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Name: TOM CALLAGHAN Author of: A KILLING WINTER (2015) A SPRING BETRAYAL (2016) A SUMMER REVENGE (2017) A WINTER HUNTING (2018) On the web: tomcallaghanwriter.com On Twitter: @tomcwriter |
I’ve always been a voracious reader, and an indiscriminate one. My bookshelves are like a party where no-one knows anyone else and wonders if they have anything in common with the other guests.
I believe it’s important to read widely in the genre you choose to write in, but not exclusively. For example, Akyl Borubaev might well have been inspired by Marcus Aurelius’ view of the world. But for the purposes of this blog, here are the crime writers who’ve influenced me. Please don’t hold it against them.
The Classics
Raymond Chandler, Dashiell Hammett, Jim Thompson. Murder taken out of the drawing room and put down a dark alleyway, where it belongs.
Hard-Boiled Americans
Lawrence Block, James Lee Burke, Robert Campbell, Michael Connolly, Robert Crais, James Ellroy, Carl Hiassen, Joe R. Lansdale, Elmore Leonard, Ed McBain, George Pelecanos, Peter Spiegelman, Andrew Vachss.
Brits
Mark Billingham, John Connolly (alright, Irish), John Harvey, Mo Hayder, Val Mcdermid, Ian Rankin, Peter Robinson.
Foreign Settings
John Burdett (Thailand), Sebastian Fitzek (Germany), Stieg Larrson and Henning Mankell (Sweden), Jo Nesbo (Norway), Mike Nichol (S Africa).
Read them all… and then write your own book.
