Three officers of the Service for Combating Illicit Drug Trafficking were detained in Bishkek, after being found with 3 kilos...
Tom CallaghanAugust 30, 2020
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…
Tom CallaghanAugust 29, 2020
In Kadamjay, four men robbed and beat residents, threatening them with a pistol
Tom CallaghanAugust 28, 2020
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…
Tom CallaghanAugust 27, 2020
Bishkek police recently confiscated a cache of weapons and drugs, believed to belong to an organised crime gang.
Tom CallaghanAugust 24, 2020
No Corruption The Kyrgyz authorities devote a lot of time and energy to stamping out the problem of corruption
Tom CallaghanAugust 23, 2020
Bantiki - heralding the start of autumn I've been asked what exactly are the bantiki that were mentioned in Tuesday's short story, 'Amateurs'.
Tom CallaghanAugust 21, 2020
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.
Tom CallaghanAugust 20, 2020
The cover of ‘The IPCRESS File’ by Len Deighton, that is. Afraid the white dustjacket would get marked and dirty, sitting around in bookshops.
Tom CallaghanAugust 19, 2020
'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…
Tom CallaghanAugust 17, 2020
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).
Tom CallaghanAugust 14, 2020
Robert Campbell (1920-2000) was a prolific novelist and screenwriter, even earning an Academy Award nomination.
Tom CallaghanAugust 13, 2020
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…
Tom CallaghanAugust 12, 2020
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.
Tom CallaghanAugust 10, 2020
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…
Tom CallaghanAugust 9, 2020
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…
Tom CallaghanAugust 8, 2020
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…
Tom CallaghanAugust 7, 2020
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…
Tom CallaghanAugust 6, 2020
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…
Tom CallaghanAugust 5, 2020
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…
Tom CallaghanAugust 3, 2020
Trust the Kyrgyz to create a vodka for this situation. If only it worked.
Tom CallaghanAugust 1, 2020
I'm spending today working on an Akyl Borubaev short story. But with a view like this, are you surprised I get distracted?
Tom CallaghanJuly 30, 2020
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…
Tom CallaghanJuly 29, 2020
To anyone who’s wondered about my silence: I’m still writing, even if I haven’t published anything for a while, and I hope my revitalised blog will keep people up to…
Tom CallaghanJuly 28, 2020
AKW is at 3:25 https://soundcloud.com/crime-files-podcast/crime-files-podcast-02-feb-15#t=3:25
Tom CallaghanFebruary 20, 2015
Pre-order the audio book of 'A Killing Winter'
Tom CallaghanJanuary 23, 2015
“A Killing Winter is a brilliant debut, and an early contender for one of my top reads of the year…”
https://ravencrimereads.wordpress.com/2015/01/19/tom-callaghan-a-killing-winter/
Tom CallaghanJanuary 19, 2015
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…
Tom CallaghanDecember 20, 2014
I've been invited to appear at the 2015 Edinburgh International Book Festival in August.
Tom CallaghanDecember 11, 2014
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…
Tom CallaghanNovember 28, 2014
The cover entitled WHERE NO ONE'S SAFE AND EVERYBODY LIES... was used for the advance copies for the Harrogate Festival.
Tom CallaghanOctober 27, 2014
