Aspects of Crime

CJ MERRITT talks to Aspects of Crime

CJ Merritt, Chris, talks to Paul Burke about his novel OCTAGON [https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0GFKQ3CKD/?bestFormat=true&k=octagon%20cj%20merritt&ref_=nb_sb_ss_w_scx-ent-bk-ser_k1_1_10_de&crid=2BYQ8BOWVKDD&sprefix=Cj%20merritt], right wing extremism, HOT, psychology in the novel. Octagon [https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0GFKQ3CKD/?bestFormat=true&k=octagon%20cj%20merritt&ref_=nb_sb_ss_w_scx-ent-bk-ser_k1_1_10_de&crid=2BYQ8BOWVKDD&sprefix=Cj%20merritt]: A DYING RUSSIAN SCIENTIST confesses to his children what he did as a young man. A MURDERED SPY shares vital intelligence before he’s ruthlessly assassinated in the English countryside. A RITUAL KILLING hidden in a forest clearing in Sweden hints at something much worse. FORMER MI6 AGENT RUNNER Stella McRae is the only person who can be trusted to investigate now her former employer has been compromised. EX-SAS OPERATOR Tommy Kane has always had Stella’s back, but as the threats against them escalate, will his formidable skills be enough this time? OCTAGON A devastating plot against the West is already in train. Only Stella and Tommy stand in its way. And time is running out... C. J. Merritt served as a British diplomat in Iraq and Jerusalem. Pursuing his interest in the psychological impact of armed conflict, he then retrained as a Clinical Psychologist and worked for the National Health Service in London, where he focused on treating Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. During this time, he began writing fiction, and his debut novel was published in 2018. Since then, he has authored several more thrillers (as Chris Merritt). Now, alongside his writing, he analyses espionage and insider risk for a cybersecurity consultancy. He lives in London. Recommended: Gods and Other Spies James Wolff. Paul Burke is the editor of Aspects of Crime. His first book Spies on Screen: From Silent to Streaming will be published on 24th September. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices [https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices]

DAVID JARVIS talks to Aspects of Crime

DAVID JARVIS talks to Paul Burke on Aspects of Crime, JAN THE DUTCHMAN [https://www.amazon.co.uk/Jan-Dutchman-Mike-Kingdom-Thrillers/dp/1915817994/ref=sr_1_1?crid=321N8V7M5U6LQ&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.Y9HiGJreIE05Skd7cZ4BfDzHAgV2FSC1lRqOB-_5zSZqPxMKX2L2a_JK1PeTCI6n_FE050QOxEZXOae5rueXjVH4guqgnNGgWii9SKugwNZ4xaOkfrhANo-9Glzlp6PgXReiwgYXldh2SXwG2mM5Os3bBgLi2enAJ643YsFqLrQIYt460pBmTkkq8FoUkNvomXDNSc2DwvXLfR_2OwW1WeIm__pTZ84KUPHxtWJFxic.AGkubgnBbsRbmif777tZH-2LVV5FeO9jiBzxrGfu3QM&dib_tag=se&keywords=david+jarvis&qid=1779013284&sprefix=David+jar%2Caps%2C181&sr=8-1], Mike, zeitgeist, comedy and globetrotting. JAN THE DUTCHMAN [https://www.amazon.co.uk/Jan-Dutchman-Mike-Kingdom-Thrillers/dp/1915817994/ref=sr_1_1?crid=321N8V7M5U6LQ&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.Y9HiGJreIE05Skd7cZ4BfDzHAgV2FSC1lRqOB-_5zSZqPxMKX2L2a_JK1PeTCI6n_FE050QOxEZXOae5rueXjVH4guqgnNGgWii9SKugwNZ4xaOkfrhANo-9Glzlp6PgXReiwgYXldh2SXwG2mM5Os3bBgLi2enAJ643YsFqLrQIYt460pBmTkkq8FoUkNvomXDNSc2DwvXLfR_2OwW1WeIm__pTZ84KUPHxtWJFxic.AGkubgnBbsRbmif777tZH-2LVV5FeO9jiBzxrGfu3QM&dib_tag=se&keywords=david+jarvis&qid=1779013284&sprefix=David+jar%2Caps%2C181&sr=8-1]: When a deadly enemy from her past appears alive and well, can Michaela 'Mike' Kingdom finally face up to her demons? On holiday in The Gambia, Terry Bailey is enjoying his retirement from MI6 when he receives a shock. He spots a man in a car. It's a fleeting glimpse. But it's enough. He swears it is Jan the Dutchman, a drug overlord linked to a Colombian cartel. It can't be Jan, as Jan is dead. Terry should know, he killed him. Only one other person knows that Terry killed Jan - Michaela 'Mike' Kingdom, a CIA analyst based in London. Seven years ago, Jan had orchestrated the ambush in Holland that had killed Mike's husband Dylan leaving her severely injured. Was Terry tilting at windmills, Dutch windmills, or was Jan really alive seeking revenge? Terry tells Mike about the sighting and it re-opens wounds they both thought were long-healed. It is now the beginning of a race to find Mike's nemesis. But where to start? All Mike knew for certain is that he was not called Jan and he wasn't a Dutchman. Apart from that, the search should be straightforward, shouldn't it? Recommended: Kyril Bonfiglioli All the Tea in China, Carl Hiaasen. Paul Burke is the editor of Aspects of Crime. His first book Spies on Screen: From Silent to Streaming will be published in September. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices [https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices]

ANTHONY ABERFORD talks to Aspects of Crime

Anthony Aberford talks to Paul Burke about his new cost crime novel The Conservatory, Aunt Lily, ancient myth, homeopathy, Malta, Yorkshire and owning a brewery.  The Conservatory: Some secrets are best left buried; others are better never planted! In a restored Victorian conservatory, four grieving women from the local wellness centre discover that their friend's mysterious death, amongst her toxic plants, was not an accident. When eccentric homoeopath Aunt Lily arrives on her tricycle, she seems just the person to help uncover answers. But who is she really, and why is she there? A sixteenth-century journal hidden in the conservatory holds dark secrets that could change everything. And an enigmatic stranger will stop at nothing to find it - making false promises and real threats. Can the friends resist his temptations and unlock the book's hidden secrets in time? Do they have the strength to make an impossible choice before it is too late? Anthony Aberford, is a businessman and writer with a strong bond to Yorkshire and Malta. His Detective Zammit series set on the island of Malta was published under the name AJ Aberford (also published by Hobeck Books). The Conservatory is set in Yorkshire and is a cross genre cosy/supernatural/murder mystery. The opener for a new series.  Paul Burke is the editor of Aspects of Crime, a CWA Dagger judge and his first book is Spies on Screen: From Silent to Streaming will be published in September.      Paul Burke is the editor of Aspects of Crime. Spies on Screen: From Silent to Streaming - Sept '26     Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices [https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices]

JULIE ANDERSON TALKS TO ASPECTS OF CRIME

JULIE ANDERSON talks to Paul Burke about her new historical crime thriller FESTIVAL DAYS [https://www.amazon.co.uk/Festival-Days-3-Clapham-Trilogy/dp/1915817951/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0], Ellie and Faye, London crime, the Festival of Britain, cinema, Opera... FESTIVAL DAYS [https://www.amazon.co.uk/Festival-Days-3-Clapham-Trilogy/dp/1915817951/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0]: May 1951. Celebration is in the air with the Festival of Britain and for the first time in years the mood is one of hope rather than hurt. For Detective Constable Faye Smith, London is not as safe as it seems. The criminal underworld is gaining strength, enjoying a lively existence below the surface. Then two bodies are found in the war-time shelters, a man and a woman. Who are they? What's their story? Why were they murdered and how did they end up in the shelters? Meanwhile, Ellie Peveril is busy with a celebration of a different kind. Ellie does all she can to support her friend but has her own worries, with ex-fiancé Patrick Havistock looming in the shadows. Faye, keen to unravel the mystery of the double murder, finds herself tangled up in crimes that stretch far beyond a simple killing. Faye and Ellie must face their toughest case yet as their lives change, irrevocably, for the future. Julie Anderson: Julie Anderson writes historical crime fiction, although she has also written a series of Whitehall thrillers, the third of which, Opera, was listed for the CWA Ian Fleming Steel Dagger 2023. She lives in south London where her latest crime fiction series is set. The Clapham Trilogy comprises 'The Midnight Man' (2024), 'A Death in the Afternoon' (2025) and 'Festival Days' (coming 2026) all published by Hobeck Books. Before becoming a crime fiction writer she was a senior civil servant, working across a variety of departments and agencies, including the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister. Unlike her protagonists, however, she doesn't know where all the bodies are buried. She began writing with a short series of historical adventure tales for young people of all ages, the first of which, 'Reconquista', was listed for the Children's Book Award 2016. Julie also writes crime fiction reviews (and the occasional arts column) for Time and Leisure Magazine and is a co-founder and Chair of Trustees of the Clapham Book Festival, south London's annual celebration of books and writing. She has been working recently with St Pauls Opera Company as an historical advisor on their production of 'L'Elisir d'Amore'. Recommended: Elizabeth Buchan Woodspring Heidi Amsinck The Woman in the Wall, Andrew Miller The Land in Winter. Paul Burke is the editor of Aspects of Crime Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices [https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices]

Quentin Bates talks to Aspects of Crime

Publisher, author, translator Quentin Bates talks to Paul Burke about his Gunnhilder mysteries, Icelandic crime fiction, Stella Blómkvist, The Murder Pool, translating, publishing, and fantasy fiction. The Murder Pool : Sometimes murder runs in the family. Or does it? When a well-known artist is found in Snorri's Pool with an axe buried deep in his chest, Stella Blómkvist is immediately thrown in at the deep end, brought in to defend the apparently harmless young man the police have in their sights as the killer. The man's mother had spent time prison, convicted of the killing of a personal trainer, despite her protestations of innocence. Stella can't help being drawn into both the cold case and this fresh murder, with a trail of guilt that stretches half-way around the world. As if she doesn't have enough to keep her busy, Stella's pursuing a political high-flyer suspected of being a serial rapist, and defending a senior police officer on corruption charges that have all the hallmarks of a vendetta. But the toughest challenges Stella faces are among her own loved ones… With a razor-sharp tongue and a moral compass all of her own, Stella Blómkvist has a talent for attracting trouble. Her trademark explosive mix of murder, intrigue and surprise has made this of Iceland's best-loved crime series. Mentions: Little Rebel - Jerome LeRoy, Arnaldur Indridason, Solveig Palsdottir - Icebears, Elsa Drucoff Rodolfo Walsh's Last Case, Jon Atli Jonasson - Broken, Toxic, Teresa Solano Corylus Books [https://corylusbooks.com/] Stella Blómkvist Reviews [https://aspectsofcrime.com/stella-blomkvist-original-nordic-noir/] Paul Burke is editor of Aspects of Crime. His first book Spies on Screen: From Silent to Streaming will be published on September 24th. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices [https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices]