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  • Guest blogger Oliver Harris

    Wed, 15 Jun 2011 07:45

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    Oliver Harris, author of The Hollow Man has kindly offered to guest blog today and you can win one of 6 signed copies if you answer the question below...

    What makes a good crime novel?

    In the best crime novels there are two crimes: the central case and the society around it. The novels themselves are tools of analysis. The best show you the world through a pair of eyes tuned a little bit sharper: a cop, a criminal, a lawyer; people with no time for sentiment. And the reader is in the front seat, working their own investigation.

    Has crime writing changed over the last 20 years?

    Only in the sense of getting bigger and broader. Over the past couple of years Scandinavian crime has proven that there's still a big appetite for novels with a political and sociological edge. Psychologically astute crime also seems to be more popular than ever - look at Val McDermid. No corners of the psyche are being left unexplored. Few corners of the world either.

    Why were you drawn to crime writing?

    I wanted to write something dark and crisp. When you add in a desire to roam across society, maybe with a detective involved... it's going to be a crime novel. I'm fascinated by the structure of thrillers, the need to keep suspense high, and multiple threads going, then bring it to a satisfying, yet surprising, conclusion. It's an immensely stimulating challenge.

    When did you start reading crime?

    I started reading crime when I moved out of home for the first time and took on a lot of dissatisfying part-time jobs. Crime fiction was like a guide to the world I was discovering, its complex infrastructure and cynical games of one-upmanship. I read everything I could get my hands on, European and American. I couldn't believe the stylistic audacity of the early James Ellroy novels. They contained some of the most edgy, experimental writing around. At the same time, the melancholy lyricism of an author like Lawrence Block in his Matt Scudder books or Simenon at his bleak best was comparable to anything I'd read from the literary side of the shop. It was great escapism, but escapism that returned me to the world feeling curious and more knowledgeable.

    What type of crime books do you like?

    I love crime books that let you into secrets: maybe the hidden, shadow-side of a place - Rankin's Edinburgh, Dibdin's Italy, Chandler's LA. Or of a profession. It's seductive when an author has acquired specialist knowledge and is able to share that, whether it's knowledge of policing, law, politics, espionage. And then there are ones that tell how to be a good hit man: Forsythe's unbeatable Day of the Jackal and Lawrence Block's Keller series.

    Tell us something about your book...

    It's about a bankrupt detective who moves into the home of a missing billionaire. It's about London in all its cruel, relentless, inegalitarian glory. I started writing it because I wanted a crime novel in which the detective had broken free of the constraints of his job, but without ever stopping being a detective. His powers of detection have gone renegade. It meant I could write about all the people and places I wanted to write about, in particular the corner of North West London where I grew up, its mix of beauty, wealth and eccentricity.

    And your TV and movie influences...?

    Polanski's Chinatown, anything by David Lynch: Blue Velvet, Lost Highway, Mulholland Drive... Michael Haneke's Cache. Guillaume Canet's Tell No One. All the Bond movies. More recently The Wire, of course. Back in the late 1990s Tony Garnett's The Cops was a brilliant, and underrated, drama series. I also have a secret addiction to police reality shows: Cops with Cameras, Police Interceptors, Vice Squad. Pure propaganda but excusable in the name of research.

    What is the name of the detective in The Hollow Man?


    Please leave your details



    Posted by Adam Adam

    Categories: crime, week, oliver, harris, guest, blog

    Permalink: Guest-blogger-Oliver-Harris

    Oliver Harris

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    Comments

    1. Mrs Asokasuri Grantham's avatar Mrs Asokasuri Grantham

      Great interview and sounds like a great book. Thanks for letting us know about it.

      Posted Tue, 21 Jun 2011 19:10 Mark as unsuitable?
    2. Debby de Wilde's avatar Debby de Wilde

      This was a fun interview to read! Thanks for the chance to win!

      Posted Mon, 20 Jun 2011 15:03 Mark as unsuitable?
    3. J.R.Poulter's avatar J.R.Poulter

      My son-in-law to be is educating me in the joys of crime fiction. This sounds like one I should read.

      Posted Mon, 20 Jun 2011 14:09 Mark as unsuitable?
    4. Alice R.C's avatar Alice R.C

      It was easy ///w///

      Posted Wed, 15 Jun 2011 12:52 Mark as unsuitable?
    5. Wendy Waller's avatar Wendy Waller

      Sounds intrigueing

      Posted Wed, 15 Jun 2011 08:36 Mark as unsuitable?

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