Behind the Crimes with Robert Murphy

<p>Subscribe for free: robertmurphy.substack.com</p><p>Anthony Horowitz may be best-known for his <em>Alex Rider</em> hit novels. But as a writer of adult crime fiction he has a unique and distinguished career.</p><p>He was the first author entrusted by the estate of Arthur Conan Doyle to reimagine Sherlock Holmes for a new book. And then he wrote three official James Bond novels.</p><p>But his own inventions as an author and a screenwriter have now become parts of our cultural life: Foyle’s War, the <em>Susan Ryeland</em> books and TV shows and the <em>Hawthorne and Horowitz</em> series.</p><p>Anthony also wrote on <em>Midsomer Murders</em> and A<em>gatha Christie’s Poirot</em>.</p><p>He started working in advertising while writing books into the early hours. And his big break came in the mid-1980s when, after publishing a children’s book about Robin Hood, he was asked to write for the biggest TV show in Britain at that time.</p><p>In this episode, Anthony breaks down what parts of crime writing he enjoys - and tries to avoid. And he describes the honour and pressure which came from being entrusted with two of crime writing’s most important literary estates.</p><p>His latest book, A Deadly Episode, will be released tomorrow. You can discover more about Anthony here: anthonyhorowitz.com or @anthonyhorowitz</p><p></p> <br/><br/>This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit <a href="https://robertmurphy.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&#38;utm_campaign=CTA_2">robertmurphy.substack.com/subscribe</a>

<p>Subscribe for free: Robertmurphy.substack.com</p><p>David Baldacci was born in Richmond, Virginia, in 1960. What was it like growing up amidst the legacy of the Jim Crow laws? How did becoming a Washington lawyer finesse his storytelling skills? And how did he write his breakout debut <em>Absolute Power</em> while working 90-hour weeks as a litigator?</p><p>David has written more than 60 books in the last three decades and has become one of the world’s best-selling crime-writers.</p><p></p><p>His latest novel, <em>Hope Rises,</em> is the second part of David’s <em>Walter Nash</em> series. It tells how an everyday businessman seeks revenge after being plunged into the dark world of organised crime and security agencies.</p><p>In this conversation we speak about David’s inspiration from true crime, his literary heroes… and about his hometown hotel which had alligators in the reception.</p><p>You can learn more about David here: https://www.davidbaldacci.com/</p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Hope-Rises-Action-Packed-International-Bestseller-ebook/dp/B0FN86FV9W/ref=books_amazonstores_desktop_mfs_aufs_ap_sc_dsk_0?_encoding=UTF8&#38;pd_rd_w=ULmIR&#38;content-id=amzn1.sym.f9a1288a-66fe-4587-95f9-1387021c317b&#38;pf_rd_p=f9a1288a-66fe-4587-95f9-1387021c317b&#38;pf_rd_r=260-8742912-6623861&#38;pd_rd_wg=4Etr2&#38;pd_rd_r=1ae366be-14a3-44ba-a097-93298391742b">You can grab a copy of Hope Rises here in the UK.</a></p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://www.amazon.com/Hope-Rises-David-Baldacci-ebook/dp/B0FL137HPV/ref=sr_1_1?crid=8AODXTTBVRJ2&#38;dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.ykSjcbhB0p8KAqH_esSbr3Isd1h9vV5shnK9bywinrRbPMRnk4_DN-YgAcxLjY7YvE2PlVlCjAnxXItKljsPPqFbIROhx6JsVgZWjmDtC41oVY0szZExD54O43VBFYsd6ZMUw1PETmp6zCT3SPDuwPhyaStw4-fe8rXWS4XDjoxLBwM7O3UfYBVky2li0v5dVEzHMaZMrEfIC5CM-hofgBzKRdwgUiHERJTqnlwAlqg.NtsEw7th5Q1cnN8taC67Y7ckOx73Zs8eNExnTeHeaUQ&#38;dib_tag=se&#38;keywords=hope+rises&#38;qid=1774936576&#38;sprefix=hope+rises%2Caps%2C192&#38;sr=8-1">And here in the USA</a>.</p> <br/><br/>This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit <a href="https://robertmurphy.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&#38;utm_campaign=CTA_2">robertmurphy.substack.com/subscribe</a>

<p>Subscribe for FREE: robertmurphy.substack.comRichard Laxton discusses how he directed the ITV drama <em>Gone</em>.Why did he want to tackle the subjects of male repression and coercive control?What strengths did the lead actors Eve Myles and David Morrissey bring to the show? </p><p>And how did his experience as a young gay man who didn’t come out until he was 21 inform this drama about an institution which has a public and private face?Richard also discusses his previous crime series including, <em>Joan</em>, <em>Honour</em> and <em>The Thief, His Wife and the Cano</em>e?</p><p></p><p></p><p>If you enjoyed this episode, we have much more about the hit ITV drama in the last two episodes:</p><p><strong>The writer:</strong></p><p>In this episode series creator George Kay describes which true crimes influenced his writing - and his career more widely, including the hit shows <em>Hijack</em>, <em>The Long Shadow</em> and <em>Lupin</em>.</p><p><strong>The inspiration:</strong></p><p>Former detective Julie Mackay led the team which solved the 30-year-old murder of the teenager Melanie Road.</p><p>In this episode, she describes what it was like starting her policing career in the 1980s and 1990s, juggling being a detective with being a mother and solving a high-profile cold case.</p><p>If you want to learn more about the award-winning book, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Hunt-Killer-Julie-Mackay-ebook/dp/B09HH289SH?ref_=ast_author_mpb">To Hunt a Killer, </a>which Julie and I wrote - about that inquiry - you can grab a copy here.</p><p></p> <br/><br/>This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit <a href="https://robertmurphy.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&#38;utm_campaign=CTA_2">robertmurphy.substack.com/subscribe</a>

<p>Subscribe for free: robertmurphy.substack.com</p><p>How - and why - did celebrated screenwriter George Kay take a true crime story and create a tense, claustrophobic thriller set in an English private school?</p><p>‘Gone’ stars Eve Myles as overlooked detective sergeant Annie Cassidy brought in to investigate the disappearance of the wife of domineering headmaster Michael Polly (David Morrissey.)</p><p>In this interview, George describes how he was inspired by the detective Julie Mackay (last week’s episode) and her book <a target="_blank" href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Hunt-Killer-Julie-Mackay-ebook/dp/B09HH289SH?ref_=ast_author_mpb">To Hunt a Killer.</a></p><p>But the series was influenced by two other real-life investigations.</p><p>George speaks about how he moved from writing episodic scripts for Killing Eve and other series to becoming one of the UK’s most bankable and acclaimed drama showrunners.</p><p>And he touches on some of the big themes raised in Gone: masculinity and how some institutions fail to nurture generations of boys.</p><p>George has featured in two previous episodes of <em>Behind the Crimes</em>. He talked about how he created The Long Shadow, about the crimes of Peter Sutcliffe:</p><p>And of his previously unknown connection to the Lord Lucan nanny who evaded the murderous earl:</p><p></p> <br/><br/>This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit <a href="https://robertmurphy.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&#38;utm_campaign=CTA_2">robertmurphy.substack.com/subscribe</a>

<p>Julie Mackay is the former detective superintendent who led the inquiry into the cold case of Melanie Road.</p><p>For more than three decades, the killer of the 17-year-old schoolgirl evaded justice.</p><p>For the final seven years, this inquiry was led by Julie Mackay at Avon & Somerset Police.</p><p>Julie and I wrote To Hunt a Killer - an award-winning book about her tireless hunt for the murderer.</p><p></p><p>The book was optioned by New Pictures, the creators of Gone. Screenwriter George Kay created a fictional world, using the book as inspiration, rather than making a straight adaptation.</p><p>Gone centres on the domineering headmaster Michael Polly (David Morrissey) whose wife Sarah vanishes from his prestigious West Country school. Det Sgt Annie Cassidy (Eve Myles) is brought in to find her. Instead of being allowed to lead the hunt, she’s sidelined as the Family Liaison Officer. But her new position gives her unique access to the Polly family home. And the more she sees of this dogmatic, repressed and powerful man, the more she questions whether he was responsible for his wife’s vanishing.</p><p>In this podcast episode, Julie describes starting as the sole woman on her police team, what it was like to work undercover, to have a loaded sawn-off shotgun pointed at her head, reflects on the challenges of the Melanie Road inquiry, and what it was like to run a team of nearly 200 detectives when she finally got the top job leading a regional Murder Squad.</p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://www.itv.com/watch/gone/10a6279/upcoming">Gone is aired on ITV in the UK on Sundays and Mondays throughout March with all episodes appearing on ITVX on March 8th for the binge-watchers among you.</a></p><p>Gone is written by George Kay and directed by Richard Laxton. It stars Eve Myles and David Morrissey and co-stars Jennifer Macbeth, Arthur Hughes, Nicholas Nunn, Elliot Cowan, Billy Barrett, Rupert Evans, Jodie McNee, Oscar Batterham, and Clare Higgins.</p> <br/><br/>This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit <a href="https://robertmurphy.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&#38;utm_campaign=CTA_2">robertmurphy.substack.com/subscribe</a>