No catches, no fine print just unadulterated book loving, with your favourite books saved to your own digital bookshelf.
New members get entered into our monthly draw to win £100 to spend in your local bookshop Plus lots lots more…
Find out more
Barry Forshaw is a writer and journalist specialising in crime fiction and cinema. His books include The Man Who Left Too Soon: The Life and Works of Stieg Larsson (2010), British Crime Writing: An Encyclopedia (2008), The Rough Guide to Crime Fiction (2007), Italian Cinema: Arthouse to Exploitation (2006) and the forthcoming British Crime Film (2012), and he has contributed to the Directory of World Cinema. He has also written for a variety of national newspapers as well as for Movie Mail, Waterstone's Books Quarterly and Good Book Guide and is editor of the online Crime Time magazine. He is also a talking head for the ITV Crime Thriller author profiles and BBC TV documentaries, and has been Vice Chair of the Crime Writers' Association.
Author photo © A Karim
The perfect book, and present for any crime fiction lovers out there. Packed with information, this was first published ten years ago, and has just been updated. The foreword by Ian Rankin delves into the reputation of the crime novel and what he thinks makes it so popular. Barry Forshaw is a leading crime fiction and film expert, he edits Crime Time, writes for newspapers, broadcasts, chairs events, and has written a number of books about crime fiction. He begins with his thoughts on the direction crime fiction will take, the origins of the crime novel, and a few chosen classics before moving on to his selection ‘of the best in crime writing from the last century or so, organised by subject (or subgenre)’. From amateur investigators, to cops, private eyes, crime and society, cosy crime, and psychopaths and serial killers, the different categories in crime is simply huge. How on earth did Barry Forshaw manage it, it must have turned his brain inside out! The first thing I did was to turn to some of my much loved crime authors in the indexes to see where they were. Screen adaptations are also included, along with notes, thoughts, profiles, and favourite books or best introductions to the work of an author. At the end you will find an index of titles, authors and directors. Crime Fiction A Reader’s Guide can be summed up as a must-read for crime fiction lovers.
Death in a Cold Climate is a celebration and analysis of Scandinavian crime fiction which has become, almost out of the blue, one of the hottest areas of writing today. With forensic dissection and analysis of books, films and TV adaptations Barry Forshaw, the UK's principal expert on crime fiction, looks to explain the appeal. From Sjowall and Wahloo's influential Martin Beck series through Henning Mankell's Wallander to Stieg Larsson's publishing phenomenon The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo this is a must have for any fan of Scandinavian Crime Fiction... Click here to view 'Where to start with Scandinavian crime fiction' - an online booklet by Barry Forshaw.
The War of the Worlds was one of a handful of high-prestige science fiction productions in a low-budget era, and initiated modern cinema's reliance on screen-filling special effects. Barry Forshaw analyses and celebrates this key science fiction film of the 1950s, exploring its literary origins and numerous film progeny.
Euro Noir examines the astonishing success of European fiction and drama which is often edgier, grittier and more compelling than some of its British or American equivalents, and provides a highly readable guide for those wanting to look further than the obvious choices. Euro Noir provides the perfect shopping list for what to watch or read before that trip to Paris, Rome or Berlin.
A compact and authoritative guide to the phenomenally popular genre. The information-packed study examines and celebrates books, films and TV adaptations from Scandinavia. Includes Sjoewall and Wahloeoe's highly influential Martin Beck series through Henning Mankell's Wallander to Stieg Larsson's groundbreaking The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and cult TV hits such as The Killing, The Bridge and Borgen; up to the hugely successful books and films of the current king of the field, Norway's Jo Nesbo.
Presenting a social history of British crime film, this book focuses on the strategies used in order to address more radical notions surrounding class, politics, sex, delinquency, violence and censorship. Spanning post-war crime cinema to present-day Mockney productions, it contextualizes the films and identifies important and neglected works.
His best-selling books are violent, terrifying, brilliantly written and have sold millions of copies around the world, but Stieg Larsson was not there to witness any of their international success. That his fame is entirely posthumous demonstrates the dizzying speed with which his star has risen. However, when one looks a little deeper at the man behind these phenomenal novels, it becomes clear that Larsson's life would have been remembered as extraordinary even if his Millennium Trilogy had never been published. Larsson was a workacholic: a keen politcal activist, photographer, graphic desinger, a respected journalist and editor of numerous science fiction magazines...and at night, to relax after work, he wrote thrillers. As the world now knows, he had completed his third book, The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest, by the time of his death at just 50 years of age.
His best-selling books are violent, terrifying, brilliantly written and have sold millions of copies around the world, but Stieg Larsson was not there to witness any of their international success. That he died in 2004 and his fame as an author is entirely posthumous demonstrates the dizzying speed with which his star has risen. But when one looks a little deeper at the man behind these phenomenal novels, it is clear that his life would be remembered as truly extraordinary, even if his Millennium trilogy had never been published. Larsson was a workaholic: a keen political activist, photographer, graphic designer, a respected journalist and editor of numerous science fiction magazines...and at night, to relax after work, he wrote crime novels. As the world now knows, by the time of his death at just 50 years of age he had completed The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest, the third book featuring his hypnotic character, Lisbeth Salander. But his relentless personality and political convictions did not make his life easy. He famously reported about some dangerous neo-Nazi organisations in Sweden, which led to numerous death threats. In fact, since his death, officially caused by a massive heart attack, there had been much speculation that his enemies had a hand in his premature demise. This difficult man, brilliant and multifaceted, here receives a penetrating biography - and celebration of his remarkable life and books - from top crime fiction journalist Barry Forshaw.
Featuring interviews with and articles on crime-writing giants Ed McBain and Ian Rankin, as well as Sparkle Hayter in London, and columns by Maxim Jakubowski, Mike Ashley, Michael Carlson, Charles Waring, Barry Forshaw and Paul McAuley, plus the usual reviews of the current cream of the crime crop.
If this is your author page then you can share your Twitter updates with your readers right here on LoveReading
Find out more
