What Got You Hooked on a Life of Crime, Stephanie Rothwell?

It’s Monday, the start of a great week for all, I hope, and time to introduce another member of our virtual crime fiction book club. Stephanie Rothwell is an avid and discerning crime fiction reader, and a big fan of long-running series. I convinced her to answer a few questions about her reading pursuits and give us some ideas for our already groaning TBR lists!

Steph, how did you get hooked on crime fiction?

I started reading crime fiction when I was a child. Enid Blyton, especially the Adventure Series, Nancy Drew, the Hardy Boys and the Three Investigators  were all favourites.

I then moved onto Agatha Christie and Raymond Chandler. From then on, it was Colin Dexter, Ruth Rendell, Elizabeth George. All mainly authors who had a full series of books that I could get from the local library.

Are there any particular types of crime fiction or subgenres that you prefer to read and why?

I will try anything. I do prefer a series of books based on the same characters but will read standalones as well. I’m probably more reluctant to read spy thrillers.

What is the most memorable book you’ve read recently?

‘Wolf’by Mo Hayder, because it was so believably scary. If I could pick another, it would be ‘The Lying Down Room’ by Anna Jaquiery for its originality.

If you had to choose only one series or only one author to take with you to a deserted island, whom would you choose?

 

Well, it’s one that some may not class as crime fiction.!It’s called ‘The Quincunx’ by Charles Palliser. [Ostensibly a Dickensian mystery set in 19th century England, but with a modern twist of alternative ending and unreliable narrators.] I have read it two or three times and each time it fascinates me.

What are you looking forward to reading in the near future?

I’m looking forward to reading the new books by Sharon Bolton and Peter James. I really want to get stuck into the Jane Casey books as well. I’ve heard so much about them.

Outside your criminal reading pursuits, what author/series/book/genre do you find yourself regularly recommending to your friends?

Currently it seems to be books about WW1, in particular ‘Wake’ by Anna Hope.

Thank you, Steph, for taking the time to answer my questions (and general nosiness). It seems there are quite a few of us who enjoy series by the same author, although we may be divided over the issue ‘read them in order’ or ‘read whichever is available’.

For more revelations of reading passions, see here. And if you would like to participate in the series, please let me know either in comments below or on Twitter.

What Got You Hooked on a Life of Crime, Dee Kirkby?

At our virtual book club, I’ve had the pleasure of meeting Dee Kirkby, writer, runner, midwife lecturer, cake-baker, book patron and voracious reader.

Dee writes using the name D.J. Kirkby (for adults) and Dee Kirkby (for children). Although she does not write crime fiction (yet!), Dee is the author of Without Alice, My Dream of You, Realand, Raffie Island and Queendom (The Portal Series for children), Special Deliveries: Life Changing Moments and My Mini Midwife. She can be found online on Twitter or at her websites for children or grown-ups.

How did you get hooked on crime fiction?

My first memorable experience in crime fiction was when I read one of Sue Grafton’s novels from her Alphabet series. I then quickly went through the rest she had written in the series to date (up to E I think) and then all of the Jonathan Kellerman novels I could find in the library.

Are there any particular types of crime fiction or subgenres that you prefer to read and why?

I have found that  I am gravitating lately towards the ‘cosy crime’ genre – my reading time is an escape and I no longer want to escape to the life exposed in some of the grittier crime novels.

What is the most memorable book you’ve read recently?

I presume you mean the most memorable crime novel? That would be either ‘Itch’ by Simon Mayo or ‘The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie’ by Alan Bradley, which are both what I would class as YA crime novels. However, like most YA, they are suitable for older readers too.

If you had to choose only one series or only one author to take with you to a deserted island, whom would you choose?

The Dark Tower series by Stephen King – some of the best and most versatile writing that I have had the pleasure of reading throughout my life. Oh, and if I am allowed two authors then anything by Dr. Seuss (yes, really).

Dee’s incredibly tidy desk.

What are you looking forward to reading in the near future?

I am looking forward to reading The Casual Vacancy by J.K.Rowling (because it has been on my TBR pile for a long time), The Bromeliad Trilogy by Terry Pratchett (because I am a patron of reading and like to read books I can recommend to mid grade readers) and After the Snow by S.D. Crocket (because the title intrigues me).

Outside your criminal reading pursuits, what author/series/book/genre do you find yourself regularly recommending to your friends?

This is too eclectic a mix to answer concisely but I do list all the books I read each year on a dedicated page on my website: http://www.djkirkby.co.uk/my-2014-a-z-reading-list/

 

Thank you, Dee, for your forthright answers and I have to agree with you about the delights of Dr. Seuss and the charming Flavia de Luce series by Alan Bradley. I look forward to chatting to other passionate readers and reviewers about their criminally good reads over the next few weeks. For previous participants in the series, please click here. 

 

What Got You Hooked on a Life of Crime Jose Escribano?

Time for another interview with one of my fellow crime lovers. This is the fourth edition of my chats with online friends about their reading passions. José Ignacio is my go-to source for Spanish or Latin American crime fiction, but his blog covers a wide range of crime fiction from all countries. His reviews are in English and Spanish, and you can always count on him for an unvarnished, honest opinion.

How did you get hooked on crime fiction?

If my memory serves me correctly, I began reading crime when I was a child, first Enid Blyton (The Secret Seven) and later on Agatha Christie (Murder in Mesopotamia was one of my favourites). I still keep a wonderful memory of those books.

But later on I stuck to reading what I thought I had to read (mainly classics in a broad sense). In the early 1980s and all the way through the ’90s, I came across Vazquez Montalbán (Pepe Carvalho series), Patricia Highsmith (Ripley) and PD James (Adam Dalgliesh), but I was still reading all other kinds of fiction as well. However, I got definitively hooked on crime fiction thanks to Henning Mankell and his Inspector Kurt Wallander, eight or nine years ago.

Are there any particular types of crime fiction or subgenres that you prefer to read and why?

I like almost all genres and subgenres: mystery fiction, detective novels, hardboiled, thrillers, and the like. But I’m very selective. Given my age I have started to feel that I don’t have that much time ahead to read. Therefore I won’t waste my time reading what I believe I won’t like.

What is the most memorable book you’ve read recently?

I may change my opinion at any time, but right now what springs to mind is William McIlvanney and his Laidlaw Trilogy.

If you had to choose only one series or only one author to take with you to a deserted island, whom would you choose?

Again, this is prone to change, but right now I’m hesitating between Reginald Hill (Dalziel and Pascoe series) and the 87th Precinct by Ed McBain. Would it be possible to take both?

What are you looking forward to reading in the near future?

I have a huge TBR pile. Maybe one by Philip Kerr, Ian Rankin, Fred Vargas, or Leif G W Persson (some of my favourite authors). Besides those, I also have the following waiting for me: Graveland by Alan Glynn, Pilgrim Soul by Gordon Ferris, Brother Kemal by Jakob Arjouni, Winter’s Bone by Daniel Woodrell, Pale Horses by Nate Southard, to name but a few.

Outside your criminal reading pursuits, what author/series/book/genre do you find yourself regularly recommending to your friends?

I have a soft spot for the Aubrey-Maturin series by Patrick O’Brian and I always recommend Leo Africanus, a 1986 book by Amin Maalouf.

Thank you so much for sharing your reading passions with us, José Ignacio, and also for being such a great reader and commentator of other people’s blogs. Plus, those are some seriously good-looking and well-organised shelves in the background…