Having taken a month off First Monday Crime is back for September – in fact it is tomorrow – so I just KNOW you all have your tickets already right? No? Fear not there is still time if you just clickety click right HERE.
First Monday is a great mix of social evening and book event – come along, listen to some great authors talk about their books then pop along to the pub afterwards for a drink. Trust me its the best Monday night out you’ll find anywhere in London if you are a lover of books and, well, fun.
This month is shaping up to be completely brilliant, featuring as it does four awesome authors, Rod Reynolds, Sophie Hannah, Tim Weaver and Jane Corry. The moderator this month is the totally brilliant Jake Kerridge so really what could POSSIBLY go wrong?
I have a full featured review coming up on the blog soon of Sophie Hannah’s fantastic new Poirot mystery “Closed Casket” (and trust me it WAS fantastic) so keep an eye out for that and I also have Jane Corry coming onto the blog to talk about My Husbands Wife later in September. My good friend and fellow reviewer Christine and I will be having a chat about Tim Weaver’s Broken Heart (and the Raker books in general) later also so today I’m featuring Rod Reynolds and Black Night Falling.
‘And now I stood here, on a desolate airfield in the Arkansas wilderness, a stone’s throw from Texarkana. Darkness drawing in on me. Cross country to see a man I never imagined seeing again. On the strength of one desperate telephone call…’
Having left Texarkana for the safety of the West Coast, reporter Charlie Yates finds himself drawn back to the South, to Hot Springs, Arkansas, as an old acquaintance asks for his help. This time it’s less of a story Charlie’s chasing, more of a desperate attempt to do the right thing before it’s too late.
What shall I say about Black Night Falling, The Dark Inside and that there Rod Reynolds whose writing is sublime? Well nothing. I have nothing to say. I know, its unlike me. But THESE people – they had something to say. They said this…This one is for you Rod.
Kate – Bibliophile Book Club – Black Night Falling is an all round excellent novel. Brilliant characters with various different story arcs coming in to play and the exceptional location make it a very atmospheric and tense book and I cannot recommend it highly enough. Rod Reynolds has created a wonderful thing here, in every sense, Black Night Falling is perfection. (She also said she misses taking Rod to bed with her and insisted I did not put that bit in. But I’m a rebel)
Chris Whitaker – Author of Tall Oaks – As a fellow Brit that writes American, I’m totally in awe of just how staggeringly authentic The Dark Inside is. Original, atmospheric and totally engrossing, it’s one of the best I’ve read in a long time. Rod Reynolds is insanely talented (and now owes me £50).
Gordon – Grab this Book. Rod Reynolds Effortlessly transports me from 21st Century Glasgow to post WW2 USA.
Karen Sullivan – Publisher Orenda Books Rod Reynolds is a supremely talented writer, and both The Dark Inside and Black Night Falling remain some of the most memorable books I’ve read in years. His ability to evoke a time and a place, to create an almost sensual, slow-burn tension woven through tightly knit plots, and exquisitely drawn characters, is second to none. This is an author with a massive future ahead of him, and Faber should be applauded for getting his books on the shelves. I can’t wait to read whatever he does next.
Christine – Northern Crime I don’t know how he did it. Rod Reynolds captures the feeling of a by-gone era, with such remarkable authenticity. Reynolds convincingly creates a world of post World War Two America, complete with the jargon and smell and taste of noir. I loved it. It was beautiful to read. I could imagine it all in black and white, playing out in my mind.
Erm she also said…
Dear Rod I still can’t pronounce Arkansas-thingy. Thanks for setting your new book in Hot Springs….
Lisa Hall – Author of Between You and Me (and I quote!) “Shockingly authentic, Rod Reynolds talent for bringing 1940s America to life is not to be missed.” Failing that, just write that I love him. Most of the time.
Steph of Stephs book blog. Rod Reynold’s 1940s American Noir is sublime.
Neil White – Author of The Death Collector (and other top crime fiction). Rod Reynolds captures the soul of Arkansas and turns it into something dark, twisting and utterly gripping.
There we go. I didn’t have to say a word….
Well if THAT has not persuaded you, I’m not sure what will – and remember the adorable (okay occasionally adorable) Mr Reynolds is not the only great writer you could hear speak at First Monday – this months line up is brillliant and over the next few months things will only get better. I could tell you but then I’d have to kill you…
Thanks to everyone for the help and just to finish off here are some useful purchase links just in case you can’t get along to First Monday for September…
Happy Reading!
