#TheakstonsCrime #HIF2020 #SpecialGuests @TheakstonsCrime #Harrogate #CrimeFestival

Today I’m thrilled to be sharing details about one of the biggest book festivals in the country, The Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival, and wait to you see the guest list. Unfortunately I have never attended Harrogate, but I know a lot of book bloggers who rave all year round about this amazing festival. So without further ado here’s everything you need to know about this upcoming book festival.

Harrogate, 4 March 2020: The Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival is thrilled to announce its 2020 Special Guests at the world’s largest and most prestigious crime fiction festival.

Crime writing royalty Martina Cole, Mark Billingham, Lisa Gardner, Kathy Reichs, Elly Griffiths, Mick Herron and Michael Connelly will be appearing as part of the killer line-up curated by this year’s Festival Programming Chair and Rebus author, Ian Rankin OBE.

From 23-26 July, Harrogate’s Old Swan Hotel – the legendary scene of Agatha Christie’s mysterious disappearance in 1926 – will welcome over 100 world famous authors for a celebration of the crime genre like no other.

Returning for its 18th instalment, the award-winning Festival is established as a literary phenomenon, attracting an international audience to see the best in the business and the most exciting new talent as part of an unmissable programme of creative workshops, once in a lifetime talks and unique panels.

Joining fiction titan Ian Rankin at this year’s Festival will be No. 1 bestseller Martina Cole will be sharing the stories behind her iconic career as the undisputed Queen of Crime; Kathy Reichs will introduce A Conspiracy of Bones, the riveting new thriller featuring forensic anthropologist Temperance Brennan; and Festival favourite Mark Billingham returns to Harrogate to celebrate 20 years of Tom Thorne,  one of British crime fiction’s most iconic detectives.

Michael Connelly, the international phenomenon with over 74 million copies sold worldwide, touches down in the UK to share his latest unputdownable thriller featuring veteran reporter Jack McEvoy, Fair Warning; the master of psychological suspense Lisa Gardner will give the Harrogate audience an insight into the twists and turns of When You See Me; Elly Griffiths is set to reveal the secrets behind her much-loved Dr Ruth Galloway mystery series; and Mick Herron will mark ten years of his award-winning spy sensation Slough House and introduce his new novella set in the same world, The Catch.

The Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival forms part of the diverse year-round portfolio curated by the charitable organisation Harrogate International Festivals, delivered with the mission to bring immersive and moving cultural experiences to as many people as possible.

 Ian Rankin, best-selling Rebus author, said:

 “It is for good reason that Harrogate is so well loved by authors and audiences alike, and the pressure has been on to make sure that this year lives up to its stellar reputation! But working with the Harrogate team has been a joy and we’re incredibly proud of the celebration of crime writing we have in store. Beginning with the announcement of our incredible Special Guests, the countdown to this year’s legendary long weekend is well and truly on and I can’t wait unveil the rest in April.”

 Sharon Canavar, CE of Harrogate International Festivals, said:

“Our mission at Harrogate International Festivals is to present the most unforgettable cultural experiences and year on year Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival continues to surpass all expectations. It has been a delight working with Ian Rankin and we’re thrilled that the 2020 Special Guest line-up reflects the absolute best in the crime-writing business – we look forward to revealing the full programme.”

Simon Theakston, Executive Director of Theakston, said:

“We are incredibly proud to be supporting the biggest and best crime writing festival in the world, right here in Harrogate – it is a truly unique opportunity to discover the secrets behind the genre’s greatest characters, listen to world-renowned authors and celebrate the wonderful world of crime writing. All this and the chance to enjoy a very satisfying glass of Old Peculier at the same time.”

Booking: Rover Tickets – including Weekend, Friday and Saturday – are now on sale, along with Weekend Break Packages. For more information and to book tickets, please call +44(0)1423 562 303 or email crime@harrogate-festival.org.uk.

*** The full programme line-up will be announced on 2nd April 2020***

PRAISE FOR THEAKSTON OLD PECULIER CRIME WRITING FESTIVAL

 “The Best Crime Festival in the World and I should know I’ve done them all” Lee Child

“Harrogate is a must. With beautiful locale, smart fans and superb author interaction, it’s one of the best festivals I’ve ever attended” Michael Connelly

“Incredibly well run and such a friendly group of authors and punters” J. S. Monroe

“Turning a small corner of Yorkshire into paradise” Val McDermid

“Amazing Event, great company” Robert Scragg

“There are so many Festivals in the world, but this is the one I keep coming back to” Andrew Taylor

“The crime Festival is the best in the country, and it shows no sign of ever changing” Barry Forshaw

“Famous amongst crime readers all over the world” Ann Cleeves

“It’s the industry must-have” N J Cooper

 

For further information, interview and accreditation requests, or to RSVP for the full programme celebration at Brown’s in Covent Garden on 20 May, please contact Midas Public Relations:

• Orla Bennett: Orla.Bennett@midaspr.co.uk | 020 7361 7860
• Hannah McMillan: hannah.mcmillan@midaspr.co.uk | 020 7361 7886 | 07971 086649

About Harrogate International Festivals

‘Harrogate International Festivals’ is a charitable organisation with a mission to present a diverse year-long programme of live events that bring immersive and moving cultural experiences to as many people as possible. Delivering artistic work of national importance, the Festival curates and produces over 300 unique and surprising performances each year, celebrating world-renowned artists and championing new and up-coming talent across music, literature, science, philosophy and psychology. The HIF+ ongoing education outreach programme engages schools, young people and the local community with workshops, talks, projects and inspiring activities, ensuring everyone can experience the Festival’s world class programme and the transformative power of the arts.

Established in 1966, Harrogate International Festivals are an artistic force to be reckoned with and a key cultural provider for the North of England.

Find out more at:

• Website: www.harrogateinternationalfestivals.com
• Facebook: @HarrogateInternationalFestivals
• Twitter: @HarrogateFest
• Instagram: @harrogatefestivals  

Get Even by Martina Cole

Book Description

The twenty-second novel from Sunday Times No.1 bestseller, Martina Cole, author of DANGEROUS LADY, THE TAKE, THE GOOD LIFE and many more…

Playing grown-ups, the future is theirs for the taking.

Sharon Conway and Lenny Scott are childhood sweethearts. Everyone says they are too young, but nothing can keep them apart. Sharon doesn’t question Lenny’s business dealings and it isn’t long before his reputation as a hard man destined for the top means they are living the good life with their sons.

It leaves a stain on her heart for ever.

But one night Lenny doesn’t come home. It isn’t the first time he has gone AWOL. But it is his last. He is found murdered – beaten to death in an act of brutality that shocks even the police. And Sharon never knows why.

Old wounds will surface.

Now, twenty years later, Sharon has found out the truth. Such a crime cannot go unpunished. Revenge is long overdue. The time has come to…GET EVEN

I have always been a big fan of Martina Cole, but I’m the first to admit her last couple of books have left me feeling disappointed, with the same type of characters, similar plots, and dialogue that was neither new or particularly engaging! Every time I pick up Martina’s latest book I hope she has gone back to her earlier style of writing, they were amazing and very often I would read the whole book in one sitting! they were that engaging. So it was with great trepidation I picked up Get Even.

Get Even is delivered in very short chapters,which at times became a little irritating, some chapters were half a page long,which I though was unnecessary and distracting, I’m still trying to figure out the benefits of writing such short chapters. The characters seem to have been rehashed from previous books I’m sorry to say. Young boy destined to make it big in the crime world, a wife who doesn’t question her husbands business dealing and appears to be a “door mat”,and the “big” crime boss who is getting to old for the job, you get the picture. I found it really difficult to relate to any of the characters as they were just your average Gangland stereo types.

As anyone who has ever read a Martina Cole book will know, there is always a lot of swearing and Get Even is no exception, but in Martina’s defence it is in keeping with her characters and the plot, but after a while it becomes very repetitive. The plot follows the usual formula family, loyalty, treachery and secrets, while I’m sure this formula works for Martina, and continues to help her sale books, I feel I am re-reading one of her older books. Whilst this may suit loyal fans, personally I would like to see Martina up her game and provide her readers with something new and fresh.

If you are looking for a read that doesn’t tax the brain, with a half decent plot line you may enjoy Get Even, but personally I think there are much better authors out there in this genre, Kimberley Chambers is one who springs to mind.

3 ☕️☕️☕️out of 5 from me

Kindle

Hardcover

**what Are You Reading Wednesdays** #WAYRW

 

What Are You Reading Wednesdays #WAYRW is a weekly feature on It’s A Reading Thing. http://itsareadingthing.com/features/what-are-you-reading-wednesdays-wayrw/

Everyone is welcome to participate. I thought I would have ago, as it’s a simple way of letting others know what you are reading right now

How to participate:
Grab the book you are currently reading and answer three questions:
1. What’s the name of your current read?
2. Go to page 34 in your book or 34% in your eBook and share a couple of sentences.
3. Would you like to live in the world that exists within your book? Why or why not?

My current read is Get Even by Martina Cole

 

A sentence from page 34

He thought the world of her and trusted her implicitly. She was good with numbers and could work out a bet in her head-something that had surprised her.

Would I like to live in the world that exists in Get Even?

Hell no, I love reading about the gangster world, but that’s as far as it goes. It would be far to violent for me, despite being a nurse the sight of blood makes me queasy! Also I would always be living on my nerves, frightened the police would knock on my door either to tell me my husbands been murdered or I was being arrested. Another reason I wouldn’t be any good living in the crime world would be I’ve only got to see a policeman and I feel guilty, even if I haven’t  done anything wrong! So I would confess to everything straight away!

If you liked this post, please feel free to leave a comment, as I’m thinking of doing a regular Wednesday post.

**Stacking the shelves**

 

Here’s my round up of stacking the Shelves hosted by http://tyngasreviews.com/, it’s a round up of some of the books I have received over the last week. It’s my first stacking the shelves for 2016, and already I have some fantastic books to read and review

ARC received

The Girl You Lost by Kathryn Croft

Book description
Eighteen years ago your baby daughter was snatched. Today, she came back.

A sinister and darkly compelling psychological thriller from the No.1 bestselling author of The Girl With No Past.

Eighteen years ago, Simone Porter’s six-month-old daughter, Helena, was abducted. Simone and husband, Matt, have slowly rebuilt their shattered lives, but the pain at losing their child has never left them.

Then a young woman, Grace, appears out of the blue and tells Simone she has information about her stolen baby. But just who is Grace – and can Simone trust her?

When Grace herself disappears, Simone becomes embroiled in a desperate search for her daughter and the woman who has vital clues about her whereabouts.

Simone is inching closer to the truth but it’ll take her into dangerous and disturbing territory.

Simone lost her baby. Will she lose her life trying to find her?

Snowblind by Ragnar Jonasson 

Book description

Siglufjorour: an idyllically quiet fishing village in Northern Iceland, where no one locks their doors – accessible only via a small mountain tunnel. Ari Thor Arason: a rookie policeman on his first posting, far from his girlfriend in Reykjavik – with a past that he’s unable to leave behind. When a young woman is found lying half-naked in the snow, bleeding and unconscious, and a highly esteemed, elderly writer falls to his death in the local theatre, Ari is dragged straight into the heart of a community where he can trust no one, and secrets and lies are a way of life.

An avalanche and unremitting snowstorms close the mountain pass, and the 24-hour darkness threatens to push Ari over the edge, as curtains begin to twitch, and his investigation becomes increasingly complex, chilling and personal. Past plays tag with the present and the claustrophobic tension mounts, while Ari is thrust ever deeper into his own darkness – blinded by snow, and with a killer on the loose. Taut and terrifying, Snowblind is a startling debut from an extraordinary new talent, taking Nordic Noir to soaring new heights.

Night blind by Ragnar Jonasson

 

Book description

The peace of a close-knit Icelandic community is shattered by the murder of a policeman – shot at point-blank range in the dead of night in a deserted house. With a killer on the loose and the dark Arctic waters closing in, it falls to Ari Thor to piece together a puzzle that involves tangled local politics, a compromised new mayor and a psychiatric ward in Reykjavik where someone is being held against their will

The Final Seven by Erica Spindler

 

Book description

The first Saturday in July. A missing woman. The number seven carved into her door. The countdown has begun . . .

Detective Micki Dare is a seasoned, no-nonsense cop. She doesn’t need a partner, especially an irreverent charmer like Detective Zach Harris, who’s fresh out of an ‘experimental’ FBI training programme. And Micki’s assignment, to keep Zach alive while he fights crime using his special skills, is not what she signed up for. But the decision’s been made and there’s nothing she can do about it.

Micki soon realises that there’s more to her partner than meets the eye – and there’s more at stake than just catching bad guys and closing cases. Because there’s a new kind of evil lurking, something more cunning than she’s ever encountered before. And she and Zach may be the only ones who can stop it.

As another victim goes missing and the darkness closes in, Micki acknowledges a terrifying truth: they might not make it. This time the evil they’re facing might destroy them all . . .

Full of twists and drama, The Final Seven is a compulsive and heart-pounding thriller that will keep you on the edge of your seat until the very last page.

Books I’ve bought

Get Even by Martina Cole

Book description

Playing grown-ups, the future is theirs for the taking.

Sharon Conway and Lenny Scott are childhood sweethearts. Everyone says they are too young, but nothing can keep them apart. Sharon doesn’t question Lenny’s business dealings and it isn’t long before his reputation as a hard man destined for the top means they are living the good life with their sons.

It leaves a stain on her heart for ever.

But one night Lenny doesn’t come home. It isn’t the first time he has gone AWOL. But it is his last. He is found murdered – beaten to death in an act of brutality that shocks even the police. And Sharon never knows why.

Old wounds will surface.

Now, twenty years later, Sharon has found out the truth. Such a crime cannot go unpunished. Revenge is long overdue. The time has come to…

GET EVEN

In Bitter Chill by Sarah Ward

Book description

You can’t bury the truth forever . . .

Bampton, Derbyshire, January 1978.

Two girls go missing:

Rachel Jones returns, Sophie Jenkins is never found.

Thirty years later:

Sophie Jenkins’s mother commits suicide.

Rachel Jones has tried to put the past behind her and move on with her life. But news of the suicide re-opens old wounds and Rachel realises that the only way she can have a future is to finally discover what really happened all those years ago.

This is a story about loss and family secrets, and how often the very darkest secrets are those that are closest to you

please feel free to leave a comment about the books you are reading, or what books you are hoping to read this month