An Audio Exclusive that didn’t fall ‘Far from the Tree’

As big fans of audio thrillers, Shots Magazine were excited to read that crime writer Rob Parker is penning an intriguing trilogy commissioned by Audible Studios.

The first title, Far from the Tree, will be released exclusively in audio on 2nd July 2020. Publication dates for the next two titles will follow in due course. 

Set in Warrington, Far from the Tree follows DI Foley, who finds himself in charge of one of the largest murder cases the country has ever seen. Twenty-seven bodies are found buried in a woodland trench, as the discoveries unfold, DI Foley must decide whether to solve the crime if it risks his family.

Parker commented: "To be able to write a crime trilogy set in the area I grew up in — an area which doesn’t receive much limelight or exposure — is a real delight, and I’m supremely thankful to Audible for giving me this opportunity. I’m taking this chance with both hands and aim to repay their faith in spades and I’m determined to show you ain’t seen nothing yet."

Read More from the Bookseller HERE

Audible UK are to be applauded for the support they provide the crime and thriller fiction genre, especially as the importance of audiobooks increases within publishing. They commission new work such as the pseudonymous Alex Callister’s thrillers and supporting the genre, including sponsoring one of Crimefest’s annual awards.

After listening to the start of this trilogy by Rob Parker, it came as no surprise to discover that Far from the Tree is July’s Audible thriller of the month.

So, what’s in store?

Brendan Foley has worked to balance the responsibilities of a demanding job and a troublesome family. He’s managed to keep these two worlds separate, until the discovery of a mass grave sends them into a headlong collision. When one of the dead turns out to be a familiar face, he’s taken off the case.

Iona Madison keeps everything under control. She works hard as a detective sergeant and trains harder as a boxer. But when her superior, DI Foley, is removed from the case, her certainties are tested like never before.

With stories of the Warrington 27 plastered over the news, they set out to solve the crime before anyone else. The local constabulary is small and under-funded – Brendan knows they can’t crack this case alone, and he’s not letting a rival force take over. Not with the secrets he fears are lurking. Their investigations lead them into the murky underworlds of Manchester and Liverpool, where one more murder means little to drug-dealing gangs, desperate to control their power bases.

But as Madison steps into the ring for the fight of her life, the criminals come to them. It’s no coincidence that the corpses have been buried in Foley’s hometown. The question is, why? Foley might not like the answer....

Not to be confused with the legendary creator of the Boston based Spenser and Hawk series, penned by the legendary Robert B Parker; the British Robert Parker, better known as “Rob” to his growing band of readers [and now listeners] hails from the British North West, where his acclaimed Ben Bracken thrillers are set - A Wanted Man, Morte Point, The Penny Black, Till Morning Is Nigh and the standalone post-Brexit country-noir Crook’s Hollow. A member of the Northern Crime Syndicate and a co-host of the For Your Reconsideration film podcast, Rob is also a regular voice on the Blood Brothers Crime Podcast. A champion of encouraging literacy and creative writing, Rob spends a lot of time travelling to schools giving talks across the country. Rob Parker lives in Warrington with his family.

Far from the Tree is the first in a trilogy, and narrated by actor Warren Brown. Currently he can be seen as 'Sergeant Thomas 'Mac' McAllister' in the highly anticipated reboot of the Emmy-nominated action series, Strike Back, for Sky/HBO Cinemax. Other television credits include Doctor Who, Liar, X Company and RTS Best Drama winning, Good Cop. Film credits include Cargo, Captain Webb and The Dark Knight Rises. Audio drama for Big Finish include multiple series of Doctor Who, U.N.I.T. and the standalone Audible series Transference. Through this former Thai-Boxer, is probably best known for his role of “DS Ripley”, in the BBC series Luther, co-starring with Idris Elba who plays the eponymous [and troubled] detective.

For the crime-fiction geeks a little digression –

Luther is written by Neil Cross, and when I interviewed him several years ago [for Jeff Peirce’s THE RAP SHEET] about his own writing, I indicated that I felt he had read the works of Patricia Highsmith..………

AK: I’m guessing you must have read Patricia Highsmith, then.

NC: I’m obsessed by Patricia Highsmith.

AK: [Laughing] So am I. I am totally obsessed with her Tom Ripley books. In fact, I have what my wife terms my white “Tom Ripley suit.” Coincidentally, a number of critics have described your first novel, Burial, as being distinctly Hitchcockian. And it was Hitchcock, of course, who made a movie from Highsmith’s 1950 debut novel, Strangers on a Train.

NC: Yes, there’s a psychological marriage between Hitchcock and Highsmith; they suit each other very well.

AK: So, going back to Highsmith, is it just her Tom Ripley novels that you enjoy, or do you find pleasure in her other amoral tales?

NC: I’ve read many of her books and short stories, though not all of her canon, and of course there are a few that are just not up to her best work. But one non-Ripley novel that sticks to my mind is Cry of the Owl [1962], which features a woman who falls in love with her own stalker. It would barely be publishable today, but in Highsmith’s world it makes perfect sense.

AK: The weird thing about Patricia Highsmith was that she was highly acclaimed in Europe, but rather less so in her native America; in fact, she lived for many years in the UK before making Switzerland her home. Maybe Tom Ripley was the precursor to Dr. Hannibal Lecter, the amoral, but charming psychopath/sociopath--the sort of figure who doesn’t settle as well in the American psyche as he does in the European one.

NC: That links to my theme of “free will exercised as sin,” [something that] must be punished. And Highsmith just doesn’t punish, she observes; in fact, she was known to sign books as Tom Ripley from time to time.

Read the full interview at THE RAP SHEET, from Theakstons Crime Writing Festival 2010 HERE

Neil Cross told me that he named DS Ripley, Idris Elba / Luther’s sidekick as played by Warren Brown as a personal homage to Patricia Highsmith’s amoral character, The Talented Mr Ripley.

End of digression

So with Warren Brown narrating Rob Parker’s FAR FROM THE TREE, what’s not to like? If like me, you are an Audible Member [on the £7.99 / month deal, which allows you one audio credit per month], you can have the start of the trilogy for just one credit – or for non-members it’s £21.41 – More information CLICK HERE

We’ll leave the last word to the author and his peers –

‘Working with Audible has been both a joy and a game-changer. I’m honoured and thrilled to have their faith with this canvas on which to tell a much larger, more complete story than I could ever have dreamed previously. Not only this, but to be able to write a crime trilogy set in the area I grew up in - an area which doesn’t receive much limelight or exposure - is a real delight, and I’m supremely thankful to Audible for giving me this opportunity. I’m taking this chance with both hands, aim to repay their faith in spades and I’m determined to show you ain’t seen nothing yet.’  

Rob Parker

"...A big departure from Rob’s previous work, I hope he won’t mind when I say it exceeds his already sky high standards. A dark, powerful & utterly compelling tale of Northern gangsters tied together by blood, it just drips with real life."

Tony Kent

"Rob Parker doesn’t mess around. Far from the Tree is a gritty, propulsive [listen]. Drawn in shades of grey, DI Brendan Foley is a complex, morally ambiguous character I couldn’t stop rooting for. A punchy, powerful tale well told."

Adam Hamdy

For more information on the work of Rob Parker – CLICK HERE

Criminal Snippets

© The Guardian

Excellent interview with Sophie Hannah in the Guardian.   It can be read here.  One of the most important points she makes and something that has constantly annoyed me is the fact that many people think that crime fiction can’t be literature.  I often wonder what books they have been reading.

According to the Bookseller Michael Fassbender is to star in the film adaptation of Jo Nesbø’s bestselling novel The Snowman. Filming starts in the middle of January 2016 and is currently set for release in the cinema in October 2017.

Alison Flood in the Guardian interviews author Paula Hawkins on becoming a literary sensation with her novel Girl on the Train.

According to Cinemablend xXx: The Return of Xander Cage will see the return of a major character.  More information can be found here.

Sherlock fans might be interested in the short trailer for BBC’s Christmas special The Abominable Bride.  It can be seen below.

Fans of Ann Cleeves Shetland series will be pleased to note that a six part series is due to start on BBC One on 15 January 2016.  More information can be found here.

Look out for Deutschland 83 which is an 8 part Cold War Spy thriller set amidst a divided Germany.  It is to be shown on Channel 4 starting on 3 January 2016.  More information can be found here.

Interested in knowing what are the world’s greatest spy films? If so then in the run up to the launch of Deutschland 83 Channel 4 are counting down the ten most thrilling spy movies as chosen by “real spies” and spy masters.  More information can be found here.  The programme is due to be shown on 2^nd January 2016 on Channel 4 at 21:00.

Remember the Robert Rodriguez film From Dusk to Dawn? Well the series is due to launch on Spike at 9:00pm on 4 January 2016.  More information about the series can be found here.

Publishers Weekly have issued their list of best mysteries of 2015.  The full list can be found here and includes The Cartel by Don Winslow, James Lee Burke’s House of the Rising Sun and Charles McCarry’s The Mulberry Bush to name a few.

Whilst not strictly crime fiction – fans of actor Idris Elba who plays Luther may be interested to know that he will be sharing his favourite music on BBC Radio 6 on Sunday 27 December 2015 between 1:00pm and 2:00pm.

Criminal Splatterings

According to the Bookseller, Selina Walker has bought three crime novels from author and journalist Tony Parsons.  The first novel, titled The Murder Bag, kicks off a crime series featuring detective and single parent Max Wolfe.  In The Murder Bag, Wolfe - father to a five-year-old girl - is called in to investigate a nasty killing, which leads him from the backstreets of London's West End to the corridors of power in Westminster.

Congratulations also go to Paul Finch who has also signed a five-book deal with Avon.  According to the Bookseller, his second book Sacrifice has already had over 10,000 pre-orders in e-book format ahead of its summer release.

If you have somehow managed to miss the results of the awards given at Crimefest then they are as follows-

Sounds of Crime: Standing In Another Man's Grave by Ian Rankin; Read by James MacPherson (Orion Audio)

Last Laugh: Killing the Emperors by Ruth Dudley Edwards (Allison & Busby)

eDunnit: Bryant & May and the Invisible Code by Christopher Fowler (Doubleday)

H. R. F. Keating Award: British Crime Writing: An Encyclopaedia by Barry Forshaw, editor (Greenwood World Publishing)

The shortlists for a number of the CWA Daggers were also announced – 

The CWA International Dagger:
Alex by Pierre Lemaitre, translated by Frank Wynne (Quercus)
The Missing File by D.A. Mishani, translated by Steven Cohen (Quercus)
Two Soldiers by Anders Roslund and Börge Hellström, translated by Kari Dickson (Quercus)
Ghost Riders of Ordebec by Fred Vargas, translated by Siân Reynolds (Harvill Secker)
Death in Sardinia by Marco Vichi, translated by Stephen Sartarelli (Hodder & Stoughton)
The Collini Case by Ferdinand von Schirach, translated by Anthea Bell (Michael Joseph)

The CWA Non-Fiction Dagger:
Midnight in Peking by Paul French (Penguin Viking)
The Boy in the River by Richard Hoskins (Pan Macmillan)
Against a Tide of Evil by Mukesh Kapila, with Damien Lewis (Mainstream)
A Fine Day for a Hanging by Carol Ann Lee (Mainstream)
Injustice by Clive Stafford Smith (Random House)
Murder at Wrotham Hill by Diana Souhami (Quercus)

The CWA Ellis Peters Historical Dagger:
The Heretics by Rory Clements (John Murray)
Pilgrim Soul by Gordon Ferris (Corvus)
The Paris Winter by Imogen Robertson (Headline)
Dead Men and Broken Hearts by Craig Russell (Quercus)
The Twelfth Department by William Ryan (Mantle)
The Scent of Death by Andrew Taylor (HarperCollins)

The CWA Short Story Dagger:
“Method Murder,” by Simon Brett (from The Mammoth Book of Best British Crime, Volume 10, edited by Maxim Jakubowski; Constable)
“Stairway C,” by Piero Colaprico (from Outsiders, edited by Ben Faccini; MacLehose Press)
“Come Away with Me,” by Stella Duffy (from The Mammoth Book of Best British Crime, Volume 10)
“The Case of Death and Honey,” by Neil Gaiman (from The Mammoth Book of Best British Crime, Volume 10)
“Ferengi,” by Carlo Lucarelli (from Outsiders, edited by Ben Faccini; MacLehose Press)
“Lost and Found,” by Zoë Sharp (from Vengeance, edited by Lee Child; Corvus)

The CWA Dagger in the Library:
• Belinda Bauer
• Alison Bruce
• Gordon Ferris
• Christopher Fowler
• Elly Griffiths
• Michael Ridpath

The CWA Debut Dagger:
The Assassin’s Keeper by Aine Oomhnaill (Ireland)
Call Time by Finn Clarke (UK)
TAG by Sue Dawes (UK)
Working in Unison by Alex Sweeney (UK),
Lesson Plan for Murder by Marie Hannan-Mandel (USA)
Honour or Justice by Ron Puckering (UK)
Torment by David Evans (UK)
When the Bow Breaks by Jayne Barnard (Canada)
Fighting Darkness: The Killer Trail by D.B. Carew (Canada)
Born in a Burial Gown by Mike Craven (UK)
The Journeyman by Emma Melville (UK)
A Cure for All Evils by Joanna Dodd (UK)

The winners will be announced during on July 15 in London. Also included on July 15 will be the presentation, to Lee Child, of this year’s Diamond Dagger and the announcement of CWA’s Gold, Steel, and John Creasey Daggers Nominees. 

Congratulations also go to Liza Marklund whose novel Last Will won the inaugural Petrona Award for Scandinavian Crime Novel of the year.  The winner was announced by Barry Forshaw.

Over in the Guardian the question has been asked why Nordic detective stories / films are so successful.  Lots of interesting responses.  In addition, there is an interesting article on whether crime fiction is the new punk.

Very good article in the independent on Nordicana that took place over the weekend (15 & 16 June 2013).

Madrid is also due to host their sixth crime fiction festival.  The festival is due to take place between 17 to 27 October 2013 and France is due to be the guest country.  Tributes will be given to Georges Simenon and his protagonist Maigret.  More information can be found here (in Spanish)

For those of you that can’t get enough of Icelandic crime fiction will be pleased to note that Iceland are due to host their first festival of crime fiction.  Iceland Noir is due to be held at the Nordic Cultural Centre, Reykjavik on Saturday 23^rd November 2013 and Sunday 24^th November 2013.  Amongst the well-known authors due to attend include Anne Cleeves, Yrsa Sigurdardóttir, John Curran and Quentin Bates.

Congratulations also go to Jorn Lier Horst whose novel The Hunting Dogs recently won the Norwegian Glass Key for the best Scandinavian crime novel.  The Hunting Dogs is due to be published  in the Spring of 2014. Jorn Lier Horst is also due to attend the first Iceland Noir crime festival.

In the Independent, Helen Brown talks to Louise Doughty about her psychological thriller.  Apple Tree Yard, which is about a successful, professional woman whose life, is upended by an affair.

The trailer for the new Wolverine film has been released and can be seen below.

Congratulations also go to Peter Robinson.  ITV have commissioned a third DCI Banks series.  According to the Independent, the show will dedicate two episodes each to three stories based on the books and are called Wednesday’s Child, Piece Of My Heart and Bad Boy.  Information from ITV can be found here.

Sad news for all of us that are waiting and looking forward to the sequel to Sin City – Sin City: A Dame to Kill For instead of it being released in October this year, it looks as if it will not be seen now until August 2014.  Still, it looks as if it will be worth waiting for with

Mickey Rourke, Jessica Alba, Bruce Willis and Rosario Dawson all reprise roles, while Josh Brolin, Eva Green, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Dennis Haysbert, Jeremy Piven, Ray Liotta, Juno Temple and Stacy Keach are the new recruits.  More information can also be found here and here.

Extremely sad news to hear that author Vince Flynn has passed away.  He was suffering from long-term prostrate cancer.  According to CBS Minnesota, he died on Wednesday morning.  Vince was the author of 15 novels centred on the character of Mitch Rapp, an undercover CIA agent.  More information can be found here.

Also recently and rather sadly, Joan Parker the widow of Robert B Parker passed away (Hat tip to Mystery Fanfare for the news).  More information can be found here and here.

The 2013 Nero Award finalists have been announced.  The finalists are –

Antiques Disposal by Barbara Allan
Truth of All Things by Kieran Shields
Burning Midnight by Loren D. Estleman
Dead Anyway by Chris Knopf

The Nero Award is presented each year to an author for the best mystery written in the tradition of Rex Stout’s Nero Wolfe stories.  It is presented at the Black Orchid Banquet, traditionally held on the first Saturday in December in New York City.  The Nero Award celebrates literary excellence in the mystery genre. More information can be found here.

The Telegraph’s film critic Robbie Collin has chosen his 10 best thriller films of all time.  The list can be found here.  Pleased to see The Third Man on the list along with Taxi Driver and Silence of the Lambs.

Fans of Luther and Idris Elba will be pleased to know that he will be back on our screens shortly.   Elba will star in four new 60-minute episodes, alongside Warren Brown and Ruth Wilson.  The first instalment of series three will feature John Luther (Elba) tackling a "twisted fetishist", who appears to be a copycat killer of an unsolved case from the '80s.

The  trailer for the new series can be seen below –

An interview with Idris Elba can also be found here.

Also according to FirstShowing.net Elba is due to join Javier Bardem, Sean Penn and Ray Winstone in the thriller The Gunman.  The Gunman is based on the novel Prone Gunman by French author Jean-Patrick Manchette.

To celebrate playing Hercule Poirot for twenty-five years, David Suchet gives an fascinating interview in the Scotsman.

According to The Hollywood Reporter Channel 5 have picked up Stephen King’s Under the Dome.  It is due to be shown on Channel 5 in the fall.

According to the Radio Times, the TV series of Fargo which is based on the Coen brother's 1996 film is due to be filmed in Canada.  The series will be a 10 episode series and is due to be released in 2014.

If you are like me and are looking forward to the new Vin Diesel Riddick film then you will be pleased to see that a trailer has been released.  The trailer can be seen below –

Riddick: Rule The Dark is due to be released on September 6 2013.

According to Screenrant, Morgan Freeman is in talks to star in Luc Besson’s film Lucy which also stars Scarlett Johansson.

According to the BBC an all-star cast has been confirmed for the adaptation of Death Comes to Pemberley by P D James. The cast includes Jenna Coleman, James Fleet, Penelope Keith, James Norton and Trevor Eve to name a few.

Vanessa Redgrave and Olivia Colman are set to star in The Thirteenth Tale by Helen Setterfield. The 90 minute drama will be shown on BBC Two and is a haunting psychological mystery set in the modern day, with poignant flashbacks starting in 1940.  More information can be found here.  Filming started in June and it is due to be shown later on this year.

BBC Four have acquired Belgian thriller Salamander. Everyone has secrets. But these can bring down a nation. In a private Brussels bank, 66 safe-deposit boxes are raided. The owner of the bank wants to keep the thefts under wraps but police inspector Paul Gerardi catches wind of the affair. With his incorruptible, old-school morals and devil-may-care attitude, Gerardi throws himself into the investigation, and when some of the key players are murdered, commit suicide or vanish, soon realises just how big the case is.  Gerardi discovers that the victims are members of a secret organisation called Salamander, made up of the country's industrial, financial, judicial and political elite, and the safe-deposit boxes contained their most intimate secrets - secrets that could bring down the nation. As he becomes the target of both the criminals and the authorities, Gerardi must quickly find out what their agenda is. And who is behind the thefts... Salamander will be shown as 12 x 60 minute drama series.

Various dramas to look out for include Top of the Lake which is due to be shown on BBC Two and is a six part drama about a detective obsessively investigating the disappearance of a twelve year-old pregnant girl. Quirke which is based on the book by Benjamin Black is a three part series which takes us back to the 1950s Dublin.  Quirke, played by Gabriel Byrne, is the chief pathologist of the city morgue.  His attempts to solve sudden deaths take him from smokey damp alleys and whiskey bars to elegant moneyed houses. Quirke is due to be shown on BBC One.  Mark Gatiss is due to adapt The Tractate Middoth, an MR James ghost story for Christmas.  The Tractate Middoth is due to be shown on BBC Two.

News about Theakstons Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival

Harrogate celebrates the 10^th Theakstons Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival

 2012 programme announced: Jo Nesbo, Harlan Coben, John Connolly, Kate Mosse, Peter Robinson, Peter James and Ian Rankin to headline

19-22 July 2012 at the Old Swan Hotel, Harrogate

This year, the Theakstons Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival celebrates its tenth year. To mark the occasion, the cream of international crime fiction will once again gather in Harrogate to raise a glass of Theakstons’ finest to the biggest festival in the country championing crime writing, the most popular literary genre in the UK today. 

Headlining the festival this summer are heavyweights Jo Nesbo, Harlan Coben, John Connolly, Kate Mosse, Peter Robinson, Peter James and Ian Rankin. Each year the festival is chaired by a different high-profile crime writer, and this year popular British author Mark Billingham, creator of D.I. Tom Thorne, takes the helm.

Billingham said: “In just ten years, the Theakstons Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival in Harrogate has become the biggest and best of its kind in the world and it’s an honour to be chairing the Programming Committee once again. I’m confident that we’ve handpicked a programme this year that will rival anything seen at the festival before. Big names? Of course. But this festival has always been about introducing crime fiction lovers to the very best of the newer talent on offer too, and we’ve got plenty from all over the world. Whether you like your crime fiction cosy as crumpets or dark as a bloodstain in the shadows, at this year’s festival there will be something for everyone!

Other highlights include a dedicated look at award-winning BBC TV series Luther (including insights into the new series) with author/screenwriter Neil Cross, journalist Miranda Sawyer and cast and crew; Swedish superstar Camilla Lackberg discussing the art of translation; Creative Thursday – a master class in writing crime fiction; Dragons’ Pen, where punters get a chance to pitch their would-be bestsellers to a panel of professionals; and Val McDermid revealing the most exciting emerging crime authors in her New Blood panel.

With four days packed with events, and over 80 authors in attendance, the festival will also serve up its usual helping of heated debate including: whether we are currently in a golden age of crime fiction; an author’s moral responsibility when writing in the genre; why women are the biggest consumers of crime fiction; plus former intelligence agents, investigative journalists and criminal prosecutors discuss putting top secrets into print.

The annual Theakstons Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year will also be announced on the opening night of the festival, Thursday 19 July.

Simon Theakston, Executive Director of T&R Theakston, said: “I am hugely proud of our association with Harrogate’s world-class crime fiction festival. This year’s line-up is a fantastic mix of household names and brand new talent and, for this tenth festival, we look forward to giving both writers and ticket-holders a warm welcome and catching up on all the latest crime writing gossip over a pint of Old Peculier ale!”

The annual Theakstons Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival started in 2003 and is held at The Old Swan Hotel in the beautiful spa town of Harrogate. Ranked one of the top three literary festivals in the UK by The Guardian, featuring in The Independent’s ‘The 50 Best Festivals’, and with fans including broadcaster Mark Lawson, the Theakstons Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival is a must for both dedicated crime fiction fans and newcomers to the genre. 

Many of the authors are available for interview both beforehand and throughout the festival. For press passes, interview bookings, or further information contact Liz Hyder on 07939 372 865/ liz@riotcommunications.com or Preena Gadher on 07833 431 119 / preena@riotcommunications.com

About the festival

The Theakstons Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival is the UK’s biggest and longest running event dedicated to the celebration of crime fiction. Taking place annually over four days each July, the Festival programmes over 80 of the best UK and international crime authors across over 20 events. It is promoted by the north of England’s leading arts festival organisation, Harrogate International Festivals.

About Theakstons

Title sponsor of the Festival since 2005, Theakstons Old Peculier ale is produced by T & R Theakston Ltd. It is one of the country’s most famous and highly regarded traditional ale brewers. Theakstons was established in Masham, North Yorkshire in 1827 by Robert Theakston. After a brief period in the 1980s when the company was acquired by Scottish & Newcastle plc, the company has been back under family ownership since autumn 2003.  It now operates as an independent brewer producing five permanent brands in the Theakstons range including the iconic Old Peculier – its best-known beer with a rich, dark flavour, celebrated by ale enthusiasts all over Britain and around the world.

Theakstons Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year

2012 will see the announcement of the eighth Theakstons Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year Award. A major accolade in the crime writing field, the prestigious prize is voted for by members of the public. Previous winners of the £3,000 prize and handmade engraved beer barrel are Mark Billingham (who scooped the award twice in both 2005 and 2009), Lee Child (2011), RJ Ellory (2010), Val McDermid (2006) and debut authors Alan Guthrie (2007) and Stef Penney (2008). The winner will be announced by broadcaster and festival regular Mark Lawson on the opening night of the festival.

·      Longlist announcement: week beginning 14^th May

·      Shortlist announcement week beginning 2^nd July

·      Winner announced 19^th July

Festival tickets

Festival tickets will go on sale on 26^th April. For booking information contact the box office on: +44 (0) 1423 502 116. Weekend Break packages are available to book now. Packages include a pass to all Theakstons Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival events* with three nights bed and English breakfast accommodation at either the Festival venue, or at other high quality Festival Hotels close by, (*excludes Creative Thursday and the Come Die With Me Dinner on the Saturday evening of the Festival). 

Weekend packages for the 2012 Festival start from as little as £349 per person based on twin or double accommodation) or from £399 per person for single accommodation. For booking and information call the Festival Office on: +44 (0) 1423 562303.

The Old Swan Hotel 

The Old Swan in Harrogate is a fitting venue for the festival as it is where legendary crime novelist Agatha Christie was eventually discovered after her mysterious disappearance in 1926. It is the newest member of Classic Lodges Hotel Group which features nine hotels in fabulous locations from the Scottish Borders to the Sussex Downs, the Cotswolds to the Yorkshire Dales. Each hotel has a fascinating history and shares the Classic Lodges' signature warm welcome, and the very highest standards of comfort and hospitality. All well located, Classic Lodge Hotels are idea for leisure breaks, conferences and weddings.

www.classiclodges.co.uk

CRIMINAL ACTS September/Robin Jarossi

Law & Order: UK

Law & Order may have been gunned down in its home town of New York in May, but its London cousin is back for a third season, looking sharp and ready for action.

After 20 years and 451 shows, NBC pulled the trigger on the original for faltering ratings, but ITV is happy with 5.9 million viewers for its spin-off. Judging by the opening episode, Broken, a hard-hitting story of a child’s murder with echoes of the James Bulger case, Law & Order: UK will be one of the channel’s highlights this autumn.

The two detective sergeants, Brooks and Devlin (ex-Corrie man Bradley Walsh and Battlestar Galactica’s Jamie Bamber), are called to the grim scene of a derelict council flat containing the dead body of a six-year-old boy.

The murderer – a garage worker, or two young girls?
Child murder is obviously never a subject to be treated lightly, and the show emphasises how disturbing a moment this is for all the officers attending. ‘Just when you think you’ve seen it all,’ Brooks says.

The two investigators soon suspect that two older girls may be behind the boy’s killing, CCTV footage showing them leading him to the flat. Or could it be a guy who works in a garage, as the girls indicate?

Law & Order: UK works because it has all the major ingredients right. Bradley Walsh is not the greatest thesp in the world, but this part fits him beautifully. Ex-alky Brooks is the copper’s copper, the one who gives the show its moral ballast.

Ben Daniels, Harriet Walter and Jamie Bamber
Jamie Bamber is good as his foil. Harriet Walter (Broken Lines, Atonement) is totally believable as the guvnor not to be messed with, while on the prosecution side, Ben Daniels (The State Within, Cutting It) has a terrific scene here where he rips into the callous mother of one of the girls.

The format, with episodes split between the law and the order, worked well for all those years in the States, and ITV haven’t tried to fix it. And finally, the stories (borrowed from the originals too) can be compelling.

Broken is a powerful one that probes a divisive issue. If a child commits a serious crime, who is truly responsible – the child or those who have raised it? The tabloids bay for blood and the Director of Children on trial Public Prosecutions says, “The public don’t care about treating killers.” Meanwhile, the director of Crown Prosecutors, George Castle (actor Bill Paterson), demands to know why a child would kill another – not usually a priority for the courts.

With its careerist barristers, legal horse-trading and often ambiguous endings, Law & Order: UK is absorbing prime-time viewing.

Law & Order: UK, ITV1, Thursdays from 9 Sept, 9pm

Sherlock and Luther will return

As the Beeb announced the return of three new 90-minute adventures for Holmes and Watson, the creators of the hit revamp, Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss, were gently teasing fans: ‘We've been overwhelmed by the warmth of response to our new Sherlock Holmes and John Watson and can't wait to take them on three new adventures next year. There'll be baffling new puzzles, old friends and new enemies – whether on two or four legs. And we might well be seeing the cold master of logic and reason unexpectedly falling. But in love? Or over a precipice? Who can tell?’

Having launched its Holmes re-boot in the fairly odd month of July, when everyone’s on their hols, the BBC clearly is now sure it has a hit on its hands and will bring Sherlock back as part of its prized autumn line-up in 2011.

Luther creator and crime novelist Neil Cross promises the planned pair of two-hour specials about his troubled detective will ‘be even more intense’.

Which is hard to believe, seeing as the ‘near-genius’ copper played by Idris Elba found his estranged wife’s body, shot by his corrupt colleague, who in turn was shot by the ‘genius’ killer Alice, with whom Luther had somehow bonded…

And watch out for…

You wait years for a copy-cat serial killer in the East End, and two come along.

Having seen off a devotee of Jack the Ripper while watched by nine-million viewers in 2009, Rupert Penry-Jones, Phil Davis and Steve Pemberton will be returning to ITV this autumn in Whitechapel – this time pursuing a killer with a taste for the murders of the Krays.

DCI Banks: Aftermath, on the same channel, stars Stephen Tompkinson as DCI Alan Banks, in a two-part drama, adapted from the novel by award-winning crime writer Peter Robinson. It tells the story of an ordinary house in an ordinary street which is about to become infamous.

For 2011, ITV have three new crime sagas in production: an Anthony Horowitz story called Injustice, starring James Purefoy; Scott and Bailey with Suranne Jones and Lesley Sharp as homicide detectives with the Major Incident Team in Manchester (written by Sally Wainwright); and The Jury, written by Oscar-nominated Peter Morgan (The Queen, Frost/Nixon and The Damned United).

The Suspicions of Mr Whicher – the best-seller by Kate Summerscale – is also getting the ITV treatment. The two-hour drama about an infamous Victorian country house murder will star Paddy Considine (Red Riding Trilogy, The Bourne Ultimatum) in the lead role of Inspector Jonathan Whicher, and will be adapted by Neil McKay (Mo, See No Evil: The Moors Murders).