His novels have been adapted into a four-part drama for BBC1 – here the author reveals why his thrillers are the real deal.
By Mark Lawson
Tuesday 11 July 2017
The problem with novelists, says Mark Billingham, is that “as a rule, they tend not to play well with others. You spend a year on your own writing a book. So it’s difficult suddenly to be thrown in a room with loads of other people.”
But the bestselling crime writer is, in three senses, coming out to play at the moment. He spent time on the set and in the editing suite of In the Dark, a four-part adaptation of two of his novels featuring DS Helen Weeks, a young detective who investigates a child murder while heavily pregnant. The day after we meet at his north London home, he’s off to Liverpool to start a promotional tour for Love like Blood, his 14th novel featuring London homicide detective DI Tom Thorne, and, while there, he has scheduled the first rehearsal for a summer tour with his rock band, the Fun Lovin’ Crime Writers.
The election of Donald Trump last November had an unexpected result in my household. My 16-year-old son developed a fascination with systems of governance. The disparity between the popular vote – won by Hillary Clinton – and the electoral college that propelled Trump into office offended his sense of justice.
It’s been a recurring topic of conversation ever since. We discussed monarchy versus republicanism over pizza. It took several breakfasts to cover communism satisfactorily. I hadn’t even had my second cup of coffee the morning we moved on to Julius Nyerere’s dream of pan-African socialism.
forced me to re-examine tenets I’ve tended to take for granted. Sure, I’ve grumbled about disproportional representation, raged over democratic deficits and moaned when the verdict of the people didn’t coincide with mine. But it took those conversations with a 16-year-old to remind me of the idealist I used to be, and to consider what true reformation might mean.
One of Scotland’s top crime writers is set to take on a 13-mile walk for charity in a bid to raise awareness of breast cancer. Val McDermid, who has sold more than 15 million books to date, will join the ranks of the pink-bra brigade as she rises to the MoonWalk challenge this summer.
The 61-year-old, from Kirkcaldy, is battling Type 2 diabetes and sees the opportunity to “roll back” her condition while raising funds for a great cause.
McDermid, who will be taking part in the “Half Moon” walk with her partner Jo Sharp, is aiming to raise about £5,000 as she joins thousands of other women and men in Edinburgh for the event on 10 June.
