I have a few interesting bits and pieces to report this week.
To
start with, we are approximately one month away from the launch of my next
novel, STRANGERS, and as such the publicity machine is in full flow. You can
expect cool banners, like the one above, to start proliferating across social
media in the next few days. In addition, I have several public appearances –
chats, interviews, book signings etc – lined up for the months ahead, but more
about that shortly. In addition this week, as usual, I’ll be discussing someone
else’s dark fiction. Today I’ve opted for JG Ballard’s chilling and prophetic
crime thriller, RUNNING WILD. As always, my thoughts on the matter and a full
review of it can be found at the lower end of this post.
Before
we get to that, I’ve been quite fascinated this last couple of days by some of
the mysterious activities indulged in by certain marketing people of my
acquaintance. I’m talking about my publishers at Avon Books and HarperCollins,
who are nothing if not ingenious when it comes to attracting the interest of
bloggers, reviewers and the like when a new book is about to get published.
Whether
you consider such an approach fiendishly clever or just plain spooky, you can’t
deny that it will have caught the reviewer in question’s full and unswerving
attention.
I
can only take my hat off to the crafty characters behind this ploy.
Still
on the subject of STRANGERS, here are a few possible dates for the diary if you
fancy some face-time with me or don’t mind tuning in to a bit of gossip on the radio. (I
don’t expect you to come stampeding to these events, by the way, but you know,
if you have the inclination …)
Sometime
in early September – I don’t have the exact dates of transmission for either of
these yet – I’ll be interviewed on the weekly Book Show on TALK RADIO EUROPE by
Hannah Murray, and on BBC RADIO MANCHESTER by Becky Want (pictured). If you fancy
listening to either or both of these, keep checking my Facebook and Twitter
feeds. I’ll post the exact details as soon as I get them.
Also
in September, and again I’m not sure at this moment of the precise date and
time of broadcast (so as above, check Facebook and Twitter), I’ll feature on a
HarperCollins podcast, during which – in reflection of one of the themes in STRANGERS – I’ll be interviewing a real life former female police detective,
who regularly went undercover as a prostitute, looking to snare some of the
worst and most violent elements in our society.
And
now for those actual dates I promised …
From
September 23 to 25 (Fri to Sun), I’ll be at FANTASYCON BY THE SEA at
Scarborough. If you’re there and you fancy a chat, don’t be afraid to doorstop
me in a corridor or in the hotel lobby (or for guaranteed more positive results,
offer to buy me a pint in the bar, hehehehe).
On
Thursday September 29, I’ll be at Waterstones on Deansgate in the very centre of Manchester, where
I’ll do a quick reading from STRANGERS (there’ll be copies on sale there too),
will chat about it afterwards and then take any questions and sign any books
that get put in front of me. This will be a particularly enjoyable and emotional event, I reckon,
as STRANGERS is set in Manchester so we should all feel home from home.
In
late October, I’ll be appearing two nights in Germany as part of the MORD AM
HELLWEG festival. On Saturday October 29, I’ll feature in the international
crime thriller night at Hagen, and on Sunday October 30 at the Cultural Centre in
Darmstadt with other PIPER crime authors. Again, there will be readings, discussions and signings.
Check out these spiffing covers from PIPER for the German translations of my most recent Heck novel and of course for STRANGERS - that’s the one emphasising girl-power.
On
Saturday November 19, we’re back in Manchester, where I’m honoured to occupy
the lead author slot at the CHORLTON BOOK FESTIVAL. The event will take place
at Chorlton Library (commencing sometime between 7 and 8pm – sorry, nothing
firmer on that just yet), and again will include a reading, a chat, a Q&A
and any signings the audience deems necessary.
So
there we are. A busy autumn beckons. It would be great fun to hook up with a
few readers in the process, and maybe put some faces to names at long last.
*
THRILLERS, CHILLERS, SHOCKERS AND KILLERS ...
An ongoing series of reviews of dark fiction (crime, thriller and horror novels) – both old and new – that I have recently read and enjoyed. I’ll endeavour to keep the SPOILERS to a minimum; there will certainly be no given-away denouements or exposed twists-in-the-tail, but by the definition of the word ‘review’, I’m going to be talking about these books in more than just thumbnail detail, extolling the aspects that I particularly enjoyed … so I guess if you’d rather not know anything at all about these pieces of work in advance of reading them yourself, then these particular posts will not be your thing.
An ongoing series of reviews of dark fiction (crime, thriller and horror novels) – both old and new – that I have recently read and enjoyed. I’ll endeavour to keep the SPOILERS to a minimum; there will certainly be no given-away denouements or exposed twists-in-the-tail, but by the definition of the word ‘review’, I’m going to be talking about these books in more than just thumbnail detail, extolling the aspects that I particularly enjoyed … so I guess if you’d rather not know anything at all about these pieces of work in advance of reading them yourself, then these particular posts will not be your thing.
Outline
Pangbourne
Village is classic ‘stockbroker belt’ suburbia, a gated community in the heart
of the English Home Counties; green, clean and exclusively inhabited by
wealthy, well-heeled couples on whose pampered, expensively-educated children
all the gifts that money can buy are bestowed. In Pangbourne, privilege is an
inalienable right but ‘merited’ by the liberal attitudes enforced there. It is
a model society for a new middle class and politically correct Britain. And
similar purpose-built communities are now springing up all along the Thames
Valley. This is the future for those who can afford it.
And
then something astonishing and horrible happens.
With
swift, commando-like precision, an early morning attack is launched on
Pangbourne, and all the adults – not just the residents, but their staff and
security guards as well (32 in total!) – are brutally murdered, and all the
children (13) are kidnapped. No ransom demands follow, and there is minimum
definitive evidence to indicate any obvious explanation.
After
a massive police enquiry fails, the Home Office appoints top criminal psychologist
Richard Greville to investigate, in company with the dour but very experienced
Detective Sergeant Payne.
This
‘chalk and cheese’ and yet unexpectedly like-minded duo launch a very thorough
assessment of the crime, both in terms of the forensics and the psychology.
Note is taken of the many murder methods employed, which are varied and
gruesome – from shooting, to bludgeoning, to electrocution, strangulation and
crushing by car – and yet bewilderment prevails that such a swathe of
horrendous crimes could all occur in such a short time-frame. How many
murderers would it have taken to inflict such intense and targeted and yet
widespread violence? What kind of mental state must they have been in? And just
how organised and proficient at their craft would they need to be to pull it
off so efficiently? And in God’s name, why did it happen?
Greville
and Payne pursue all kinds of potential leads: a Hungerford Massacre-type ‘lone
wolf’ killer; a crime syndicate assassination team; a terrorist group; a spec
ops unit from a nearby army camp gone postal; and even the possibility of enemy
agents acting on behalf of a malign foreign power. But none of these
increasingly improbable possibilities pan out. The murdered residents of
Pangbourne were model citizens in every sense of the word. Deep analysis of
their lives uncovers no shady secrets, no hidden agendas.
The
baffling case is almost broken when one of the children is found alive, though
she is deranged and remains incoherent through shock. But at the same time,
several rather curious facts finally start to emerge about Pangbourne Village
itself. In many ways, the life its population led – particularly the children –
was too good to be true. Everything they wanted they had. Their hermetically
sealed world was perfectly ordered and protected by their moneyed parents. They
knew nothing in their lives – literally nothing – but love and adoration, and
as such, children from neighbouring communities thought them rather closeted and
odd. And could it also be relevant that this idyllic little nirvana was
imminently to feature in a BBC TV documentary about new modes of living? There
was certainly a strange atmosphere in the village as this date approached, as
if some kind of countdown had been activated.
Greville,
something of a hard-headed calculating machine when it comes to putting facts
together, starts to wonder if the secrets of these murders actually lie much
closer to the victims’ homes than anyone had previously thought – unthinkably
close as far as the previous investigation teams were concerned.
And
then, very unexpectedly but with equal violence and ferocity, the killers
strike again …
Review
The
first thing to say about Running Wild, this famously
prophetic mystery from the pen of one of the UK’s most visionary writers, is
that it’s no straightforward thriller. Or indeed a straightforward mystery.
Presented
in the form of a dry, detailed, almost bullet-pointed account of the
investigation from Greville to his Home Office paymasters, this not a
traditional novel, nor a particularly long one – more a long novella really –
and it doesn’t bother going greatly into character, preferring to concentrate
on the means and motivation behind the crime, and of course, as always with
Ballard, the subtext.
In
truth, it is difficult saying a great deal about that without giving away too
much of the plot, but it’s worth adding that the eventual explanation behind
the horrific incident is more than a little bit unlikely, though this doesn’t
matter because what the author is really addressing here are issues of
isolation, elitism, collapse from within, identity loss, social engineering,
social decay, neglect of reality by the chattering classes and so forth, and of
course addressing them with great eloquence and his trademark touches of
sardonic ‘Middle England’ humour.
Without
doubt, Running Wild is a modern minor classic, deeply intriguing,
easy-to-read and in many ways, if you’ve never read him before, an ideal
introduction to the strange, disturbing and yet always coolly-appraised world
of JG Ballard.
As usual – just
for the fun of it – here are my selections for who should play the leads if Running Wild ever makes it to the movie
or TV screen (and I’m amazed it hasn’t already, if I’m honest).
Dr. Richard
Greville – Hugh Bonneville
DS Payne –
Gwendoline Christie
(Okay, I know that in the book Payne is a bloke, but that isn’t necessary, and Ms. Christie would still be ideal in the role).
(Okay, I know that in the book Payne is a bloke, but that isn’t necessary, and Ms. Christie would still be ideal in the role).