Saturday, August 07, 2010

What is Tom Hinshelwood reading?

This weekend's featured contributor at Writers Read: Tom Hinshelwood, author of The Killer.

His entry begins:
I’ve just finished reading 61 Hours by the indomitable Lee Child, the latest in his hugely popular Jack Reacher series. I became a Reacher convert quite late in the day I’m embarrassed to admit. I’m not quite sure why, but there was just always something on my to-read list preventing me from making that first step. But since reading One Shot a few of years ago I’ve summarily devoured the rest of the Reacher back catalogue and eagerly await each new outing. Which is unusual as I’m not always the biggest fan of long book series. It can be hard to get into one partway through when I know there’s a pile of novels worth of back story I won’t have read, and if say I read book ten first I’m bound to find out some of the twists from previous novels before actually getting to read them firsthand. Similarly, starting from book one of an established series can be daunting when there are all those books to read next before I can catch up to the latest. But what Lee has done, and what I endeavour to do, is...[read on]
Among the early praise for The Killer:
"No one asked me to read Tom Hinshelwood's The Killer. I happened to pick it up because it looked interesting — and what a terrific discovery: The Killer is a nonstop, breathless, trimmed-to-the-bone thriller with action sequences that are absolutely state-of-the art. It’s the best chase novel I’ve read in years."
--Joseph Finder, New York Times bestselling author of Paranoia and Vanished

"A series of Eurozone cities provide a picturesque backdrop for the ensuing gunfights, stabbings, and explosions—not to mention sunken missiles, corrupt C.I.A. agents, and hulking Russian mobsters. The result is both a lively read and an impressively intricate thriller."
--The New Yorker

"British scriptwriter Hinshelwood's superlative fiction debut takes familiar suspense elements—a hired killer, a CIA traitor, a gorgeous operative, Russian spies, and an espionage coup involving advanced weapon technology—and whips them into nonstop action that veers and twists from one ferocious gun battle, double cross, and betrayal to the next. In a Paris alley early one morning, hired assassin Victor performs a routine job, shooting 58-year-old Latvian national Andris Ozols, then relieving the body of a small flash drive. When Victor returns to his posh hotel on the Rue du Faubourg St. Honoré, he unexpectedly must fight a gang of other professional hit men. Further attempts on his life raise the question: who wants him dead and what's on the memory stick? The action shifts from Paris and various spots in Europe to CIA headquarters and the coast of Africa, the scene of a final cataclysmic clash. Thriller fans will be eager to see more from this bright new talent."
--Publishers Weekly (starred review)
Learn more about The Killer and its author at Tom Hinshelwood's website.

Writers Read: Tom Hinshelwood.

--Marshal Zeringue