SEASON 5: EPISODE ONE - PUBLISHING GURUS, heavyweights Katherine Armstrong (Deputy Publishing Director - Simon & Schuster), Miranda Jewess - (Publishing Director Viper) and David Headley (leading literary agent - Goldsboro Books, DHH Literary Agency) join Victoria shedding light on the role of the advance in a book's success and what makes a publisher snap up a title. Recommendation: Publishing Rodeo Podcast The Lion, the Witch & the Wardrobe - CS Lewis Goodnight Mr. Tom - Michelle Magor...
Sep 12, 2023•44 min
SARAH MOORHEAD chats to Paul Burke about her new speculative crime thriller THE TREATMENT , Witness X, Liverpool, teaching, good & evil, Debut 20s and the godfather of the northern crime writing scene, young people today and Wizard of Oz meets Frankenstein. THE TREATMENT : The future of law enforcement has arrived, courtesy of private health contractor Janus Justice. Their ground-breaking ‘Offender Treatment Programme’ has been hailed as the most effective way of tackling crime yet. As offen...
Sep 08, 2023•1 hr 9 min
LEIGH RUSSELL chats to Paul about GS20, the latest Geraldine Steel novel WITHOUT TRACE the art of writing a series, the new Poppy novels and dreaming of penning a successful comic novel one day. WITHOUT TRACE She opened her mouth to scream, but he slapped something across her lips. The gag tasted of salt and mould, rough sacking on her tongue.With a terrifying certainty, she knew she was going to die. DI Geraldine Steel knows people go missing all the time; sometimes because they don't want to b...
Sep 05, 2023•1 hr 3 min
VICTORIA SELMAN chats to Paul Burke about ALL THE LITTLE LIARS , Psychological depth in thrillers, what readers want, On The Sofa, victims and survivors and so much more... ALL THE LITTLE LIARS : What REALLY happened at Turtle Lake? You think you know. Think again. California, 2003 A thirteen-year-old girl disappears from a party at Carlsbad's Turtle Lake. Discovered on the trunk of a nearby cottonwood tree is the word 'LIAR' graffitied in blood. What you know . . . Three teenagers went to the l...
Aug 31, 2023•1 hr 16 min
SJ PARRIS chats to Paul Burke about ALCHEMY , Giordano Bruno, religion, heresy, politics, science and alchemy in the sixteenth century world, Hilary Mantel & Sophia 1599. ALCHEMY : Prague, 1588.A COURT IN TURMOIL The Holy Roman Emperor, Rudolf II, wants to expand the boundaries of human knowledge, and his court is a haven for scientists, astrologers and alchemists. His abiding passion is the feverish search for the philosopher’s stone and thus immortality. The Catholic Church fears he has pu...
Aug 28, 2023•1 hr 8 min
Paul Burke reviews the latest titles in crime fiction and one wild card pick, authors Amanda Cassidy and Caro Ramsey tell us about thier new novels. Novels: A LINE IN THE SAND - Kevin Powers (Sceptre) THE CONTINENTAL AFFAIR - Christine Mangan (Bedford Sq) An Unnecessary Assassin - Ed. DG Penny ( endpolio.org ) 77 NORTH - DL Marshall (Canelo Crime) THE RETURNED - Amanda Cassidy (Canelo Crime)* GONE TONIGHT - Sarah Pekkanen (Orion) THE HURRICANE BLONDE - Halley Sutton (Allison&Busby) THE DEVIL...
Aug 24, 2023•21 min
Northern Ireland author ADRIAN MCKINTY chats to Craig Sisterson about the return of Sean Duffy in his new novel THE DETECTIVE UP LATE , the mystery of sales v awards, pitching to the Beeb, giving it another go. THE DETECTIVE UP LATE : Slamming the door on the hellscape of 1980s Belfast, Detective Inspector Sean Duffy hopes that the 1990s are going to be better for him and the people of Northern Ireland. As a Catholic cop in the mainly Protestant RUC he still has a target on his back, and with a ...
Aug 22, 2023•52 min
GRAHAM HURLEY chats to Paul about his new war novel THE BLOOD OF OTHERS , the Spoils of War series, Operation Jubilee - the raid on Dieppe, reimagining WWII, Stalin, Mountbatten, writing 'ogres' and coming over from TV documentaries. THE BLOOD OF OTHERS : Dieppe, August 1942. A catastrophe no headline dared admit. Plans are underway for the boldest raid yet on Nazi-occupied France. Over six thousand men will storm ashore to take the port of Dieppe. Lives will change in an instant – both on the b...
Aug 19, 2023•1 hr 13 min
David Thomson chats to Paul Burke about the completion of his fictional trilogy - SUSPECTS (film noir), SILVER LIGHT (Westerns) & CONNECTICUT (screwball comedy). We also chat the American dream, actors, how fiction sheds light on life and vice versa. SUSPECTS : Noah Cross, Norma Desmond, Norman Bates, Harry Lime - short biographies of some of the most famous characters in the history of film noir. Thomson sketches in whole lives, lives as intense as the dreams put up on the screen. Then thes...
Aug 16, 2023•1 hr 6 min
NICOLA MONAGHAN chats to Paul Burke about her new thriller, WISH YOU WERE HERE , Dr. Sian Love, Nottingham, Alan Sillitoe, DNA. WISH YOU WERE HERE : DNA doesn't lie. But what if the truth is dangerous? Former police officer and DNA expert Dr Sian Love has settled into running her own detective agency and cohabiting with her partner, Kris. Her life is thrown into chaos once again when a teenage girl shows up at her office, claiming to be Courtney Johnson - a child who went missing in Nottingham o...
Aug 11, 2023•51 min
SAM LLOYD chats to PAUL BURKE about his new thriller THE PEOPLE WATCHER , hinterlands, The Hobbit, surviving rejection, fulfilling a dream, character and boiling a frog. THE PEOPLE WATCHER : Meet Mercy Lake. She likes to fix things: broken toys, old appliances. People. She watches them in the dead of night, identifies what their lives are lacking and gives it to them . . . quietly. So quietly, they don't even know she exists. Then Mercy meets Louis. He believes that some of those she watches des...
Jul 30, 2023•57 min
Paul Burke presents the latest review show featuring crime fiction titles released this month - mostly anyway. The selection is heavy on the noir and psychological thrillers with a couple of in translation novels and a de rigour pulp. *Apologies for any mangling of French and Swiss German names. Novels Reviewed None of This is True by Lisa Jewell Century The Honeymoon Kate Gray Welbeck The Summer Girl Jenny Blackhurst Canelo Crime** The Conspirators GW Shaw Quercus The Bone Hacker Kathy Reichs S...
Jul 27, 2023•14 min
CANELO CRIME SPECIAL: Authors LOUISA SCARR Out of the Ashes & MARION TODD A Blind Eye join VICTORIA for a mid season special to discuss why readers love police procedurals, breaking free of tropes, and what makes a good detective. CANELO CRIME Mentions for: Kate Atkinson, Joseph Knox, Russ Thomas, Jane Casey VICTORIA SELMAN SundayTimes bestselling author of Truly Darkly Deeply Amazon Author Page: https://amzn.to/3xmvMeS Website for news and giveaways: http://www.victoriaselmanauthor.com Twit...
Jul 25, 2023•33 min
VERN SMITH chats to Paul Burke about his crime novel SCRATCHING THE FLINT , editing the anthology JACKED , Toronto, corruption and policing. SCRATCHING THE FLINT Set in pre-9/11 Toronto, detective noir Scratching the Flint takes place over twelve days during the spring of 2001. Smith's two-tone anti-fraud team of Alex Johnson and Cecil Bolan are back in their first full-length novel to investigate a vintage car theft ring à la MacGyver. When witnesses end up mocked and murdered, proof becomes a ...
Jul 21, 2023•1 hr 18 min
Newly minted CWA Historical Dagger winner DAVID DV BISHOP chats to Paul Burke about his new historical thriller RITUAL OF FIRE , Renaissance Florence, Cesare Aldo, Savonarola, Aldo no 4 and smells. RITUAL OF FIRE Florence. Summer, 1538. A night patrol finds a wealthy merchant hanged and set ablaze in the city’s main square. More than mere murder, this killing is intended to put the fear of God into Florence. Forty years earlier, puritanical monk Girolamo Savonarola was executed the same way. Doe...
Jul 19, 2023•1 hr 29 min
WALTER MOSLEY - CWA DIAMOND DAGGER WINNER - chats to Paul Burke about EVERY MAN A KING , his writing, his characters, personal inspiration, American politics, good thoughts for writers and hope & belief. The most prestigious Dagger of all, the Diamond Dagger is for a lifetime contribution to crime writing in the English language and is nominated by CWA members. WALTER MOSLEY was born in LA in 1952. His African-American father Leroy from Louisiana joined the great migration north. His mother ...
Jul 12, 2023•1 hr 4 min
EPISODE 3: CWA DAGGERS: AWARD NIGHT, DAGGERS WINNERS & ILP JOHN CREASEY NEW BLOOD DAGGER SHORTLIST INTERVIEWS 30MINS Coverage of GALA Night, inc. all winners, starts at 53mins if you've already listened to the show. This Dagger is for the best crime novel by a first-time author of any nationality with their first novel of any kind published in the UK in English during the judging period. Paul Burke and Victoria Selman chat to the shortlisted authors for the John Creasey New Blood Dagger and ...
Jul 06, 2023•1 hr 24 min
CWA DAGGERS EPISODE 2: THE GOLD DAGGER Paul Burke chats to the shortlisted authors for the CWA Gold Dagger - Best Crime Novel Of The Year 2022 This award is for the best crime novel by an author of any nationality, originally written in English and first published in the UK during the judging period. The broadest definition of the crime novel applies. Eligible books include thrillers, mysteries, police procedurals, psychological suspense novels and spy fiction. The Shortlist Vaseem Khan The Bomb...
Jul 04, 2023•1 hr 45 min
Episode 1 of the CWA DAGGERS Specials on Crime Time FM - The Ian Fleming Steel Dagger. Victoria Selman chats to Eva Glass, Linwood Barclay & John Brownlow about being shortlisted for the Steel Dagger & writing a thrilling thriller. The other shortlisted authors are MW Craven, Robert Galbraith & Alan Parks. Ian Fleming said there was one essential criterion for a good thriller, ‘one simply has to turn the pages’. Eligible books in this category are thrillers set in any period and incl...
Jul 03, 2023•34 min
MW Mike CRAVEN chats to Paul Burke about his new high octane thriller FEARLESS , Lee Child, Tilly & Poe, Fluke, TV rights, Michael Connelly and the amygdala. FEARLESS: Ben Koenig is a ghost. He doesn't exist any more. Six years ago it was Koenig who headed up the US Marshal's elite Special Ops group. They were the elite unit who hunted the bad guys - the really bad guys. They did this so no one else had to. Until the day Koenig disappeared. He told no one why and he left no forwarding addres...
Jun 30, 2023•1 hr 19 min
Paul Burke presents another bumper review show featuring crime fiction titles and a couple of wild card picks released this month (mostly anyway). The selection is heavy on the noir, psychological thrillers and in translation novels. *Apologies for any mangling of German, Italian. French, Japanese or Russian names. The Red House Roz Watkins End of the Game Holly Watt Dead Lands Núria Bendicho trans. by Maruxa Relaño & Martha Tennent Black Fell Mari Hannah First Blood Amélie Northomb trans. b...
Jun 29, 2023•25 min
SHEILA BUGLER chats to Paul Burke about BLACK VALLEY FARM , why writing is torture but she loves it, getting it down on the page and avoiding writers block, being mentored by Martin Waites and writing about Ireland, (the next novel). BLACK VALLEY FARM The truth could ruin everything. A decade ago, the bodies of nine people were discovered at Black Valley Farm. The only suspect vanished without a trace. Clare has spent ten years living a lie, but a new podcast on the murders threatens to bring he...
Jun 22, 2023•55 min
CLÉMENCE MICHALLON chats to Paul Burke about her psychological thriller THE QUIET TENANT , true crime, serial killers, victims and survivors and Seinfeld. THE QUIET TENANT He took you and you have been his for five years. But you have been careful. Waiting for him to mess up. It has to be now. Aidan Thomas is a hardworking family man and a respected member of his community. He's the kind of man who always lends a hand and has a good word for everyone. He's also a kidnapper and serial killer who ...
Jun 21, 2023•1 hr 9 min
DREDA SAY MITCHELL MBE & RYAN CARTER (Tony Mason) chat to Paul Burke about their new psychological thriller BELIEVE ME, new ways of publishing, the Groucho Club, writing partners BELIEVE ME : One woman’s mysterious death has led to a lifetime of pain. Can her daughter find out why? While working on a property dispute, lawyer Gabby is shocked to discover a name more familiar than her own on the title deeds: her mother’s. But her mother died twenty-five years ago from an undiagnosed illness at...
Jun 16, 2023•1 hr 15 min
#OnTheSofa With Victoria. Season 4, Episode 10: So you're published. Now what? Belinda Bauer (Exit, Snap) & Clare Mackintosh (Game of Lies , July 2023) reveal the realities of being a writer and how it compares to the dream. The pressure of coming up with shiny new ideas- to a schedule. And even how writing affects our reading. VICTORIA SELMAN SundayTimes bestselling author of Truly Darkly Deeply Amazon Author Page: https://amzn.to/3xmvMeS Website for news and giveaways: http://www.victorias...
Jun 13, 2023•35 min
JOHN SUTHERLAND chats to Paul Burke about his new thriller THE FALLEN , 25 years a policeman, hostage and crisis negotiation, fact and fiction THE FALLEN ARE YOU READY TO SAVE A LIFE? WHY HER? Becca Palmer has just lost her job as assistant to Simon Jones MP - the highly-regarded Policing Minister, tipped as a future Prime Minister. But Becca claims that Simon was more than her boss, that she is in love with him. WHY HERE? When a heartbroken Becca leaves the Home Office, she heads to Westminster...
Jun 11, 2023•59 min
ÅSA LARSSON and translator Frank Perry chat to Paul Burke about THE SINS OF OUR FATHERS , translation, moving a whole town - Kiruna, good soil for a writer to dig in THE SINS OF OUR FATHERS forensic pathologist Lars Pohjanen has only a few weeks to live when he asks Rebecka Martinsson to investigate a murder that has long since passed the statute of limitations. A body found in a freezer at the home of the deceased alcoholic, Henry Pekkari, has been identified as a man who disappeared without a ...
Jun 07, 2023•1 hr 3 min
TIM SULLIVAN chats to Paul Burke about his novel THE MONK , DS George Cross, autism, the monastic life and killing your darlings. THE MONK To find a murderer, you need a motive . . . THE DETECTIVE - DS George Cross has always wondered why his mother left him when he was a child. Now she is back in his life, he suddenly has answers. But this unexpected reunion is not anything he's used to dealing with. When a disturbing case lands on his desk, he is almost thankful for the return to normality. TH...
Jun 02, 2023•56 min
SEASON 4 EPISODE 10: Industry Insiders Crime critics Jonathan Whitelaw and Paul Burke and publisher Phoebe Morgan join Victoria 'On The Sofa' to reveal what makes a novel stand out from the pile. Writing community, take note! Recommendations So Shall You Reap Donna Leon None of This is True Lisa Jewell (July) Games and Rituals Katherine Heiny Murder in the Family Cara Hunter (July) Notes on an Execution Danka Kukafka The Sign of Four Arthur Conan Doyle Force of Hate Graham Bartlett VICTORIA SELM...
May 30, 2023•45 min
TOM BENN chats to Paul Burke about his quasi-crime novel OXBLOOD , teaching creative writing, book prizes, being/not being a film maker and avoiding the nostalgic postcard. Oxblood : Wythenshawe, South Manchester. 1985. The Dodds family once ruled Manchester's underworld; now the men are dead, leaving three generations of women trapped in a house haunted by violence, harbouring an unregistered baby and the ghost of a murdered lover. Over the course of a few days, Nedra, Carol and Jan must each c...
May 29, 2023•1 hr 1 min
