Rewind, Recap: Weekly Update W/E 23/07/23

And another week passes by in an almost blur. I say almost because this past weekend I have been at Theakston’s Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival in Harrogate which has the strange ability to see simultaneously long and too fast all at once. IN a mixture of panels, book buying and chatting with rarely seen friends, I seem to have lost Thursday to Sunday. Luckily for you I have pictures, of sorts, but not of me. You’ll have to believe me when I say I was there. There is some pictorial evidence of me online, just not here. Mine are all books and authors.



Scenes from Harrogate – Books, Betty’s and Writers – Oh my!






Seeing as how it was a book festival, it stands to reason that I had to buy some books. So I did. Obviously I had to buy some of the titles from the panels I was attending, plus I had some I just wanted, some I was tempted by and there were a few books that I took with me to get signed. I will try and post a bit more of a write up on the panels at some stage when I have had a chance to wind down but, for now, the books I either picked up or had signed are:






All The Sinners Bleed – S.A Cosby Lightseekers – Femi Kayode






The Fallen – John Sutherland The Generation Killer – Adam Simcox The Ungrateful Dead – Adam Simcox






The Trial – Rob Rinder The Last Dance – Mark Billingham Voices of the Dead – Ambrose Parry






Black Fell – Mari Hannah The Clearing – Simon Toyne All Of Us Are Broken – Fiona Cummins






Hunting Time – Jeffery Deaver Death Of A Lesser God – Vaseem Khan A Game Of Lies – Clare Mackintosh



I was also fortune to be gifted a bunch of proofs and books during the weekend. Some came in the Harrogate Goody Bag from having the Saturday rover. Some are just because I am a very lucky bunny.






Slaughter – James Stewart Geneva – Richard Armitage The Fury – Alex Michaelides (01 February 2024) Upstairs At The Beresford – Will Carver (09 Nov 2023) The Rich – Rachel Lynch (09 Nov 2023) Gaslight – Femi Kayode Blind House – Jamie Lee Brooke Love Letters To A Serial Killer – Tasha Coryell (04 Jul 2024) Day One – Abigail Dean (28 Mar 2024) Anna O – Matthew Blake (01 Feb 2024)



This year’s festival has been a wonder of diversity and the panels were amazing. I’ve come away inspired. To do what I have no idea, but I’m sure I’ll work that out. After all, it’s not every weekend you are talking to a famous TV judge about his second novel doubts and writers block and encouraging him to keep going because he will beat the blues eventually. Not that I’d expect Rob Rinder to take any notice of my advice, but still. I like to think I contributed in some small way …