OnLymeCrime

This weekend I should have been in Lyme Regis for the inaugural Lyme Crime festival. Sadly, COVID-19 put paid to that, but unlike most similar events, the estimable Paddy Magrane and his team decided that the show must go on (virtually).

I think it worked really well. Of course there's no substitute for being physically present at a festival, but the panels ran really smoothly over Zoom, and it was great that people were able to tune in from all over.

I was part of two events (one for What She Saw Last Night with Susi Holliday, one for Hunted with Tony Kent), and you can watch them both here.

I guess that's one advantage over live in person festivals - anyone in the world can 'attend' a panel, months after it's happened.

First up on Thursday, an encore version of the Train Noir tour Susi and I embarked on last Autumn. We talked about our train-themed mysteries and why night trains are so popular in crime fiction.


Then on Saturday morning, Tony Kent and I discussed our new action thrillers, and talked about the mechanics of a thriller in Setting the Pace. This one was live, so we were getting questions from the viewing audience, which worked pretty well.



There are over a dozen panels available to watch again at the Lyme Crime YouTube page, so head over there, subscribe, and experience a book festival from the comfort of your living room.

Lyme Crime - see me twice!

Rather greedily, I'm going to be appearing at OnLyme Crime twice - once as Mason Cross, once as Alex Knight.

First up, I'm doing the TRAIN NOIR panel with SJI Holliday. We did a Train Noir tour in the Autumn for What She Saw Last Night and Susi's brilliant thriller Violet and it was so much fun, so I'm looking forward to the (virtual) reunion.

Then, on Saturday morning, I'm teaming up with Tony Kent for SETTING THE PACE, which should be a lot of fun too. He'll be talking about Power Play, which I read this year and absolutely loved. It's also the first-ever event for Alex Knight and for Hunted.

As you would expect, this is a virtual festival, and details of how to book your free ticket will be available soon, check out the Lyme Crime Facebook page for more details and the rest of the lineup.

Thursday 25th June, 6pm

Train Noir

SJ Holliday and Mason Cross discuss their most recent novels, both of which are set on trains, talking about the journeys that inspired them and how this particular form of travel lends atmosphere, momentum and claustrophobia to a thriller.

Saturday 27th June, 11am

Setting the Pace

When a book becomes a rollercoaster. Thriller authors Alex Knight and Tony Kent reveal the secrets to writing a page-turner.

Quizknobs & Zoomsticks

How's your lockdown going?

It's been lovely weather here in the UK this week, and for the first time in my adult life, I'm grateful to have a garden. We're really fortunate that everyone is safe and well so far, and with three kids in the house, there's always something to do.

One of the many effects of the pandemic is that pretty much every literary festival has been cancelled for the foreseeable future. As in so many other fields, the void is being filled with online events, one of which I'm really excited to be part of next Friday. 

The upside of everything going online is you can join in from literally anywhere. Just subscribe to the new Crime Waves YouTube channel and you can join us.   

What She Saw Last Night - paperback tour

What She Saw Last Night is published in paperback in the UK later this month (either on the 26th or 28th, depending on whether you believe Amazon or Waterstones).

To celebrate, I'm doing three Train Noir events with Susi Holliday, of which more here, and two solo library events for Book Week Scotland.

18 November - Aberdeen (with SJI Holliday)

Central Library, 6pm

19 November - Glasgow

Dennistoun Library, 6:30pm

21 November - Kilbirnie

Kilbirnie Library, 6:30pm

22 November - Oban (with SJI Holliday)

Waterstones Oban, 7pm

25 November - Edinburgh (with SJI Holliday)

Waterstones Princes Street, 6:30pm

As far as I'm aware, all of these are free but ticketed, so get in touch with the venue for more details. Hope to see you on the trail!

What She Saw Last Night is available in ebook and audio now, and UK paperback from November 2019: click here to buy

Train Noir tour

Delighted to be doing three events next month with the amazing SJI Holliday!

I think her latest book Violet is her best yet. It opens with two strangers meeting on the Trans-Siberian Express. Since my new book What She Saw Last Night also prominently features an iconic train, we thought it would be a great idea to join forces for a tour.

Here's where we'll be:

18 November - Aberdeen

Central Library, 6pm

22 November - Oban

Waterstones Oban, 7pm

25 November - Edinburgh

Waterstones Princes Street, 6:30pm

I believe tickets are free for all events - contact the venue for more details if you're planning to come along.