Podcasts about historical crime fiction

Learn the secrets of writing great historical crime fiction with Vaseem Khan, international bestseller and winner of the prestigious Crime Writers' Association (CWA) Historical Dagger.    Vaseem, who is also the first non-white chair of the CWA, is a fount of knowledge on creating charismatic crime-solving characters who grow over the course of a series, how to adjust when you find your carefully planned plot shifting beneath you, and challenging the often risk-averse publishing industry. He's also keenly interested in balancing familiar tropes and motifs with historical revisionism that challenges and informs readers in the West, as well as in markets like India, where his series are set.    Go to https://thehistoryquill.com/bonus to get access to our special bonus podcast episode on how to succeed in historical fiction, available exclusively to our email subscribers. The episode features accomplished historical fiction authors Gill Paul and David Penny exploring how they've achieved success during their very different writing and publishing journeys and how you can achieve success on your own journey.   To get the transcript for this episode, visit https://thehistoryquill.com/11 for the episode page on our website.

Elle Connel is the pseudonym of Lucy Ribchester, whose previous novels, The Hourglass Factory and The Amber Shadows, were historical thrillers. Her previous work has won her a Scottish Book Trust New Writers Award, a Robert Louis Stevenson Fellowship, and short-listings for the Costa Short Story Award and Manchester Fiction Prize. Down by the Water was her first book as Elle Connel and her latest is You Can Stay.We had a really interesting chat with Lucy all about how she found an agent, only to then take the scary step of changing agent before her debut came out. We also talked about writing historical crime thrillers vs modern day thrillers, and why she uses a pseudonym for her contemporary books (and how she chose the name).Links:Buy Lucy's booksBuy Elle's booksPage One - The Writer's Podcast is brought to you by Write Gear, creators of Page One - the Writer's Notebook. Learn more and order yours now: https://www.writegear.co.uk/page-oneFollow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/ukPageOneFollow us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ukPageOneFollow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ukpageone/Follow us on Mastodon: https://writing.exchange/@PageOnePod Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We discuss chapters 27-36 of Sujata Massey's 'The Bombay Prince', the third novel in the Perveen Mistry series. Veering from disarmingly peaceful to chaotically confronting effortlessly and bewilderingly, Perveen Mistry is on the tail of Freny's killer, but someone else is on hers. Can justice be done before the danger proves too great? Will Herds finally get to witness the almighty kiss he's been so desperately waiting for?We also chat about the culmination of our Indian leg of the Murder Mystery World Tour. In a journey full of familiar tales, we talk our key takeaways and favourite insights from this surprisingly consistent journey of subcontinental diversity. We hear from Sulari Gentill at BAD: Sydney Crime Writers' Festival 2021, as well as Nev March, Abir Mukherjee, and RV Raman from previous episodes in this leg, all of which you can hear in full on the podcast.

We discuss chapters 13-26 of Sujata Massey's 'The Bombay Prince', the third novel in the Perveen Mistry series. The courts begin inquiries to the death of Freny Cuttingmaster, and Perveen has already made enemies that threaten to get in the way of fair conduct. Drama about finances around the school also bring the staff into question, but can Perveen break through the institution's legal defence?We're also joined by Sena Desai Gopal to talk about her debut novel 'The 86th Village', out this week, telling the story of a small regional town rife with corruption after a decades-old dam construction threw caution to the wind.

We discuss chapters 1-12 of Sujata Massey's 'The Bombay Prince', the third novel in the Perveen Mistry series. A young Freny Cuttingmaster visits Perveen at her office, inquiring about her legal options for avoiding the procession of Prince Edward. When Perveen goes to see the procession days later, Freny's corpse is found with her head smashed in, and the local police begin carelessly preparing to assume suicide. The last stop in our Indian tour for 2022 brings all the familiar sights and sounds back to the table as Perveen sets about bringing justice for Freny and her family.Ahead of the 2022 Sydney Writers' Festival, we're joined by author Dinuka McKenzie to discuss her novel 'The Torrent', and the turbulent journey to motherhood for its protagonist. Catch Dinuka in conversation with Suzanne Leal, Jane Caro, and Laura Elizabeth Woollett for 'Mother of All Crimes' at the festival on the 20th of May.

We discuss chapters 17-21 in RV Raman's latest Harith Athreya mystery 'A Dire Isle'. After an ominous encounter on Naaz Tapu, the case is starting to come together. Discovery after discovery points Athreya in the direction of the Bronze Runners, and the ironies of their malpractice. The unveiling of military involvement in the area changes the tone of the investigation as new players emerge and old faces are given new meaning.We're also joined, once again, by RV Raman himself to talk about the blending of the mystical and technological, and the creative spark that helps Athreya's journey feel so lively.

We discuss chapters 9-16 in RV Raman's latest Harith Athreya mystery 'A Dire Isle'. In the aftermath of the murder of an archaeological dig, Harith and Inspector Bhupinder get to work interrogating the staff, to close in on the murderer. With various staff knowing more than they should, and some confessing to things distant in their past, how deep can the motive go? As the case goes on, the haunted shape of Naaz Tapu beckons Athreya closer, and it looks like it soon might bite.We also speak with RV Raman himself about his past corporate thrillers, in particular 'Fraudster'. How did fictionally exploring the human side of his previous career in finance help prepare him to sculpt the world of Harith Athreya?

We discuss chapters 1-8 in RV Raman's latest Harith Athreya mystery 'A Dire Isle'. Liam Dunne has requested Athreya's aid in investigating possible financial fraud at an archaeological dig-site in Bundelkhand. When the dig's director is slain on a mysterious, haunted island nearby, the supernatural comes knocking, and Athreya finds himself put to the test in the investigation.We're also joined by PHD Student Ankita Rathour from Louisiana State University to talk about her dissertation in Indian Anglophone fiction, Bollywood, the dead girl trope, and positive developments in the subcontinent's creative arts.

It's a full-spoilers affair as we dive into Abir Mukherjee's latest thriller, The Shadows of Men. As seems to be becoming tradition around here, we keep asking authors so many questions that it just doesn't fit in the damned show. From how loose cannons unleash your story, to his dissatisfaction with the previous novel 'Death in the East', to accusing us of poo-pooing an important character detail, our chat with Abir is the perfect accompaniment to your re-read of the fifth novel in the Sam Wyndham and Surendrenath Banerjee crime fiction universe.

We discuss chapters 44-65 of Abir Mukherjee's latest thriller, The Shadows of Men. Finally reunited, Sam and Suren split up again to investigate their latest lead in the death of Prashant Mukherjee. Sam finds his way into a party with Bombay's affluent big spenders, while Surendrenath adds breaking and entering to his list of charges. Their efforts yield clues to impending chaos at a public protest, and the proverbial time-bomb risks taking India with it.We're joined once again by Abir himself to talk about hydration, and our appearances in his future novels. If you want to hear the full-length chat with Abir, that's up on the podcast!

We discuss chapters 19-43 of Abir Mukherjee's latest thriller, The Shadows of Men. Sam and Suren reunite with the elusive Colonel Dawson, who is both laden with revelations, and cut out from the revelations they actually need. In search of the remaining clues, Dawson flies them out to a familiar hill in Bombay, where they can corner their lead suspect, Farid Gulmohamed, and hopefully wrap this all up cleanly. Naturally, this does not go entirely as planned, and one problem is merely replaced with another.We also speak with Abir himself about Sam and Suren, the motivations behind their characterisation, and what it was about 'Death in the East' that pushed Abir back towards the thriller after his previous Christie homage.

We discuss chapters 1-18 of Abir Mukherjee's latest thriller, The Shadows of Men. Taking a step away from our normal fair-play pastures, The Shadows of Men plants us in 1923 Calcutta, where Sergeant Surendrenath 'Surrender-Not' Banerjee has found himself arrested over the murder and attempted arson of Hindu thought leader Prashant Mukherjee. Captain Sam Wyndham bails him out of jail, but then the Sergeant's only alibi, Lord Commissioner Taggart, is felled by a makeshift explosive. Suren goes on the run, fearing Taggart's stay in hospital might conclude with his hanging if he can't find the true culprit. Riots claim the city, and common sense is a distant memory.We also discuss a few options for wider reading in India's flourishing field of crime fiction. Our recommendations include Abir's 'Smoke and Ashes', Ajay Chowdhury's upcoming 'The Cook', Salil Desai's '3 and a Half Murders', Soumon Chaterjee's 'The Calcutta Conundrum', Sujata Massey's 'The Widows of Malabar Hill/A Murder at Malabar Hill', Kishwar Desai's 'Witness the Night', and Ankush Saikia's 'More Bodies Will Fall'.

We discuss Vaseem Khan's 'Malabar House' series, and its latest installment 'The Dying Day' with the author himself. It seems we didn't manage to scare him off enough last time. From his thoughts on the classic 'will-they-won't-they' plot, to why certain characters did and didn't make the cut between the two novels, we sink our teeth into this historical adventure.Go take a listen to Vaseem's work on the Red Hot Chilli Writers podcast, too!

We discuss chapters 32-48 of Vaseem Khan's historical crime novel, 'The Dying Day'. After a near-death run in with a shadowy figure in her father's bookshop, Persis has finally realised who John Healy was on the run from; Nazis. Now in a life-or-death game to track down The Divine Comedy before they do, a final riddle will be the deciding game - but what if she leads them right there? The stakes are high, the allies are thin, and the clock is ticking.We're joined once again by Vaseem Khan to get in depth to a few interesting decisions from the tail end of this story, including why he chose to give the last laugh to a character we've barely seen.

We discuss chapters 16-31 of Vaseem Khan's historical crime novel, 'The Dying Day'. A new riddle found on the thigh of the freshly-deceased scholar John Healy only piles more questions onto Persis Wadia's lap. Healy's list of contacts have little to say of his potential motive, until the unrelated murder investigation Fernandes is leading starts to join some dots. As past wounds are dug open, can Persis keep ahead of it all?We're also joined by Vaseem Khan himself to talk about the novel, the construction of its riddles, and the upcoming collection 'The Perfect Crime', with its astonishing list of contributors.

We discuss chapters 1-15 of Vaseem Khan's riddle-laden historical romp, 'The Dying Day'. Just days after narrowly defusing one political bomb in 'Midnight at Malabar House', another lands in Inspector Persis Wadia's lap, as she is put on the hunt of a priceless copy of Dante's Divine Comedy. The scholar who was translating it has taken it, leaving behind a bizarre trail of clues and no straight answers. Why did he run off, and can Persis avoid working in tandem with the nefarious force he may have fled from? Herds is in the hot seat, as we return for our 2022 Murder Mystery World Tour.

We discuss chapters 43 to the end of Nev March's historical mystery, 'Murder in Old Bombay'. Jim and the Framjis return to Bombay, and the investigation takes yet another turn. Lives are on the line, there's a traitor in the midst, and Jim may have met his match. Can he pin the culprit before the last pieces fall into place? Probably not, but we still believe in him.We're also joined by Nev again to hear more about the many twists and turns the story went through, consolation and corruption, and a tease of her new novel 'Peril at the Exposition'.

We discuss chapters 25-42 of Nev March's historical mystery, 'Murder in Old Bombay'. Our quaint 19th-century urban detective story takes an abrupt, aggressive detour into a mountainous war-story, following Jim Agnihotri's venture to pincer-attacked Lahore, and his flight with several young orphans to escape the battle lines. We also have a chat with author Vaseem Khan about his Baby Ganesh series, the Red Hot Chilli Writers Podcast, and our first novel for 2022.

We discuss chapters 1-24 of Nev March's historical mystery, 'Murder in Old Bombay'. Retired Captain Jim Agnihotri finds himself as a new-hire journalist in Bombay, only to have an immediate promotion to Private Detective under the eye of Adi Framji, a young widower whose wife died in mysterious circumstances some weeks earlier. Bonding over their mutual sense of loss, and with a growing attachment to the lively - but grieving - Framji family, Jim sets out to ensure justice is done for this bungled investigation.We're joined this week by Nev March herself to talk about challenging her own community through Jim's eyes, and how the familial bonds tie this story together.

“I admit to regular fits of feeling simply I am not a good person,” says Jonathan Franzen, author of The Corrections, “and it's a question that fiction is uniquely poised to engage with”. And it's a question that is at the heart of his new novel Crossroads. Also, Maggie Shipstead on her Booker Prize shortlisted novel Great Circle, and Robert Gott's historical crime novel, The Orchard Murders, based on the Messiah of Nunawading.

“I admit to regular fits of feeling simply I am not a good person,” says Jonathan Franzen, author of The Corrections, “and it's a question that fiction is uniquely poised to engage with”. And it's a question that is at the heart of his new novel Crossroads. Also, Maggie Shipstead on her Booker Prize shortlisted novel Great Circle, and Robert Gott's historical crime novel, The Orchard Murders, based on the Messiah of Nunawading.

On today's episode, we're joined by award-winning indie author Michelle Cox to talk about writing historical crime fiction! We'll discuss what draws someone to mystery and crime fiction, as well as the research that goes into writing historical fiction. Keep Up with Our Guest:  Michelle Cox's Website A Child Lost by Michelle Cox   Resources Mentioned: She Writes Press Sisters in Crime Directory of Historical Societies _________________ Check out the following books by our Patrons!  Proliferation by Erik Otto Mission 51 by Fernando Crôtte Want to see your book listed? Become a Patron!  ________________________________________________ We want to thank all of the wonderful members of our Writing Bloc community. You can find us on Twitter or Facebook, or online at WritingBloc.com. Thanks everyone, and happy writing. 

Historical Crime Fiction is the topic this week with a great interview with author Angela King. Stephanie reads from "Lacking Grace" and Heather shares her word of the week. Xander Cansell and Stephanie share what is currently on their bedside tables. Write Club The Podcast is a weekly show for aspiring writers, published authors and readers everywhere. Join Stephanie Rouse, Theresa Stoker, Heather Worsley, Linda Jack Werlein, Pat Woolfe & Nicola Cairncross each week where they'll share guest readings and interviews, along with what they're reading, what they're writing and what it's really like to be an aspiring writer. You can join in the weekly "Name the Novel" quiz and find out "What's On The Bedside Table?"

Crime writer Nicola Upson discusses the history of crime fiction and writing a historical detective series without it being old fashioned. Hosted by Simon Jones, writer and Digital Marketing Manager at the National Centre for Writing. Find out more about the National Centre for Writing: https://nationalcentreforwriting.org.uk/ Mentioned events: Noirwich: https://noirwich.co.uk/ Music by Bennet Maples: https://sonicfruit.co.uk/

Joe Joyce reading from Echoland.

Michael Russell reading from The City of Shadows and The City of Strangers.

Kevin McCarthy reading from Peeler and Irregulars.

Sarah Waters’ 2009 novel, The Little Stranger, was shortlisted for the Booker Prize and has received much praise and critical acclaim since its release. Set in 1940s England, it is a chilling ghost story about the Ayres family. Since 2003, she has been awarded the Betty Trask Award, the Somerset Maugham Awards, and the CWA Ellis Peters Dagger Award for Historical Crime Fiction for Fingersmith. She has also been shortlisted twice for both the Orange Prize and the Man Booker Prize. Interview by Valerie Khoo, director of Sydney Writers' Centre. www.sydneywriterscentre.com.au www.valeriekhoo.com

Lindsey Davis was born and raised in Birmingham, read English at Oxford, then joined the civil service, which she left in 1985.She started writing about Romans in The Course of Honour, the remarkable true love story of the Emperor Vespasian and his mistress Antonia Caenis. Her research into First Century Rome inspired The Silver Pigs, the first outing for Falco and Helena, which was published in 1989. Starting as a spoof using a Roman ‘informer' as a classic, metropolitan private eye, the series has developed into a set of adventures in various styles which take place throughout the Roman world. The Silver Pigs won the Authors' Club Best First Novel award in 1989; she has since won the Crimewriters' Association Dagger in the Library and Ellis Peters Historical Dagger, while Falco has won the Sherlock Award for Best Comic Detective. She has been Chair of the UK Crimewriters' Association and Honorary President of the Classical Association. Her Official Website is www.lindseydavis.co.uk. We met at the Blue Met International Literary Festival in Montreal, and talked, among other things, about the historical mystery genre, Ellis Peters, Wilkie Collins's The Moonstone, foreshadowing, the treatment of women, killing characters off, good men, favourite plots and authors, and lessons that can be learned from the Romans,