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110 kg of drugs seized from residents of Chui region...

https://youtu.be/BUjJ26rPiZ8 Last night's firework's display to celebrate 29 years of Kyrgyz independence

Three officers of the Service for Combating Illicit Drug Trafficking were detained in Bishkek, after being found with 3 kilos...

I’ll be honest: I haven’t read ‘Gallows Court’ by Martin Edwards. And books set in pre-war London, the Golden Age of crime fiction, tend not to feature high on my…

In Kadamjay, four men robbed and beat residents, threatening them with a pistol

The main character (and the most terrifying) in Jack O’Connell’s books is not a person, it’s a place. Quinsigamond, a post-industrial New England city, where derelict warehouses, porn theatres and…

A police lieutenant colonel was detained for demanding bribes.

Bishkek police recently confiscated a cache of weapons and drugs, believed to belong to an organised crime gang.

No Corruption The Kyrgyz authorities devote a lot of time and energy to stamping out the problem of corruption

На здоровье? (To health?)

Bantiki - heralding the start of autumn I've been asked what exactly are the bantiki that were mentioned in Tuesday's short story, 'Amateurs'.

It’s said that one publisher, reading the manuscript of ‘I Was Dora Suarez’ was so appalled that he vomited. It’s not an unlikely response.

The cover of ‘The IPCRESS File’ by Len Deighton, that is. Afraid the white dustjacket would get marked and dirty, sitting around in bookshops.

'This is a bookshop. We sell books' In Saturday's Guardian, a publisher, Sharmaine Lovegrove wrote that about publishers should work in bookshops to discover the unexpected pairings between readers and…

Unless a bookcase collapses and buries you under a landslide of paperbacks, collecting books will rarely kill you (although they will damage your wealth, eyesight and marital harmony).

Robert Campbell (1920-2000) was a prolific novelist and screenwriter, even earning an Academy Award nomination.

Looking at the cover, you’d be forgiven for thinking that Stephen King’s forthcoming book, ‘Later’ came out in the late 50s. The vintage pulp style of illustration reeks of bad…

With this blog now underway like a rusty tramp steamer nerving its way into new waters, you might like to note a couple of future weekly events.

It seemed an innocuous habit at first, one my parents even encouraged. Harmless to begin with. The odd Puffin paperback here and there, and then later, Penguin Classics, before moving…

Except here, it seems. The virus appears not to like sunlight, fresh air and open spaces that people can enjoy while still keeping their distance. Children seem to be the…

It's two years ago today since I went to the Ata-Beyit memorial complex outside Bishkek, where the great Kyrgyz writer, Chingiz Aitmatov is buried. It's a beautiful place, with a…

The world of crime/ noir/ thriller books is, understandably, dominated by a few best-selling authors. You know, the ones whose covers stare out at you in every airport, promising distraction…

In reality, I normally spend my days on my private terrace overlooking Montego Bay, sipping a cold Red Stripe and enjoying exotic sushi. But I want you to believe that…

As you might expect from a novelist, I'm keenly interested in book cover design. Not least because the success or failure of a book cover has a direct impact on…

Yesterday’s post showed me standing in the dark and the snow outside Derevyashka, a local bar facing Gorky Park (no, not that one). *Derevyashka means ‘wood’, and as I described it…

From Gulf News 19.2.15

AKW is at 3:25 https://soundcloud.com/crime-files-podcast/crime-files-podcast-02-feb-15#t=3:25

I'm appearing at Bristol CrimeFest in May

I'll be hosting a table and look forward to solving the murder.

Sebastian Fitzek says about this book: "I have not read anything as intrusive since Child 44.. This thriller is merciless, strongly atmospheric and unbelievably gripping." Sebastian Fitzek's new novel PASSENGER…

I've been invited to appear at the 2015 Edinburgh International Book Festival in August.

Pre-publication copies of the German edition

PD James' Writing Tips (RIP)

From the Emirates LitFest programme

'Silence is golden'  -  at the Emirates LitFest launch

Saul Reichlin reads 'A Killing Winter' I'm delighted that Saul is reading the audio book of 'A Killing Winter'. A well-known actor and director, Saul has won several awards for…

The cover entitled WHERE NO ONE'S SAFE AND EVERYBODY LIES... was used for the advance copies for the Harrogate Festival.

Invitation to the Opening of the Dubai International Writers' Centre!

Very pleased to see AKW featured at Frankfurt this year! #hachette2014