Dead Simple (Quick Reads 2017) edited by Harry Bingham @harryonthebrink @Quick_Reads

A woman reports a crime to the police, with unexpected results
The grieving widow who finds that she's about to lose more than just her husband
When a man attempts the perfect murder, it's not quite as easy as he thinks
Two men in prison play a deadly game of Scrabble
A young woman tries to trick an old man and gets more than she bargained for
Sometimes crimes are solved in ways you can't explain
A murderer about to be hanged finds that's not the worst thing that can happen
You never know who's going to turn up at your door

Original stories from Mark Billingham, Clare Mackintosh, James Oswald, Jane Casey, Angela Marsons, Harry Bingham, Antonia Hodgson and CL Taylor - specially written for Quick Reads.

Dead Simple is edited by Harry Bingham and is a collection of eight very short stories from eight bestselling crime authors.


I always imagine that it must be much more difficult for an author to write a great short story, than to write a full length novel. Being able to grip the reader with a great plot and realistic characters in just a few pages is such a skill, and I have been disappointed in the past by some short stories.

The eight authors who have contributed their stories to Dead Simple are obviously very talented. Each of these are perfectly formed and gripping, and whilst the style varies from author to author, they are all, without exception, fabulous reads.

The authors:

Mark Billingham is one of the UK's most popular crime writers. He is a former actor, television writer and stand-up comedian. His series of novels featuring D.I. Tom Thorne have twice won him the Crime Novel of the Year Award as well as the Sherlock Award for Best British Detective. Each of his crime novels has been a Sunday Times top ten bestseller.

Clare Mackintosh spent twelve years in the police force, including time in the CID, and as a public order commander. She left the police in 2011 to work as a freelance journalist and social media consultant, and now writes full time. Clare's debut novel, I Let You Go, was a Sunday Times bestseller and was the fastest-selling title by a crime writer in 2015. It was selected for both the Richard and Judy Book Club and ITV's Loose Women's 'Loose Books', and has been translated into 31 languages. In July 2016 Clare received the Theakston's Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year award. Clare's second book I See You was published in July 2016 and is a Sunday Times number one bestseller.

James Oswald is the author of the Inspector McLean series of detective mysteries. The first two of
these, Natural Causes and The Book of Souls, were both short-listed for the CWA Debut Dagger Award. He currently lives in a large caravan inside a Dutch barn in Fife, with three dogs and two cats. He farms Highland cows and Romney sheep by day, and writes disturbing fiction by night.

Jane Casey is the bestselling author of The Missing and the Maeve Kerrigan series: The Burning, The Reckoning, The Last Girl, The Stranger You Knew, The Kill, After the Fire and Let the Dead Speak. She has also written three crime novels for teenagers in the Jess Tennant series. She has won several major awards for her novels, which have been translated into many different languages. She is married to a criminal barrister and lives in London.

Angela Marsons is the author of Amazon number one bestseller
Silent Scream. After years of writing relationship stories, Angela turned to crime, fictionally speaking of course. In Kim Stone she created a character who refused to go away. She lives in the Black Country with her partner, their bouncy Labrador and a swearing parrot.

Harry Bingham is the author of the Fiona Griffiths series of crime novels, set in Cardiff. His heroine was described by the Sunday Times as 'the most startling .... in modern crime fiction ... brutal, freakish and totally original.'  Harry - slightly less freakish than his creation - lives in Oxford with his wife and young family.

Antonia Hodgson was born and raised in Derby. She studied
English at the University of Leeds. She is the author of the bestselling Thomas Hawkins crime series. Her first novel, The Devil in the Marshalsea, won the CWA Historical Dagger Award in 2014. Antonia lives in London.

C L Taylor's first psychological thriller The Accident was one of the top ten bestselling first novels of 2014. Her second and third novels, The Lie and The Missing, were both Sunday Times best sellers and Amazon Kindle number bestsellers. She is currently writing her fourth psychological thriller which will be published in April 2017. She lives in Bristol with her partner and young son.

Quick Reads are brilliant short new books written by bestselling writers. They are perfect for regular readers wanting a fast and satisfying read, but they are also ideal for adults who are discovering reading for pleasure for the first time. Since Quick Reads was founded in 2006, over 4.5 million copies of more than a hundred titles have been sold or distributed. Quick Reads are available in paperback, in ebook and from your local library,

 To find out more about Quick Reads titles, visit www.readingagency.org.uk/quickreads 

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