I haven't updated in a while, mostly because I've been busy writing the fifth Carter Blake book (
Five? How did that happen?), but also because I've been busy on lots of other fronts.
For starters, last month I had the pleasure of chairing Ian Rankin at Glasgow's
Aye Write festival. Ian is such a natural storyteller that he made my job very easy, and the hour flew by. We covered a lot of ground, from Rebus's recent healthy(ish) lifestyle change, to a French translator deciding that a
Wizard of Oz reference meant that Rebus must be a fan of AOR giants Toto and Kansas. Glasgow Royal Concert Hall holds a slightly bigger audience than I'm used to...
But it was a brilliant crowd, and they had some great questions. It was nice to catch up with Steph Broadribb (aka Crime Thriller Girl) and Karen Sullivan of Orenda Books afterwards.
After that, I got to visit a radio station for the first time and Cat Gibson interviewed me about the books live on Camglen Radio - you can
listen again here. She even let me pick a record to play halfway through, I went with Dead Flowers by the Stones. I think Rebus would have approved of that over Toto's Africa.
Audio-wise, I also appeared on my favourite podcast -
Two Crime Writers and a Microphone. It was great to chat to my fellow authors Steve Cavanagh and Luca Veste, and we discovered Luca's darkest secret -
he's never seen Die Hard.
I know. That's what we said. Don't worry, it's now rectified.
The following week, I was able to sign the northernmost copies of my books so far when I visited the famous
Orkney Library to talk to their crime fiction group.
It was a hastily-organised event since I was going to be in Orkney anyway, so I was really impressed with how quickly they were able to pull everything together. I had a great evening chatting to readers, and even had time to sign some copies in the Orcadian Bookshop, and do some sightseeing.
Other stuff...
There's a nice American review of
The Samaritan here:
I love that the detective in this story was a woman. It’s so much easier for me to relate to stories where there are strong female leads. Introducing the mysterious Carter Blake was a great touch because I kept trying to figure out whether or not he really was the serial killer. Once I started the book, I honestly could not put it down. When the ending came, it completely shocked me because it wasn’t what I expected at all.
And I'm published in Sweden, in a gorgeous hardback edition from Modernista
The big thing on the horizon is, of course, the publication of
Don't Look For Me on 20 April. The official launch is going to be on publication day at Waterstones Argyle Street in Glasgow at 7pm. Ace tartan noir author Neil Broadfoot is going to be chatting to me about the new book, and there will be wine and all the usual launch festivities. If that sounds good and you're going to be in Glasgow on that day, you can
register for free tickets here.
If you can't make it to the launch, keep an eye on my
events page to see where else I'm going to be in the near future. More to be added soon, but I'll be at
East Kilbride Library on 12 April,
Cambuslang Library on 25 April, and
Crimefest from Friday 19 - Sunday 21 May.
If you can't make it to an event, you can still buy a copy from your chosen outlet right here:
UK pre-order:
Trade paperback (large format)
ebook
Audio
Don’t look for me.
It was a simple instruction. And for six long years Carter Blake kept his word and didn’t search for the woman he once loved. But now someone else is looking for her.
He’ll come for you.
Trenton Gage is a hitman with a talent for finding people – dead or alive. His next job is to track down a woman who’s on the run, who is harbouring a secret many will kill for.
Both men are hunting the same person. The question is, who will find her first?
"Mason Cross is a thriller writer for the future who produces the kind of fast-paced, high octane thrillers that I love to read." - Simon Kernick
