Authors and bloggers – Books to watch out for

We asked 3 top authors and 2 top bloggers to share with us a few little literary tips as to what they’re read and loved and what they are most looking forward to. Look at the lovely guests we have! Of course we served tea and cake and had a right good natter….here’s what they said:

PETER JAMES

Creator Of The Roy Grace Thrillers

“My one book of 2015 has to be I Let You Go by Clare Mackintosh.

The story begins in a UK urban environment and then moves to the Welsh coast.  It is very rare for a book to grip me so completely from the very first sentence, and then, halfway through, to throw a twist that turns the entire story on its head – and leaves me gasping. But this story did.  Further there were yet more twists to come.  Beautifully written and immensely satisfying.

The book I’m most looking forward to reading in 2016 is Get Even by Martina Cole.  I’m interviewing her on stage at Harrogate in July, so am busy boning up on her canon of work!  I love the raw energy in her writing.”

ANN CLEEVES

Creator of Vera and Shetland

Recommends the Axeman’s Jazz

Ann Cleeves has gone for two writers who she loved their latest books and is looking forward to seeing what they produce next. Ray Celestin was a favourite with his debut The Axeman’s Jazz which won the Crime Thriller Award on ITV.

Set in New Orleans in 1919 this is a shockingly true story of a man who terrorised the city of jazz with an eerie swan song of his own. The whole city was petrified by the so called Axe Man and the city of New Orleans at the time was a heady mix of jazz, bourbon and mob rule.

Sara Paretsky was her other top author to look out for. Her main character VI Warshawski. She is a fictional private investigator from Chicago and all except one of the novels are written in the first person giving them a real insider view of the work and the mind of such a person.

LIZ FENWICK

No body writes about Cornwall like Liz Fenwick

Liz recommends a menagerie of books : Not Forgettting the Whale and The Trouble With Goats and Sheep

My best book of 2015 was…hard to choose. I read Not Forgetting the Whale by John Ironmonger in proof form in 2014 and it came out in 2015. I LOVED this book. But if you had to pin me to one I read in 2015 it would be H is Hawk by Helen Mcdonald. Simply brilliant and such a surprise. I never imagine a book about hawks and grief could be so uplifting.

I am counting the days until The Trouble With Goats and Sheep by Joanna Cannon comes out. I have loved Jo’s blog posts which are written with such and humanity that I can not wait to see how this translates to a novel.

BLOGGERS

GRAB THIS BOOK

If forced to pick one I will go for Untouchable by Ava Marsh…so different from my normal crime thriller.

2016 has the final part of the Pierce Brown trilogy which is due in March.  There are probably some amazing books coming that I don’t know about yet so lets go with Morning Star by Pierce Brown.  Set on Mars…and a very popular choice it seems!

LIZ LOVES BOOKS

I think I’ll have to say when pushed to name one (my own Top Ten of the Year blogpost had a joint No 1) that my best read of 2015 came via Rod Reynolds and his debut “The Dark Inside” Set in 1940’s America, it is a brilliantly compelling and atmospheric murder mystery based on actual events, but the real heart of it comes in the personal and redemptive journey of its main protagonist Charlie Yates. For me  there were several reasons why this one hit the spot over and above any of the other fantastic books I read – the unique and rarely found true southern noir style of the writing and some genuinely old school storytelling art, reading The Dark Inside was like revisiting classic movies and realising that they really don’t make them like they used to! Well Rod Reynolds DOES make them like they used to but manages to also weave a modern contemporary twist to the ambience of it which means you get the best of both worlds. The best debut I have read since Elizabeth Haynes “Into the Darkest Corner” and trust me, that is saying something.

My most anticipated is OUT OF THIS WORLD!

My most anticipated novel of 2016 comes in the form of the finale to the Red Rising Trilogy by Pierce Brown – the much desired “Morning Star” Red Rising was my No 1 book of its year and Golden Son was in my top ten of 2015. The pure energy of the writing just sucks you into a vortex of emotional flux – you will laugh, cry, pull your hair out, beg for mercy and feel every darned moment of this tale, often putting the book (s) down and glaring at them from a distance whilst trying to decide if you can actually take any more trauma. But of course you can because it is quite simply the most addictive and most emotionally charged reading experience you will ever have. The end of Golden Son most determinedly  blew my mind and therefore Morning Star is a must have. So much so that I have taken the release day off work and intend to set booby traps around my house for anyone daring to disturb me..

With thanks to all you lovely authors and bloggers for your insights into the best of last year and what you’re most looking forward to! Now we’re off to read some more…