The Perplexing Theft of the Jewel in the Crown: an evening with Vaseem Khan

There’s nothing like a hot and vibrant setting for a fun crime-caper that makes perfect summer reading. And if it's set in the extraordinary and colourful city of Mumbai, even better.

So we're hoping that the heat will have well and truly risen ahead of Monday 23 May, when we welcome hot new crime fiction author Vaseem Khan to Mostly Books to talk about ‘The Perplexing Theft of the Jewel in the Crown’.

Vassem’s debut ‘The Unexpected Inheritance of Inspector Chopra’ was one of the biggest crime fiction debuts of last year and became a bestseller. It introduced us to retired police inspector Ashwin Chopra (and his slightly grumpy baby elephant, Ganesha).

When Inspector Chopra has to retire from the police, he sets up a restaurant. But soon his reputation as a policeman of integrity leads to demands for him to take on cases of his own and he founds his own private detective agency.

In the just-published second title, ‘The Perplexing Theft of the Jewel in the Crown’ Inspector Chopra has to put aside some of his regular jobs (following missing or misbehaving husbands and the case of the elite school where he has been called in to discreetly sort out cheating), because the city is in crisis. The world’s most valuable diamond is stolen from under the noses of the police when the British Crown Jewels make a visit to India.

And when Inspector Chopra’s former colleague is accused of the crime, he knows enough of the country’s police system to know he will be leaving his friend to the brutalities of a life in jail if he cannot find how the brilliantly clever and well-executed theft was brought off.

Can he stay one step ahead of a clever jewel thief? And can he do it while still running his restaurant and not letting his mother-in-law take over and upset all the staff? And with his easy relationship with his former colleagues curtailed by the shock arrival of a senior female boss...

He will probably do it with some help and inspiration from his pet elephant, Ganesha, who was mysteriously left to him by an uncle.

Here is what Nicki had to say about the book:

As well as a likeable detective with a colourful home life and a passion for justice, this series bring the rich world of modern India to life with all its corruption, incredible poverty and wealth, side by side, all being swept along by massive social change. Good contemporary crime fiction gives a great platform to take a subtle look at society and the current issues that concern us.

Vaseem Khan is ideally placed to write a crime story set in modern-day India where youngsters increasingly look to the west for their views on culture and drive their ideas of careers and where wealth often means you can escape justice.

Vaseem was born in Britain to parents who had emigrated to Britain from Pakistan and who were not best pleased when he decided to seek a career in India. But he returned to London and works at the Department of Security and Crime Science at University College London managing research projects into crime science.

The series bears comparison to the hugely successful and popular ‘No 1 Ladies Detective Agency’ – and anyone who warms to crimes in sunnier climes rather than the Nordic chillers, will find plenty to intrigue and enjoy.

Vaseem will be in conversation with Mark Thornton at Mostly Books on Monday, May 23 at 7pm. Tickets are £4, and refreshments will feature a definite Indian theme. Email to reserve your ticket for what we hope will be an entertaining evening with a bright new writing talent.

Disgraced spooks and Dead Lions - an evening with Mick Herron

It’s the sort of story everyone loves to hear – an author who suddenly hits the big time and wins a major prize just at the point he thinks his writing career is in trouble.

Crime writer Mick Herron, who won the 2013 'CWA Goldsboro Gold Dagger' for the Best Crime Novel of the Year, was at Mostly Books on May 21 to talk about two books set in the murky world of disgraced spies.

‘Dead Lions’, his prize-winning novel, is a wryly humorous tale of disgraced MI5 spies, who have been sent to Slough House as they can’t be sacked. Consigned to dull desk work, they are desperate to find a way back to the field work where they think they belong.

When a Cold War spook is thought to be active again, they suddenly have a chance of glory. But after years of being out of the game and all despising each other, there is as much comedy as action as we watch them all creak back into life and try to form a team that has even half a chance of getting results.

Mick Herron explained how, as his UK publisher wasn’t interested in the book, he thought his writing career was over. But then his US publisher stepped in, said they would take it on – and submitted it to the Crime Writers’ Association annual awards.

He beat a hugely impressive shortlist, including the much-lauded ‘The Shining Girls’ by Lauren Beukes, and Belinda Bauer’s ‘Rubberneckers’, among others, to take the dagger. In doing so he joins illustrious names such as Ian Ranking, Val McDermid and Reginald Hill as previous winners of the award.

At an evening at Mostly Books, Mick explained how the inspiration for his two very clever and funny crime novels was all sparked by a decrepit building he passed daily on his way to work that got his imagination going.

It may have been a building that sparked the initial idea, but Mick said he always starts with characters and a situation with his writing and finds his best plotting ideas develop as he goes along. And Slough House is peopled with some great characters – with tales of just how exactly they were disgraced leaking out throughout the books.

His journey towards his gold-dagger award-winning success has not been smooth. It took two years for this first novel to find a publisher in 2003 and he still only writes in the evenings after coming home from a full-time job.

It takes him about 18 months to write a novel - a slow process that involves more editing than writing and a great many semi-colons. But he has always written and always looks forward to that moment every day when he can get down to some writing.

‘Writing is an addiction you have to nurture. Most addictions you try to wean yourself off, but with writing you have to take that urge and encourage it and do it every day. I can’t wait for the part of the day when I switch my laptop on,’ he said.

With books involving such intriguing plots and such a large cast of characters, all of whom have a life of their own, he took plenty of questions about his writing style. He plots the first chapters scene by scene and only researches if he gets to a point in the plot where he feels he needs to.

The next step is that not only will he see all his previous novels back in print after his Dagger success – there will be a new standalone noir thriller, before he turns back to the folk at Slough House after that.

With a television series in the pipeline, we really hope far from a publishing career being over, that Mick is actually only at the start of a very successful career indeed.

3 4 Friday - Dead Bursars, Desperate Pilgrims and a Writer on the Edge - Mostly Books turns to crime...

It's tough on the High Street at the moment, so Mostly Books will be turning to crime over the coming weeks - well, crime fiction at least, with an in-shop event with CWA Gold Dagger award-winner Mick Herron. We've almost sold out of tickets, so email us if you would like us to reserve you a place.

In the meantime, here are three cracking - and very different - crime and mystery thrillers that we definitely think are worth your time and hard-earned money.

The first is ‘I Am Pilgrim’, the debut novel by legendary screenwriter Terry Hayes (who wrote, amongst many other films, the script for Dead Calm). ‘Pilgrim’ is the codename of Scott Murdoch, adopted son of a wealthy American couple, and member of the above-top-secret ‘The Department’ – which polices the actions of other US spies. Having anonymously written the ultimate book on forensic examination, he may have unwittingly allowed ‘the perfect murder’ to take place – and the NYPD need his help to solve it.

But soon there are bigger, world-threatening activities taking place as terrorist ‘The Saracen’ plans a frighteningly plausible attack on the United States. If you like your techno-thrillers weighty (in every sense), fast-paced, densely plotted, and nerve-shreddingly plausible you will definitely not be disappointed (oh, and the dialogue is everything you’d expect from a talented screenwriter). The bags under Mark’s eyes are testament to how gripping this book is – published in paperback on 10 April, and available to download as an eBook – email us to reserve a copy for you in the shop...

‘The Truth about the Harry Quebert Affair’ by Joël Dicker is another debut, but a totally different animal: a twisty, turny* whodunnit with a novelist as the main protagonist. Harry Quebert is the feted writer of ‘The Origins of Evil’ and his protégé Marcus Goldman looks to be following in Harry’s footsteps, destined to become the great American novelist. But as the deadline for his second novel ticks closer, writer’s block gives way to a sinister shock as a young girl’s body is discovered in Harry’s garden – and he is arrested for murder. Marcus sets off back to the small town of Somerset – but can he discover the truth of what happened to fifteen year-old Nola, clear the name of his mentor – and possibly complete his book?

Translated from the original French by Sam Taylor (who translated Laurent Binet's 'HhHH') the style is deceptively melodramatic and almost cod ‘noir’ which skillfully pulls you into a story far more complex than you initially think. Exploring recent US history and the turmoil lurking below the veneer of small-town America, it also contains a splendid riff on how to write a great book. Available in hardback in the shop - or downloadable here.

('Twisty, turny' is a technical bookseller term, in case you were wondering)

Thanks to Colin Dexter, we all know that you can barely move in Oxford without stepping over piles of corpses, but Oxford's association with murder mysteries is much older than that. We’ve loved the British Library Crime Classics, recently reissued, and our favourite is most definitely 'Death on the Cherwell' by Mavis Doriel Hay.

Students discover the drowned body of the college bursar floating in her canoe and begin an investigation into the tangled secrets that led to the bursar's death - and the clues that point to a fellow student. A classic mystery novel, with its evocative setting in an Oxford women's college, is now republished for the first time since the 1930s.

So, much murder and mayhem to enjoy. It's been a bumper year so far for crime, so make sure you pop into the shop for some of our other recommendations...

3 4 Friday - Crime Ancient and Modern

It's Bank Holiday on Monday, so today's 3 4 Friday #fridayreads is some gripping crime and thrilling reads if you are in the mood for a good book over the weekend...

Historical novelist Lindsey Davis is best known for her Falco detective series, and her latest book is the start of a new series featuring Falco’s adopted daughter, Flavia Alba.

In ‘The Ides of April’  Flavia walks the mean streets of ancient Rome with all the wise-cracking and nose for danger as Philip Marlow. It’s a gloriously fun read, so full of life it brings ancient Rome right into the room with you. We think this book will win Lindsey a whole new host of fans.

‘Accidents Happen’ by Louise Millar is the enjoyably sinister tale of Kate, who believes bad luck follows her around, but as her in-laws threaten to take away her son if she doesn’t get treatment from her damaging OCD behaviour, she fights to turn her life around. Just as normality seems within reach is bad luck about the strike again? 

Clever writing from shifting viewpoints means the reader is deliciously  a few steps  ahead, but there are still surprising twists and turns in this well-crafted suspense thriller. A compulsive tale that will appeal to fans of ‘Before I go to Sleep’.

Finally, a crime thriller with real depth is ‘The Good Father’ by Noah Hawley. When a young loner assassinates an American presidential candidate, the young man’s father initially struggles to come to terms with what his son is supposed to have done.

What follows is an increasingly taught decent into conspiracy and nightmare as the father tries to discover the truth about what happens, whilst analysing his own role in what his son may have become...

One final note - the all-conquering 'Bring Up The Bodies' is published in paperback next week. Copies in the shop from Tuesday May 7...

Something in the atmosphere: Ann Cleeves at Mostly Books

It can be a long journey to becoming a household name as a writer. But for Ann Cleeves, who has been writing about a book a year since she was first published in 1986, it also involved a thirteen-hour rough ferry crossing from Aberdeen to the Shetland Islands and a lot of cooking for birdwatchers.

It was finally ‘Raven Black’ the first of her stories set in the Shetland Islands that became her ‘breakthrough novel’ – earning her a Gold Dagger (the Duncan Lawrie International Dagger) from the Crime Writers’ Association.

As well as describing the inspiration behind many of her books at an event at Mostly Books on Wednesday evening, she described the amazingly rapid speed with which her Vera Stanhope series came to the television. It all hapened so fast, once the decision was made, that she thinks of the woman who made it all happen as her fairy godmother.

Not content with having one of her detectives brought to life on the small screen, she now has two - with her Jimmy Perez 'Shetland' Quartet to be televised in November.

So what is it about Ann Cleeve’s books that have made them the ‘must have’ for small screen detective dramas? Ann told the Mostly Books audience she thought a lot of it was actually down to an error.
 

‘My publisher made an error with the first Vera Stanhope story ‘Crow Trap’, which meant it never made it into the publisher’s catalogue so not many people were ever aware of it. Many of the books made their way to remainder shops, which was where a scriptwriter bought one to take for a holiday read when she was looking for a book to adapt for television which had a strong female police detective.’

We think there might be a lot more to it than that as Ann Cleeves is definitely one of those authors worth discovering if you like a proper whodunit. 

As well as being able to weave a first-rate mystery, her cast of characters are well-drawn, and, as with both the Vera Stanhope series set in Northumberland and the Shetland series, the sense of place is strong.

Just about the only thing Ann insisted on when she was involved with the television production was that they actually visit Northumberland and many of the places that feature in the stories.

Some of the Shetland-set series was also filmed on the islands, with great support from the Shetland Islands Council. Of course it remains to be seen if the series makes people also want to visit the place, but we have it from Ann that the boat crossing these days is a breeze.

3 4 Friday: Summer crime and thrillers: Ann Cleeves, Camilla Läckberg and Stella Rimington

We had a fantastic evening with crime writer Ann Cleeves at Mostly Books on Wednesday (report coming, honest) - and we thought - after a wonderful exploration of crime fiction, here are three of our current favourite crime fiction titles for our 3 4 Friday #FridayReads.

Naturally we will be starting with Ann, and if you don't know her writing, she is one of those authors well worth discovering if you like a proper whodunit. There are four books in her ‘Shetland series’, and although most people will probably want to start logically with the first ‘Raven Black, ‘Red Bones’ is our favourite. Archaeology students discover bones they think confirm their theory about ancient trading patterns in the Shetlands, but this is Ann Cleeves’ territory, and it isn’t long before they realise it is murder they have uncovered...

This is what Nicki has to say about Ann Cleeves: "As well as being able to weave a first-rate mystery, her cast of characters are well-drawn. My favourite series is definitely the Shetland series, because the sense of place is so strong. The atmosphere of somewhere that is so claustrophobic, so remote, often cut off, and where families know so much about each other’s secrets that don’t die even with one generation. It is a great spin on the more traditional closed  ‘country house murder’, and works on a number of levels. But at the heart these are great for anyone who loves a solid mystery plot with lashings of atmosphere."

In honour of Ann's passion for translated crime fiction (which she communicated very effectively to the audience on Wednesday) we've chosen a book by Camilla Läckberg - and translated particularly well by Steven Murray. Here's what Ellie has to say about the first in her crime series, 'The Ice Princess'.

"Set in a small fishing village in Sweden (Fjällbacka), the finding of the body of local woman Alex is the start of a series of events that threaten to uncover some dark secrets not only in her past, but in those of some other residents who would prefer them to remain buried. The small community is well depicted with their 'twitching curtains' and it was an enjoyable light crime story with very satisfying twists and turns, bringing the reader to a surprising end. It's a great start to the series, and for Scandi-crime fans -  Läckberg is a good choice for those looking for something less gory than Larson or Nesbo but love the atmospheric settings of these stories."

Camilla's latest 'The Drowning' is now out in paperback...

Finally we've selected Stella Rimington's 'Rip Tide'. Rimington writes a powerful story of covert spy operations with great attention to the details of present day intelligence work. Exploring the issues of piracy off the Horn of Africa as well as the global spread of Muslim extremism, the story moves along at great pace with Rimington's protagonist Liz Carlyle involved in some serious spy action.

This is the sixth book in the series, you get the feeling that Rimington is getting very comfortable and confident with her heroine. As with all her books (coming from the ex-head of MI5) you do find yourself pondering 'what's real, what's fiction?' and this adds an extra domension to a book that we feel has everything you'd want from a contemporary spy thriller - a gripping read for the remains of the Summer...

Crime writer Ann Cleeves at Mostly Books

Ann Cleeves looks poised to be the latest big name in crime fiction and we are pleased that she will be visiting us at Mostly Books.

Her successful Vera Stanhope series is fast making Ann Cleeves a household name since being televised with the fantastic Brenda Blethyn in the title role and in September Ann Cleeves's Shetland series will be making its television debut, giving her two detective series both running in the autumn. 

In 2006 Ann Cleeves was the first winner of the prestigious Duncan Lawrie Dagger Award of the Crime Writers' Association for 'Raven Black', the first volume of her Shetland Quartet.

This new murder-mystery series is set against the stunning Scottish backdrop of the Shetland Isles and centres on Detective Jimmy Perez (played by Douglas Henshall).

Perez is recently widowed, a native Shetlander who has returned home after a long period away. His dry sense of humour and his desire to protect his beloved Shetland Isles from the changes he sees happening make him a compelling character.

The stories are classic murder mysteries and together with the island setting, with its rich history and eccentric characters, means this is definitely one to watch when it hits the small screen.

If you want to discover these books before seeing them on the television, come along and meet Ann, who has twice been short listed for a CWA Dagger Award and for the Dagger in the Library award.

Ann Cleeves, Weds 15th
August
7.30pm at Mostly Books
Price £4 (includes wine)