Crime & Thrillers Weekend

A Canadian reporter discovers his roots lie in the Black Isle and becomes intrigued by a dramatic episode from 1843 involving his forebears. His research includes verbatim records from the subsequent court hearings and through his imaginings the characters are brought to life. In this unique production the words are spoken by local people, many directly related to individuals involved at the time. With the addition of life-sized puppets portraying the characters and original music performed live, this production guarantees a visual and aural treat inspired by real events. Tickets: £10 adults; £5 under 16s Please email or tel 01381 600354 or, if combining with other events over the weekend, complete and return the booking form. Get your tickets early - seating is 'in the round' and numbers are limited!  NB. This show is also on at 8.00pm

A Canadian reporter discovers his roots lie in the Black Isle and becomes intrigued by a dramatic episode from 1843 involving his forebears. His research includes verbatim records from the subsequent court hearings and through his imaginings the characters are brought to life. In this unique production the words are spoken by local people, many directly related to individuals involved at the time. With the addition of life-sized puppets portraying the characters and original music performed live, this production guarantees a visual and aural treat inspired by real events. Tickets: £10 adults; £5 under 16s Please email or tel 01381 600354 or, if combining with other events over the weekend, complete and return the booking form. Get your tickets early - seating is 'in the round' and numbers are limited!  NB. We have now added a second showing at 2.00pm.

Rather than Miss Marple and Hercule Poirot, Scottish crime fiction has taken its inspiration from the dark gothic tales of Hogg, Stevenson and others. Ian Rankin will discuss these influences and explain why Tartan Noir really is in a class of its own. Surely he needs no introduction!  But if you do wish to learn more about the rather successful and prolific crime writer (and part-time Cromarty resident), Ian Rankin's website gives you all the info.   Plus...Spotlight Author - COLIN MCANDREW Born in Kirkcaldy in 1978, Colin McAndrew started his career in the MOD shipyard at Rosyth. He moved to the Highlands to work for a large, global organisation and spent 16 years working in senior international positions for some of the world’s largest organisations.  After suffering from burnout in 2017, Colin gave up the corporate world to return to his family in the Highlands.  This allowed him to pursue his ambition of becoming a writer. He attended the Cromarty Crime & Thrillers Weekend in May 2018, and a talk hosted by Ian Rankin, inspired him to finish his first piece of work. In October 2018, Colin’s debut novel, Sad Lisa, was published.  It received rave reviews in a number of newspapers and online and his first congratulatory tweet was from the Scottish Queen of Crime herself, Val McDermid.  Colin was awarded Scottish Book of the week by the Dundee Courier and appeared in articles by the Herald, Ross-shire Journal and the Fife Free Press. Colin loves going on adventures with his family and their crazy Labrador Buddy.  He also dabbles in stand-up comedy, recently becoming a regular on the Teuchters Comedy Club circuit in Inverness. Colin’s second novel, Wild World, the sequel to Sad Lisa, is due out in April 2020. http://www.colinmca.com/   Both authors will be signing books at the end of the session. £15 To book your ticket, complete and return the booking form or email / tel 01381 600354.

2020 is a special year for Mark being as it is the 20th anniversary of his first book, Sleepyhead, and his latest book Cry Baby, is, impressively, his 20th novel!  We love a bit of symmetry.  Mark will be in conversation to talk about his distinguished career to date. MARK BILLINGHAM Mark Billingham was born and brought up in Birmingham. Having worked for some years as an actor and more recently as a TV writer and stand-up comedian his first crime novel was published in 2001. Sleepyhead was an instant bestseller in the UK. It has been sold widely throughout the world and was published in the USA in the summer of 2002. The series of crime novels featuring London-based detective Tom Thorne continued with Scaredy Cat and was followed by Lazybones, The Burning Girl, Lifeless, Buried, Death Message, Bloodline, From The Dead, Good As Dead, The Dying Hours, The Bones Beneath, Time Of Death, Love Like Blood, The Killing Habit and the most recent, Their Little Secret. The next Tom Thorne thriller will be published in July 2020. Mark is also the author of the standalone novels In The Dark, Rush Of Blood and Die Of Shame. An acclaimed television series based on the Thorne novels was screened on Sky One in Autumn 2010, starring David Morrissey as Tom Thorne. A series based on the novels In The Dark and Time Of Death was screened on BBC1 in 2017.  Mark lives in London with his wife and two children.  https://uk.markbillingham.com/ Plus...Spotlight Author - MERRYN GLOVER Merryn Glover is an award-winning writer of fiction, drama and poetry with stories widely anthologised and plays broadcast on Radio Scotland and Radio 4. Her first novel, A House Called Askival, was set in India, while her second is set in the Cairngorms and is due out in 2021. She was Writer in Residence for the Cairngorms National Park in 2019 and is currently working on a book about the mountains. An Australian citizen, she was brought up in South Asia but has called Scotland home for over 25 years. Her writing often explores the shifting territories of culture, belief, identity and belonging. Both authors will be signing books at the end of the session. £15 To book your ticket, complete and return the booking form or email / tel 01381 600354.

You'll learn techniques involved in building an ensemble of characters, creating or exploiting locations and generally creating a fictional sense of shared history and experience to make the series feel ‘real’. As well as his locally set DI Alec McKay series, Alex also has continuing series set in contemporary Mongolia and Greater Manchester (as well as the first in a new series set in the Peak District which Canelo are publishing later this year), so the challenges of creating the fictional world are very different in each case.  Open to all budding writers of all levels and abilities. £30 To book a place, complete and return the booking form or email / tel 01381 600354   Alex/Mike has worked in the oil industry, broadcasting and banking and runs a consultancy working mainly in the criminal justice sector including police, prisons and probation.  As Michael Walters, he published three crime novels set in modern-day Mongolia now republished in new re-edited editions. As Alex Walters he has written two books set in and around Manchester and featuring the undercover officer, Marie Donovan, Trust No-One and Nowhere to Hide, three books featuring DCI Kenny Murrain, Late Checkout, Dark Corners and  Snow Fallen and three books set on Scotland's Black Isle featuring DI Alec McKay and DS Ginny Horton, Candles and Roses, Death Parts Us and Their Final Act. His latest novel, Winterman, a historical crime thriller set in the East Anglian fens in 1947 is now available.  ​After many years in Manchester, Mike now lives in Culbokie (just along the road from Cromarty!) with his wife Helen, well-known short-story writer, columnist and tutor, where together they run successful writing retreats: https://www.solusorwritingretreat.co.uk/   https://www.alexwaltersauthor.com/  

Matt's talk will be series of anecdotes covering his police career from the Regent's Park bombing in 1982, the Libyan Peoples Bureau siege in 1984 and the murder of a friend before that siege began, the shooting of one of his PCs by an IRA active service unit through to his diagnosis with PTSD and how that lead to creative writing therapy and publication.  That's quite some journey, we think you'll agree, and will lead to a fascinating insight into the life of a police officer turned crime writer.   MATT JOHNSON Matt Johnson served for 25 years as a soldier and Metropolitan Police officer. His debut novel Wicked Game – a crime thriller - was published by Orenda Books in March 2016. The sequel Deadly Game, was published March 2017 and the final part of the trilogy, End Game, in 2018. Wicked Game was listed for a Crime Writers Association Dagger award, has topped Amazon and KOBO charts in several categories and in 2018, Matt was voted at #22 in the WH Smith UK national poll of the world’s top 100 best-ever crime writers. Peter James, the international best-selling novelist said of Matt’s work - "Terse, tense and vivid writing. Matt Johnson is a brilliant new name in the world of thrillers."  Sir Ranulph Fiennes said of Matt’s books “From the first page to the last, an authentic, magnetic and completely absorbing read.”  Matthew Hall, BAFTA winning writer of TV Drama ‘Keeping Faith’ said “Johnson is a natural. Taut, knife-edge thrillers, you won’t put down until the last full stop.” In 1999, Matt was retired from the police with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Whilst undergoing treatment, he was encouraged by his counsellor to write about his career and his experience of murders, shootings and terrorism. His novels are the result of that process. Plus...Spotlight Author - G.R.HALLIDAY G.R. Halliday was born in Edinburgh and grew up near Stirling. He spent his childhood obsessing over the unexplained mysteries his father investigated, which has proved excellent inspiration for his writing. His debut novel, From The Shadows, was shortlisted for the 2019 Bloody Scotland debut award, and his second novel, Dark Waters, is due to be published by Harvill Secker in July 2020. He now lives in the rural Highlands outside of Inverness, where he is able to pursue his favourite pastimes of mountain climbing and swimming in the sea, before returning home to his band of semi-feral cats. Both authors will be signing books at the end of the session. £15 To book your ticket, complete and return the booking form or email / tel 01381 600354.  

Always a highlight of the weekend... Come along to the Victoria Hall in Cromarty to enjoy the classic thriller - The Maltese Falcon (1941) starring Humphrey Bogart and Mary Astor. Yes, we know you've seen it before but with great characters, fabulous baddies, wise-cracking Bogart, amazingly good lighting, Femme Fatales, an awesome script and too many twists and turns to mention - we're confident you'll be up for seeing it again on the big screen! Plus a fun, crime & thrillers-based visual quiz and a chance to win some brilliant prizes in our raffle!  Complimentary cocktail and popcorn on arrival.  BYOB £15 To book your ticket, complete and return the booking form or email / tel 01381 600354.

Marisa Haetzman and Chris Brookmyre discuss the wonders and horrors of life on – literally - the cutting edge of Victorian medicine, and delve into the even more fraught territory of collaborating on novels as a married couple. Chris Brookmyre is the international bestselling and multi-award-winning author of twenty-three novels, including Black Widow, winner of both the Theakstons Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year and the McIlvanney Prize for Scottish Crime Novel of the Year. Dr Marisa Haetzman is a consultant anaesthetist of twenty years' experience, whose research for her Master's degree in the History of Medicine uncovered the material upon which the Ambrose Parry novels are based. £15 To book your ticket, complete and return the booking form or email / tel 01381 600354. https://www.brookmyre.co.uk/

For our final session of the weekend, join author Jonathan Whitelaw as he takes six intrepid writers and leaves them on a desert island with only their favourite books for company - you know the format, we're sure!  Ian Rankin, Mark Billingham, Chris Brookmyre, Marisa Haetzman, Matt Johnson and Alex Walters will discuss the five books they couldn't be without if they were stuck in the wilderness. From guilty pleasures to all-time classics, the panel will take a light-hearted look at each other's choices, champion their favourites before asking the audience what they think.  Sure to be an amusing and insightful session! Host - JONATHAN WHITELAW Jonathan Whitelaw is an author, journalist and broadcaster. After working on the frontline of Scottish politics, he moved into journalism. Subjects he has covered have varied from breaking news, the arts, culture and sport to fashion, music and even radioactive waste - with everything in between. He's also a regular reviewer and talking head on shows for the BBC. The Man in the Dark is a sequel to the bestselling HellCorp. His debut novel was the critically acclaimed Morbid Relations. £15 To book your ticket, complete and return the booking form or email / tel 01381 600354.