Book info

• Title The Crime Interviews
• Author Len Wanner
• Year 2012
• Genre Non-fiction

Engaging, informative and shot through with humour, Len Wanner's collection of in-depth interviews is a must-read for anyone interested in contemporary crime fiction. His interview subjects are nine of today's most successful Scottish crime writers: Ian Rankin, Stuart MacBride, Karen Campbell, Neil Forsyth, Chris Brookmyre, Paul Johnston, Alice Thompson, Allan Guthrie and Louise Welsh. Wanner's relaxed, conversational approach enables him to ask the most penetrating of questions time after time in his attempt to find the answers to the big questions at the heart of Scottish crime fiction. Brimming with pithy, witty and sometimes just plain weird revelations, these interviews provide a unique and unforgettable insight into how writers think, and into the professional secrets of some of the genre's greatest exponents.

Thoughts

An interesting idea for a book, this. It’s simply a collection of interviews with Scottish crime authors, transcribed to provide insight into their motivations, their writing processes, and what they think of the genres their books are considered to be in and out of.

Naturally, the participants are all very different - some I had heard of, some I hadn’t, and some I was so intrigued by I set out to find their books straight away. Their answers range from fascinating to sensible, from obvious to existential, and although some of it can be a bit overly philosophical, there’s a lot of good insight to be gained from reading this.

Rating: 3 / 5