Lucy Clayburn may soon be on the screen

I want to talk a little bit today about my recent change of publisher, and what this will mean for my fictional characters. At the same time, I have some rather exciting, and not unconnected news concerning one of those characters – Lucy Clayburn. And yes, before anyone queries today’s headline, it does involve a potential film/television adaptation.

On a similar subject – novels that certainly should be hitting our screens, even if at present there are no plans for that (and in this particular case I don’t know whether there are or aren’t) – I’ll be discussing Peter James’ new, globe-trotting thriller, ABSOLUTE TRUTH, and reviewing it in my usual forensic detail.

This latest Peter James novel has already caused something of a stir, thanks mainly to its astonishing central premise, but if you want to read more about that, as usual you’ll need to venture down to the lower end of today’s blogpost. Be my guest and do it now, if you wish. But if you’ve got a bit more time, you might want to stick around a little longer and hear what I have to say about my own writing plans and the all-new developments where Lucy Clayburn is concerned.

Change is inevitable

I’m not going to harp on about this too much, because while it’s very important to me, it probably won’t matter a lot to you readers out there. But I thought I might as well mention it on my blog just to ensure that the facts are on record.

I’ve now been a novelist with Avon Books, at HarperCollins, since 2013, and when SAVAGES is published in April next year, it will be the tenth book I’ve written under that imprint.

So, it’s certainly been a busy time at Avon, but it’s also been an incredible one, and a life-changing experience in so many ways.

All along, I’ve been guided by expert editors, specifically Helen Huthwaite, who’s managed to turn me from a roguish reveller in dark fiction ranging widely across the interconnected fields of horror, fantasy, sci-fi and thriller, into a disciplined and focussed crime-fiction specialist, and has teased out of me some of my best characters and most nightmarish scenarios.

I can’t thank Avon enough, and Helen in particular, for recognising my potential and turning me into an official best-selling author.

So why, you may ask, am I moving on?

Well, it’s never a simple thing. It’s not as if I’ve fallen out with anyone or felt that I’m being restricted. It’s just that a change of scene is always good, especially when you’ve been in the same place for rather a long time. And when an outfit like Orion Publishing come calling, you have to take them very seriously indeed.

So, after a few meetings between all concerned, including a couple of particularly exciting editorial sessions, a decision was reached, and an amicable parting of the ways agreed between myself and Avon. It’s not as if they’re short of great writers anyway. Check out Cally Taylor, Scott Mariani, Helen Fields, Jacqui Rose, Mel Sherratt, etc.

But all that aside, I’ve still got one book to bring out under the Avon imprint, and I’m working on it with my editor as we speak.

It’s called SAVAGES – at least, that’s the title so far (it could still change) – it pits our Mancunian heroine against a mysterious black van, which travels at night and abducts individuals at random, who knows for what heinous purpose, and again, as I’ve mentioned previously, it’s due for publication next spring.

Now, I’m guessing that one or two people are probably wondering if, because I’ve moved to a different publisher, SAVAGES might be the last we see of Lucy Clayburn? And are maybe asking themselves if KISS OF DEATH, published last August, was the last they’ll see of DS Mark Heckenburg?

No, basically.

I’ve agreed with Orion that I can continue to write for my pre-existing characters under their banner but must add the caveat that the first book they’re looking for will be an original, free-standing thriller, so though you’ll be seeing Heck and Lucy again, it won’t be straight away.

I realise this is not ideal for everyone. KISS OF DEATH ended on something of a cliff-hanger, and I’ve received quite a few letters and notes begging me to get on with the sequel. All I can say is that said sequel is already planned in detail, and will appear in due course – but patience will need to be a virtue.

Lure of the silver screen

  

On top of that, there’s an even better reason why we need to keep the Lucy Clayburn ship afloat, which is that I’ve now signed a contract with The Shingle Media and Bierton Productions for a screen adaptation of the first three Lucy novels (STRANGERS, SHADOWS and SAVAGES).

Whether for film or television remains to be seen, but how cool is this development?

Of course, it’s only an option at this stage, which means there are still lots of hoops for us all to jump through, but while there’s been interest before from the visual media in both Heck and Lucy, this is the first time that someone has actually come forward and slapped some money on the table.

I can’t say much more about it than that, except that it all feels very positive and exciting. Already, only a couple of days after the ink has dried on the forms, people have been bugging me about who’s going to play the leads.

Even though I’m always saying that this will never be down to me, and that even if it were, it’s far too early to be thinking about stuff like that, I always give my opinion anyway. I think it was Mark Billingham who, quoting personal experience, told me that if you name an actor you’d love to see play your lead-character often enough, word might reach said actor and that might actually make it happen.

So, I’ll say it again. There aren’t many actors I feel would make a better stab at Lucy Clayburn than Michelle Keegan. She started in the soap world, but she’s now become a very fine and respected performer in mainstream television. Plus … she’s from Manchester, as is Lucy, she’s aged in her early 30s, as is Lucy, she’s got a tough, streetwise aura, as has Lucy, and yes, hell, let’s admit it, she’s gorgeous … as is Lucy.

In response to who I’d have playing her villainous father, Frank McCracken, I couldn’t think of a better ‘likeable rogue’ character actor than Rufus Sewell. Again, he’s the right age, he’s got the right look, and he certainly has the acting chops.

But, and I can’t reiterate this strongly enough, I have no official role at all when it comes to casting (assuming we even reach that stage). And why would I have? It’s a 100% certainty that a professional casting director would be vastly better informed than me as to who is available, who is affordable and who has the necessary star-quality to take these roles forward and make any Lucy Clayburn adaptation into a seriously successful piece of film or TV.

But yes, I agree … it’s still fun to talk about it.

THRILLERS, CHILLERS, SHOCKERS AND KILLERS …

An ongoing series of reviews of dark fiction (crime, thriller, horror and sci-fi) – 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.

ABSOLUTE PROOF 
by Peter James (2018)

Outline

Ross Hunter only learned about the accident that claimed his brother, Ricky’s life when he was working out in the gym several miles away and was suddenly beset with a bizarre vision, which he could never afterwards explain in any rational way.

This doesn’t exactly persuade him that there’s an afterlife, but it certainly leaves him thinking.

After this, the tragedies in Hunter’s life start to come thick and fast. A few years later, while working as a freelance reporter in Afghanistan, his party are ambushed by the Taliban, and though Hunter survives, he is the only one who does, which leaves him doubly mentally scarred by the experience. On top of that, when he returns home, he discovers his wife, Imogen, in bed with someone else. 

Years pass, and though Hunter forgave Imogen’s infidelity, the trust they once shared is no longer quite there, even though she’s now pregnant again. His career, however, is going from strength to strength. Now widely respected as an investigative journalist, he chases only the biggest stories and gets fantastic spreads in the broadsheets. This is the reason why he is one day approached by ex-RAF officer and retired History of Art professor, Harry Cook, who offers him the scoop of a lifetime.

In short, Cook tells Hunter that he’s recently been given absolute proof of God’s existence, and that he needs a well-regarded journo to help him tell the story. He reinforces this remarkable claim by adding that he also has a message for Hunter from his deceased brother.

Hunter and Cook meet, and Hunter is startled at some of the personal information the old man imparts to him. This makes him take the stranger much more seriously, though even Hunter, with all that he’s been through, is stunned when Cook presents him with a manuscript, which he says was dictated to him by God during a séance, and which he says contains three sets of coordinates, each one relating to an item or place of incalculable religious significance, but all of which, when finally brought together, will be hugely beneficial to mankind.

The first of these – and this apparently will be the least difficult to locate – is the Holy Grail itself. When Hunter recovers from the shock of hearing this, he learns that the second is a personal but non-specified item connected to Jesus Christ, and that the third will have great relevance to the actual Second Coming.

 

If it wasn’t for Cook’s revelations about Ricky, Hunter would likely as not disbelieve him, but his strange experiences have perhaps primed him to undertake this most momentous of investigations. Even then, Cook is unsure whether or not Hunter is the man for the job, and so at this early stage will only direct him to the possible resting place of the Grail. The rest will follow if this first part of the quest is successful. Before departing, however, he gives Hunter a stark warning that, as their ultimate goal is to bring belief back to mankind, and save all our souls, the power of Lucifer will be unleashed in many forms, no matter how foul, to try and intercept them.

Hunter still isn’t sure if he buys all this – and Imogen certainly doesn’t – but he commences his enquiry anyway, more in hope than optimism. He doesn’t stay tight-lipped about it either, and though, initially, there is bemusement and scepticism – radio presenter Sally Hughes is certainly interested, but Bishop Benedict Carmichael considers the whole thing too risky and attempts to dissuade Hunter from continuing – some powers follow his progress for entirely covetous reasons.

Dr Ainsley Bloor, the CEO of pharmaceutical giant, Kerr Kluge, a committed and aggressive atheist – a guy so committed to this cause, in fact, that he is literally using monkeys and typewriters to try and prove that pure chance was the origin of all things rather than Intelligent Design – is keen to get hold of whatever religious items Hunter can locate to try and make use of them in his development and sale of new medicines. Then there is Wesley Wenceslas, a British-based multi-millionaire evangelist and full-time conman, who would also love to have possession of such holy relics.

Neither of these very dangerous and determined men, among various others – fanatics drawn from all the world’s major religions! – will easily be dissuaded from attempting to possess whatever Hunter uncovers. As such, the first person to die, and only after considerable torture, is Harry Cook, with a high possibility that others will follow in short order.

The stage is truly set for a deadly, continent-hopping adventure, which, in due course, may even take Ross Hunter beyond the realms of this mortal world …

Review

It’s a good thing it was Peter James who undertook to write this book, and not someone of lesser quality. Because when you think about it, a quest to prove the existence of God would likely be the greatest, most challenging mission in history, its outcome of interest to every single man and woman on Earth because there is probably no-one living today who hasn’t at one time or other pondered the existence of an overarching deity, or who hasn’t hoped and prayed that the human experience isn’t solely about our time on Earth.

The question is ... did Peter James succeed? In Absolute Proof, did he do justice to this phenomenal concept?

My personal view is that he did. Not just because this is the most massive novel he’s ever written, in both size and concept, (though it is, clocking in at nearly 600 pages!), or because he suddenly veers away from his more familiar territory of murder mysteries set on England’s South Coast (though he does, venturing clear across the globe), or even because it’s one of his best-written pieces to date (and when you consider that it’s Peter James we’re talking about here, that’s really saying something), but because I found the experience of reading it deeply emotionally affecting.

Ross Hunter is a bit of a neutral character by normal James standards. He’s obviously good at his job, but he’s not much of a fighter: he’s terrified during his sojourn to Afghanistan, he readily forgives his wife’s faithlessness and wordlessly tolerates a nagging fear that the child she is carrying is not his. He’s tough, though, and durable, and prepared to go to great lengths to reach his goal – and that’s the crux of it. Because Hunter, even though he’s no super cool hero, commences this journey on all our behalf, and what a journey it proves to be, taking him across the UK, to North Africa and eventually to America, throwing all kinds of obstacles into his route – both physical and spiritual – and yet increasingly he feels, as do we, that he’s on the trail of something truly amazing.

Though Absolute Proof is a big, big book, it’s a very smooth read, and I found myself accelerating through it, enjoying every page at the same time as yearning to reach a profound resolution.

Was my soul uplifted?

As I say, it’s an emotionally charged narrative – especially for those who actively seek answers of this sort – and yes, I want to know if God is out there as much as the next man, and as this book gets closer to answering that question than any other work of fiction I’ve ever encountered, I wasn’t exactly discouraged.

I should add that it’s not all completely plausible. The notion that one man could make so much ground so quickly when pursuing the most complex questions of all time stretches credulity a little, though to be fair, he does apparently get help from high places. But to make an issue of this would be to miss the point. The real story in Absolute Proof – as it can only ever be in a quest for God – centres around faith. Both believers and non-believers possess it (the former in His presence, the latter in His absence), and yet both sides struggle with these prescribed positions, because no-one can be certain that they are right, and probably never will be until the day of their death, which is why the search for absolute, undeniable proof is the ultimate human goal.

Inevitably, not all reviewers have approved, some suggesting that Hunter should be much more sceptical in his enquiry, despite his apparent religious experience concerning the death of his brother, some objecting to James focussing mostly on the Christian tradition, some grumbling that they bought Absolute Proof expecting a thriller and found themselves with an Indian Jones-type fantasy. But for me, none of these criticisms carry real weight.

First of all, Ross Hunter is not a zealot; he’s a hard-headed journalist looking for a great story, and so his motives are, initially at least, entirely selfish. It’s only as the immense reality of what he’s doing washes over him that he’s drawn further and further into the complexity of religious belief. No controversy there, I feel.

With regard to the mainly Christian angle, I can only argue that an author must be true to his or herself. Most of us in the West are probably more influenced by Christianity than any other faith (and if anyone tries to deny that, I’ll just ask them what they'll be doing on December 25 this year!), so I don’t think it’s especially outrageous that Absolute Proof relies mainly on the Christian tradition. In any case, the book’s far more inclusive than that may suggest, the theories and philosophies woven into the plot ranging far and wide across the belief systems of the world, strongly implying that all groups pray to the same God, if in different ways (though don’t think that means this book is a sermon; far from it – Absolute Proof abounds with false prophets, the author deeply mistrustful of those who aggressively and mendaciously promote their own holiness).

So ... how does it stand as a novel?

The subtext is all there, but do the characters work? Is it well-written? Is it a rattling good story? It’s packaged as a thriller, so does it thrill? Is it explosive, suspenseful, exciting?

In answer to the first question, Absolute Proof is a Peter James archetype, even if it contains very different subject matter from his norm. It’s highly accessible, the flawless, non-flowery prose moving the plot at pace, the very short chapters – some no more than a page themselves – keeping the reader hooked throughout. The author’s easy, reader-friendly style belies the narrative’s great length, so at no stage did I feel tired or bog-eyed, and in fact I was surprised when I found that I’d reached the end, it was that swift a read.

The plethora of colourful characters, many of whom I haven’t had the time to mention here, helped with this.

While the aptly-named Hunter is well-cast as the inquisitive everyman searching for his own salvation, other characters are also representatives. To start with, at either end of the spectrum there are dangerous individuals – like Bloor and Wenceslas – who in a bid to use faith as a means of domination have completely lost their humanity. The pair of them are perhaps overly flamboyant villains, certainly by Peter James’ normal very realistic standards, but they serve a key purpose.

In the middle ground, things are different. There is good and evil there too, but it’s by degrees, the vast majority of the middle-grounders at worst frail, frightened and confused. Egyptian sidekick Medhat El-Hadidy seems like a good man but doesn’t offer help when Hunter needs it most. Wife Imogen is untrustworthy from the outset, but that’s because she's self-centred, which is a very human failing. Bishop Carmichael would love to see evidence that God exists but fears the chaos that might ensue.

And then, in sharp contrast, we have the mysterious Michael Henry Delaney, one of the most memorable figures in all of Peter James’ writing. What a character this is, so well-written that his presence and personality literally exude from the pages. I won’t say more about him than that. You’ve simply got to track him down for yourself.

Absolute Proof is a big change from Peter James’ regular crime-fighting chronicles, but it’s not a nod to his occasional supernatural work either. Readers have likened it to Dan Brown and James Rollins, and yes, it’s that kind of international mystery-thriller, painted on a sweeping canvas and with cosmic undertones. If that’s not your thing, and you try to avoid philosophical or religious thinking – though I say it again, this book does NOT preach – then it won’t be for you. But if you’ve got even half an open mind on these celestial matters, I reckon you’ll find this novel an absolute must.

I’m eagerly anticipating some kind of film or TV adaptation of Absolute Proof at some point, though knowing how long this usually takes, I’m now going to do my usual thing, by sticking my personal oar in on the subject of who should play the leads (just a bit of fun, of course):

Ross Hunter – Oliver Jackson-Cohen

Imogen Hunter – Lucy Griffiths

Dr Harry Cook – Terence Stamp

Dr Ainsley Bloor – Ben Daniels

Pastor Wesley Wenceslas – Michael Sheen

Sally Hughes – Florence Pugh

Michael Henry Delaney – John O’Hurley