Posts in the Crime, Thriller & Adventure category

15 May
2013

#Inferno is finally here!

Competitions, Crime, Thriller & Adventure

Yesterday saw the release of Dan Brown’s hotly anticipated book, Inferno, and we didn’t let it pass us by without a little excitement!

We placed golden tickets in four copies of Inferno in Tesco stores up and down the country, and if shoppers were lucky enough to find one they would win an exclusive leather bound copy!

Plenty of you got involved, rummaging through hundreds of books in search of the coveted golden ticket, but of course only four could win. The golden tickets were uncovered in Peterborough, Blackpool, Glasgow & Sandhurst… check out the photos of our lucky winners below!

Buy your copy of Inferno by Dan Brown online and in store now for just £9!

10 May
2013

Charlaine Harris is back with Sookie Stackhouse!

Charlaine Harris

Author Guest Posts, Crime, Thriller & Adventure, Female Fiction

Hello Tesco Books Blog readers,

For the past fourteen years, I’ve lived with a young woman named Sookie Stackhouse. She has become as familiar to me as the back of my own hand. It feels almost incredible to remember that after I wrote the first chapter of her story in 1999, my agent, Joshua Bilmes, had a hard time finding a home for Sookie.

When I began the Sookie books, my daughter was eight years old. Now she’s graduating from college. That fact, more than any other time marker, shocks me into the realization that I’ve been detailing Sookie’s adventures for a very long time . . . and my most profound gratitude must go to you, the readers, for your devotion to and investment in these characters I dreamed up.

Thanks for sticking with me through the books that succeeded and the books that fell a bit short of my aspirations. I have always tried to give you my best; to me, that’s part of the unwritten contract between writer and reader. I appreciate the incredible emotional response you have given me in return and I hope you enjoy this final novel, Dead Ever After, in the Sookie Stackhouse series.

Love, Charlaine x

Buy Dead Ever After by Charlaine Harris in store now!

And join us on Twitter later today for some #FreeReadsFriday action where we’ll be giving you the chance to win the True Blood box set!

8 May
2013

Books We Love – Round 1

Victoria Laws

Books We Love, Crime, Thriller & Adventure, Female Fiction

The last two weeks I have been working my way through the Books We Love List. My social life has taken a dive, my child has gone feral and the house is a mess, but it has been worth it because I have read some of the best fiction I have ever come across.

Uplifting, inspirational and life affirming – these titles will make you laugh, cry and look at life through different eyes. Below are a selection of my favourites. I am sure you will enjoy them as much as I have…

GONE GIRL - The book the best dressed sun lounger will be wearing this summer.

The cleverest book I have read for a long time – I was hooked from the first page. A wife goes missing on her fifth wedding anniversary and all the evidence is pointing towards the seemingly perfect husband… but everything is not as it seems. Or is it? Always a step ahead of you, with a great twist in the middle and an unexpected conclusion it had me regretting I read it so quickly. It will make you question everything you ever thought you knew about relationships – trust, attraction and the lengths people will go to to get revenge.

THE LIGHT BETWEEN OCEANS - The book that will stay with you….

Long after you have turned the final page. This is a story of how love and desperation can lead the most logical people to make the wrong decision for the right reason. Set in the years following the First World War, a remote community in Western Australia are struggling to adjust to life after bereavement and injury. The isolation appeals to a surviving soldier Tom, who takes the position of a lighthouse keeper on a nearby island where he and his wife Isabel are the only inhabitants. The loving but childless couple one day find a boat with a dead man and a live baby and make a decision that will have tragic consequences. Beautifully written, with characters who come to life on the pages, inspiring thoughts of empathy, sadness and hope, it shows that the tragic legacy of war lingers long after peace.

TIGERS IN RED WEATHER - The book that will take you back in time.

East Coast glamour and Hollywood in post war America. It is 1945 and cousins, glamorous Nick and gentle Helena are on the cusp of new beginnings – Nick with her husband returned from the war, war widow Helena about to be remarried. But nothing is how it seems… Told through five characters the book flits back and forward in time over 3 decades with secrets, lies and sinister happenings spilling from every page. With touches of “Valley of the Dolls” and “The Beautiful and the Damned” this original and evocative debut is the perfect summer read.

THE GIRL THAT FELL FROM THE SKY - The book that will make you believe the true nature of courage!

In the second World War Special Operations parachuted 39 women into occupied France to carry out special missions. This is the story of Marian, a young half French girl who is recruited for a very particular reason – all linking to an old family friend and nuclear research. Love, betrayal and longing is exquisitely portrayed and the bravery of the events is truly inspirational.

THE UNLIKELY PILGRIMAGE OF HAROLD FRY - The book that will take you on a journey…

With Harold, a seemingly unremarkable man whose past haunts both him, and the reader, every step of the way. On hearing the news that his former colleague Queenie lies dying of cancer in Berwick, Harold sets out on a walk from his home in South Devon to reach her before the worst. Inspired by a girl working at a petrol station, Harold believes that his faith in the walk will sustain Queenie until he can arrive, and assuage his guilty conscience. This unlikely tale explores the crippling flaws of human nature, the raw strength of love… and the durability of yachting shoes.

This is just a handful of the fantastic books that are on Book We Love List, if you like the sounds of any of these then head over to Tesco Direct now and get your copy for just £2.95! Whilst you’re there check out the rest of the great books on our book club list. Happy Reading!

30 Apr
2013

Win exclusive tickets to Martina Coles launch party!

Robert Chase

Competitions, Crime, Thriller & Adventure

Calling all fans of Martina Cole!

The Life will be published in paperback very soon and to get you excited we have a snippet from the book here, just for you…

To celebrate the paperback publication of The Life we’re giving you the chance to win two exclusive tickets to Martina’s new hardback book launch in October 2013!

To be in with a chance of winning – just tell us in the comments section below what your favourite Martina Cole book is and why?

We look forward to reading your answers – good luck everyone!

Get your copy of The Life by Martina Cole in store now!

29 Apr
2013

Are you going to get hooked on Harlan Coben’s new book?

Liz James

Competitions, Crime, Thriller & Adventure

Hi Tesco Books Blog readers,

Harlan Coben is a busy man. To mark the publication of his new novel, Six Years, he jetted over from the States and spent five action-packed days touring the UK, visiting nine cities, and meeting hundreds of fans!

He also took the time to hang out with Tracie-Ann Lodge from Bedford, lucky winner of the Tesco Books Blog competition to meet him. They discussed books and sport over afternoon tea and a great time was had by all. Here is a photo of Harlan with Tracie and her step daughter Clair.

They were both thrilled to meet Harlan and to get signed copies of the brand new book which is already a massive number one bestseller in the US and is set to be made into a film starring Hugh Jackman! To find out why everyone’s mad about Six Years, here’s the opening – we dare you not to get hooked!

Get your copy of Six Years by Harlan Coben in store now!

23 Apr
2013

Win a money can’t buy prize!

Mark Billingham

Author Guest Posts, Competitions, Crime, Thriller & Adventure

You could be visiting Florida and having lunch with bestselling crime writer Mark Billingham to celebrate the publication of Rush of Blood in paperback!

Location is of course central to any novel, but crime fiction especially has always placed great emphasis on a sense of place. It’s almost impossible to imagine Inspector Morse in a city other than Oxford or Philip Marlowe operating anywhere but LA. In the best crime fiction, the location becomes a character every bit as fascinating and fully formed, every bit as integral to the story as the detective or the villain. It has always seemed to me that the best places to set a crime novel are those where all is not quite as it seems; where there is something nasty lurking just beneath the surface. This is why London is the perfect setting for my Tom Thorne series. There is pomp and history, a tourist-friendly façade… but there is also plenty of darkness beneath. There are shadows.

When I wanted to step away from Tom Thorne and write a standalone novel, the location would prove to be no less important. The idea I had centred around something shocking and terrible taking place in somewhere that seemed idyllic. I wanted to write about horror in paradise. And I knew just the place…

I have come to know the Gulf Coast of Florida fairly well in the last few years, particularly the amazing city of Sarasota. With its stunning beaches, friendly natives and incredible hospitality, I knew it would make the ideal setting. The perfect place for my three seemingly ordinary British couples to meet on what should have been the perfect holiday. The paradise beneath which something terrible was lurking. The sizzling, sun-kissed setting for a perfect murder.

Though the fictional holiday in Rush of Blood is memorable for all the wrong reasons, Sarasota remains the perfect place for a real holiday and, if the local tourist board don’t hate me too much, it’s a place I intend going back to again and again. It’s also the place to which the lucky winner of this amazing competition will be going this summer and I’m very much looking forward to taking them for lunch at my favourite Sarasota restaurant – a place that features prominently in Rush of Blood!

For your chance to win a trip to Florida and have lunch with me, simply tell us know where you would set your crime novel in the comments section below.

So, happy reading, best of luck…and see you in Florida.

Mark

Get your copy of Rush of Blood by Mark Billingham in store and online from Thursday 25th April!

22 Apr
2013

Win a copy of Dead Man’s Time by Peter James and meet the author in store!

Robert Chase

Competitions, Crime, Thriller & Adventure

Dead Man’s Time, the 9th novel in Peter James’s brilliant, Number One bestselling Roy Grace series will be published on June 6th! We couldn’t be more excited to catch up with the latest heart-pounding thrills from DS Grace’s Brighton beat, and we are delighted share some really excellent news…

Only available in Tesco, our version of the book will be interactive, featuring an exclusive secret video interview with the author which you’ll be able to access by scanning the front cover with your apple or android phone or tablet.

What’s more, we want YOU to ask the questions. So simply post your question in the comments section below, and we’ll put our favourites to Peter. And if your question is chosen you’ll receive a first edition of the book, signed by Peter!

The secret video works using the free app Blippar. The book will include clear instructions on how to download the app from your device’s app store, and how to use it (it’s really easy). But if you don’t have an Apple or Android phone, don’t worry. You’ll still be able to watch the video by entering the exclusive code printed in your Tesco special edition on the publisher’s website.

In addition, we are absolutely delighted to announce that Peter will be signing copies of Dead Man’s Time at no less than three Brighton area Tesco stores on 6th June, the day of publication. So get the date in your diary, come and meet Peter and get your book signed!

Peter will be at the Lewes store from 10.30am –11.45am, he’ll then hotfoot it over to the Hove store where he will sign from 12.30pm – 2.00pm and finally it’s over to the Shoreham store where Peter will sign from 2.45pm – 4.00pm.

We look forward to seeing you there and in the mean time don’t forget to put your question to him before the 30th April – get posting!

Buy Dead Man’s Time in store from 6th June!

17 Apr
2013

Win an iPad with Hugh Howey!

Hugh Howey

Author Guest Posts, Crime, Thriller & Adventure

Hey Tesco Books Blog readers,

I’m really happy to be talking to you all, especially as when I was over in the UK I was lucky enough to see my book on the Tesco shelves – what an amazing feeling! Some of you may know that my novel Wool is being made into a film and I wanted to tell you a bit about how it came about.

It was my wife’s party, and so I felt awful saying anything. She had just taken a new job in Florida to be closer to family, and her friends and coworkers were throwing her a going away party. It was after everyone had eaten and we were all standing around gabbing that I got the e-mail from Ridley Scott. He loved my work. He was excited about turning Wool into a feature film.

There are moments you’ll never forget. Ice runs through your veins; your scalp gets all itchy; your throat tightens up until it’s difficult to talk. Once I composed myself, I asked everyone to listen up. My hand was shaking as I tried to read the message again on my cell phone. Everyone piped down and waited for me to give a sappy speech about us moving away, how much my wife means to everyone, and how we’ll miss them.

“I just got an e-mail from Ridley Scott,” I announced.

Two dozen scalps got itchy. Everyone wanted to know what it said. My wife stood beside me while I read out loud how much Ridley enjoys strong characters at the center of imaginative worlds. I read how thrilled he was to have the material in his production studio. And for the first time, I imagined what it might be like to sit in a theater, up to my elbow in a bucket of popcorn, torn ticket tucked carefully into my wallet for safekeeping, the title sequence about to begin on something that I wrote.

It’s a long way off, of course. It might never happen at all. Plenty of books get optioned and don’t become films. But the week I spent in Hollywood meeting with producers and directors has my hopes dangerously up. A screenplay is being written as I type this. Somewhere, a sprout of corn is poking its first tiny green stalk through the dirt. Maybe it’ll grow up, be shucked and stored away, and by the time it’s slathered in oil and popped in a cooker, I’ll be in line ordering a large bucket and preparing to watch a dream come true.

So to celebrate Tesco are giving you the chance to win an iPad mini, all you have to do is answer this question in the comments section below:

What is your favourite film adaptation from a book and why?

Thanks for all your support and watch this space for more updates.

Good luck!

15 Apr
2013

Would you like to meet Dan Brown?

Robert Chase

Competitions, Crime, Thriller & Adventure

It’s all starting to heat up here on the Blog as on the May 14^thone of the biggest books of the year, Inferno is being published in hardback. The novel by Dan Brown sees the return of the world’s most famous symbologist Robert Langdon and is set in the heart of Europe, where Langdon is drawn into a harrowing world centred around one of history’s most enduring and mysterious literary masterpieces.

Dan Brown, bestselling author of Digital Fortress, Deception Point, Angels and Demons, The Da Vinci Code and The Lost Symbol has managed to find the time in his very busy schedule to pop and see us here at Tesco. So we’re giving 2 lucky winners the chance to meet Dan when he’s here and as a memento of the occasion Dan will also give you a signed copy of Inferno and an Inferno goody bag containing his backlist titles.

To be in with a chance of winning this amazing prize, simply tell us which is your favourite Dan Brown novel and why, be as persuasive as you can using no more than 150 words.

We’re out to find Dan’s biggest fans and so want to see you give it your best shot…..good luck!

Pre-order Inferno by Dan Brown online now!

12 Apr
2013

Charles Cumming on his book, A Foreign Country

Charles Cumming

Author Guest Posts, Crime, Thriller & Adventure

Award winning author, Charles Cumming stopped by the blog for a chat about his book, A Foreign Country. A book which won the CWA Ian Fleming Steel Dagger for Best Thriller, the Bloody Scotland Scottish Crime Book of the Year, and was a ‘Books of the Year’ pick in the Sunday Times, Guardian and Sunday Express.

Hi Tesco Books Blog readers,

From Sherlock Holmes to John Rebus, Philip Marlowe to Kurt Wallander, the best-known characters in fiction have often been part of long-running series. In fact, it’s hard to think of a popular writer who hasn’t returned to the same character, book after book, whether it’s JK Rowling, Lee Child or James Patterson.

Readers develop extraordinarily deep relationships with these characters. They want to return to them, both to find out what happens next – what crime or conspiracy or love affair the character will become involved in – but also to re-engage with the characters’ lives. Will Harry Potter defeat Voldemort? Will Jack Reacher meet his match? Will Bertie Wooster finally settle down and get married? The characters can sometimes become as vivid to them as their friends and associates in real life.

Before starting A Foreign Country, I had written five novels, but had never consciously embarked on a long-running series. However, in Thomas Kell, a disgraced former MI6 officer in his early 40s, I felt that I had a character ideally suited to a sequence of novels. Estranged from his wife, childless and professionally compromised, Kell seems at first to be a man to whom life has not been particularly kind. A spy since his early twenties, he has known nothing but the secret world: a world of lies and dual identities, of deniable operations and covert threats.

But Kell is, at heart, a decent man battling with the demons inside his own soul, as well as with the moral failures and duplicity of others. He is also very good at his job, that is, when he is permitted to do it. Charming, alert to opportunities and a shrewd judge of character, it’s no surprise when, in A Foreign Country, MI6 asks Kell to undertake an extremely sensitive mission – to find Amelia Levene, the first female head of MI6, who has vanished without a trace.