Behind the Crimes with Robert Murphy

<p>#Subscribe for free: robertmurphy.substack.com #</p><p>Journalist and crime author Andrew Wilson spent half a decade researching and writing Beautiful Shadow: A Life of Patricia Highsmith.</p><p>When she died, aged 74 in 1995, Highsmith left one of the world’s largest literary estates.</p><p>Inside her notebooks, or <em>cahiers</em>, Andrew found never-before-seen reminiscences of her many (and I mean <em>many</em>) love affairs, notes about the dark crimes which prompted her stories and people she had watched which inspired her characters.</p><p>Highsmith rarely sold more than 8,000 copies a year in the USA. She was far more celebrated in Europe, to where she moved in the 1970s.</p><p>But now, following the superb Netflix series <em>‘Ripley’</em> as well as the 1999 film <em>‘The Talented Mr Ripley,’</em> interest in Highsmith has never been higher.</p><p>Who was Patricia Highsmith? </p><p>A lesbian writer who wrote a queer classic yet was deeply misogynistic. A political liberal who held profoundly racist views. A writer of psychological thrillers who hated people.</p><p>And how did she manage to persuade quite so many married women into bed?</p><p>And what her fascination with snails? Why did she keep them in her bra?</p><p>Andrew Wilson describes all of this and about why he spent five years writing <em>‘Beautiful Shadow.’</em></p><p>You can find more about Andrew Wilson here: https://www.andrewwilsonauthor.co.uk/</p><p>Andrew’s Agatha Christie mysteries are available here: https://www.andrewwilsonauthor.co.uk/the-agatha-christie-mysteries</p><p>His new biography of Marilyn Monroe <em>I Wanna Be Loved By You</em> is here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Wanna-Be-Loved-You-Marilyn-ebook/dp/B0FB496Q27/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0</p><p>In this episode we refer to Truman Capote. You can hear more about In Cold Blood here: </p><p>And Andrew talks about Highsmith’s interest in the Lord Lucan case. You can hear more about that 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>The creator of The Snowdonia Killings talks true crime, pivoting from screenplays to novels (via teaching) and how his own publishing company has proved far more lucrative than being traditionally published.</p><p>When, in 2020, Simon couldn’t get an agent or a publisher, he decided to self-publish his first novel, expecting just a few friends to buy it.</p><p>But soon it was soaring up the Amazon charts.</p><p>The Snowdonia Killings, with its lead character of Det Insp Ruth Hunter, seemed to touch a nerve with fans of crime fiction.</p><p>Since then, Simon has written more than THIRTY books and has sold millions of copies.</p><p>Simon’s books are fantastic reads, with great characters, evocative settings and terrific twists.</p><p>You can find out more (and claim a free book) here: </p><p>https://www.simonmccleave.com</p><p>To WATCH this interview - click here: https://open.substack.com/pub/robertmurphy/p/simon-mccleave-the-screenwriter-turned?r=1lsdh7&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true</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>Mark Gatiss’s new crime drama is set in 1946 London: a city recovering from the Blitz, when gangs ran wild and gun crime was rife.</p><p>Bookish is inspired by both true crimes and the Golden Age of Detective Fiction which preceded the Second World War.</p><p>But what were the true crimes of this period?</p><p>And how does Mark, who works across so many genres (comedy, horror, sci-fi, action, period-drama) and platforms (TV, books, theatre, film) create a show which resonates? Bookish is already posting big audience numbers on U&Alibi in the UK.</p><p>You may know Mark from The League of Gentlemen, Sherlock, Doctor Who, Game of Thrones, Dracula - and MANY other shows.</p><p>But what is it that brings him back to crime?</p><p>To watch this interview, click here: </p><p>https://open.substack.com/pub/robertmurphy/p/sherlocks-mark-gatiss-true-crime?r=1lsdh7&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true</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>The Detection Club, established in 1930, is the world’s first social network for crime writers. </p><p>It’s founder fathers and mothers included Agatha Christie, Dorothy L Sayers and Anthony Berkeley.</p><p>Its current membership includes Ian Rankin, Val McDermid and Richard Osman.</p><p>The current (and only the eighth) President, Martin Edwards, has released an updated edition of his book ‘The Golden Age of Murder’ in which he talks about the true cases which inspired the literary greats of the Inter-War years.</p><p>And he describes how many of our classic crime novels riff around the subject of a ‘justified murder.’</p><p>To WATCH this interview, click here: https://open.substack.com/pub/robertmurphy/p/video-interview-martin-edwards-president?r=1lsdh7&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true</p><p>More about <a target="_blank" href="https://substack.com/profile/13401768-martin-edwards">Martin Edwards</a> : https://martinedwardsbooks.com/ and https://substack.com/@martinedwardsbooks/</p><p>This podcast mentions an earlier episode about the Thompson-Bywaters with <a target="_blank" href="https://substack.com/profile/148505089-laura-thompson">laura thompson</a> case. You can hear that here: </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>How do you take on one of the biggest literature legacies of the past half-century? That’s what Nick Harkaway was asked to do after his father, David Cornwell (aka John Le Carré) died in 2020.</p><p>Karla’s Choice, Nick’s latest in the George Smiley world puts us in a sinister world of subterfuge, Hungarian agents and 1960s London.</p><p>In this interview, Nick tells us how he approached the writing of Karla’s Choice, what he learned from his father - and what he had to learn on-the-job, and how he balances writing in the Le Carré world with his own books.</p><p>You can get Karla’s Choice here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Karlas-Choice-John-Carr%C3%A9-Novel-ebook/dp/B0CZPPHPCR?ref_=ast_author_mpb</p><p>PLUS: My book ‘Decoy’ won ‘Book of the Year’ at the True Crime awards in London last week. Judges praised the quality of the writing, the high-end research and journalism and the issues raised.</p><p>You can grab a copy here: </p><p>UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Decoy-secretive-historical-undercover-operations/dp/0008666814/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0</p><p>USA: https://www.amazon.com/Audible-Decoy/dp/B0CS6XNB54?ref_=ast_author_dp</p><p>Canada: https://www.amazon.ca/Decoy-secretive-historical-undercover-operations-ebook/dp/B0CLTGQDQJ?ref_=ast_author_dp</p><p>Australia: https://www.amazon.com.au/Decoy-secretive-historical-undercover-operations-ebook/dp/B0CLTGQDQJ?ref_=ast_author_dp</p><p></p><p>Want to watch this interview? Check it out here: https://robertmurphy.substack.com/publish/posts/detail/165538997/share-center</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>