What's a little sociopathy between friends?

Those of you in London may have spotted these Wanted posters, advertising a new marketing strategy on behalf of Jonathan Kellerman's publicity for his latest Alex Delaware novel, Deception, which I enjoyed recently. I've been a fan of Kellerman's books for a few years, working my way back through his Delaware series to its beginnings. Alex is a child psychologist turned police consultant, not always a classic hero (in some of his earlier adventures the tormented machismo got a bit much for me, I must admit) but when he teams up with LA homicide detective Milo Sturgis (a big smart slob of a man, who happens to be gay), well then I find the pair of them pretty much irresistible.

Kellerman specialises in plot AND character, rather than one or the other. He plots and sub-plots like a crazy demon plotting machine, but it's his characters and descriptions of the murky corners of LA that make him so readable. Detail upon detail, all sewn together beautifully, nothing spared or wasted. I like his books from the late 80s and early 90s, especially. Some of the more recent ones had been pared down rather too much for my taste, with the banter between Milo and Alex reduced to shorthand. It makes sense, after all the groundworking in the early stories, but I missed the richness of the prose and dialogue. But Deception is a return to top form, complex and twisted and oh-so-dark.

I was intrigued to be emailed about the viral marketing campaign around the book. Here's what the strategists had to say:

"The lead character in author Jonathan Kellerman’s series of crime novels, has been brought to life online with a call to fans to help ‘solve’ the murder at the heart of his latest book, DECEPTION... Delaware and Detective Milo Sturgis must enter the cutthroat world of private education to seek the killer of Elise Freeman, a teacher who may not be all she seems. Once again they must delve into the darkest recesses of the human compulsions and seek the truth against fierce opposition, even from within their own ranks.

"For the paperback launch of this murder mystery, published by Headline, the fictional psychologist has been brought to life on Twitter, Facebook and via his own website so that fans can get to know the man behind the Ph.D. To help solve his most complex case yet, Alex Delaware is turning to the public to help uncover a killer. Delaware will give fans access to information about his current case, including exclusive evidence from the crime scene.

"Campaign posters on the London Underground, based on a traditional ‘wanted’ poster, call for help from the public to assist in solving the murder by directing them to Dr Alex Delaware’s website, either online or via mobile. Once there, a criminal empathy test allows fans to find out which type of criminal they most identify with, to help Delaware understand the criminal mind and the types of crime people are most likely to commit. Participants then also feedback to Delaware on key pieces of evidence and their understanding of events, based on their criminal affiliations.

"This is the first time that fans will be able to interact directly with the book’s leading man and this campaign takes this interactivity to a whole new level: readers actually get to become part of the crime-solving team as Delaware searches for insights into the murderer (or murderers) he is chasing.

Commenting on the new campaign, Vicky Cowell, Marketing manager at Headline Publishing Group, said: “Bringing Alex Delaware to life online is a very bold step and one which we think fans will really get behind. The chance to interact with Delaware is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity... As fans know, Delaware doesn’t like to work in isolation and getting outside opinions on the crime will really help him to form his views and catch the killer.”

"Delaware will also interact with fans via his Facebook and Twitter pages and call for insight from them to help solve the case. To watch the film, view the evidence and interact with Delaware, visit: http://www.alexdelaware.co.uk/

I guess I really should join Twitter now, shouldn't I?

UPDATE UPDATE UPDATE UPDATE UPDATE UPDATE UPDATE

Perhaps I'd better not join Twitter, since the "Criminal Tendency" test at Delaware's site says I'm a sociopath:

"People are an alien species. You’ve never understood them and find relating to them almost impossible. Social graces, morality and even common decency are all foreign currency to the sociopath. There is only one setting for you; ice cold."

Yikes.

The Art of Fiction

Of the many reasons I love The Paris Review, their series of interviews with writers comes first. Such as this one with William Trevor: "I think self-confidence is a very dangerous thing for writers. I tend to write in a fragile, edgy, doubtful sort of way, trying things out all the time, never confident that I've got something right," which sums up my afternoon's work perfectly. And this one, with P.D. James: "I write the books out of order, rather as if I were shooting a film, and then put the story together at the end". Or this one, with John Le Carre: "It's a principle of mine to come into the story as late as possible, and to tell it as fast as you can," which has made me think about my current project in a different, refreshing way.

Seán Ó Faoláin Commendation

Congratulations to the winners of the 8th Annual SOF Contest! I'm heartily chuffed that my story was Highly Commended.

8th Annual Seán Ó Faoláin Short Story Competition 2010

Congratulations to everyone on the shortlist, which has just gone up on site here. I'm thrilled that my story, "You would feel your heart fall over", is up there with the 22 selected stories from over 800 entries. It started life after I heard a group of elderly women mourning a friend who'd just moved into a care home: 'I couldn't do it. I have my own chairs here.' There is much more to the story than the chair, but it's the central image, the point where the story begins and ends. I enjoyed writing it. To see it on the shortlist is very exciting.

Book swap, anyone?

I have a handful of recently-read crime novels that need good homes. Free to whoever asks first, or has something comparable to swap. There's a whole slew of Georges Simenon Maigrets; The Silver Swan by Benjamin Black; Genesis by Karin Slaughter; Jonathan Kellerman's Rage, Obsession, and Blood Test; Land of the Living by Nicci French, and Murder in the Latin Quarter by Cara Black. All in perfect condition.

Red meat, leafy greens and Sherlock

I'm on a quest for iron-rich foods, prompted by my GP. Apparently it wouldn't take much to tip me into anaemia. So I shall be after the darkest of dark chocolates, the reddest of meats and possibly some buttered spinach with nutmeg and ground ginger. Yum. Thus fortified, I hope to get back the attention span necessary to see the rest of the novel through. In other news, I've been enjoying Sherlock on BBC1. The final of three episodes is tonight at 9pm, but it's all available on the BBC's iPlayer via their website. I'm a huge fan of the Holmes stories, and resisted watching this "modern adapatation" at first. But the use of Victorian locations around London, the score, the editing and lighting - it's all beautifully done, suspended at the exact spot between light-hearted tribute and dark pathos, thanks in huge part to Martin Freeman as Watson, a performance that's worthy of a BAFTA for my money. He's funny, compassionate, quiet, observant, interesting and layered. Everything you could want in a hero. Benedict Cumberbatch is suitably insufferable as Holmes, but it's Freeman who steals the show. Do watch this, if you aren't already hooked.

Getting the measure of good crime writing

A short but interesting write-up in the Telegraph today, following the Harrogate Crime-Writing Festival last week. It seems some crime writers are getting the wind up about just how serious the genre should be. To try and compete with literary writers, or not? To connect with readers, surely? The joy of 'making stuff up' versus the urge to write home truths drawn from real life. As the Telegraph puts it: "the pleasingly dissonant sound of writers singing from many different hymn sheets".

For my money, good crime writing gets under the skin of real people, based in the real world. At its best, it gets deeper under that skin than other genres. But there's the temptation to flirt with the grotesque - to reach new heights (or depths) of depravity - to shock the reader in ways they haven't been shocked before. Taken to an extreme, this can fracture the connection between writer and reader; it takes a highly skilled writer to hold our attention while turning our stomachs.

I'd rate Thomas Harris' Silence of the Lambs above just about any other in this regard, although it's interesting that what engaged most readers - and the author himself - was the human relationships at the heart of the story and not its serial killer with the dodgy personal habits. I'd also point out how much more I enjoyed Mo Hayder's recent novels to her earlier ones, where the shocks came thick and fast but the characters cried out for a deeper exploration - which, in the case of Jack Caffrey, she served up in the later books, in spades.

Crime writing which relies heavily on shock value, on excessive brutality or grotesquerie, usually strays into farce. I'm not saying brutality isn't a part of reality, of course it is. But if the reader can detect the sweat, blood and tears of the writer in the effort, it severs the link, takes us out of the story into boggling at the craft beneath.

A good friend told me recently she'd given up on 'hardcore crime' after reading a particularly bloody and bizarre passage which had the opposite effect to that intended by its hard-working author: it made her laugh. Not because it was funny, but because she could sense the effort which'd gone into its nastiness. 'This,' she could clearly hear the writer thinking, 'is the stuff to give 'em!'

Yep, I had a similar reaction to Mo Hayder's Pig Island. But by the time she was writing Skin she'd put the shocks (and the laughs) in their place; Skin is a terrific read, exciting and haunting, funny and tragic. Balance is everything, and Hayder's got the measure of this now.

Natasha Cooper wrote a great piece around this topic, a couple of years ago, but her words have stood the test of time. Read her advice on the Dangers of Crime Writing here.