News
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The Great Opening Scene Myth
There’s a hoary old chestnut you hear in writing schools sometimes. It says if you haven’t grabbed your reader by the third paragraph of your opening scene your book’s doomed. This is balderdash, and dangerous balderdash at that.
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Return of Nic Costa: A New Trilogy in Italian Crime Fiction
It’s twenty-five years since I first dreamed up a young Roman cop called Nic Costa, along with his crew, Gianni Peroni, Teresa Lupo and Leo Falcone. Over ten books they became a popular series, one that came to a halt as I travelled on to Copenhagen for The Killing trilogy, then four books with Pieter…
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Venice comes to Harrogate
If you’re coming to the great Theakstons Crime Festival at Harrogate next month please put 1pm on Saturday in your diary. That’s when we’ll be announcing the programme for Venice Noir 2026… and quite a few surprises along the way. I’ll be there along with Philip Gwynne Jones. Erin Kelly and Noir’s resident pathologist and…
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A chat with Owen Findlay, the new voice of Arnold Clover
My expat Englishman in Venice sounds a bit different in The Devil in Dorsoduro, Arnold’s fourth outing just released in ebook, print and audio. The actor Owen Findlay has taken over from Richard Armitage as the series narrator for WF Howes. I sat down for a chat with Owen to talk about what it’s like…