ISSUE #6 FIGHTING MONSTERS
April 2022
This issue, we have Sam Holland, author of the storming debut thriller THE ECHO MAN, talking about the allure of serial killers, as well as the lowdown on new releases from Rachael Blok, Harriet Tyce, and Polly Phillips (including party photos!)
To kick off, there’s an exciting awards-related announcement. After almost monopolising the CWA Short Story Dagger shortlist last year, the Afraid of the Light crew have put up another strong showing in 2022, with four stories from the spooky crime anthology AFRAID OF THE SHADOWS being shortlisted: Matt Wesolowski for New Tricks; T.M. Logan for With the Others; T.E. Kinsey for The Clifton Vampire; and Robert Scragg for When I Grow Up.
Congratulations to them, and everyone who was nominated for the Daggers on Saturday night.
AFRAID OF THE SHADOWS is available in paperback and digital, and every penny of profits goes to the Disasters Emergency Committee Ukraine humanitarian appeal. Click below to buy a copy.
The allure of true crime: why are we so fascinated with serial killers?
Ever since Robert Ressler coined the phrase in 1974, serial killers have been a source of fascination. Everyone, from criminologists, to the FBI, to amateur true crime buffs have tried to get to the bottom of their psychology.
But why? Why do we love serial killers? Innumerable books, both novels and non-fiction, have been written about them. Films made; documentaries watched. YOU, a series about a psychopathic stalker, is one of the most viewed series on Netflix. As I write this there are over 40 true-crime documentaries available on that same streaming service.
As an author of novels about serial killers, I get it. When I was writing THE ECHO MAN I devoured over two dozen non-fiction books, and lost count of the amount of TV and podcasts I consumed.
I’d like to think this interest isn’t down to schadenfreude – or the ‘joy of damage’ – as described by Edmund Burke, in 1757. I don’t think we’re that dark; it isn’t about finding pleasure in the pain of others.
In MURDER AND SOCIETY (2006), Peter Morrall had two theories. The first was that globalisation has driven all human life into the marketplace so everything – including murder – has become a commodity that can be bought and sold. Secondly, he talked about Freud’s observation that violence and sex drives all human behaviour – there is an erotic attraction to the repulsive.
Neither sit right with me.
John Douglas, the author of MINDHUNTER and the father of modern profiling, states that true crime is the perfect representation the human condition, and we love these mysteries because they become their own morality play, complete with heroes and villains and victims – often with a happy ending (the killer is caught.) Dr David Wilson argues that reading and watching serial killers provides a “protective veil” – it’s scary but we know it’s not happening in real time in our lives, so we can enjoy the action. (Women, especially, experience this very real fear on a daily basis, just walking home at night, so to read about it at home in our warm houses, maybe helps exorcise those fears.)
In the fictional world, violence has consequences. We’re swept up in the stories; detectives are dedicated and caring, pathologically driven to discover the truth, when so often this doesn’t happen in real life. The monsters have a name and a face – and can be beaten.
Personally, it is cathartic to write about the horrible things that happen, and to see the triumph of good over evil, while showing that neither concept is black and white. To include strong women with agency, to put ourselves in their positions, and make the reader think.
What would you do, when faced with such a person? Can we blame someone for their actions, when their start in life was so full of pain and misery? Is a killer born or made?
At the end of the day, nothing about human behaviour is simple, and the horrific aberrant actions of killers even less so. Maybe we just love the mystery – the dark depths of the deranged minds we will never understand.
Having always been fascinated with the dark and macabre, Sam Holland’s love of reading was forged in the library through Stephen King, Dean Koontz and James Herbert. A self-confessed serial killer nerd, Holland studied psychology at university then spent the next few years working in HR, before quitting for a full-time career in writing. THE ECHO MAN is the result. It is out now in hardback and digital and can be ordered below.
“Nail-biting suspense matches credible emotional reactions to extreme events in this exceptional thriller.” Publishers Weekly (starred review)
“Utterly compelling… a writer to watch.” Daily Mail
“A stellar debut.” A. J. Finn, author of The Woman in the Window
“One of the most disturbing, shocking serial killers in recent memory.” M.W. Craven, author of The Puppet Show
This month saw the release of new thrillers from Harriet Tyce and Rachael Blok, and a joint launch party in Clerkenwell felt like a gala ball after a couple of years of constantly cancelled or delayed events. There was champagne, cupcakes, and cheering speeches. Velvet suits, beloved Mazdas, and a very tall gentleman Jack whom nobody met. Oh, and also open books nailed to the ceiling in a vaguely threatening manner. All followed by drunkenly epic rail quests home. What more could you want from a launch?
The sins of the past echo in the present in THE FALL, the new thriller from crime-critic favourite, Rachael Blok.
The bigger the sin, the further the fall...
With Easter approaching, the verger of St Albans Cathedral was supposed to be readying the church. Instead he discovers a man lying dead, fallen from the famous 150-foot-high tower. Did he jump, or was he pushed?
For DCI Maarten Jansen, it's a simple case of suspected suicide. Until a witness, Willow, prompts a deeper investigation into a long-buried past, involving a psychiatric hospital, a pregnant woman, and fifty years of silence. As Willow's own family history entwines with the case, Jansen starts to wonder how everything is connected.
THE FALL is a haunting literary thriller about loss, trauma, silence, and how our past shapes who we are.
IT ENDS AT MIDNIGHT is the explosive, addictive new thriller from Sunday Times and Kindle #1 bestseller, Harriet Tyce.
It's New Year's Eve and the stage is set for a lavish party in one of Edinburgh's best postcodes. It's a moment for old friends to set the past to rights - and move on. The night sky is alive with fireworks and the champagne is flowing. But the celebration fails to materialise.
Because someone at this party is going to die tonight.
Midnight approaches and the countdown begins - but it seems one of the guests doesn't want a resolution.
They want revenge.
Rachael and Harriet will be joined by Sam Holland at Books on the Hill in St Albans on Tuesday 10th May for an evening of crime fiction, starting at 7pm. To join them, click below to book your tickets.
THE REUNION, the shocking new thriller from Polly Phillips, author of the acclaimed MY BEST FRIEND’S MURDER, was released on digital last week, with paperback to follow in July.
A chance to reconnect.
A chance to get revenge . . .
Emily Toller has tried to forget her time at university and the events that led to her suddenly leaving under a cloud. She has done everything she can to forget the shame and the trauma – and the people involved. She has tried to focus on the life she has built with her children and husband, Nick.
But events like that can’t just be forgotten. Not without someone answering for what they’ve done.
When an invitation arrives to a University reunion, everything clicks into place. Emily has a plan.
Because if you can’t forget – why not get revenge?
“A standout tale of guilt, betrayal and toxic friendship, simmering with suspense and observations the reader instantly relates to.” Victoria Selman, author of Truly, Darkly, Deeply
“A pitch-perfect premise, beguiling cast of characters & brilliantly-balanced suspense. Twisty and compelling, pacy yet thoughtful.” Philippa East, author of Little White Lies
We’re entering festival season, and the schedules for AYE WRITE and CRIMEFEST are out, and several of our writers are making appearances:
Aye Write 6-22 May 2022, Glasgow (full programme)
Saturday 21st May — DOMINIC NOLAN and HARRIET TYCE join Sarah Pinborough for a discussion about Nail Biting Thrillers, at the Mitchell Library at 4:45 (book tickets). At 6:30, at the same venue, RACHAEL BLOK discusses Haunting Psychological Thrillers with J.B. Mylet and Jacqueline Roy (book tickets).
CrimeFest 12-15 May 2022, Bristol (full programme)
Thursday 12th May — you can catch SAM HOLLAND at 13:30 moderating Partners in Crime: Crime-Solving Duos, and at 15:50, T.E. KINSEY will feature in A Change is as Good as a Rest: Writing More Than One Series.
Friday 13th May — NIKI MACKAY kicks off the day in 40 Years of Change: From the Depressed 30s to the Swinging 60s, at 9:00. At the same time, RACHAEL BLOK features in Sticking to the Law: Police Procedurals. Rachael follows that up at 10:10 with Suspect Everyone: Tight Knit Communities, Small Towns and Locked Rooms, which also features JAMES DELARGY. At the same time, ELIZABETH MUNDY will be in Out of Uniform: Gifted Amateurs. At 13:40 ELLE CROFT and VICTORIA SELMAN join forces in Crime in the City: London-set Crime Fiction. Victoria returns at 16:00 to moderate the panel Violence & Gore: Sweet Old Ladies & Serial Killers.
Saturday 14th May — T.E. KINSEY discusses How Much Blood? Depictions of Violence at 9:00, and at 10:10 ELLE CROFT is in Law and Disorder: Crossing Lines. At 16:00 ROBERT SCRAGG talks about Trying to Forget: When the Past Comes Back to Haunt You.