The past is never dead, it isn’t even past
Michael, Along the Roads to Hell recounts the trip you took with your father to visit eight concentration camps across Europe. Why did you want to turn this experience into a book? In a way, the book could be seen as a monument for the special experience that I have...
Budapest in Wartime: Adam LeBor Interviewed Congratulations on the publication of your new book, The Last Days of Budapest. It’s an extremely powerful book that tells the story of Budapest’s descent into catastrophe during World War II, could you start by telling us...
Paul, we’re in book 2 of your Rebellion series. Can you update readers on where we are at the beginning of Uprising? At the end of book 1 (Blood Feud), we left Oslac back home in his village at Acum, following the successful conclusion of two major plot lines....
Karen Haden, what first attracted you to the period in which you write, and historical fiction in general? Having previously worked as a consultant for intelligence and cyber security agencies, I was drawn to the Tudor and Stewart years, with their complex mix of...
Richard, our favourite reluctant spy and even more reluctant poet Rufus Varro is back – and there’s been a murder. Why was Assassin a story you wanted to add to the Spies of Rome series? I partly wanted to write a novella that was in the mold of Steven Saylor's Roma...
Deborah Lawrenson on The Secretary What drew you to the Cold War era specifically, 1958 Moscow, as the setting for The Secretary? Growing up around the world as an embassy child, I was always aware that my parents were living an unusual and interesting life. My...
David, your novel follows a British battalion on its tour of Northern Ireland during the Troubles. Why did you want to write about this difficult period in British and Irish history? To some extent the Troubles are a forgotten ‘war’ and quite unlike almost any...
Simon, A Death in Berlin is the latest in your new series featuring Criminal Inspector Horst Schenke. It's a very pacey and compelling novel. Would you like to start by giving an overview of the plot? I was looking at the underworld in Weimar and Nazi Germany. One of...
Marek, many congratulations on the new book, The Stories Old Towns Tell. Why did you choose the seven cities (Frankfurt; Würzburg; Rothenburg ; Prague; Warsaw; Lublin and Vilnius) – did you use a set of criteria, or was it your own experiences of visiting them? Thank...
So, we are back in Tomis – will there be another murder to be solved by the Roman love poet Ovid? Oh yes! I was chatting about this the other day with some fellow crime writers, and we decided that the ideal detective and hero for a mystery series is – a writer. There...
