Author Archives: topcwfbigread
Mari Hannah on PD James
It’s Friday night, early February. The house is quiet. I’m sitting by the fireside having a drink when I should be in my office cracking on with my latest thriller. Instead, my eyes scan bookshelves looking for something to read. … Continue reading
Reader-In-Residence David Mark on A Place of Execution
Festival Reader-in-Residence David Mark tells us how A Place of Execution influenced his decision to write crime fiction. It’s 10.18am. Saturday morning. My partner has just driven the kids to their drama school and the various teenage foundlings who loiter … Continue reading
Discuss the Big Read 2014
This year’s Big Read is Val McDermid’s A Place of Execution. A Greek tragedy in modern England, A Place of Execution is a taut psychological suspense thriller that uniquely explores, exposes and explodes the border between reality and illusion in … Continue reading
The name’s Mark. David Mark
2013 Festival Reader-in-Residence David Marks tells us how James Bond long been an influence in his life. “The name’s Mark. David Mark.” “David Mark what?” “No, listen. The surname is Mark. The first name is David.” “So why did you … Continue reading
Discuss the Big Read 2013
‘Surround yourself with human beings, my dear James. They are easier to fight for than principles’ In Casino Royale, the first of Fleming’s 007 adventures, a game of cards is James Bond’s only chance to bring down the desperate SMERSH … Continue reading
Discuss The Big Read 2012
They moved everyone that long hot summer fifteen years ago. They needed a new reservoir and an old community seemed a cheap price to pay. They even dug up the dead and moved them too. But four inhabitants of the … Continue reading
Discuss The Big Read 2011
The Big Read 2011 presents to you the unsettling world of Mr Ripley. The Talented Mr Ripley, by American crime writer Patricia Highsmith, was first published in 1955. And so the tale begins… Tom Ripley wants out. He is struggling … Continue reading
CrimeSquad’s Chris Simmons on Patricia Highsmith
I have always had a love/hate/love relationship with Patricia Highsmith. I have all her novels and have read her since the early nineties. Sometimes I think her work is so sublime that it is almost breathtaking. Then I read another … Continue reading
Discuss The Big Read 2010
Discuss Murder On The Orient Express Continue reading