

THE LESS DEAD by Denise Mina (Harvill Secker, 2020)

Reviewed by Craig Sisterson

Margot is having a thirtysomething crisis: She's burning out at work, a public-health practice; she's just left her longtime boyfriend after discovering he was cheating; and her mother recently died. The only silver lining to her mother's death is that Margot, who was adopted, can finally go looking for her birth mother.

What she finds is an imcomplete family--the only person left is Nikki, her mother's older sister. Aunt Nikki brings upetting news: Margot's mother is dead, murdered many years ago, one of a series of sex workers killed in Glasgow.

The killer--or killers?--has never been found, Aunt Nikki claims. They're still at large... and sending her letters, gloating letters that the details of the crime. Now Margot must choose: take the side of the world against her dead mother, or investigate her murder and see that justice is done at last.

After firmly establishing herself as a Crown Princess of Tartan Noir thanks to three outstanding series (Garnethill, Paddy Meehan, Alex Morrow), in recent years Glasgow scribe Denise Mina has poured her immense talents into some unique crime standalones. From true story novelisation in THE LONG DROP to zesty Euro-tripping thriller entwined with true crime podcasts in CONVICTION, to this latest novel THE LESS DEAD, Mina again and again has underlined her versatility and storytelling mastery. 

THE LESS DEAD is another brilliant novel that takes readers into some uncharted waters. 

Margot Dunlop is at crisis point. The Glasgow doctor is overflowing with stress and grief: her mother recently died, she’s left her loving but wayward long-time partner, she’s burning out at work, and she’s pregnant. Perhaps finally seeking out her birth family could be one silver lining? 

But no, her nightmare gets even worse. Margo learns her birth mother, Susan Brodie, was a teenage sex worker and drug addict, who was later brutally killed; a murder that’s still unsolved. While Margot gets to meet her ‘aunt’ Nikki, that’s not helpful either; Nikki may be crazy, she’s sure Susan was killed by a corrupt cop, and now she expects Margot to help her find justice.

THE LESS DEAD is a fascinating read – quite dark and grim in its content, yet compelling and heartfelt too. It takes readers into the lives of those who struggle on the margins, who work or live on the streets, the people whose deaths have been marked ‘No Humans Involved’ on police case files in some jurisdictions. Or considered 'the less dead', as Nikki shares with Margot. 

While there is a whodunnit aspect to this excellent novel - who killed Margot's mother? - it's a book that's about a lot more than the resolution of that storyline. THE LESS DEAD entrances and excels in how it takes readers into others' lives, particularly the lives of those ignored, sneered at, or shrugged off by many throughout society. A fine novel that once again is a little different to what Mina has done before - so it may not work for all her fans who would prefer more of the same. A book that is more focused on characters, and society at large, than the solving of a crime. Tartan Noir with a twist. 

Craig Sisterson is a lapsed Kiwi lawyer who now lives in London and writes for magazines and newspapers in several countries. He’s interviewed hundreds of crime writers and talked about the genre on national radio, top podcasts, and onstage at festivals on three continents. Craig's been a judge of the Ned Kelly Awards, McIlvanney Prize, is founder of the Ngaio Marsh Awards and co-founder of Rotorua Noir. His book SOUTHERN CROSS CRIME, was published in 2020.

Review: WORST CASE SCENARIO

WORST CASE SCENARIO by Helen Fitzgerald (Orenda Books, 2019)

Reviewed by Craig Sisterson

Mary Shields is a moody, acerbic probation offer, dealing with some of Glasgow’s worst cases, and her job is on the line.

Liam Macdowall was imprisoned for murdering his wife, and he’s published a series of letters to the dead woman, in a book that makes him an unlikely hero – and a poster boy for Men’s Rights activists.

Liam is released on licence into Mary’s care, but things are far from simple. Mary develops a poisonous obsession with Liam and his world, and when her son and Liam’s daughter form a relationship, Mary will stop at nothing to impose her own brand of justice … with devastating consequences.

A heart-pounding, relentless and chilling psychological thriller, rich with deliciously dark and unapologetic humour, Worst Case Scenario is also a perceptive, tragic and hugely relevant book by one of the most exciting names in crime fiction.

“Every time Mary tried to relax in the bath, a paedophile ruined it.”

The opening line of Helen Fitzgerald’s latest-bar-one thriller sets the tone, as the Glasgow-based Australian once again offers something very fresh and original to crime fans. There's a wonderful spark to Fitzgerald's writing as she veers across an array of excellent standalone thrillers rather than having a central series or recurring character. Darkness laced with humour; a gleeful puppet-master. 

WORST CASE SCENARIO centres on an unforgettable main character. Mary Shields is a menopausal probation officer in Glasgow with a messy life, fondness for drink, and hatred of office bureaucracy. With nearly three decades on the job, Mary's life is a blur of dealing with the 'dregs' of society on a daily basis, armed with various government-provided powers and a healthy dose of sarcasm. 

She's ready to pull pin on her career, when she gets a particularly tricky case dumped in her lap: wife killer Liam Macdowall, who while in prison became a poster boy for men’s rights activists after publishing his private correspondence as a book, Cuck: Letters to My Dead Wife. For Mary it makes a wee change from paedophile parolees, though perhaps just a different flavour of dogshit. 

Newly released Liam becomes a dangerous obsession for Mary, which only worsens when her son gets into a relationship with Liam’s daughter. Determined to mete out her own justice, Mary comes up with some hare-brained schemes and kicks over a Jenga tower of consequences that fit the book’s title.

Carnage ensues, and Fitzgerald keeps twisting the dial higher in this energetic and darkly hilarious tale. WORST CASE SCENARIO is a wee slice of brilliance - though it may not be for everyone, in fact that's almost guaranteed - with Fitzgerald being unafraid to delve into tricky issues and sensitive topics, and the kinds of things you don't regularly see on the page. There's an eccentricity in a way - it's 'all a bit mad', but in the best possible way. Both Mary and the overall tale. The revs are kept high as the pages pass, and readers may feel, like Mary, that they're barely clinging on throughout. 

A terrific, near diabolical tale. Strap in, hang on, and enjoy the ride. 

Craig Sisterson is a lapsed Kiwi lawyer who now lives in London and writes for magazines and newspapers in several countries. He’s interviewed hundreds of crime writers and talked about the genre on national radio, top podcasts, and onstage at festivals on three continents. Craig's been a judge of the Ned Kelly Awards, McIlvanney Prize, is founder of the Ngaio Marsh Awards and co-founder of Rotorua Noir. His book SOUTHERN CROSS CRIME, was published in 2020.

Review: THE CUT

THE CUT by Chris Brookmyre (Little, Brown, 2021)

Reviewed by Craig Sisterson

Millie Spark can kill anyone.

A special effects make-up artist, her talent is to create realistic scenes of bloody violence.

Then, one day, she wakes to find her lover dead in her bed.

Twenty-five years later, her sentence for murder served, Millicent is ready to give up on her broken life - until she meets troubled film student and reluctant petty thief Jerry.

Together, they begin to discover that all was not what it seemed on that fateful night . . . and someone doesn't want them to find out why.

Since Chris Brookmyre jolted crime readers with his first Jack Parlabane tale back in the mid-1990s, the Scottish storyteller has delivered plenty of fresh takes and distinctiveness. Whether it was his quirky early tales that were a sweary Scots take on comic crime to the darker places some of his later books treaded, whether it's mysteries in Victorian Edinburgh co-written with Marisa Haetzman under the name Ambrose Parry or twisted space station whodunnits, Brookmyre always entertains. 

So I was very curious about his new standalone, THE CUT. 

Unsurprisingly, I came away impressed and delighted, after an engrossing few hours reading. 

Brookmyre seasons the stew and delivers plenty of fresh flavour with an unusual tag-team of sleuths trying to work out what happened in the past while surviving the present (I guess making this a thriller with a murder mystery component too), and an intriguing dive into horror movie fandom and some behind-the-scenes wizardry and machinations of the European film world. Having said see ya to her sixties a couple of years back, Millicent Spark is shuffling through life and prepping to bring her own curtain down a little early. A quarter century ago Millicent was Millie, a renowned makeup artist on the horror movie scene. She created magic onset, impressing everyone with gruesome deaths. 

Until she lived through the horrors of a gruesome death herself. One morning Millie woke up to a blood-soaked scene to rival those she created on film. Her lover dead, she went to prison. 

'The Video Nasty Killer' screamed the tabloids, stoking public outrage about horror films and their influence. Proclaiming her innocence for years, Millie-now-Millicent served a very long sentence, and doesn't know how to live in the modern world now she's finally out. A shell of her former self, fearful and anxious, yet sharp even brutal with her tongue. Out of place and off-kilter. 

Meanwhile Jerry is a film-loving fresher at a Glasgow University who's said goodbye to his days as a petty thief and burglar after the deaths of two elderly people forced a crisis of conscience. Somewhat. And not if his dangerous past associate has his say. Struggling with life in the halls, Jerry answers an ad to live with three old ladies, including the sharp-tongued Millicent. Two people split by more than five decades, but both harbouring secrets and guilt and feeling like they can't find their footing. 

When Millicent is jolted by an old photo, the duo try to uncover a truth from long ago, kickstarting an unlikely adventure across Europe where film fan Jerry get an up-close experience with movie history, but may not live to write about it. THE CUT is a true delight, a fast-paced thriller with strong characterisation and a good sense of its world, that takes readers behind-the-scenes of an industry that can seem glamorous from afar but is full of grime (and far worse). Brookmyre also raises some interesting issues about depictions of violence onscreen and how that is seen, or used as a political football or scapegoat by politicians and others looking to distract from larger issues or embarrassments. 

Well-drawn characters (beyond our Spring and Autumn heroes) create further tension and laughs - the cast is deep and good. Overall, THE CUT is a very good read from a very good storyteller. Thoroughly enjoyable, a thrill ride that also makes you think. Superb. 

Craig Sisterson is a lapsed Kiwi lawyer who now lives in London and writes for magazines and newspapers in several countries. He’s interviewed hundreds of crime writers and talked about the genre on national radio, top podcasts, and onstage at festivals on three continents. Craig's been a judge of the Ned Kelly Awards, McIlvanney Prize, is founder of the Ngaio Marsh Awards and co-founder of Rotorua Noir. His book SOUTHERN CROSS CRIME, was published in 2020.

Comics conventions and Renaissance Florence: an interview with DV Bishop

Kia ora and haere mai, welcome to the fourth instalment of our 9mm interview series for 2021 - we're back on a regular track now after almost a year's hiatus. 

This author interview series has now been running for over a decade (though perhaps we shouldn't really count the last year), and today marks the 216th overall edition. Thanks for reading over the years. I've had tonnes of fun chatting to some amazing writers and bringing their thoughts and stories to you. 

My plan is to to publish 40-50 new author interviews in the 9mm series this year. You can check out the full list of of past interviewees here. Some amazing writers.

If you've got a favourite crime writer who hasn't yet been featured, let me know in the comments or by sending me a message, and I'll look to make that happen for you. Even as things with this blog may evolve moving forward, I'll continue to interview crime writers and review crime novels.

Today I'm very pleased to welcome some very fresh blood to Crime Watch: long-time storyteller and first-time crime novelist DV Bishop. David is the author of the historical mystery CITY OF VENGEANCE, which has been creating plenty of buzz ahead of its UK hardcover publication on 4 February. 

David's debut won the Pitch Perfect competition at Bloody Scotland in 2018, and later secured him a two-book deal. He was awarded a Robert Louis Stevenson Fellowship by the Scottish Book Trust while writing CITY OF VENGEANCE, which is set against the backdrop of the Medici dynasty in 1530s Renaissance Florence. 

CITY OF VENGEANCE stars Cesare Aldo, a former soldier and now an officer of the city’s most powerful criminal court, who is given four days to solve the murder of a prominent Jewish moneylender. In the course of his investigations, Aldo uncovers a plot to overthrow the ruler of Florence. If the Duke falls, it will endanger the whole city. But a rival officer is trying to uncover the secrets of Aldo’s private life. Can Aldo stop the conspiracy, or will his own secrets destroy him first?

David is an award-winning screenwriter and TV dramatist who has also been a comics writer and editor, written tie-in novels featuring some world-famous characters, and is programme leader for creative writing at Edinburgh Napier University. 

But for now, the Kiwi in Scotland becomes the latest crime writer to stare down the barrel of 9mm. 

9MM INTERVIEW WITH DV BISHOP 

1. Who is your favourite recurring crime fiction hero/detective?

It would have to be Endeavour Morse, created by the wonderful Colin Dexter and the heart of two amazing TV crime dramas, Inspector Morse and Endeavour. In fact I love Morse so much I wrote an unoffical guide to the character in all his incarnations, which got me into the Crime Writers' Association long before I wrote my first crime novel. I consider myself very lucky to have met Colin Dexter at a couple of his signings. There's such a depth and complexity to Morse as a character, something that screenwriter Russell Lewis has added to in the series Endeavour.

2. What was the very first book you remember reading and really loving, and why?

I honestly can't remember. I was a voracious reader as a child, always hitting the limits of what the public library system would let me take out at any one time. As a boy I once walked five kilometres [about three miles] to get a book from the nearest library branch that had it on their shelves. Like many others, it was the mystery elements of Enid Blyton's Famous Five that got me hooked on crime fiction as a genre.

3. Before your debut crime novel, what else had you written (if anything) - unpublished manuscripts, short stories, articles?

CITY OF VENGEANCE is my debut as a crime writer, but I've got a list of priors as long as your arm, mostly written as David Bishop - dramas for the BBC TV, plays for BBC Radio, comics and graphic novels, audio dramas, computer games, and more. But no matter what I was writing, I always found a way to work a mystery into my work, even when I was writing for the BBC medical drama Doctors.

4. Outside of writing, touring and promotional commitments, what do you really like to do, leisure and activity-wise?

I'm a dreadful ham, but the pandemic has curtailed my amateur dramatic tendencies. I run when my knees allow, read when I'm not writing, and swim when there's an open pool nearby.

5. What is one thing that visitors to your hometown should do, that isn't in the tourist brochures, or perhaps they wouldn’t initially consider?

I've lived in the UK for a long time, but Auckland in New Zealand remains my hometown. I recommend getting fish and chips from John Dory Takeaway on Jervois Road in Herne Bay and then go down the hill toward the Waitemata Harbour. There are some little jetties open to the public that hardly anyone knows about where you can sit down, jangle your legs over the sparking water and eat your kai [Maori for food] while staring up at the Auckland Harbour Bridge in the City of Sails.

6. If your life was a movie, which actor could you see playing you?

Karl Urban is probably too young to play me, so it'd likely be Russell Crowe - heaven help us both!

7. Of your writings, which is your favourite or particularly special, and why?

CITY OF VENGEANCE, and not just because it's my most recent. I spent decades not writing this novel, because I knew how much research was involved and I wasn't sure I was good enough to do it justice. Basically, I had The Fear about it. Eventually I started a PhD in Creative Writing because I knew it would force me to put up or shut up. For this to be my debut as a crime writer makes all the time and effort worthwhile.

8. What was your initial reaction, and how did you celebrate, when you were first accepted for publication? Or when you first saw your debut story in book form on a bookseller’s shelf?

There were several publishers making offers for CITY OF VENGEANCE so it wasn't a single lightning bolt, but a series of moments until the deal was done by my amazing agent Jenny Brown. But getting published by Pan Macmillan - the people who published Colin Dexter and Ann Cleeves and Ian Fleming and Laura Shepherd-Robinson and CJ Sansom - is everything I could have hoped for and so much more.

9. What is the strangest or most unusual experience you have had at a book signing, author event, or literary festival?

I used to be a comics editor, and was in charge of the legendary British anthology weekly 2000AD for nearly five years. That meant going to lots of festivals, conferences and conventions where I would have people thrusting their stories and artwork at me, hoping to impress. I remember one particularly extreme example when I was in a cubicle of the toilets and a hopeful artist push their sample pages under the door! I suggested they remove the offering before the pages got put to a use they hadn't intended...

Thank you David. We appreciate you chatting to Crime Watch

You can find out more about DV Bishop and his storytelling by following him on Twitter. 

Review: STILL LIFE

STILL LIFE by Val McDermid (Little, Brown, 2020)

Reviewed by Craig Sisterson

On a freezing winter morning, fishermen pull a body from the sea. It is quickly discovered that the dead man was the prime suspect in a decade-old investigation, when a prominent civil servant disappeared without trace. DCI Karen Pirie was the last detective to review the file and is drawn into a sinister world of betrayal and dark secrets.

But Karen is already grappling with another case, one with even more questions and fewer answers. A skeleton has been discovered in an abandoned campervan and all clues point to a killer who never faced justice - a killer who is still out there. In her search for the truth, Karen uncovers a network of lies that has gone unchallenged for years. But lies and secrets can turn deadly when someone is determined to keep them hidden for good . . . 

Pop quiz: if you were creating a modern-day version of the four Queens of Crime of the Golden Age of Detective Fiction (Agatha Christie, Ngaio Marsh, Dorothy Sayers, Margery Allingham), who would you include? Or a Mt Rushmore of the greatest living female crime writers, for our US pals? 

Whatever quartet you came up with, Val McDermid would have to be one of the names (perhaps the very first one written down, to be honest). More than three decades after she was first published, the Scottish author is undoubtedly a modern-day Queen of Crime, consistently providing readers with huge enjoyment from several long-running and beloved series characters to sharp standalones. Even more wonderfully, McDermid continues to burnish her crown with great new novels on a regular basis. 

She sets the bar high, and keeps trying to beat it rather than slipping into cruise mode. 

Her sixth tale starring cold case copper DCI Karen Pirie is another joy for long-time fans and new readers alike. Pirie’s Historic Cases Unit at Police Scotland don’t usually investigate brand-new murders, but when a body pulled from the sea is identified as the prime suspect in the historic disappearance of a prominent Scottish civil servant (a case file Pirie had reviewed without progress in the past), they’re called into double-duty. A skeleton has also been found in an abandoned campervan; another killer who’s likely evaded justice.

“The passage of time turns straightforward murders into convoluted journeys,” Pirie knows, and this proves to be the case in STILL LIFE, as she juggles both investigations, the political machinations of her boss, bumps in her love life, and trips to France and Ireland in order to find resolution. 

And hopefully, justice. 

Overall, STILL LIFE is another fascinating read from a tremendous storyteller, who this time takes us behind the scenes of the art world, as well as into the lives and investigation of Pirie and her team.

Craig Sisterson is a lawyer turned features writer from New Zealand, now living in London. In recent years he’s interviewed hundreds of crime writers and talked about the genre on national radio, top podcasts, and onstage at books festivals on three continents. He has been a judge of the Ned Kelly Awards and the McIlvanney Prize, and is founder of the Ngaio Marsh Awards and co-founder of Rotorua Noir. His first non-fiction book, SOUTHERN CROSS CRIME, was published in 2020. You can heckle him on Twitter.