Crime Time FM

TOM MEAD chats to Paul Burke about THE MURDER WHEEL, DEATH AND THE CONJUROR Joseph Spector, the Golden Age era, true crime, theatre, magic and illusion.

THE MURDER WHEEL: 1938, London. Ambitious lawyer Edmund Ibbs has got his teeth into the case of a lifetime - defending the young woman accused of shooting her husband in the infamous 'Ferris Wheel Murder' case. Despite a plethora of evidence against his client, Ibbs is certain he can secure her acquittal.
But after a night of magic and illusion at London's Pomegranate Theatre, Ibbs finds himself behind bars, accused of a double murder. The renowned prestidigitator Professor Paolini and the operator of said notorious Ferris wheel are dead, and as far as Scotland Yard's Inspector Flint is concerned, all signs point to the lawyer's guilt.
Luckily for Ibbs, illusionist turned sleuth Joseph Spector also attended the theatre that night. Can Spector's eye for detail pierce the veil of deceit in a world of illusion and misdirection, where seeing is not always believing?

Tom Mead is an aficionado of Golden Age crime fiction. His short stories have appeared in Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine and Lighthouse, as well as Best Crime Stories of the Year (ed. Lee Child). Death and the Conjuror, his debut novel, featuring illusionist turned sleuth Joseph Spector, was highly acclaimed by the UK and US press and was one of Publishers Weekly's Mysteries of the Year. He lives in Derbyshire, England.

Recommendations (selected)
Edgar Allan Poe, Arthur Conan Doyle, Dorothy L Sayers, Fredric Brown, Ellery Queen, Soji Shimada, Seichi Yokomizo.
The Murder of Roger Ackroyd, Mrs McGinty's Dead - Agatha Christie
The Red Widow Murders - John Dickson Carr
Green for Danger, Death of Jezebel - Christianna Brand
Mrs Bradley mysteries - Gladys Mitchell

Paul Burke writes for Crime Time, Crime Fiction Lover and the European Literature Network. He is also a CWA Historical Dagger Judge 2023.

Music courtesy of  Guy Hale author of The Comeback Trail trilogy, featuring Jimmy Wayne - KILLING ME SOFTLY - MIKE ZITO featuring Kid Anderson
GUY HALE 

Produced by Junkyard Dog

Crime Time

Crime Time FM is the official podcast of
Gwyl Crime Cymru Festival 2023 & 2025
CrimeFest 2023
CWA Daggers 2023-2026 & National Crime Reading Month
& Newcastle Noir 2023 and 2024
2024 Slaughterfest,  

SEASON 5 EPISODE 8: VASEEM KHAN, Chair of the CWA & author of the BABY GANESH & MALIBAR HOUSE series & LAUREN MUÑOZ lawyer & author of SUDDENLY A MURDER join Victoria to explore the economic divide, labelling and race in Crime fiction. So a nice light episode!

Recommendations
PERSUASION JANE AUSTIN
MIDNIGHT'S CHILDREN SALMAN RUSHDIE

Music courtesy of  Guy Hale author of The Comeback Trail trilogy, featuring Jimmy Wayne - KILLING ME SOFTLY - MIKE ZITO featuring Kid Anderson.
GUY HALE 

Produced by Junkyard Dog

Crime Time

Crime Time FM is the official podcast of
Gwyl Crime Cymru Festival 2023 & 2025
CrimeFest 2023
CWA Daggers 2023-2026 & National Crime Reading Month
& Newcastle Noir 2023 and 2024
2024 Slaughterfest,  

MATT PHILLIPS chats to Paul Burke about his new noir - A GOOD RUSH OF BLOOD, noir and social documentarian, character drives narrative, indie writing.

A GOOD RUSH OF BLOOD: A mother's sins haunt a teenage runaway in this scorching mystery of criminal conspiracy, street-level justice, and unlikely courage.
Creeley Nash has been running her entire life. That includes running drugs for a wannabe kingpin. On a drug run to Palm Springs--the town where Creeley escaped her no-good mother as a teen--she'll encounter a sun-drenched facade beneath which lurks a web of dark secrets. A Good Rush of Blood follows Creeley as she unravels the mystery of her estranged mother's murder conviction.
Peopled with bent cops, grizzled reporters, hardened drug dealers, eccentric sidekicks, and sexy librarians, this sweaty, fast-paced neo-noir finds stellar noir scribe Matt Phillips (Countdown, Know Me from Smoke) at the apex of his dirty, lethal game.

Matt Phillips lives in San Diego. His novels include Countdown, Know Me from Smoke, You Must Have a Death Wish, Redbone and Three Kinds of Fool. His short fiction has been featured in Shotgun Honey, Mystery Tribune, Retreats from Oblivion, and elsewhere.

Recommendations
Frank Zafiro - A Grifter's Song series
Patricia Highsmith, Donald Goines, David Goodis, Chester Himes, Dorothy B Hughes, Jim Thompson, Pablo D'stair, Stephen King & Elmore Leonard
Vern Smith - Scratching the Flint


Paul Burke writes for Crime Time, Crime Fiction Lover and the European Literature Network. He is also a CWA Historical Dagger Judge 2023.

Music courtesy of  Guy Hale author of The Comeback Trail trilogy, featuring Jimmy Wayne - KILLING ME SOFTLY - MIKE ZITO featuring Kid Anderson - Vacant Stare
GUY HALE 

Produced by Junkyard Dog

Crime Time

Crime Time FM is the official podcast of
Gwyl Crime Cymru Festival 2023 & 2025
CrimeFest 2023
CWA Daggers 2023-2026 & National Crime Reading Month
& Newcastle Noir 2023 and 2024
2024 Slaughterfest,  

Paul Burke reviews a selection of November crime fiction releases. Including author elevator pitches from CL Pattison. Jane Jesmond, Alexandra Benedict, Paul Durston & Stephen Ronson.

Peter Murphy A Week on Mount Olympus
CL Pattison The Florist
Simon Maltman Hunted
Jane Jesmond A Quiet Contagion
Simon Gaul White Suicide
Alexandra Benedict The Christmas Jigsaw Murders
Robyn Gigl Survivor's Guilt
Paul Durston If We were One
Lee Goldberg Calico
Stephen Ronson The Last Line
Jack Grimwood Arctic Sun
Cathy Ace The Corpse with the Opal Fingers
Katherine Howe A True Account
Royston Reeves The Weatherman

Paul Burke writes for Crime Time, Crime Fiction Lover and the European Literature Network. He is also a CWA Historical Dagger Judge 2023.

Music courtesy of  Guy Hale author of The Comeback Trail trilogy, featuring Jimmy Wayne - KILLING ME SOFTLY - MIKE ZITO featuring Kid Anderson.
GUY HALE 

Produced by Junkyard Dog

Crime Time

Crime Time FM is the official podcast of
Gwyl Crime Cymru Festival 2023 & 2025
CrimeFest 2023
CWA Daggers 2023-2026 & National Crime Reading Month
& Newcastle Noir 2023 and 2024
2024 Slaughterfest,  

TOM BENJAMIN chats to Paul Burke about LAST TESTAMENT IN BOLOGNA, British private eye Daniel Leicester, the porticos of the ancient city, Giallo, AirBnB and tourism in a university town. 

LAST TESTAMENT IN BOLOGNA: When an old man makes a bequest to investigate the mysterious death of his son, English detective Daniel Leicester follows a trail leading to one of Bologna's wealthiest families - makers of some of the world's most coveted supercars - and discovers that beneath the glitz and glamour of the Formula One circuit lurk sinister interests that may be prepared to kill to keep their secrets. Time and tide wait for no man - or woman - and while biology obliges one of Faidate Investigations' team to finally undergo a long-delayed operation, history catches up with another. Shadowing a suspect along one of Bologna's blood-red porticoes or mixing with the glitterati in the paddock at Imola, the English detective comes to learn in Italy the past not only has a long tail, but its sting can be deadly.

Tom Benjamin grew up in the suburbs of north London and began his working life as a journalist before becoming a spokesman for Scotland Yard. He later moved into public health, where he developed Britain's first national campaign against alcohol abuse, Know Your Limits, and led drugs awareness programme FRANK. He now lives in Bologna. A Quiet Death in Italy is the first novel in his Daniel Leicester crime series, LAST TESTAMENT IN BOLOGNA is the fifth mystery.
Find Tom on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook at tombenjaminsays.

Recommendations:
Tobias Jones - Blood in the Altar, The de Luca Trilogy - Carlo Lucarelli, Loriano Machiavelli, William Boyd, Robert Harris - Officer and a Spy, Trevor Wood,
Naples 44  - Norman Lewis , Louise Fein - The London Bookshop Affair (Feb 24),
Victoria Dowd - Murder Most Cold, The Blazing World - Jonathan Healey,
True Crime Story - Joseph Knox, Byzantium Endures - Michael Moorcock.

Paul Burke writes for Crime Time, Crime Fiction Lover and the European Literature Network. He is also a CWA Historical Dagger Judge 2023.

Music courtesy of  Guy Hale author of The Comeback Trail trilogy, featuring Jimmy Wayne - KILLING ME SOFTLY - MIKE ZITO featuring Kid Anderson.
GUY HALE 

Produced by Junkyard Dog

Crime Time

Crime Time FM is the official podcast of
Gwyl Crime Cymru Festival 2023 & 2025
CrimeFest 2023
CWA Daggers 2023-2026 & National Crime Reading Month
& Newcastle Noir 2023 and 2024
2024 Slaughterfest,  

Season 5 Episode 7: ROBERT GODDARD (CWA DIAMOND DAGGER WINNER, THE FINE ART OF UNCANNY PREDICTION) & SUK PANNU (MRS SIDHU'S DEAD AND SCONE): Robert Goddard & Sak Pannu  join Victoria to discuss cosy crime and the 'Osman effect'. What do we mean by Cosy Crime? Why has it become so popular? And where does the future lie?

VICTORIA SELMAN
SundayTimes bestselling author of ALL THE LITTLE LIARS
Amazon Author Page: https://amzn.to/3xmvMeS
Website for news and giveaways: http://www.victoriaselmanauthor.com
Twitter: @VictoriaSelman

We love to hear from our listeners! Find me on Twitter @VictoriaSelman and join in the chat using #OnTheSofaWithVictoria

Produced by Junkyard Dog

Crime Time

Crime Time FM is the official podcast of
Gwyl Crime Cymru Festival 2023 & 2025
CrimeFest 2023
CWA Daggers 2023-2026 & National Crime Reading Month
& Newcastle Noir 2023 and 2024
2024 Slaughterfest,  

Crime Time FM from Newcastle Noir - Episode 1 Introductions:
the when, where, who and how. Perspectives on the festival from people involved in the events.
Crime Time FM is proud to be the Official Podcast of Newcastle Noir.

NEWCASTLE NOIR - NEWCASTLE CITY LIBRARY 6TH - 9TH DECEMBER.
Information. Click this link for the schedule and visitor info.
Tickets here £5 per panel, £50 for the 2023 Full Pass

Guests
Festival Organiser - Jacky Collins, Dr. Noir.
NN Devotee - Ewa Sherman, translator, reviewer, all round book person.
NN volunteer Alanna Higginson, poet & events organiser.
&
NN debutant author Marion Todd - DI Clare Mackay Series, latest A Blind Eye published by Canelo.

Paul Burke writes for Crime Time, Crime Fiction Lover and the European Literature Network. He is also a CWA Historical Dagger Judge 2023.

Music courtesy of  Guy Hale author of The Comeback Trail trilogy, featuring Jimmy Wayne - KILLING ME SOFTLY - MIKE ZITO featuring Kid Anderson.
GUY HALE 

Apologies for underestimating the length of the show in the introduction.

Produced by Junkyard Dog

Crime Time

Crime Time FM is the official podcast of
Gwyl Crime Cymru Festival 2023 & 2025
CrimeFest 2023
CWA Daggers 2023-2026 & National Crime Reading Month
& Newcastle Noir 2023 and 2024
2024 Slaughterfest,  

The Crime Time FM Christmas Debate - Best Crime Fiction 2023:
Eight top critics & writers pick their best reads of the year, argue eruditely for their choices and squabble - a little bit.

Laura Wilson - Guardian critic and best-selling author.
Jon Coates - Sunday Express deputy news editor and critic
Maxim Jakubowski - former publisher & CWA chair, author and critic.
Jake Kerridge - book critic at the Telegraph.
Barry Forshaw - author & critic with the Financial Times.
Ayo Onatade - critic Shots Mag/blog, CWA & HWA judge, Capital Crime committee.
Victoria Selman - bestselling author and podcast presenter.
Paul Burke - podcast presenter and critic.

The Book List - Crime Time has the full list of titles discussed, and those we didn't quite get to, just click this link.

Music courtesy of  Guy Hale author of The Comeback Trail trilogy, featuring Jimmy Wayne - KILLING ME SOFTLY - MIKE ZITO featuring Kid Anderson.
GUY HALE 

Please note this episode was recorded in front of an audience at Waterstones in Islington, there is some background noise, apologies for any difficulties in hearing the debate.

Produced by Junkyard Dog

Crime Time

Crime Time FM is the official podcast of
Gwyl Crime Cymru Festival 2023 & 2025
CrimeFest 2023
CWA Daggers 2023-2026 & National Crime Reading Month
& Newcastle Noir 2023 and 2024
2024 Slaughterfest,  

Norwegian crime writing legend GUNNAR STAALESEN chats to Craig Sisterson about his new hardboiled thriller Mirror Image, Varg Veum and Bergen, crime fiction as social commentary with humour, Joe Biden PI & wolf in a sanctuary.

MIRROR IMAGE: As Bergen PI Varg Veum investigates two different cases, it becomes clear that they are uncannily similar to harrowing events that took place thirty-six years earlier… A gripping instalment of the award-winning Varg Veum series, by one of the fathers of Nordic Noir.
Bergen Private Investigator Varg Veum is perplexed when two wildly different cases cross his desk at the same time. A lawyer, anxious to protect her privacy, asks Varg to find her sister, who has disappeared with her husband, seemingly without trace, while a ship carrying unknown cargo is heading towards the Norwegian coast, and the authorities need answers.
Varg immerses himself in the investigations, and it becomes clear that the two cases are linked, and have unsettling – and increasingly uncanny – similarities to events that took place thirty-six years earlier, when a woman and her saxophonist lover drove their car off a cliff, in an apparent double suicide.
As Varg is drawn into a complex case involving star-crossed lovers, toxic waste and illegal immigrants, history seems determined to repeat itself in perfect detail … and at terrifying cost...

GUNNAR STAALESEN: One of the fathers of Nordic Noir, Gunnar Staalesen was born in Bergen, Norway, in 1947. He made his debut at the age of twenty-two with Seasons of Innocence and in 1977 he published the first book in the Varg Veum series. He is the author of over twenty titles, which have been published in twenty-four countries and sold over four million copies. Twelve film adaptations of his Varg Veum crime novels have appeared since 2007, starring the popular Norwegian actor Trond Espen Seim. Staalesen has won three Golden Pistols (including the Prize of Honour) and Where Roses Never Die won the 2017 Petrona Award for Nordic Crime Fiction, and Big Sister was shortlisted in 2019. He lives with his wife in Bergen.

Don Bartlett completed an MA in Literary Translation at the University of East Anglia in 2000 and has since worked with a wide variety of Danish and Norwegian authors, including Jo Nesbø and Gunnar Staalesen’s Varg Veum series: We Shall Inherit the Wind, Wolves in the Dark and the Petrona award-winning Where Roses Never Die. He also translated Faithless, the previous book in Kjell Ola Dahl’s Oslo Detective series for Orenda Books. He lives with his family in a village in Norfolk.

Recommendations
Chester Himes, Raymond Chandler, Ross Mcdonald , Dashiell Hammett, Per Wahlöö & Maj Sjöwall

Craig Sisterson is a features writer and crime fiction expert from New Zealand who writes for newspapers and magazines in several countries. In recent years he's interviewed hundreds of crime writers and talked about the genre on national radio, top podcasts, and onstage at festivals on three continents. He's been a judge of the McIlvanney Prize and Ned Kelly Awards, and is founder of the Ngaio Marsh Awards and co-founder of Rotorua Noir. He lives in London with his daughter. He is the author of  SOUTHERN CROSS CRIME: The Pocket Essentials Guide to the Crime Fiction, Film & TV of Australia & New Zealand.

Produced by Junkyard Dog

Crime Time

Crime Time FM is the official podcast of
Gwyl Crime Cymru Festival 2023 & 2025
CrimeFest 2023
CWA Daggers 2023-2026 & National Crime Reading Month
& Newcastle Noir 2023 and 2024
2024 Slaughterfest,  

Season 5 Episode 6: Donna Freed (Duplicity), Matt Johnson (No Ordinary Day) & Anna Motz (A Love That Kills) join Victoria in a panel recorded live at Capital Crime discussing why true crime is stranger than fiction.

DONNA FREED DUPLICITY
ANNA MOTZ A LOVE THAT KILLS
MATT JOHNSON NO ORDINARY DAY

FILM: A PLACE IN THE SUN
BOOK: THE AMERICAN TRAGEDY THEODORE DREISER 

VICTORIA SELMAN
Sunday Times bestselling author of ALL THE LITTLE LIARS
Amazon Author Page: https://amzn.to/3xmvMeS
Website for news and giveaways: http://www.victoriaselmanauthor.com
Twitter: @VictoriaSelman

We love to hear from our listeners! Find me on Twitter @VictoriaSelman and join in the chat using #OnTheSofaWithVictoria

Produced by Junkyard Dog

Crime Time

Crime Time FM is the official podcast of
Gwyl Crime Cymru Festival 2023 & 2025
CrimeFest 2023
CWA Daggers 2023-2026 & National Crime Reading Month
& Newcastle Noir 2023 and 2024
2024 Slaughterfest,