Books

Len Deighton, who has died at 97, saw Michael Caine star as Harry Palmer in film of The Ipcress File (Image: Shutterstock) In the spring of 1960 a 31-year-old former chef and flight attendant called Len Deighton got in touch with the Daily Express to pitch an idea he called …

Spy writing legend Len Deighton has died at the age of 97. The former chef and cookery writer, whose early break came when his ‘cookstrips’ – a combination of a recipe and cartoon – appeared in the Daily Express in 1960, is widely regarded as having helped introduce modern spy …

John Grisham has revealed his favourite books (Image: Getty) A best-selling author has shared his favourite books, with one being by a beloved crime writer. John Grisham has written 37 number-one fiction bestsellers and has sold over 300 million copies worldwide. He is one of only three English-speaking authors to …

Olivia Colman and Dame Judi Dench in Murder On The Orient Express (Image: PA/Twentieth Century Fox Film Corp/Nicola Dove) Fifty years after Dame Agatha Christie’s death, the world still can’t get enough of her brilliance. The Queen of Crime’s Seven Dials Mystery on Netflix, starring Mia McKenna-Bruce, has been a …

Ryan Gosling stars in Project Hail Mary based on Andy Weir’s bestseller (Image: AP / Amazon MGM Studios) First published in Daily Express on May 8, 2021. Science-Fiction writer Andy Weir, whose debut novel The Martian sold five million copies and became a hit movie starring Matt Damon, is trying …

Tobias Santelmann as Harry Hole in new adaptation of Jo Nesbo’s bestselling Norway-set novels (Image: Netflix) The actor bringing troubled but brilliant detective Harry Hole to life in a must-watch new Netflix drama nearly did not get the role – because he came across as too “nice” and too “good …

Sarah J Maas’ sixth installment of her best-selling series comes out in October (Image: Getty) Sarah J Maas’ meteoric success looks to soar even higher with her release of her sixth and seventh A Court of Thorns and Roses books. The best-selling author dropped the bombshell on Alex Cooper’s Call …

Claire Lynch became the first debut novelist to win the prestigious Nero Gold Prize (Image: Courtesy Nero Book Awards) A novel by a first-time writer that was inspired by real-life child custody cases and the injustices of the Family Courts has won the prestigious Nero Gold Prize. Claire Lynch became …

One Show presenter Alex Jones is backing Bookmark Reading Charity’s Mind the Gap campaign (Image: Getty) The One Show star Alex Jones has revealed she was so shy at school she never spoke in class – admitting her “12-year old self would be very surprised about my chosen career path”. …

The Dark Heart by Neil Lancaster, Hardback, £16.99 Neil Lancaster’s crack police anti-corruption squad returns for its seventh outing in The Dark Heart, set against the backdrop of a devastating car bomb attack in York that isn’t quite what it seems. DS Max Craigie and his team, introduced in 2021’s …