I am delighted to be short-listed for the CWA Dagger in the Library. This is an award for a writer whose body of work is popular with library users, and who supports libraries. It means a lot to me as I’ve been a lifelong library user, grateful that I’ve been able to satisfy my love of reading via my library card. I enjoy very much visiting libraries to talk about my work and share a pleasure in books with other keen readers. And I know the great majority of people who read my books borrow them from libraries. So thanks to them and the wonderful librarians who staff our libraries and our brilliant Public Lending Right system, which pays authors a few pence for every library loan. The Dagger Awards will be announced on June 29th.

Here are two of my favourite quotes about libraries, they sum up perfectly how I feel:

‘Congratulations on the new library, because it isn’t just a library. It is a space ship that will take you to the farthest reaches of the Universe, a time machine that will take you to the far past and the far future, a teacher that knows more than any human being, a friend that will amuse you and console you – and most of all, a gateway, to a better and happier and more useful life.’ Isaac Asimov

‘Perhaps no place in any community is so totally democratic as the town library. The only entrance requirement is interest.’ Lady Bird Johnson

Happy Reading!

I am astonished and delighted and honoured that Running Out of Road is on the shortlist for the eDunnit Award for best novel of 2021 at Crime Fest. It’s a wonderful surprise and awesome to be in such wonderful company. The winners will be announced at the Gala Dinner on May 14th.

Running Out of Road is a race against time, played out in the brooding wilderness, the limestone gorges and gritstone edges of the Peak District. At its heart is eleven-year-old Scarlett, who has survived a great loss, is full of dreams for the future and passionate about protecting the planet. Scarlett is abducted and driven up into the hills with the police in hot pursuit. Scarlett’s path collides with others. Ron has made a living as a house and pet sitter since quitting his career on the front line in the fire service. The solitude suits him. Dylan’s a ‘cuckoo’, dealing drugs on the county line, moving from nest to nest, picking out people who daren’t say no. One step ahead of the law. So far…The action unfolds over a few hours on a wretched February evening, as Storm Dennis barrels in from the north bringing floods and ensuing chaos.

Running Out of Road was written during 2020 when we were all struggling with the dreadful impact of the pandemic. The continuing ban on travel (which came into effect here in the North West swiftly after the first lockdown was lifted) meant I couldn’t visit the Peak District where I love to walk. But writing the book allowed me to escape there in my imagination. To get away from the grim news of the pandemic, Brexit and the climate emergency, and lose myself in Scarlett’s adventure. I relished exploring the terrain through the eyes of the various characters in the novel, and being able to capture some of the beauty and grandeur of the peaks.

I’ve been thrilled at the reception the book has received, especially this nomination. Happy reading!

I’m delighted to have signed a deal with Joffe Books to publish my four DCI Janine Lewis novels. And I’m really looking forward to the stories reaching a whole new audience. Blue Murder, Hit and Run, Make Believe and Desperate Measures are due out in May. The books are based on my scripts from Blue Murder, the TV series I created almost twenty years ago. It all began with an unpublished novel and a tip from my Murder Squad pal Ann Cleeves, who knew Granada TV were looking for crime-drama ideas with women detectives at the centre. I was incredibly lucky to get Blue Murder commissioned by ITV and the show went on to be broadcast around the world in places from Iceland to Afghanistan, Fiji to Brazil. Now I hope that readers here and abroad will enjoy getting to know Janine Lewis, who juggles a demanding family life and a challenging job, and her Manchester team.

‘Complex and satisfying in its handling of Lewis’s agonised attempts to be both a good cop and a good mother’ The Sunday Times

With settings ranging from rural Ireland to Cape Cod, South Africa to Hollywood and with stories that include a reimagining of Sophocles’ play Antigone, the terrors of the Pendle Witch Trials, Bohemian life on a Greek Island in the 60s and London in the Blitz, these books all come highly recommended. Happy reading!

Home Fire by Kamila Shamsie

The Familiars by Stacey Halls

A Theatre for Dreamers by Polly Samson

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid

The Waiting Rooms by Eve Smith

Brixton Hill by Lottie Moggach

The Postmistress by Sarah Blake

The Last Thing To Burn by Will Dean

The Searcher by Tana French

Something for everyone here – and every one a belting story with memorable characters. Happy reading and wishing you a happy and peaceful 2022.

The Mermaid of Black Conch by Monique Roffey

Tall Bones by Anna Bailey

Summer by Ali Smith

The Snow Song by Sally Gardner

Truth Be Told by Kia Abdullah

Back When We Were Grown Ups by Anne Tyler

Blacktop Wasteland by S.A. Cosby

The Survivors by Jane Harper

The City We Became by NK Jemisin

Crooked Heart by Lissa Evans

The Appeal by Janice Hallett

Three Hours by Rosamund Lupton

Another clutch of wonderful stories, all of which have stayed in my mind after I’ve finished them. Happy reading!

The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett

Olive Again by Elizabeth Strout

Blood and Sugar by Laura Shepherd-Robinson

Mayflies by Andrew O’Hagan

The Lamplighters by Emma Stonex

No Honour by Awais Khan

The Mercies by Kiran Millwood Hargrave

Girl A by Abigail Dean

Love After Love by Ingrid Persaud

The Foundling by Stacey Halls

 

It’s Black History Month and my union The Writers Guild is asking members to share their favourite Black writer or piece of writing to celebrate and amplify under-represented voices. I don’t want to pick just one so here are books I’ve enjoyed and recommended via #FridayReads on Twitter, and in lists on this blog. All highly recommended.

A River Called Time by Courttia Newland

The Trick to Time by Kit de Waal

Lullaby by Leila Slimani

The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas

Three-Fifths by John Vercher

Sing, Unburied, Sing by Jesmyn Ward

An American Marriage by Tayari Jones

Ordinary People by Diana Evans

Washington Black by Esi Edugyan

The Confessions of Frannie Langton by Sara Collins

Girl, Woman, Other by Bernardine Evaristo

The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead

Queenie by Candice Carty-Williams

Running Out of Road, coming in July, is a race against time, played out in the brooding wilderness, the limestone gorges and gritstone edges of the Peak District. It’s the story of eleven-year-old Scarlett, who has survived a great loss, is full of dreams for the future and a passion to protect the planet, when she is abducted and driven up into the hills, with the police in hot pursuit.

Scarlett’s path collides with that of others. Ron has made a living as a house and pet sitter since quitting his career on the front line in the fire service. He’s currently looking after a place deep in the Derbyshire Peaks. The solitude suits him. And managing animals is so much simpler than coping with other people. Dylan’s a ‘cuckoo’, dealing drugs on the county line, moving from nest to nest, picking out people who daren’t say no. Keeping his head down, one step ahead of the law. So far. But now everything’s falling apart.

The action unfolds over a few hours on a wretched February evening, as Storm Dennis barrels in from the north bringing floods and ensuing chaos.

Writing Running out of Road during lockdown, when I could no longer go walking in the hills, allowed me to escape there in my imagination, and become engrossed in Scarlett’s adventure. And I do hope you’ll get the same pleasure from reading it as I did writing it.

Available on offer to pre-order now.

A new batch of recommendations from me. Superb storytellers whose books made me marvel, made me laugh and cry, hold my breath and – at the end of one of them – shout out loud. Happy reading!

November Road by Lou Berney

Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid

Tangerine by Christine Mangan

The Amateur Marriage by Anne Tyler

The Binding by Bridget Collins

Three-Fifths by John Vercher

Writers & Lovers by Lily King

How Much of These Hills Is Gold by C Pam Zhang

Body Language by A. K. Turner