William Shaw has been described as a `gonzo journalist' who's spent time hanging out with neo Nazis and Scientologists. He also wrote a column for the Observer about the fascinating world of the Small Ads, which I remember being addicted to, especially the weird characters he came across, including a man who collected handcuffs.
He is the author of the much loved Breen and Tozer series, set in London in 1968-9, which he will return to. In the meantime, he's recently written `The Birdwatcher', a standalone novel, set in Dungeness (`The Clapham Junction for birds'). It concerns a police Sergeant, William South, who is a murderer himself and therefore doesn't wish to `detect', until a friend and fellow birdwatcher is murdered.
Shaw took the detective's back story from something he wrote years earlier about a 13 year old boy in Northern Ireland. The Troubles have brought a knowledge that life can be short and crimes often remain unsolved, which changes how you view the world. Shaw's own family originally came from there, but given the political situation, it was not a good time to visit while he was growing up, so a big part of his family in Northern Ireland have largely remained imagined. As a therapist I found it interesting that he denied the significance of naming his (murderous) protagonist William, citing it as a name that's been in his own family for generations...
It's very different setting a novel in a small place like Dungeness, rather than London, but he's been praised for his `superb description of a haunting, blighted landscape.' He's even annoyed readers because he didn't mention the Light Railway! When he started writing, he didn't know much about bird watching, but he was careful to check he had all his facts right with local birdwatchers and clearly admires and respects their wealth of knowledge.
Jack Grimwood has previously written Sci Fi and Fantasy, but his debut thriller is `Moskva' with Major Tom Fox, set in the 80's with the Cold War starting to thaw. There is a serial killer on the loose and the Ambassador's daughter goes missing. Grimwood claimed to not yet quite know who Tom Fox is. In a Sitcom people never learn and that's what makes it funny, whereas in crime fiction lots of changes are possible- people divorce, are bereaved, go bankrupt...
He began writing the book simply with the image in his head of a child in the snow standing in front of the Kremlin. Fox is often drunk- though practically teetotal by Moscow standards- and his best friend is a one legged helicopter pilot who's fought in Afghanistan.
He said he admired a place where people will queue round the block for a new book of poetry and also made a few jokes about the KGB: half are now running the country and the other half are running the Mafia. He was fascinated by the idea back in the Cold War that there were no criminals in the USSR as this was a degenerate Western concept.
When talking about research, he related a story about once writing to the SFPD, saying he was an English novelist and could he come and talk to them. He was invited for a Ride-along and even ended up with a complete set of an Officer's notes and reports for that day's crime, which included a person's credit card details. It's a good thing he only writes about crime!
The discussion ended with the fascinating question about who is the monster in a particular crime novel and who does the author think it is? There is a need to empathise with all the characters, good and bad, as heroes can be dull.
As I reached the Tube later, I read the thought for the day on the noticeboard, which seemed particularly apt: `Tough times don't last, but tough people do.'
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