What is it About Crime? by Thorne Moore
Republished from www.promotingcrime.blogspot.co.uk. Thanks to Lizzie Sirett of Mystery People - www.mysterypeople.co.uk - for permission. Crime Fiction is, apparently, the most popular genre out there. And you have to ask why? It’s not as if all crime readers/writers are secretly would-be gangsters, longing to be set loose on the [...]
A BOOKER TALK PODCAST with DIAMOND CRIME’S PHIL ROWLANDS
Welsh authors Meet A Welsh Author — Phil Rowlands recalls childhood bedtime favourites November 30, 2022 BookerTalk 4 Comments Phil Rowlands, Welsh authors My latest guest in the Meet A Welsh Author series is screenwriter and novelist Phil Rowlands. In an earlier life he was a television and film actor but changed course to become [...]
Sneak Preview of GB Williams’ Next Book, PLAY the GAME
PLAY THE GAME will be published on 29th November by Diamond Crime. Coincidentally, 29th November is also Gail B Williams' birthday! CHAPTER ONE “I need a library.” What Elaine actually needed was a bibliothèque. It was one of the few French words that had stuck in her mind, mostly [...]
Childhood Memories from Diamond Crime author, Phil Rowlands
Published by Welsh author, Judith Barrow on www.judithbarrowblog.com Places in our Memories with Phil Rowlands Posted on November 7, 2022 There are places that remain in our memories, the details may become slightly blurred, nostalgia may colour our thoughts, but they don’t fade. And how those places made us [...]
FROM A READER TO WRITERS – “Reader, I married him…”
Reader, I married him. (Charlotte Bronte - Jane Eyre) Surely the most explicit reference an author has made to the idea that there is a stage in a book's life beyond publishing. Reading. She references the skills that must accompany the writing so that her original intentions might be [...]
Diamond Crime at Chapter One Bookshop, Narberth
Chapter One Bookshop at Narberth Museum Diamond Crime author, Jacqui Harrett, gives a writing workshop. From left to right, Phil Rowlands, Thorne Moore, Gwyneth Steddy and Jacqui Harrett in conversation with Welsh novelist, Judith Barrow, shortlisted for the Wales Book of the Year 2021 with her novel 'Memory'. Competitors in [...]
Diamond Crime on the Road at Chapter One – 15th October 2022
Diamond Crime takes to the road with a visit to The Chapter One Bookshop at Narberth Museum on Saturday 15th October. Join the Create a Character Workshop with Diamond Crime author, Jacqueline Harrett. See Thorne Moore, GB Williams and Jacqueline in conversation with author Judith Barrow Test your crime fiction [...]
Diamond Crime Ten Line Challenge Winner Announced
Ten Line Crime Story Challenge Diamond Crime is delighted to announce the winner of its Ten Line Crime Story Challenge. We did promise to let CWA and CRA members make the final decision, but after consultation with the CWA, we put this entry top of the list. So many [...]
Diamond Crime at the Craig y Nos Book Fair Sept 25th 2022
Diamond Crime authors, Thorne Moore, Gwyneth Steddy and Phil Rowlands had a great weekend in the Brecon Beacons at the Craig y Nos Book Fair
PHIL ROWLANDS on WRITING
I think a couple of things that are always helpful, or have been to me, are that firstly the core storyline, that simple a plus b equals c, has to be clear, the outline and foundation that allows you to build and explore; if you want to submit to a publisher, your manuscript has to be as good as it can be at that stage of development and fit with the format they want; the editor is a collaborator and only wants your story to be the best it can be for you. Reading and learning from other authors is a must. Three of my go-to crime writers are Ken Bruen, James Lee Burke and Anne Cleeves.
Sneak Preview of Paul Durston’s Explosive New Novel – ‘If I Were Me’
I sit cross-legged. “Hi, Joel. There was an incident. Petrol tanker overturned, fire, deaths, injuries. Only down the road. I was badly burnt. I’m getting better but I’m doubting my memory again. Like ages ago. I sometimes feel like I’m not all there. Like I’m disconnected. Maybe it’s because I’m on my own too much or because I don’t have a routine. Anyway, look. It’s cold up here. I won’t be away for so long, promise. I’ll be back soon. Take care, Joel. Happy New Year. Love you.” I head home.
Sneak Preview of the 2nd Novel in Jeff Dowson’s Bristol Thriller Series
I took him by surprise. Reached across the desk, grabbed his jacket collars with both hands, pulled him out of his chair, then pushed down and slammed his forehead onto the desk top. I hauled him upright and let go. He fell back into the chair, which tipped over and deposited him on the floor. I moved around the desk. Malone rolled over and looked up at me. He couldn’t see straight and was having trouble focusing. “Jesus...” he groaned. “Tell me what you know about Alfie Barnes,” I said.
BUTCHER CITY. A Sneak Preview of Jennifer Lee Thomson’s new DI Duncan Waddell Novel
Waddell exited the car. The rain was coming down from a grey sky in big, fat, angry drops. A droplet of ice-cold water trickled its way down the back of his neck and he shivered. If it wasn't Baltic enough, a gust of wind that would have unfurled yer knitting almost knocked him on his backside.
Diamond Crime Author, Phil Rowland, on James Lee Burke’s Latest Novel
This is the latest book by the wonderful James Lee Burke. I discovered him about fifteen years ago when I read the first of his Dave Robicheaux series The Neon Rain. The latest, the twenty third in the series, is A Private Cathedral. I was stunned by the depth, [...]
Diamond Crime Author, Jeff Dowson, on the Appeal of Simenon and Maigret
SIMENON, MAIGRET AND ‘ROMANS POLICIERS’ Okay, let’s get this over up front… Georges Simenon was not one of nature’s noblemen. He pursued fame and money relentlessly, he was a sex addict, a sometime drunk, and a serial adulterer. He expected all members of his household to realise that he and [...]
Recommended Read – A Dark Adapted Eye by Barbara Vine
Diamond Crime author, Thorne Moore, recommends this book because: "this was the first book that showed me crime fiction could be less about the untangling of clues and puzzles and more about the untangling of people’s confused emotions, desires and impulses. Faith, as an adult, recounts her time as a girl [...]
Q&A with Gwyneth Steddy, winner of Crime Cymru’s First Novel Prize
Congratulations, Gwyneth, on winning the English-language competition in the Gwobr Nofel Gyntaf Crime Cymru First Novel Prize! Your winning entry, Do Sleeping Dogs Lie?, has gone on to be published by Diamond Crime which is a fantastic achievement. Can you tell us a little about the story?It’s essentially a cold case story. My [...]
Sneak Preview of Jeff Dowson’s The Bristol Thrillers
Closing the Distance Marvin Starratt was a despicable human being. An assessment Judge Chambers heartily agreed with and sent him down for eleven years. Apologising to the court, the public gallery and the journalists on the press bench for not being able to incarcerate him longer. “Unhappily, this is the [...]
Great Review of Phil Rowland’s TimeSlip
Book Review by Jon Gower Abook you find yourself devouring in a single sitting is often recommendation enough but, in the case of Cardiff-based Phil Rowlands’ latest offering, reading it all in one go also lets you appreciate the tightening tension and change of tone more fully as the author [...]
Sneak Preview of Breaking Free by GB Williams
CHAPTER ONE “So, what you’re saying is that you’ve been helping my husband lie to me. For twenty-five years.” Twenty-five years. A quarter of a century. A lifetime. The lifetime of their friendship. Much of what she had listened to this afternoon made no sense. Yet, simultaneously, it was the [...]
Coming Soon to Diamond Crime – GB Williams’ New Thriller, “Breaking Free”
Diamond Crime is delighted to be publishing the multi-talented author GB Williams. GB specialises in complex, fast-paced crime novels. Born and bred in Kent, GB moved to South Wales as a supposedly first step on a year around the world. Then she met a guy. Kept the guy, kissed the travel [...]
Sneak Preview of “Do Sleeping Dogs Lie?” by Gwyneth Steddy
Gwyneth Steddy's first novel, Do Sleeping Dogs Lie? which is already listed for The First Novel Prize by Crime Cymru, will be published by Diamond Crime on May 2nd 2022. Chapter One Friday 12th April 1989 “You’re taking the piss…” Duncan Gallagher glanced across at his old friend in the [...]
Judith Barrow gives 5 Star Review to Thorne Moore’s “Fatal Collision”
My Review of Fatal Collision by Thorne Moore, this week published by Diamond Crime Posted on March 29, 2022 I’m really pleased to be part of the launch week of Fatal Collision. I received a copy of the book in return for an honest review. I gave Fatal Collision 5* Book [...]
New Books from Diamond Crime – arriving 28th March 2022
Three news books from Diamond Crime. Fatal Collision by Thorne Moore Artist Nicki Bryce is dealing with crippling grief and PTSD following the death of her husband Adam, killed by a drunk driver. The wheels of justice are grinding slowly, prolonging the agony for Nicki and her daughter Willow. To [...]
Phil Rowlands recommends From The Land Of Green Ghosts
I first met Pascal in 1995 and was amazed and humbled by him and his positive and hopeful outlook after a damaged life. This is a wonderful book and is a true story of the spiritual and physical journey of a young man that begins in a small hill town [...]
Diamond Crime Author recommends Five Little Pigs
My preferred choice of crime fiction involves an intricate psychological exploration of why a crime came to happen and what its ramifications were. So I wouldn’t normally turn to Agatha Christie, the queen of Crime As A Crossword Puzzle. Her books are a satisfying easy read, but they’re not a [...]
Phil Rowlands recommends The Tale of The Lazy Dog
Alan Williams, like Gerald Seymour and others, was a journalist, a foreign correspondent who worked in South East Asia and covered conflicts in many countries. This was the first heist thriller I’d read and the sense of character and story led me into a world far away from a small [...]
Diamond Crime on the South Coast
Diamond Crime Author, Jeff Dowson, participating in the Portsmouth Literary Festival Portsmouth Library’s Book Festival staged its final chapter of 2022 last weekend, with a favourite yearly event – The Mystery Fest. JEFF DOWSON, author of the Jack Shepherd and Ed Grover series of thrillers, published by Diamond Crime, guested [...]
One Fight at a Time is a page-turner.
"I recommend it and I am looking forward to the next book in the series." Review by Carol Westron, in the Mystery People Blog, of Diamond Crime Author Jeff Dowson's First Ed Grover Novel. American GI Ed Grover had been one of the first Americans to come to Britain and fight in the [...]
CRIME THRILLERS, MARLOWE AND ME by Diamond Crime author, Jeff Dowson
Jeff Dowson. Nine years ago, I shuffled out of the office of a broadcast commissioning editor’s assistant. He had arrived direct from university, bristling with ideas he believed were truly original, and proceeded to tell me how to write and direct the series I was pitching to him. I stood [...]
Sneak Preview of Thorne Moore’s “Fatal Collision”. Coming to Diamond Crime this Spring
Part 1 She was out there, the woman, standing on the pavement, staring at my house. Staring with unmistakable hatred. The hood of her raincoat shielded most of her face, but I could feel that hatred coming at me in waves from eyes that burned out of the shadows. I [...]
Sneak Preview of Phil Rowlands’ New Thriller, TimeSlip
March 1943 North Beach Bridlington, Yorkshire It was the worst night since the catastrophic storms over New Year. Huge waves battered the shoreline, howling winds and icy rain whipped and twisted, and cracking thunder and jagged lightning echoed around the sides of the bay. It was not a night [...]
More Praise for Diamond Crime Author, Jennifer Lee Thomson
Further comments from the blog tour of Detective in a Coma, Vile City. midnightangelbookheaven Tour Spot for Detective in a Coma: Vile City by @jenthom72 @vile_city #detectivecomabooks #scottishcrime #vilecity Thank you @annecarter14 and @randomttours for my review copy #ad #gift My thoughts: When I first saw the title for this book I [...]
Recommended Reads – The Great Len Deighton: subversive, witty, brilliant
These days, people tend to associate Len Deighton’s spy novels with Michael Caine’s movies. They still watch them on obscure TV stations. They’re still good. And in 2022, ITV’s having yet another go at the first one - The Ipcress File. But however good it turns out to be, I [...]
Review of Diamond Crime Thriller, The Fortieth Step – Revenge
'The Fortieth Step - Revenge' by Stephen Timmins Published by Diamond Books, 12 April 2021. ISBN: 978—183840265-5 (PB) Review from the Promoting Crime Blogspot. https://promotingcrime.blogspot.com/2022/02/revenge-fortieth-step-revenge-by-stephen-timmins.html John Hannay, grandson of the legendary hero Richard Hannay, had always been a loner, damaged by the violence of his grandfather’s enemies, which tore apart [...]
Congratulations to Diamond Crime Author, Gwyneth Steddy, shortlisted for Crime Cymru Prize
Gwyneth Steddy, whose first DI Malcolm Bell novel, Do Sleeping Dogs Lie?, will be published by Diamond Crime this Spring is shortlisted for the Crime Cymru First Novel Prize. The aim of the prize is to champion new crime writers currently living in Wales, providing a platform for their work and [...]
Jennifer Lee Thomson’s Blog Tour – Review Two
This Blog is from Donna's Book Reviews I'm a big fan of Scottish crime, and the crime writing standard in Scotland is particularly high. I had never heard of this author, but the title and blurb sounded intriguing, and I was right to take the plunge. The story follows DI Wadell, [...]
Jennifer Lee Thomson’s Blog Tour – Review One from scintilla.info
scintilla.info/2022/02/18/detective-in-a-coma-vile-city-jennifer-lee-thomson/ Mystery: Detective in a Coma: Vile City, Detective in a Coma Book 1, Jennifer Lee Thomson Blog Tour February 18, 2022 Detective Inspector Duncan Waddell has his hands full. A wave of burglaries in Glasgow has targeted the elderly. Two young women have gone missing, and a report has just [...]
George Saunders on the Art of Writing
This quotation is from George Saunders, in his book on the art of writing: A Swim in a Pond in the Rain. "The writer and the reader stand at either end of a pond. The writer drops a pebble and the ripples reach the reader. The writer stands there, imagining [...]
The Fortieth Step – Promise: A Taster from Stephen Timmins’ third John Hannay thriller
1940 The club servant finished fitting the Black Out drape to the last of the high Georgian window. He left the room, bowing his head towards the tall, straight backed, silver–haired man who nodded back at him then turned away, his clear grey eyes looking through and beyond the panelled [...]
Breaking News: Diamond Crime Author, Jennifer Lee Thomson on Tour
Diamond Crime Author, Jennifer Lee Thomson starts her blog tour for her first Diamond Crime novel, Detective in a Coma - Vile City on Thursday 17th February. Watch out for new reviews @vile_city #VileCity #ScottishCrime @RandomTTours - 17 Feb Donna's Book [...]
Recommended Reads: China Court by Rumer Godden
Diamond Crime author, Phil Rowlands recommends China Court. Rumer Godden died in 1998 and wrote 60 books, adult, children’s and poetry. Nine of her stories were turned into movies and Black Narcissus, probably the best known, was made in 1947, starring Deborah Kerr and Jean Simmons. She wrote China Court [...]
Recommended Reads: Beyond the Thirty Nine Steps by Ursula Buchan
Diamond Crime author, Stephen Timmins, recommends Ursula Buchan’s wonderful biography of her grandfather, John Buchan, titled Beyond the Thirty Nine Steps. “Well worth reading if you are, like me, a fan of the great man – or even if you’re not. Full of fascinating information, beautifully written and deeply moving [...]
Recommended Reads: The Mask of Dimitrios by Eric Ambler
Described by Diamond Crime author, Jeff Dowson as 'the best book wot I read', “The Mask of Demetrios” is by by Eric Ambler. "I can remember at 11 years old, watching a screening of “The Cruel Sea” on BBC Television. I saw a name on the opening credits – Screenplay [...]
Recommended Reads: The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins
Diamond Crime author, Jacqueline Harrett has been re-reading The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins. I recently started rereading The Moonstoneand found myself as enthralled as I had been when I first read it many years ago. Although first published in 1868 it still keeps the reader engaged throughout. The Moonstone, essentially about the theft and retrieval of a rare and valuable diamond, was first serialised in the magazine, All the Year Round,before being published as a book. Hailed by Sayers as “probably the finest detective story ever written” many of the elements in The Moonstone can still be found in modern detective novels. The moonstone itself is a diamond and intrigue added to the story with three Hindu priests determined to restore the stone to its proper place in the statue of the Hindu god of the moon. The diamond is cursed, adding an extra frisson of mystery to the story. […]
Recommended Reads: Out by Natsuo Kirino
Diamond Book author, Jennifer Lee Thomson, wants to recommend Natsuo Kirino's book, Out. Natsuo Kirino is a Japanese author of dark tales featuring ordinary people in extraordinary circumstances. Her most famous novel, Out was published in 1997 but it wasn't until 2004 that it got its first English translation by [...]
Leading the Blind – A taster from Jeff Dowson’s latest Jack Shepherd Thriller Due out in Summer 2022
Back in 1991, the great Arthur C Clarke, answering a question regarding the power of knowledge, defined the hierarchy from base up as, information, knowledge, and wisdom. Without the final element, the whole phony exercise of power was meaningless and dangerous. And the way to begin, he said, was to [...]
Authors Like Diamond Crime…
The piece below was written by Jacqueline Harrett, one of Diamond Crime's new crime writers, as a response to Harry Bingham’s weekly email to members of Jericho Writers - www.jerichowriters.com. "During lockdown I wrote a crime novel for fun and to stop my head from bursting with worry. Therapy. It [...]