An Evening with Sarah Pinborough and Louise Jensen

I've loved bookshops since forever. I was that 15-year-old who, when given the opportunity at school to go on work experience, chose Waterstones. I spent two weeks working in my favourite shop and I loved every moment. And anyone who knows me at all would tell you Sarah Pinborough is one of the authors I admire the most, so when I saw Waterstones advertising an evening with Sarah Pinborough and Louise Jensen (who I can just tell will be one of my new favourite authors), no one could have stopped me buying that ticket if they'd tried. No one.

Ask me if I want to spend a couple of hours in a bookshop with two best-selling thriller authors and a glass of wine, and take home a signed book. Go on, ask me. Um, YES. Naturally I was sat in the middle of the front row (how else do you soak up all that awesomeness?). And it. Was. So. Good. And I got another author selfie to add to my collection...

Sarah and Louise covered so much ground, including the difference between a plot twist and a great reveal, how they plan and draft their novels, their differing writing processes, trying not to get caught up in the daily word count battle and the joy of writing in PJs.

They also discussed their best author moments so far. Louise's best moment was when her son said he wanted to be an author just like her (cue us all getting emotional) and Sarah's was when Stephen King (yes, STEPHEN KING!) wrote a rave review of one of her books. I hope I'll get my moment one day when one of these wonderful authors tweets how much they love my book (the dream).

If you want to know a little more about these bloody brilliant authors, Louise has sold over a million books and her thrillers have been published in 25 languages. I've just bought a signed copy of The Family which has fast-tracked its way to the top of my TBR pile, and I will share my thoughts here on the blog soon. Sarah, with over 20 books published in 27 languages, is also a screenwriter with her previous novel Behind Her Eyes (one of my all-time favourite books) is coming out on Netflix next year and I am beyond excited. That's what you call author goals.

Thanks for the inspo, ladies!

I'll be heading over to Waterstones in Oxford to hear from the amazing C. L. Taylor in a couple of weeks. Watch this space!

Roxie Key

@RoxieAdelleKey

Flash Fiction: Retribution

Hello, fellow readers and writers. Previously I shared a piece of flash fiction that won a competition. I've decided to share the other entry that didn't make the shortlist, because I quite like it and would love to get your thoughts. Please read on for Retribution.

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A loud groan echoed in the darkness and awoke Evelyn with a start. She became aware of the ground pressing against the back of her skull, shoulder blades, coccyx and heels, the cold seeping into her skin. Propping herself onto her elbows, she felt a splitting pain reverberating through her head, realising the groan that had disturbed her sleep had escaped her own throat.

"Who are you?" a voice demanded.

As her eyes adjusted to the lack of light, Evelyn twisted painfully on the spot to squint at the source of the sound: a teenager had folded herself into the corner of the dark, damp room as if trying to disappear into the wall.

"My name is Evelyn. I'm a police detective." She climbed weakly to her feet and peered at the face she recognised; the face she’d been trying to track down for weeks. "Amelia Foley?"

The girl nodded cautiously, the frown on her face fading slightly.

"How did you get here? Who’s holding you captive?"

She scowled again. "I don't know his name. He barely comes down here." Evelyn spied the crisp packet and water bottles littering the ground. Just enough to keep a prisoner alive… barely. Evelyn tried to think back to how she ended up locked up in the very same cellar where Amelia was being held captive. She couldn't remember a thing since walking home from her last shift. Could she even remember turning the key in the lock? She didn't think so.

The cellar door banged open and Amelia yelped. Evelyn shielded her eyes from the bright light that sliced into the darkness of the cellar and gasped. "Jason?"

He laughed bitterly. "No, not Jason. He's still rotting in the prison cell you put him in, Evelyn." He spat her name out like it was a swear word. "I'm his brother, Mark."

"You," she said incredulously. "You're the one who's been following me." Evelyn subconsciously patted her pockets and belt but of course he had removed her ASP, taser and radio. Mark approached her like a wolf, eyes transfixed on his prey. Evelyn stepped backwards and started to edge around the room so she could keep Amelia in her line of vision. "What do you want, Mark?"

"Revenge. Nothing more."

"We had to arrest him, Mark. He murdered two people. He tried to murder another four. We can get you some help," she offered, despite knowing he wasn't interested in any help she had to give.

He smirked at her but remained silent.

"Why didn't you kill me before?" said Evelyn, as she watched Amelia carefully climbing to her feet and creeping silently along the wall behind him. "You've been stalking me for years, Mark. You've had so many chances. You've broken into my flat… you could’ve killed me in my sleep. Why didn't you?"

Amelia reached cautiously for something on the ground behind Mark.

"Killing you wasn’t enough. Not when I could create the perfect crime for you to solve, only to kill you both at the end. Such a tragedy," he whispered coldly, and stepped closer. Evelyn felt the solid roughness of the wall behind her as she ran out of space to move. She tried not to look as Amelia's fingers reached down to the ground and grasped a loose bit of stone. It wasn't big but if she used enough force it had the potential to knock him out. Evelyn had to keep Mark talking.

"Does it make you feel good, keeping defenceless women locked up in a cellar for your own pathetic revenge?" Evelyn laughed in his face. "Pathetic." His face twisted with rage as he drew back his fist.

The rock slipped from Amelia's hands with a loud clatter and she swore loudly. Mark whipped around and lunged for her, knocking her to the ground and grappling with her until her arms were pinned to the ground. She kicked him and tried fruitlessly to bite his arms. Evelyn raced from one side of the basement to the other and leapt onto Mark's back, smashing him in the side of his face with her fist. He roared in pain and flung her off. She scrabbled to her feet and dodged him as he swung for her again. Amelia rolled the loose rock towards where Evelyn was headed. Evelyn grabbed it with both hands and launched it at Mark, who staggered backwards in surprise. As he fell, he smashed the side of his head on the wall and lay motionless on the ground.

"Come on!" Evelyn yelled, motioning for Amelia to run up the stairs. When they reached the door, it didn't budge and Amelia eyes widened in fear. Evelyn threw her body against the door but it still wouldn't move. She felt a flutter of panic rising in her chest as she darted back down the steps to where Mark lay silent but breathing. She crouched down and rummaged in his jacket pockets for a key, just as he started moaning and regaining consciousness.

"Quick!" cried Amelia.

Evelyn finally found the key in Mark's back pocket, but just as she withdrew her hand she felt a jolt in her stomach as his rough, thick fingers closed around her wrist and pulled her back. She twisted, scraping the heel of her free hand on the concrete beneath her as she aimed her right boot straight into his face. He spluttered and let go. Evelyn scrabbled away from him, clumsily taking the steps two at a time before launching herself towards the door again. She could hear the thud of his footsteps behind her, the same footsteps she'd been hearing following her for the past two years. Evelyn struggled with the key, finally managing to prise open the heavy door, before they both spilled out of the door and into the safety of the sunlight. She slammed it shut behind them.

The last thing she saw was Mark's face contorted with fury as he reached for her.

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If you have any thoughts or suggestions, please leave them in the comments section below!

Roxie Key

@RoxieAdelleKey

Book Review: Sleep by C. L. Taylor

I'd had my eye on Cally Taylor's books for a while. But with my leaning tower of TBR peering accusingly at me, threatening to topple over every time my finger hovered over the 'buy now' button, I abstained. But then along came the 99p deal. I told Cally on Twitter I felt a little dirty about buying a 99p book, but promised if I liked it, I would buy another full-priced book of hers. Good news Cally, I bloody loved it. No wonder it's a Richard and Judy Book Club read and Sunday Times best seller!

So if you've read much of my blog, you'll know I am partial to a good psychological thriller. In short, Sleep did not disappoint. Nor did I get any sleep during the week I was reading this book. But I have zero regrets. None. Nada.

So onto a whistle stop tour of the story. Anna is plagued by gut-wrenching guilt following a serious car crash where she was the only person to escape unscathed. This all-consuming guilt, coupled with a series of threatening notes and unbearable insomnia causes her relationship to break down. Anna decides to escape to the remote Scottish island of Rum, about as far away from home as she can get, where she takes a job in a small hotel. But things soon take a turn for the worse, and Anna realises she isn't any safer in Rum than she was at home when someone is murdered. A raging storm batters the island, ensuring all the hotel guests (A. K. A. murder suspects) are contained within one place until the killer is satisfyingly revealed. The ending left a little prickle on my skin that I don't think will go away any time soon.

I won't tell you any more, but what I can say is the story is chilling, and made me feel delightfully uncomfortable. It's one of those books that make you double triple check your locks each night. It makes you jumpy in broad daylight, fearing the poor postman* who just wanted to drop a letter through your door and didn't expect to be greeted with a blood-curdling scream.

It is expertly written, with each character feeling like a very real person. Considering there are a lot of characters and I read this book a few weeks ago, I still remember them all as clear as day (and I can't even remember what I did yesterday). The sense of setting is incredible, and really comes to life when you're reading it. And the atmosphere! That's the best part. I find it so very fascinating how certain authors can create such intense atmosphere and creepiness using pure sentences... expertly crafted words, dialogue and punctuation that make you feel it like it's really happening, and you want to stop reading because you're terrified but at the same time you just... can't... put... it... down. Cally is one of those people.

If you want to read something that sends a shiver down your spine this Halloween, open a copy of Sleep (just don't expect to get any actual sleep). Who needs sleep anyway? We can sleep when we're dead.

Click here for the paperback and here for the hardback.

Until next time.

Roxie

@RoxieAdelleKey

*no postmen were harmed in the reading of this book. There were no postmen in the story, but I genuinely was terrified when mine knocked on my door. He's okay now.

Book Review: Cruel Acts by Jane Casey

They said he was a serial killer... but now they've set him free.

I'm going to hold my hands up and admit something: I've never written a book review before. Well, I've never written one down before. But I love recommending books, and quite possibly talk about them more than anything else (massive apologies to my non-book-obsessed friends). I felt it was fitting for my first review to be for a book written by the first crime author I ever read.

Cruel Acts is the 8th book in Jane Casey's DS Maeve Kerrigan series. I stumbled upon Jane seven years ago when a colleague brought in a box of books for me to rummage through. I'd never read a crime novel before (I know!) but Jane's The Missing caught my eye. I soaked it up it in a matter of days, and then I took to the internet, hungry for more. It was in that pivotal moment I discovered the woman I want to introduce you to: Maeve Kerrigan. Oh, Maeve. How do I even begin to describe her? She's brave, strong, true to herself, wonderfully flawed and totally relatable. Not that I am in any way an Irish detective, but Maeve makes me wish I was.

The series follows this feisty and driven character through her career in the Met Police alongside her partner, DI Josh Derwent. Their working relationship is a turbulent whirlwind of friendship, annoyance, affection, jealousy, protectiveness and banter. Will they? Won't they? All I can say is I am eagerly anticipating the Kerrigan-Derwent wedding (please make it happen, Jane!).

So let's get onto the important part. Cruel Acts follows Mauve and Derwent as they investigate Leo Stone, a man who is one of two things: a cold-blooded murderer, or a victim of a miscarriage of justice. Stone was convicted of murdering two young women, but when it comes to light certain rules weren't followed during the initial investigation and trial, Maeve and Derwent rip apart the original investigation and start from scratch, leaving no stone unturned (pun absolutely intended). Just when you think you know the answer, Jane swiftly serves you off-course and sends you hurtling in the opposite direction. The cast of believable, leap-off-the-page characters bring the story to life, and stay with you for months after putting the book down. The writing is delightfully sharp, deliciously entertaining, and utterly devourable.

I won't reveal much about the plot itself because I want you to experience the twists and turns for yourself. I want your heart to pound like it wants to escape your chest. I want you to lose hours of sleep because 'one more chapter' turned into twenty. Without a doubt this is Jane's best work to date, which is reflected in the book's current position in the Sunday Times top 10.

Recently I asked Jane what scene she enjoyed writing the most out of all her books, and she replied with a very cryptic "it's a scene in Cruel Acts, involving a bathroom and some washing up liquid... and I can't say much else." Internally I whooped and punched the air. It is one of the most memorable scenes in the book, but I'm not going to spoil the surprise, and tell you how or why that washing up liquid was used... you'll have to read it and find out for yourself.

Jane says that Maeve is moving so slowly through her life stages that you can pick up any book in the series and read it (but honestly, once you've read Cruel Acts, please go back and read the others because they really are excellent). Oh and by the way... you can now pre-order the next installment in the series which is coming out in April 2020: The Cutting Place. Read a sneaky preview in the back of the paperback version and join me in spending the next six months rocking in a corner, wondering why a hand washed up on the shore of the Thames and what on earth the Chiron Club is...


Until next time.

Roxie

@RoxieAdelleKey

Finding your people

Writing. It’s a pretty isolating thing to do, isn’t it? You hole yourself up and block out the world, and then emerge days later, blinking in the sunlight and wondering what the hell happened while you were out cold. Unless you’re very lucky indeed, you probably don’t naturally have an abundance of writers in your life… unless you seek them out. And my god, its fantastic when you do. Not that my brilliant friends and family aren’t enthusiastic about my writing, but I feel guilty if I harp on about it too much. I worry about boring them to tears. When you have writer friends, you will talk about little else for hours on end and it’s fine. It’s great, in fact. They get it.

But how do you meet them? I met my first group of writing friends through workshops. In my little corner of the world, there is a beautiful historical house and gardens called Delapré Abbey (they also have a second hand book shop with an honesty box!). They often hold events, and one particular week last spring, they organised a festival of writing. A festival of writing, right near my home! I attended two sessions with successful authors Menna Van Praag and Sue Bentley. Not only did I get to soak up the wisdom of these wonderful ladies, but I met some brilliant writers, who I have remained friends with. Occasionally we meet for lunch or a coffee, and talk about our writing. We email, and share our writing amongst ourselves. We encourage each other to keep writing. It’s just lovely to know they are there, and they understand.

As you may have read from my most recent blog post, I recently attended my first writing festival. A crime writing festival, to be more specific. I was blown away by the amount of fantastic people I met and plan to stay in touch with. If a writing festival is within your reach, I would encourage you to reach out and grab it with both hands. Introverted like me? Just make one extroverted friend and they will bring the interesting people to you. Or, you know, pretend to be an extrovert (like I need to learn how to do). My summary of the event: Beneath all the panels, book signings and alcohol, there was an underlying sense of togetherness, of excitement and of anticipation. I met so many people, ranging from unpublished authors to international best sellers and I can't say I've ever been in a situation where strangers are so damn nice to each other (although the appropriate amount of piss-taking was duly given and received).

Where else? My latest discovery is Twitter. I have used it sporadically for years, mainly to complain to companies about bad service and to enter competitions, with little success (I won a small tent once). But my view of Twitter changed dramatically when I discovered the #WritingCommunity (or #WritersCommunity). Thousands of other writers, all procrastinating together, is a beautiful thing indeed. Never have I ever seen such a solid community full of encouragement, support, advice and kind words (and funny gifs).  

So I conclude that writers are a pretty awesome breed of human, and you should incorporate as many of them into your life as possible.

Roxie

@RoxieAdelleKey