A Private Security Company

I saw an unusual sight last week, walking back from town: a dark grey van with a tag on it, the one of a private security firm. It had a phone number and a website address at the back. It got me curious: I have never seen a security company vehicle here before. In big cities, yes, but not in a small town like ours before. So I checked online and yes, it's a thing, and very local too: it has its offices in a nearby (bigger, much bigger) town. The town where I used to work some six, seven years ago (the job I hated). Anyway, it provides all sorts of security services, including commercial and residential, and well, all sorts of things. I might use this sight and the company as inspiration for one (or more) of my crime fiction stories. I think I could come off with something interesting and modern.

Fairbairn-Sykes Fighting Knife (Signature Weapon)

This is my new post in the Signature Weapons series, about weapons that are or could be, well, signature weapons for protagonists and/or antagonists, heroes and/or villains in crime fiction, spy fiction or adventure stories. So today we are talking about the Fairbairn-Sykes fighting knife. Okay, so a knife is a knife is a knife, but this one was first used by the British army during World War II. It's a sleek knife with a slender blade, it looks deceptively simple and sober. It does not make it any less lethal. Because it was used by an Allied force in World War II, I would tend to think it is more suitable for a hero, either in historical fiction or in a more modern setting. Although I think the F-S fighting knife might have been the weapon of choice of one very nasty villainous character in one episode of a famous British TV series. It might have been another sort of knife, mind you. Be that as it may, for a hero with a military background, particularly a British hero, this could be his signature weapon.

To Watch The Invisible

I have some exciting (yet somewhat frustrating) crime fiction news. Yopu may remember that back in August 2025 I mentioned that South African crime writer Deon Meyer's novel Blood Safari, which I reread late last year and early this year, was being adapted into a TV series. It was being retitled The Invisible. Or Invisible, I'm not sure, I have seen both. Anyway, I have recently seen the trailer on social media. And it looks really exciting. The only problem is: I have no idea where, if anywhere, it will be available to watch in the UK. Story of my life for any adaptations of Meyer novels, and there are quite a few. Anyway, that's my new crime fiction aficionado mission: finding a streaming service where I can watch it.

Thriller Writing Course

You may remember that I went to a Thriller Writing Workshop back in March. Well, more like a course anyway, but there are elements of workshop in it. Anyway, there was another course this month, pretty much the same, but since the first one has proven so useful and also given me some motivation to write, I have decided to go there again. At £25 for six hours, three weeks, that's a good investment, I think.

Harry Lime (can you hear the theme?)

As you most likely know if you have been reading this blog, Vienna is not only the city of music, it is also the city of espionage. And thus, it is the setting of The Third Man, a classic Noir spy movie (and book). So from time to time, in souvenir shops and public places, we are reminded of this connection. They even had music box with the antagonist's Harry Lime's theme. Played by Orson Welles. The character, not the theme. You've heard it before, check here. I do regret not buying a piece of movie memorabilia, but the music, as cheerful as it is, ends up being quite unnerving, especially if you know the story.

Beretta (Signature Weapon)

This post is a new entry in my Signature Weapons series, weapons you find in crime fiction and spy fiction and that are used or could be used as signature weapons by protagonists and/or antagonists. So today I am blogging about the Beretta, an Italian gun. I have seen the brand showing up in many crime stories, including a novel I read recently. It's part of the arsenal of the Carabinieri and other police forces around the world. Conversely, it's been used by the mob and still is, whether Italian or not. It's also often featured in the spy thrillers, or at least I have seen the Beretta showing up in the spy novels I read recently. You may not know, but it was the service weapon of a certain British agent (guess who) until it was replaced by another brand (guess which one). Anyway, I'm not sure if the Beretta is in fiction more often held by a good guy or a bad guy, either way it can be a signature weapon.

Scorpio Rising (crime fiction)

 I blogged a few times already about South African crime writer Deon Meyer's latest novel Skorpio. I was hoping to get its translation in English this year, but sadly not. I did a bit of research recently and learned that it's going to be available in... February 2027. That's late, but never mind. I pre-ordered it already. Its English title is Scorpio Rising and, well, scorpions, or a scorpion might be involved. I don't know, it might just be a symbolic association, but all the same, I love when there's the word scorpion in the title of a book, just because. It just sounds dangerous and cool, and kind of nasty in a scary way.

A Secret Passage?

 I took this picture in Brighton. To be more specific, at the Royal Pavilion. It looks like nothing, just a wall with wallpaper, but look closer and you will see that it hides a door. A secret door opening to a secret passage. Well, maybe it does. According to what I heard in the audio tour, the Pavilion has or had secret passages. From what I remember, to help staff move from one room to the other without being seen or heard while doing service. But it could be used in a more dramatic setting. Secret passages are a staple of old(er) mystery literature, either crime stories or spy thrillers. In a modern story, they come off as cheating, but I always liked them all the same.

Heat in Isola

I know I'm blogging a lot about Ed McBain's 87th Precinct crime novel series these days, as I am reading the books in order of publication (as much as possible). But it struck me that one novel would be very fitting for this summer, either this heatwave or the next. I blogged about Heat back in July 2024, more specifically about a grossly lying cover on its French translation. I hate heatwaves, but they are more bearable when I read seasonal crime fiction. It makes me hate the heat more, ironically enough. But hey, it's not the only novel of McBain set in summertime. He seemed to consider sunshine as evil as I do (see this post). But hey, if you are looking for summertime crime fiction, you can't go wrong with Ed McBain.

Introducing Cotton Hawes (87th Precinct)

As you know, this year I have been reading Ed McBain's 87th Precinct series, as much as possible in order of publication. So I recently read Killer's Choice, the fifth entry of the series. The novel is significant in the series for a number of reasons: one of the detectives of the 87th gets murdered, for one, and it's also the debut of Detective Cotton Hawes in the series. Cotton Hawes was invented by McBain at the request of his publishers to provide the series with a ladies' man (the other cops are rather monogamous). Hawes is tall, muscular, redheaded except for a shock of white hair (caused by a knife wound) and of course handsome. I hadn't paid all that much attention to Hawes in the past. I'm not sure if it's because most of the series' entries I read often did not feature him prominently or just that others caught my attention. But now that I have read his debut, I will see the character in a new light.

Blackjack (Signature Weapon)

 This is my new post in the Signature Weapons series. Today's weapon is an oldie: the blackjack. I don't think I have seen one in real life, but they do pop up from time to time in old crime fiction stories, generally in pulp stories. Generally wielded, as far as I remember, by villains, when they knock the hero unconscious with one. Because yes, it's a bludgeoning weapon. It's quite a nasty one too, from what I read, as it is capable of causing permanent injuries, even death. So don't let its small size fool you. Because it can easily be concealed, I can easily see it making a come back. I still think the blackjack fits a villain more than a hero. That said, I must make a confession here: there is one think I love about blackjack, and that its name. It just sound elegant and cool. Like the eponymous card game (which I think I played once or twice), it just has a sort of posh aura, in complete contrast with its true nature. This is another why I think it would fit a crime story nicely and enhances its atmosphere somehow.

Lying Book Cover (87th Precinct)

My year in crime fiction reading has been marked by the return of Ed McBain's 87th Precinct in my to be read list. It had been long overdue and I intend to read some more before the end of the year. And, as much as possible, in order of publication. Anyway, one funny little thing I noticed on the cover of The Con Man, is that the cover shows a man holding a gun, which is misleading: this man is definitely not the antagonist of the novel. Because the main villain does not use a gun: he's a swindler who murders his victims by poisoning them with arsenic. He may be one of the Detectives, but S&W revolvers were the service weapons at the time the story was written. So this cover is lying. Well, covers always lie, and it did not stop me for enjoying The Con Man. But I thought it was funny all the same.

The Hunted (Elmore Leonard)

 Well, it's been long overdue: I am currently reading a crime novel by Elmore Leonard. I have been wanting to get back to Leonard since January 2025, it was one of my reading objectives that year: add one of his novels to my TBR list. Well, better late than never, I recently bought The Hunted, among a number of his books I was pondering on. I'm reading it now. The hunted of the novel is hero Al Rosen. I say "hero", but maybe it's more fitting to say protagonist, although he is as heroic as one can be in a Leonard story. He is hiding in Israel from Detroit mobsters, drifting in the Holy Land out of trouble, until he saves some tourists from a hotel fire, which gets him his picture in the press... and the attention from the mob. It's a neat thriller so far, with nasty criminals, a sleazy lawyer, great dialogues and plenty of atmosphere.

Looking for Devil's Peak

You may remember that I have been desperately looking for the TV series adaptation of Deon Meyer's Devil's Peak. I love his crime thrillers and of course I want to see all the adaptations of his work on the screen, whether they are movies or series. South Africa is such a great atmospheric setting for crime dramas and seeing it on screen adds a new perspective to the experience, like an extra layer. I thought it would screen on the BBC, eventually, but apparently it never did. I recently did a Google search and thought I could find it on Tubi, but again, no: it's available in the US and Canada, but not in the UK. I have started to wonder whether I should just subscribe to a streaming service that has it.

Glock (Signature Weapon)

This is a new post in my Signature Weapons series, about weapons that say something about the characters using them, especially but not exclusively in crime fiction. So today I am blogging about the Glock. This is the very first firearm of the series. And before I go further, a disclaimer: I know almost nothing of firearms, I'm not a gun enthusiast by any stretch of the imagination, I don't have a gun fetish either, so I am writing this as a complete outsider, but as an aspiring crime fiction writer. Now, I find Glocks interesting for a number of reasons: thematically, symbolically and practically. First, it is the service weapon of many police forces in the world, including the SQ (Sûreté du Québec). So this is often the weapon of choice of my characters. According to the TV Tropes entry on handguns, it has the reputation of being the boring but practical gun of all boring, but practical guns. It's reliable without being flashy. Also, it's an Austrian weapon, and the name is very close to the German Glocke, which means bell. I find it ironic that a weapon is thus linked to something often seen as delicate and playful, used to produce music. And yes, I am working to use this double entendre in couple of stories.

Bulgarian Umbrella (Signature Weapon)

This post is part of my Signature Weapons series. While most of the weapons mentioned so far are either traditional weapons and/or belong to crime fiction, this one is fairly modern and was made infamous during the Cold War. You may never have heard the term Bulgarian umbrella, but I think you probably know the device: a seemingly mundane umbrella with a hidden mechanism capable of shooting ricin in a victim's body. It has been used in real life by the Bulgarian ecret Services against dissidents. It's a signature weapon in the truest sense, the literal sense. Because of its origins, it belongs more to spy thriller than crime fiction, at least it's a more natural fit, but who knows, sometimes both genres connect. Obviously (and naturally), this is a villain's weapon. 

Crime and Cognac (87th Precinct)

So I am in a binge reading streak these days, more specifically reconnecting with Ed McBain's 87th Precinct series. And you may remember, if this post's title looks familiar, that I blogged last year about one of The Mugger's characters' fondness of cognac. It was to be more specific the hero's romantic interest. Well, after reading The Con Man, fourth book of the series, it seems that criminals can be also fond of cognac. I will not spoil anything, but the main villain (a very sinister one, by the way) drinks Rémy Martin. He even pronounces the name properly, except when he mocks the waiter who brought the drink to him. I'm not sure what to think of it, but I can say that, while I am curious about cognac, which as far as I can remember I never drank, I don't think I'm eager to try Remy Martin. It's probably out of my price range anyway.

Legends

 I found another great crime series on Netflix and I wanted to share it/plug it here: Legends. It's both a crime drama and a true crime documentary, as it is based on true events: the heroin trade of the early nineties in the UK and the combat against it by a team formed by border officers. A ragtag bunch of misfits as the trope is called. I love ragtags bunch of misfits, especially in crime fiction, even more when they had an origin in real life. I might blog about the trope one day, but I digress. You have two fairly rarely seen (at least in fiction) mob groups as the antagonists, one from Liverpool, the other from Turkey. Anyway, I cannot stress how solid the series is and I cannot recommend it enough.

Sherlock Holmes Day

Today is Sherlock Holmes Day .I missed it last year, but I knew I needed to commemorate it this year. I haven't read enough Sherlock Holmes stories, but I enjoy every one I have read, and of course for any crime fiction fan Holmes is an archetypal reference, THE archetypal reference for any investigator in crime fiction, and even beyond the genre. So I have one book of his adventures on my to be read list and once I read it, I will buy more. I also have a reference guide which I might read a bit today. And to accompany this post, I am sharing this image taken from this edition of The Hound of the Baskervilles. So happy birthday Sherlock. You remain to this day the greatest detective of all time.

Shillelagh (Signature Weapon)

This post is part of my Signature Weapons series, which I hope to get going for a while. One weapon that I have seen time and again in movies and TV series, yet I didn't know its name or even that it had a specific term for it. I am referring to the shillelagh, an Irish walking stick which can also be used as a club. It even has its own website and they don't even hide they can be used as fighting sticks. Better (or worse?), you can even order them from the website. I must confess, they look very stylish. And what a badass sounding name too! I love Ireland and everything Irish, so if I was to feature a shillelagh in one of my stories, it would be hard not to have it wielded by a good guy. What do you think? Ever seen one in real life?