I’m not entirely certain how a surprise copy of CrimeBits: 100 Opening Gambits for Great Thrillers & Linked Mystery Puzzles selected by Lee Child ended up in my post box. I suspect it might be the smashing Luca Veste, author of CrimeBits‘s Afterward who sent it, but I’m delighted to have received it and to share my review today.
Published by the Black Spring Press Group in hardback on 27th August 2024, CrimeBits will be released in paperback on 1st October and you can pre-order it here.
CrimeBits: 100 Opening Gambits for Great Thrillers & Linked Mystery Puzzles
CrimeBits is a unique, interactive puzzle book including 100 first pages of thrillers, the best selected by the world-famous crime author Lee Child. Each page is linked to a puzzle, ranging from crosswords, to wordsearches, to mystery logic puzzles created by L.A. Times puzzle setter Robin Stears. Read an exclusive introduction by Lee Child himself on crime writing and the importance of a novel’s opening. This grab-bag of a book also includes writing challenges, crime trivia, and editor’s notes.
CrimeBits 2 is set to be selected and introduced by the best-selling Tartan Noir author Val McDermid.
My Review of CrimeBits: 100 Opening Gambits for Great Thrillers & Linked Mystery Puzzles
A selection of interactive puzzles and writing prompts.
Well this is a cracker of a book. If you’re looking for the perfect gift for someone who has everything, CrimeBits is just what you’re looking for. It’s innovative, engaging and very inspiring, particularly to aspiring crime fiction writers. It would be absolutely perfect for those who love crime fiction and have a long daily commute who could lose themselves between its pages and those who love puzzling would find it thoroughly engaging.
Crimebits is packed with all manner of fabulous story openings, facts and interactivity. I still haven’t finished all the puzzles as it took me several days to embrace the concept of the book. This is because CrimeBits is designed for readers to become a part of the book itself, carrying on writing from story prompts, completing various puzzles or awarding marks to the creative writing between its pages, for example. This was a real problem for me. I thought it was all so good that I couldn’t bear to sully the book by writing in it! I’ve really had to steel myself to complete crosswords and wordsearches which I’ve done as lightly as possible in pencil so I don’t spoil my copy and my efforts can be rubbed out, returning the book to its pristine state. With the writing spaces for Have Your Say: What Happens Next I’ve used a notebook rather than write in my copy. I’m aware this is bonkers because the whole premise of the book is that it is to be used, to be interactive and to involve the reader. There are even QR codes that take readers to extra material on the publisher website. It really is an immersive and entertaining book. I also thoroughly appreciate the fact that puzzle solutions are available at the end of CrimeBits as I’m particularly useless at logic!
The greatest pleasure in CrimeBits for me came from the 100 crime fiction openings contained in the book. They are a veritable smorgasbord of delight, my favourite being Secret Bones by Laurel Nicholson. Every aspect of crime writing is represented so that there really is something for every reader here. Their length also caters for the increasingly limited attention span many of us have as illustrated by Lee Child in his Introduction.
That Introduction is incredibly interesting. As might be expected, both readers and writers learn from Lee Child about the craft of writing – especially about hooking in a reader from the first page, but equally interesting is the insight into Lee Child as a man as well as a writer. His warm diffidence and enthusiasm leap from the page.
Similarly, the Afterword by Luca Veste is a mini-masterclass in crime fiction writing. His honesty about his own writing illustrates to perfection the way writers need to hook readers in crime fiction and his passion for the genre shines through. It made me hungry to read every book he’s written – including Dead Gone which he wishes he’d opened differently.
I loved CrimeBits because it is clever, entertaining and absorbing. But be warned, if you’re like me, you’re going to need several copies of CrimeBits: some to give as gifts, one for yourself to write in and one to keep in perfect condition on your bookshelf! I think it’s excelelnt.
About Lee Child
Photograph courtesy of Sigrid Estrada
Lee Child is one of the world’s leading thriller writers. He was born in Coventry, raised in Birmingham, and now lives in New York. It is said one of his novels featuring his hero Jack Reacher is sold somewhere in the world every nine seconds. His books consistently achieve the number-one slot on bestseller lists around the world and have sold over one hundred million copies. Two blockbusting Jack Reacher movies have been made so far. He is the recipient of many awards, most recently Author of the Year at the 2019 British Book Awards. He was appointed CBE in the 2019 Queen’s Birthday Honours.
For further information, follow Lee Child On Twitter/X @LeeChildReacher, find him on Instagram or visit his Facebook page and website.
About Luca Veste
Luca Veste is a writer of Italian and Liverpudlian heritage, married with two young daughters, and one of nine children. He studied psychology and criminology at university in Liverpool. He is the author of the Murphy and Rossi series, which includes Dead Gone, The Dying Place, Bloodstream, and Then She Was Gone.
Part psychological thriller, part police procedural, his books follow the detective pairing of DI David Murphy and DS Laura Rossi. The novels are set in Liverpool, bringing the city to life in a dark and terrifying manner…with just a splash of Scouse humour.
For further information, visit Luca Veste’s website, follow him on Twitter/X @LucaVeste or find Luca on Facebook and Instagram.
English (US) · 