Hunted - paperback

 

Hunted, my first standalone thriller under the name Alex Knight is out in UK paperback today.

I'd love to tell you it's available from all good bookshops, but as we know, all good bookshops are closed right now.

You can get it online of course, from the usual places. I know a lot of independent bookshops have really upped their game on online sales this year, so if you're buying the book, I'd love it if you support one of your local shops by ordering direct from them.

It's available in all the other online places too, of course, and if you don't happen to have a local bookshop, it just so happens that Hive is offering the lowest price as of time of writing, so that's a great way way to support the little guys.

I think it's one of the best books I've written so far. I hope you love it...

Paperback
Hive
Waterstones
Amazon

Ebook
Kindle
Kobo
Google
Apple

Audio
Audible
Kobo Audio

You're woken early by the doorbell. It's a young girl, the daughter of the love of your life. She's scared, covered in blood, she says her mother is hurt.

You let her in, try to calm her down, tell her you're going to get help. You reach for your phone, but it lights up with a notification before you touch it.

It's an Amber alert - a child has been abducted by a dangerous suspect.

The child is the girl standing in front of you.

The suspect? You.

“I loved it. This has an astonishing opening and just gets better and better. A stunning thriller. ” – Steve Cavanagh

“Brilliant. Opens at a breakneck speed and does not let up.” – Lara Dearman

“Jolts and shocks like a claustrophobic rollercoaster. Knight could be the Hitchcock of the 21st Century. Hide-behind-the-sofa compelling” – Denzil Meyrick

“A smart, tense, edge-of-your-seat thriller with characters you’re desperately rooting for.” – SJI Holliday

“They don’t come better than this. One of those thrillers that really and truly thrills! A masterclass from Alex Knight.” – Tony Kent

“Amazing opening, and just got better and better.” – Jenny Blackhurst

“A well-crafted, tightly-plotted thriller that races from the streets of San Francisco to the coast without pausing for breath.” – CJ Carver

Hunted is also available in Canada, New Zealand and Australia. Click to check if it’s available where you are in paperback or Kindle.

Presumed Dead paperback out today! And author copies unboxing!

Hot on the heels of my cover reveal for next year's book, my 2018 book Presumed Dead, longlisted for the McIlvanney Prize, is out in UK mass-market paperback today. Here's where you can get it:

UK paperback

Waterstones

Amazon

WHSmith

Hive

UK ebook

Kindle

Kobo

Google Play

iBook

UK audio

Audible

Kobo Audio

Readers in the US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand can click here for their local store.

I received my author copies last week, and opening a new box of your own books never stops being exciting.

You can see more pics from the unboxing over on my Instagram page.

If you haven't bought it yet, publication week is a very good time for the author and publisher to do so, so we would be very grateful if you make it your book purchase this week. And if you like it, a quick revew makes all the difference.

And to finish, here's some of the nice things authors, reviewers and readers said about it:

"I absolutely LOVED it." - Jenny Blackhurst

"A driving thriller about loyalty and lies in small town America." - Eva Dolan

"The final twist knocked me sideways!" - Peterborough Evening Telegraph

"Multi-layered deceptions slowly unravel, and the suspect spotlight falls on a number of people towards the end of what is an atmospheric, brooding and compelling thriller." - Tony Forder

"It’s quite the rollercoaster ride let me tell you. Add to that small town blues, a suspicious Sheriff, more death, a bit of action and some cliff hanging shenanigans and you are onto a good thing. Then we have perhaps one of the best endings in a thriller novel I’ve come across for AGES." - Liz Loves Books

"Carter Blake is an excellent character – plausible without being a parody, with enough skills to be excellent at his chosen role and a back story in the shadows which is alluded to but never quite revealed." - Crime Fiction Lover

"Brilliant, brilliant story telling from Mason Cross. If you have not yet discovered the Carter Blake books then this is the perfect opportunity to find out why readers look forward to each new release." - Grab This Book

"I read it very quickly because I couldn't wait to find out what happened next, but then was sad when I finished it cos it was over! But I wasn't disappointed by the ending. OMG, the last couple of chapters! Wow! Absolutely fantastic." - Suze Reviews

Presumed Dead mass-market paperback cover

My publisher has finalised the mass-market paperback cover of Presumed Dead, complete with a fantastic quote from the excellent Jenny Blackhurst. Check it out:

You can preorder the UK paperback in the usual places like Waterstones and Amazon now, and it will be in the stores from 29th November. 

If you absolutely can't wait, you can get the slightly more expensive trade paperback or ebook right now. I won't stand in your way.

Back soon with some information on a slightly different sort of book for 2019...

Don't Look For Me is out in UK paperback today

The fourth Carter Blake book, Don't Look For Me, is published in paperback in the UK today. It's part of the series, but as always you can read it as a standalone.

Here's where to get it:

Paperback
Waterstones
Amazon
WHSmith
Hive

ebook
Kindle
Kobo
Google Play
iBook

audio
Audible

(Not in the UK? Click here to see if it's available where you are.)

DON'T LOOK FOR ME 

A nail-biting new thriller ― perfect for fans of Jack Reacher, Alex Cross, and Jason Bourne ― about the desperate hunt for a woman who has a secret to kill for...

Six years ago, the woman Carter Blake loved disappeared and told him not to ever look for her. For six long years, he kept that promise. She was a woman on the run ― a woman with a secret many would kill for. It was better that she stay hidden.

But now someone else is looking for her. Trenton Gage is a hitman with a talent for finding people ― dead or alive. And his next job is to track down the woman Carter Blake once loved, a woman on the run. With both men hunting the same person, the question is: Who will find her first?

What authors thought:

"Terrific stuff!" - Ian Rankin

"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

"So pacy I'm exhausted! Definitely one to read if you like your thrillers thrilling." - Emma Kavanagh

What the press thought:

"With few pauses for reflection, and plenty of heart-pounding, visceral action, this one immediately calls to mind Lee Child." - Booklist

"A well-plotted and tension-filled tale delivering more twists and turns than the Hampton Court maze and is packed with memorably drawn characters." - Irish Independent

What readers thought:

"Each one has been a pure joy to read and this one is no different in fact it is probably my favourite so far." - Liz Barnsley (LizLovesBooks)

"It's a fast-paced, page-turning, consumate thriller in which we learn much more about the mysterious Blake." - Keith Nixon (Goodreads)

"The plot is complex and confounding, the action fast and alarming, while the turns and surprises keep on coming. It’s a great read, I enjoyed the story, the landscape and the people inhabiting it. Mason Cross just keeps getting better and better." - FireflyScotland (Amazon)

Buy Don't Look For Me here

The Time to Kill - paperback cover

Very minor changes for this cover compared to the Killing Season and Samaritan paperbacks, but I'm completely okay with that as I was very happy with this design. The only tweaks are the title font changing from pink to blue and a slightly modified tagline from the original 'He was one of them. Now they want him dead.'

The Time to Kill is out in UK paperback on February 9th and you ought to be able to find it in all good bookshops, or you can preorder right here:

Paperback
Waterstones
Amazon
WHSmith
Big Cartel (signed copies)

ebook
Kindle
iBook
Kobo
Google Play

Audiobook
Audible

Paperback day... and a BIG announcement

The Samaritan is out in UK paperback at all good bookshops today.

But you'll see it particularly well-displayed if you go into any branch of WHSmith, because...

Yep.

I'm delighted to be able to announce (at last) that The Samaritan has been selected for the Richard and Judy Spring 2016 Book Club. This is a massive deal, and it's really a dream come true for my book to get this kind of recognition.

Head over to the Smiths blog to check out the other great-sounding novels on the list, and you'll also find a preview chapter from The Samaritan, Richard & Judy's excellent review of the book, some book club questions, and a Q&A with yours truly.

You can buy the book from today from bookshops and supermarkets, online and off, but if you buy from WHSmith you'll get the special edition with exclusive bonus content.

The Richard and Judy book club is a fantastic way to reach new readers, and I'm honoured to be chosen as one of only eight from hundreds of submitted books. I can't wait to see what people make of The Samaritan and Carter Blake. 

If you like the book, I'd love to hear from you - you can tweet me, drop me an email, like my Facebook page, or just comment here at the blog. And if you want to find out when the next book is coming up, sign up for my mailing list. 

That's enough from me - happy 2016 and happy reading!

You can buy The Samaritan now from: 

Paperback
WHSmith

Waterstones

Amazon

ebook
Kindle

Kobo
iBook

Audio

Audible

Go to masoncross.net to find out publication dates for the United States and foreign territories.

Settings and Samaritans

The Samaritan is out in mass-market paperback tomorrow, available to buy at all good bookshops. 

To get you in the mood, here's a piece I wrote in the summer for the Bloody Scotland blog on the inspiration for the book.

Settings and Samaritans

Bloody Scotland blog, 2nd July 2015

One of the questions I get asked all the time is, “Is it difficult to write American thrillers when you live in the UK?” Just to be awkward, my answer tends to be yes and no.

Yes, it can be a challenge, because it inevitably involves a little more research to write about another country than about your immediate surroundings. But also no, because all fiction involves creating the writer’s own world, where you make the rules, put words in the mouths of the characters and choose the settings. We’re making all this stuff up anyway, so why does it matter where it’s set?

To me, there are three things that really matter in a story: people, situations, and what-ifs.

There aren’t a whole lot of similarities between Glasgow, Scotland and Los Angeles, California. Obviously the climates are freakishly similar and both cities are filled with astoundingly beautiful people – aside from that, not much. But one thing the two metropolises do have in common is geographic. They’re both built in a depression: Glasgow fills the Clyde Valley, LA sprawls across the Los Angeles Basin. It means you can escape the urban sprawl for a while and look down on it to get some perspective. A useful thing to be able to do in both cities.

Where I live, you can get into the car and be above the city in minutes, on the quiet country roads in the elevated green belt south of the city. I’ve always loved that view. You can look down on the buildings and the streetlights and the million unique stories and have a contemplative Harry Bosch moment.

One spring night a couple of years ago, I was driving on one of those roads. I wasn’t having a deep Harry Bosch moment, I was having a returning-from-Sainsbury’s moment. About halfway home, I crested a hill and saw the city spread out before me. And this time, I saw something else.

A car, stopped by the side of the road. As I got closer I realised the car had broken down. Almost simultaneously, I saw another vehicle parked just around the corner. In my headlights I saw a woman watching, arms clutched around herself for warmth as a man crouched down by the front tyre, in the process of changing a flat.

I was glad somebody had already stopped for the stranded driver: a Good Samaritan. It would be no fun to be stuck out here waiting for the AA.

I passed by them and continued on my way, but I’d already started to think. I thought about what a strange, in-between place it was: dark, lonely and isolated, but in view of a city and suburbs home to more than a million people. I thought about how quickly it can get lonely when you leave the city. I thought about how lucky it was that somebody had been passing the stranded driver and been willing to help. And then I wondered what would have happened if the Good Samaritan wasn’t so good.

All of a sudden, I had an idea for a book, and I knew it would work in Los Angeles as well as it would work on a back road south of Glasgow.

Because when you get down to it, what country a thriller is set in isn’t the important thing. What’s important is people, situations, what-ifs. Like you, stranded on a dark, lonely road, forced to accept help from the first stranger who stops.

What if he’s a Bad Samaritan?

The Samaritan - UK paperback

I don't think I'm ever going to get tired of receiving a box of new books; it's one of my absolute favourite things about being a writer.

These are the UK paperbacks of The Samaritan, with an awesome new cover.

 

 

 

 ...and there's even a sneak preview of the third Carter Blake book in the back!

The Samaritan is out in paperback on 31st December - so if you're looking for a new book for the new year, you can preorder here:

WHSmith
Waterstones
Amazon

The Samaritan - paperback cover

The mass-market UK paperback cover for The Samaritan is visible on all of the online book sites, so I guess it's okay for me to officially unveil it: ta-dah:

I really love it. Once again, as with the Killing Season mmpb, it's a slightly more overtly commercial design than that of the hardback cover, because this is the version that (hopefully) will be in newsagents and supermarkets and airports.

I think the whole design is great, from the font to the image, which really gets across what the book is about. Once again, I'm particularly pleased at the use of colour. As a new(ish) writer, it's still a huge buzz to find your book on the shelves, and the distinctive green cover of Killing Season made it a very easy book to find. I think this will do just as good a job. Fist-bumps all round for the design and marketing bods at Orion,

You can pre-order the paperback of The Samaritan now, or if you're happy with the equally-awesome trade cover, you can get it in hardback, trade paperback, ebook or audio right now.

Lastly, here's a great review from the Sydney Daily Telegraph:

"The Killing Season was a ripper. This is just as good."

Paperback writer

The paperback release of Killing Season seems to be going well, which is great news. Orion has unleashed a brilliant poster campaign at railway stations throughout the UK, and I've had people tweeting me snaps of the poster from all over the place:

Glasgow Central

The Angel Islington (my first Monopoly location!)

Kilmarnock



Paddington Station

 

The book has also had fantastic support from Waterstones (particularly, as always, Waterstones Argyle Street who gave me an entire window!)

 



 

...and it also seems to be doing well in supermarkets and WH Smith. It's been spotted in the charts at no.3 in Morrisons, no.9 in WH Smith and no.2 in Sainsburys, which is just amazing. It's also a new entry at number 4 on the Bookseller magazine's top 20 fiction heatseekers, which charts which books are being talked about and making a splash.

 



Sainsburys

Morrisons



Waterstones Argyle Street



WH Smith

One thing I've really started to appreciate when checking out various displays is how well the colour and design of the cover really stands out from everything else on the shelves. I definitely owe the sales & marketing and design people at Orion a few drinks for putting together such an attractive product.

People following me on social media are probably heartily sick of me retweeting endless pictures of the poster and the book on the shelves, so I'd like to offer my apologies for that.  I'm ticking all of the ideal fantasy author experience boxes right now, and it feels amazing to see my book everywhere.

So thank you to everyone who has bought a copy, written a review, recommended it to a friend or tweeted me a pic of a poster near them - you all rock. And I promise I'll settle down soon and shut the hell up.



The paperback

The Killing Season is published across the UK in paperback today!

You can get it, well... pretty much everywhere:

Waterstones

WH Smith

Amazon

Sainsburys

Asda

Tesco

Morrisons

Easons

 



Apologies for the difficulty finding links for the supermarkets, but the big four have all ordered healthy numbers, so you should see it in store soon.

Orion is really pulling out the stops for me on the publicity, and I'm looking forward to reaching a whole lot of new readers.

Waterstones Argyle Street has also been as fantastic as always - they received an early shipment of the paperback last week, which I duly signed:

...and they now have an amazing window display promoting the book.

And if that's not enough, the first few people to buy the book at the Argyle Street store will receive one of these exclusive Killing Season shot glasses (took me a while to get that):

In fact that last thing is so cool that I may even be tempted to buy a copy of my own book...

Killing Season - paperback cover

Hot on the heels of the excellent cover for the hardback of The Samaritan, I'm pleased to unveil the all-new paperback cover of The Killing Season!

Mass-market paperback is quite a different market to the hardback/trade release, which basically tends to be available primarily in Waterstones, Amazon and other dedicated bookshops. With the paperback release, we're going after a much bigger potential market, hence the slightly more commercial redesign.

I really like it - you can't mistake it for anything else but a thriller, but it balances commercial concerns with an attention-grabbing design and colour scheme that's sure to stick out on the shelves. I'm not sure how Lee Child will feel about being associated with me, but as a huge fan of Lee, it's a nice comparison from my side.

The paperback is out in the UK on April 9, 2015 (which, although less than six months away, sounds like a date in some far-flung dystopic future) and is available for pre-order now.

While I'm on the subject of Killing Season, in addition to the UK giveaway that's currently running on Goodreads to win a signed copy, I've just found out my US publisher Pegasus is also giving US readers a chance to win a copy as well. So if you want to win a copy in the UK you can go here, and if you're across the pond go here.

The UK promotion finishes 30 November, and the deadline is 15 December in the US. Happy reading...