Podcasts about diamond dagger

The recipient of a Diamond Dagger award, which recognises outstanding lifetime achievement in crime fiction, Ian Rankin is unparalleled in his field. The Scottish crime writer and philanthropist, best known for his Inspector Rebus novels discusses his latest.

Ann Cleeves is one of Britain's most successful and prolific crime writers, reaching millions of readers around the world. She's reached millions of television viewers too, with series including Vera and Shetland, adapted from her books. She has written on average a book a year for almost four decades, but success was anything but instant. She was 32 when her first title was published, and she only became a full-time writer in her early fifties. In 2017 she was awarded the Diamond Dagger from the Crime Writers' Association, the highest honour in British crime writing, and in 2022 received an OBE for services to reading and libraries. Her choices include music by Britten and Elgar, a film score by Patrick Doyle and fiddle music from the Shetland Islands. Presenter Michael Berkeley Producer Clare Walker

JAMES LEE BURKE chats to Paul Burke about his career, Dave Robicheaux, Flags on the Bayou, Clete, Louisiana, the Diamond Dagger, voices, fentanyl, Knights Errant and cooking for Davy Crockett.  Clete Clete Purcel - private investigator, ex-member of the New Orleans Police Department, and war veteran with a hard shell and just a few soft spots - is Dave Robicheaux's longtime friend and partner in detective work. But he has a troubled past.When Clete leaves his car at the local car wash, only to return to find it ransacked by a group of thugs tied to the drug trade from Mexican cartels to Louisiana, it feels personal - his grandniece died of a fentanyl overdose, and his fists curl when he thinks of the dealers who sold it.Just as Clete starts to trail the culprits, Clara Bow hires Clete as a detective to investigate her scheming, slippery ex-husband, and a string of brutal deaths all link back to a heavily tattooed man who seems to lurk around every corner. Clete is experiencing shockingly lifelike hallucinations and questioning Clara's ulterior motives when he and Dave start to hear rumors of a dangerous substance with potentially catastrophic effects. The thugs who destroyed his car might have been pawns in a scheme far darker than they could've imagined.JAMES LEE BURKE is the author of many novels, and the critically-acclaimed, bestselling Detective Dave Robicheaux series. He won the Edgar Award for both Cimarron Rose and Black Cherry Blues, and Sunset Limited was awarded the CWA Gold Dagger. Two For Texas was adapted for television, and Heaven's Prisoners and In the Electric Mist for film. Burke has been a Breadloaf Fellow and Guggenheim Fellow, has been awarded the Grand Master Award by the Mystery Writers of America and has been nominated for a Pulitzer award. He lives with his wife, Pearl, in Missoula, Montana.Recommends:William Faulkner - The Sound and the FuryFilm - Shane, The Godfather Paul Burke writes for Monocle Magazine, Crime Time, Crime Fiction Lover and the European Literature Network, Punk Noir Magazine (fiction contribution). He is also a CWA Historical Dagger Judge 2024. His first book An Encyclopedia of  Spy Fiction will be out in 2025.Music courtesy of  Guy Hale KILLING ME SOFTLY - MIKE ZITO featuring Kid Anderson. GUY HALEProduced by Junkyard DogCrime TimeCrime Time FM is the official podcast ofGwyl Crime Cymru Festival 2023CrimeFest 2023CWA Daggers 2023& Newcastle Noir 20232024 Slaughterfest, National Crime Reading Month, CWA Daggers

My guest today is a Scottish crime writer. Born into a working-class family in Fife, she studied English at St Hilda's College Oxford, where she was the first student to be admitted from a Scottish state school. She first worked as a journalist, then a dramatist and, in 1987, published her first novel, Report for Murder. Since then, my guest has released dozens of books, many of which have been adapted for television. She has sold more than 19 million books, and won numerous awards too, including the L.A. Times Book of the Year, and the Diamond Dagger, awarded by the Crime Writers' Association for her lifetime contribution to crime writing in the English language. She has also performed at Glastonbury, in a band composed of authors called ‘The Fun Lovin' Crime Writers'. Welcome Val McDermid. Be attitude for gains. https://plus.acast.com/s/my-perfect-console. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

WALTER MOSLEY - CWA DIAMOND DAGGER WINNER - chats to Paul Burke about EVERY MAN A KING, his writing, his characters, personal inspiration, American politics, good thoughts for writers and hope & belief.The most prestigious Dagger of all, the Diamond Dagger is for a lifetime contribution to crime writing in the English language and is nominated by CWA members.WALTER MOSLEY was born in LA in 1952. His African-American father Leroy from Louisiana joined the great migration north. His mother Ella, of Russian Jewish descent, was politically engaged which resonates in Mosley's work.  Mosley took up writing at 34 with Gone Fishin' but it was Devil in a Blue Dress that was first published to acclaim in 1990, winning the John Creasey New Blood Dagger in 1991. Set in LA in 1948, Easy Rawlins is facing a murder charge when he takes a job searching for a white woman. Then stone-cold killer Mouse arrives from Houston, he's more terrifying than any of the chiselled giants in Mosley's novels. Devil in a Blue Dress was filmed in 1995 starring Denzil Washington as Easy and Jennifer Beal as Mosley's first femme fatale Daphne Monet, Don Cheadle chills the blood as Mouse. Yet there are too few screen incarnations of Mosley books. Lawrence Fishburne played Socrates Fortlow in 1998's Always Outnumbered, Always Outgunned and The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey starring Samuel Jackson appeared on Apple TV+ in 2022. Mosley has worked as a scriptwriter on, amongst other shows, Snowfall, 2018, and Star Trek Discovery, 2019. In all Mosley has written 60+ books; crime, literary, sci-fi and erotic fiction, two graphic novels, two plays, short stories and six nonfiction titles. He has often written features for the New Yorker and The Nation.Mosley's fiction centres on irresistibly engaging antiheroes, one would be an achievement but five such is remarkable - PI Easy Rawlins (15 novels), ex-con Socrates Fortlow (3), New York bad man making amends Leonid McGill (6), Fearless Jones (3) and ex-cop Joe King Oliver (2). The novels are about race, rampant capitalism and inequality in American society. Mosley lives in LA and Brooklyn and engages with the history of both places. He chronicles America, post-WWII to the present day, the story of African-American America and the lives of the poorest people in society. Mosley has received acclaim throughout his career including the Mystery Writers of America Grand Master Award in 2016. Down the River unto the Sea, 2018, won an Edgar the following year and Mosley was the first black male recipient of the National Book Foundation Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters in 2020. There's also the PEN America Lifetime Achievement Award, the NAACP Image Award (3 times) and a Grammy and this list is by no means exhaustive.In June 2018 Mosley with Kellye Garrett and Gigi Pandian set up Crime Writers of Color, a collective for authors from underrepresented backgrounds, now with over 350 members internationally. The organisation won the prestigious Raven Award from the Mystery Writers of America at the Edgars in April.He has no intention of putting down his pen...Recommendations Killer Of Sheep - D. Charles BurnettA Woman Under The Influence - D. John Cassavetes Paul Burke writes for Crime Time, Crime Fiction Lover and the European Literature Network. He is also a CWA Historical Dagger Judge 2023.Produced by Junkyard DogMusic courtesy of Southgate and LeighCrime TimeCrime Time FM is the official podcast ofGwyl Crime Cymru Festival 2023CrimeFest 2023&CWA Daggers 2023

CWA Cartier Diamond Dagger Winner 2019 - ROBERT GODDARD Chats to Paul Burke about THIS IS THE NIGHT THEY COME FOR YOU & THE FINE ART OF INVISIBLE DETECTION, Algeria, Paris 1961, character and 30 novels and counting...This is the Night They Come for You: On a stifling afternoon at Police HQ in Algiers, Superintendent Taleb, coasting towards retirement, with not even an air-conditioned office to show for his long years of service, is handed a ticking time bomb of a case which will take him deep into Algeria's troubled past and its fraught relationship with France.To his dismay, he is assigned to work with Agent Hidouchi, an intimidating representative of the country's feared secret service, who makes it clear she intends to call the shots. They are instructed to pursue a former agent, now on the run after twenty years in prison for his part in a high-level corruption scandal. But their search will lead them inexorably towards a greater mystery, surrounding a murder that took place in Paris more than fifty years ago.Uncovering the truth may be his responsibility, but Taleb is well aware that no-one in Algeria wants to be reminded of the dark deeds carried out in the struggle for independence - or in the violence that has racked the nation since. Before long, he will face a choice he has long sought to avoid, between self-preservation and doing the right thing.The fine Art of Invisible Detection: Umiko Wada has recently had quite enough excitement in her life. With her husband recently murdered and a mother who seems to want her married again before his body is cold, she just wants to keep her head down.As a secretary to a private detective, her life is pleasingly uncomplicated, filled with coffee runs, diary management and paperwork.That is, until her boss takes on a new case. A case which turns out to be dangerous enough to get him killed. A case which means Wada will have to leave Japan for the first time and travel to London.Following the only lead she has, Wada quickly realises that being a detective isn't as easy as the television makes out. And that there's a reason why secrets stay buried for a long time. Because people want them to stay secret. And they're prepared to do very bad things to keep them that way...Robert Goddard's first novel, Past Caring, was an instant bestseller. Since then, his books have captivated readers worldwide with their edge-of-the-seat pace and their labyrinthine plotting. He has won awards in the UK, the US and across Europe and his books have been translated into over thirty languages. In 2019, he won the Crime Writers' Association's highest accolade, the Diamond Dagger, for a lifetime achievement in Crime Writing.Recommendation:Junichiro Tanizaki (novelist)Mentions:Murder in Memoriam Didier Daeninckx (novel)The Battle for Algiers (film)Films of Jacques Tati Pepe Le Moko (film)Produced by Junkyard DogMusic courtesy of Southgate and LeighCrime TimePaul Burke writes for Crime Time, Crime Fiction Lover and the European Literature Network. He is also a CWA Historical Dagger Judge 2022 .

The long wait is over: John Rebus, detective inspector and the central protagonist of Edgar Award and Diamond Dagger recipient Ian Rankin's acclaimed series, is back in A Heart Full of Headstones. In this 24th book in the now televised series, Rankin brings new intrigue and suspense to the dark of Edinburgh, in what Publishers Weekly called “one of his best Rebus novels in years.” He joined us in partnership with SFU Woodward's Cultural Programs, to speak with local detective writer and Juno-nominated comedian Charles Demers about the craft of sleuths, scandals, and (of course) murder.

On this third Fresh Éire installment, Dónal goes digging for fire among a plethora of new Irish releases. There's a written response to Anna Mieke's magnificent sophomore album Theatre and a tribute to the independent Dublin label Where The Time Goes with a couple of examples of dynamic recent releases from them in the shape of Jennifer Moore and Seán Being.  There's also the return of Meltybrains? to celebrate, a glorious Captain Beefheart cover from Niamh Regan to marvel over and fresh sounds to enjoy from young producers Kobina, Gaptoof and Brién. The last word goes to Ian Lynch whose debut solo album as One Leg, One Eye is one for the ages.   Support the Artists on Bandcamp:    Kobina - https://gaptoof.bandcamp.com/track/kobina-bb7   Brién - https://gaptoof.bandcamp.com/track/bri-n-island-boys-sample   Seán Being - https://wherethetimegoes.bandcamp.com/track/everything   Meltybrains? - https://meltybrains.bandcamp.com/album/you -    narolane - https://narolane.bandcamp.com/track/chikondi-feat-ailbhe-reddy   Jennifer Moore - https://wherethetimegoes.bandcamp.com/album/channels-of-time   Diamond Dagger - https://remotetown.bandcamp.com/album/being-jolene   Niamh Regan - https://niamhregan.bandcamp.com/track/her-eyes-are-a-blue-million-miles   Anna Mieke - https://annamieke.bandcamp.com/album/theatre   One Leg One Eye - https://nyahhrecords.bandcamp.com/album/and-take-the-black-worm-with-me   ///

Diamond Dagger award-winning crime novelist and president of the Detection Club Martin Edwards and Richard Reynolds, crime buyer for Heffers Bookshop and member of the Crime Writers' Association, lead our investigation in this month's literary podcast. Together with the Slightly Foxed team, they take a magnifying glass to the Golden Age of crime fiction, tracing its origins to the interwar years when the Detection Club was founded and discussing why the genre continues to thrill. From relishing The Poisoned Chocolates Case and resurrecting Death of a Bookseller to the mystery of E. C. R. Lorac's missing manuscript and meeting Baroness Orczy's Teahouse Detective, the plot twists and turns as we collect British Library Crime Classics and celebrate Crime Queens Agatha Christie, Dorothy L. Sayers, Margery Allingham, Josephine Tey and others along the way. Whether enjoyed as well-crafted puzzles, social documents or guilty pleasures, detective fiction is laced with nostalgia as well as cyanide. To tie up loose ends, we finish with a visit to Agatha Christie's holiday home, Greenway, a house fit for Hercule Poirot, and the setting of a Devonshire murder hunt in Dead Man's Folly. Please find links to books, articles, and further reading listed below. The digits in brackets following each listing refer to the minute and second they are mentioned. (Episode duration: 44 minutes; 56 seconds) Books Mentioned We may be able to get hold of second-hand copies of the out-of-print titles listed below. Please get in touch with Jess in the Slightly Foxed office for more information. Mortmain Hall and The Crooked Shore, Martin Edwards The Murder at the Vicarage, Agatha Christie (3.57) The Nine Tailors, Dorothy L. Sayers. (4.29) The Red House Mystery, A. A. Milne (9.31) The Old Man in the Corner, Baroness Orczy (10.34) A Question of Proof, Nicholas Blake (12:09) The Cask, Freeman Wills Crofts (14.02) Lord Peter Wimsey, Dorothy L. Sayers (15:00) Cards on the Table, Agatha Christie (15.39) Francis Vivian's Inspector Knollis Mysteries, published by Dean Street Press (15:58) Tragedy at Law, Cyril Hare (16:53) Thrones, Dominations, Dorothy L. Sayers and Jill Paton Walsh (18.03) Anthony Gilbert's Arthur Crook novels (19.09) Portrait of a Murderer, Anne Meredith (19.38) Bloodshed in Bayswater, John Rowland is out of print (21.38) Death of a Bookseller, Bernard J. Farmer is due to be published in a British Library Crime Classics edition in 2022 (21:41) A Surprise for Christmas and Other Seasonal Mysteries and Murder at the Manor: Country House Mysteries, Ed. Martin Edwards (22:35) Two-Way Murder, E. C. L. Lorac (33.40) The Murder of Roger Ackroyd, Agatha Christie (35.15) Verdict of Twelve, Raymond Postgate (35.25) And Then There Were None, Agatha Christie (35.57) Arrest the Bishop, Winifred Peck, published by Dean Street Press (37.56) The Poisoned Chocolates Case, Anthony Berkeley (38.42) The Dry, Jane Harper (40.05) Agatha Christie: A Biography, Janet Morgan (41.03) Related Slightly Foxed Articles Murder Most Civilized, Emma Hogan on Agatha Christie, the Miss Marple books, Issue 17 Vane Hopes, Victoria Neumark on the novels of Dorothy L. Sayers, Issue 32 Hauntings, Michèle Roberts on Dorothy L. Sayers, Gaudy Night, Issue 63 A Gentleman on the Case, Brandon Robshaw on Margery Allingham, the Albert Campion novels, Issue 52 The Judge's Progress, P. D. James on Cyril Hare, Tragedy at Law, Issue 12 Lost in the Fens, Julie Welch on the detective stories of Edmund Crispin, Issue 63 Other Links British Library Crime Classics (22:36) Dean Street Press (30:40) Download Heffers Crime Fiction Top 100, selected by Richard Reynolds. NB The file will download automatically on click. Please check your downloads folder (35:12) Agatha Christie's holiday home, Greenway, in Devon (42:37) Opening music: Preludio from Violin Partita No.3 in E Major by Bach The Slightly Foxed Podcast is hosted by Philippa Lamb and produced by Podcastable

Michael is the bestselling author of thirty-six novels and one work of non-fiction. With over eighty million copies of his books sold worldwide and translated into forty foreign languages, he is one of the most successful writers working today. His very first novel, The Black Echo, won the prestigious Mystery Writers of America Edgar Award for Best First Novel in 1992. In 2002, Clint Eastwood directed and starred in the movie adaptation of Connelly’s 1998 novel, Blood Work. In March 2011, the movie adaptation of his #1 bestselling novel, The Lincoln Lawyer, hit theatres worldwide starring Matthew McConaughey as Mickey Haller. His most recent #1 New York Times bestsellers include Dark Sacred Night, Two Kinds Of Truth, The Late Show, The Wrong Side Of Goodbye, The Crossing, The Burning Room, The Gods of Guilt, and The Black Box. Michael’s crime fiction career was honoured with the Diamond Dagger from the CWA in 2018.Michael is the executive producer of Bosch, an Amazon Studios original drama series based on his bestselling character Harry Bosch, starring Titus Welliver. Bosch streams on Amazon Prime Video. He is the creator and host of the podcast Murder Book. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

As she is awarded one of British crime writing’s top accolades, the Crime Writers’ Association Diamond Dagger, Samira talks to crime novelist Martina Cole. Hailed as the Queen of Crime Drama, Cole has written 25 novels and sold 10 million books since records began but her work is rarely reviewed - so what’s her secret? Under the road map unveiled by Boris Johnson on Monday public museums and galleries in England will be allowed to reopen no earlier than 17 May, along with other indoor venues such as cinemas and soft play areas, whilst commercial galleries, public libraries, community centres and gyms are allowed to open from 12 April. Sharon Heal, director of the Museums Association talks to Samira Ahmed about the impact the continued classification of museums as "indoor entertainment venues" will have on the sector and whether there might be a shift on behalf of the government. Folk musician Sam Lee has collaborated with English Heritage on a project called Songs of England, a series of online films of sites from Stonehenge and Tintagel to Hadrian’s Wall and Whitby Abbey accompanied by traditional folksongs performed by members of Sam’s Nest Collective. He talks about the connection between music and location and sings John Barleycorn especially for Front Row. Sam also tells Samira about his fascination with the nightingale which he has turned into a compendium of ornithology, verse, legends and illustration and his plans for open-air concerts where nightingales will sing with the musicians. Presenter: Samira Ahmed Producer: Timothy Prosser SM: John Boland

When his daughter Samantha calls in the dead of night, John Rebus knows it’s not good news. Her husband has been missing for two days.Rebus fears the worst – and knows from his lifetime in the police that his daughter will be the prime suspect.He wasn’t the best father – the job always came first – but now his daughter needs him more than ever. But is he going as a father or a detective?As he leaves at dawn to drive to the windswept coast – and a small town with big secrets – he wonders whether this might be the first time in his life where the truth is the one thing he doesn’t want to find...Ian Rankin has been elected a Hawthornden Fellow, and is also a past winner of the Chandler-Fulbright Award. He is the recipient of four Crime Writers’ Association Dagger Awards including the prestigious Diamond Dagger in 2005. In 2004, Ian won America’s celebrated Edgar Award for Resurrection Men. He has also been shortlisted for the Edgar and Anthony Awards in the USA, and won Denmark’s Palle Rosenkrantz prize, the French Grand Prix du Roman Noir and Germany’s Deutscher Krimipreis. Ian has received an OBE for services to literature, opting to receive the prize in his home city of Edinburgh, where he lives with his wife and two sons. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Katie and Rincey talk about how the ghost of Agatha Christie might be haunting a museum, Snoop Dogg is adapting the IQ series, and read some backlist books. This episode is sponsored by Book Riot Insiders, Gone by Midnight by Candice Fox, and Bent Heavens by Daniel Kraus. Subscribe to the podcast via RSS, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or Stitcher. To get even more mystery/thriller recs and news, sign up for our Unusual Suspects newsletter! Show Notes Mega best-selling author Clive Cussler dies at age 88 Barbara Neely, author of first black female series sleuth Blanche White, dies at 78 Martin Edwards wins the 2020 Diamond Dagger from the Crime Writers’ Association Snoop Dogg’s production company is executive producing a series based on Joe Ide’s IQ series Rumor has it that the ghost of Agatha Christie is haunting the Torquay Museum and knocking her books (only her books!) off the shelves  Nicole Kidman’s production company acquires Samantha Downing’s bestselling psychological thriller My Lovely Wife NBC is adapting Dan Brown’s The Lost Symbol Janet Evanovich and her Stephanie Plum series moves to Atria in an enormous 8-figure deal Books Mentioned The Last Rituals by Yrsa Sigurdardottir Death of a Red Heroine by Qiu Xiaolong The Deep by Alma Katsu Mimi Lee Gets a Clue by Jennifer J. Chow The Bramble and the Rose by Tom Bouman Darling Rose Gold by Stephanie Wrobel The Eighth Girl by Maxine Mei-Fung Chung Sadie by Courtney Summers Thirteen by Steve Cavanagh

For Bookin's 16th episode, host Jason Jefferies interviews Ian Rankin, a Scottish crime novelist who is a Hawthornden Fellow, and is also a past winner of the Chandler-Fulbright Award. He is the recipient of four Crime Writers’ Association Dagger Awards including the prestigious Diamond Dagger in 2005. In 2004, Ian won America’s celebrated Edgar Award for Resurrection Men. He has also been shortlisted for the Edgar and Anthony Awards in the USA, and won Denmark’s Palle Rosenkrantz prize, the French Grand Prix du Roman Noir and Germany’s Deutscher Krimipreis.  Signed copies of his latest novel, In a House of Lies, can be purchased at Quail Ridge Books (while supplies last): https://www.quailridgebooks.com/book/9780316479202

Ann Cleeves is a crime writer best known for two series of novels, both of which have been adapted for television. Vera, for ITV, features her detective Vera Stanhope, and Shetland, for the BBC, focuses on DI Jimmy Perez, who works for the Shetland police. Born in 1954, Ann grew up in Herefordshire and Devon. After secondary school she spent a year providing childcare for a family in London before reading English at the University of Sussex. She dropped out of her degree course, and by chance, was offered a job as assistant cook at the bird observatory in Fair Isle, despite not knowing how to cook, nor anything about birds. She met her husband Tim there, who came as a visiting bird watcher. They spent four years on the tiny tidal island of Hilbre off the Wirral peninsula, where Ann started to write. Her debut novel was published in 1986 and she has published a book a year since then. Her first Shetland novel, Raven Black, appeared in 2006 and won the Duncan Lawrie Dagger, at the time the richest crime-writing prize in the world. Her second breakthrough came when a TV producer picked up a second-hand copy of one her novels featuring her dishevelled detective Vera Stanhope and decided it would make perfect prime-time viewing. In October 2017, Ann received the Diamond Dagger from the Crime Writers’ Association, the highest honour in British crime writing, awarded by fellow crime authors. In 2018, she published the final of eight Shetland novels, and this autumn will see the publication of the first of a new Vera series set in Devon. Her husband Tim died in December 2017. Ann lives in Whitley Bay, with her two daughters and six grandchildren nearby. BOOK CHOICE: The Balkan Trilogy by Olivia Manning LUXURY: Pen and paper CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: Suzanne by Leonard Cohen Presenter Lauren Laverne Producer Cathy Drysdale

Simon and Eleanor speak to crime writer Ian Rankin, the multi-million copy bestseller of over thirty novels and creator of detective John Rebus. Ian's books have been translated into thirty-six languages and adapted for radio, the stage and the screen. He is the recipient of four Crime Writers’ Association Dagger Awards, including the Diamond Dagger, the UK’s most prestigious award for crime fiction. We spoke to Ian about the changing face of crime fiction, his struggles during his early years as a writer, and subsequently the lived experience of enormous literary success. You can find us online at alwaystakenotes.com, on Twitter @takenotesalways, and on Facebook at facebook.com/alwaystakenotes. Our crowdfunding page is patreon.com/alwaystakenotes. Always Take Notes is presented by Eleanor Halls and Simon Akam, and produced by Nicola Kean. Zahra Hankir is our communities editor. Our music is by Jessica Dannheisser and our logo was designed by James Edgar.

The Diamond Dagger-winning Fifer has built a vast fan-base over the years thanks to her number one bestselling novels that have sold over 11 million copies. One of Val McDermid’s better-known readers recently became Scotland’s First Minister and in this event, recorded live at the Edinburgh International Book Festival, Nicola Sturgeon meets McDermid to discuss Splinter the Silence and Stranded, a book of scintillating, nail-biting short stories that range from passion and revenge in St Petersburg to the sleazy flipside of the international publishing scene.

The Diamond Dagger-winning Fifer has built a vast fan-base over the years thanks to her number one bestselling novels that have sold over 11 million copies. One of Val McDermid’s better-known readers recently became Scotland’s First Minister and in this event, recorded live at the Edinburgh International Book Festival, Nicola Sturgeon meets McDermid to discuss Splinter the Silence and Stranded, a book of scintillating, nail-biting short stories that range from passion and revenge in St Petersburg to the sleazy flipside of the international publishing scene.