Project and content management for Contemporary Authors volumes
WORK TITLE: Dead Gone
WORK NOTES:
PSEUDONYM(S):
BIRTHDATE:
WEBSITE:
CITY: Liverpool, England
STATE:
COUNTRY: United Kingdom
NATIONALITY: British
http://www.simonandschuster.co.uk/authors/Luca-Veste/576634594 * https://www.ft.com/content/609d9a46-5d81-11e6-bb77-a121aa8abd95
RESEARCHER NOTES:
LC control no.: nb2015000899
LCCN Permalink: https://lccn.loc.gov/nb2015000899
HEADING: Veste, Luca
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035 __ |a (Uk)009230309
040 __ |a Uk |b eng |e rda |c Uk
046 __ |s 20
100 1_ |a Veste, Luca
370 __ |c Great Britain |c England |f Liverpool (England) |2 naf
375 __ |a male
377 __ |a eng
670 __ |a Dead gone, 2014: |b t.p. (Luca Veste)
670 __ |a His webpage, viewed 14 January 2015: |b home page (He is a mature student at the University in Liverpool, studying Psychology and Criminology. This is his first book)
PERSONAL
Born in Birkenhead, England; married; children: two daughters.
EDUCATION:Attended the University of Liverpool.
ADDRESS
CAREER
Writer. Previously, worked as a civil servant and actor.
AVOCATIONS:Playing the guitar.
WRITINGS
SIDELIGHTS
Luca Veste is a British writer of crime novels. Previously, he worked as a civil servant and actor. Veste attended the University of Liverpool, where he studied psychology and criminology. He has served as the editor or coeditor of anthologies, including Off The Record: A Charity Anthology, Lost Children: A Charity Anthology: to Benefit PROTECT and Children 1st, Off The Record 2: At The Movies: A Charity Anthology, and True Brit Grit: A Charity Anthology.
Dead Gone
In 2014, Veste released Dead Gone, the first book in his “Murphy and Rossi” series. David Murphy is a detective investigator in Liverpool, and Laura Rossi is his feisty assistant. They are working together to stop a serial killer who is terrorizing residents of the city. The first person murdered is Donna McMahon, a college student at the University of Liverpool, who was taking psychology courses. Murphy and Rossi determine that the killer may have forced the woman to take certain drugs before her death as a type of experiment. After others connected to the psychology department are found dead, Murphy and Rossi narrow down their search. Meanwhile, Murphy experiences marital problems.
In an interview with Steven Cavanagh, contributor to the Writer’s Workshop website, Veste discussed his writing process for the book. He explained that the story was derived from a “discarded scouse-gangster novel, which contained an element of what makes up Dead Gone—the psychology angle, someone killing people based on real psychological experiments etc. When I started over, I kept the psychology bit, and disregarded everything else. I remember I was re-reading one of my favourite books—The 50/50 Killer by Steve Mosby—and thinking I wanted to write something more like that. So, I started with the woman on the night out, getting in the taxi, and disappearing.” Veste continued: “Then, I was going to concentrate on her partner, but realised writing those ‘ordinary people in extraordinary situations’ novels were extremely difficult to write! I decided I needed a police point of view, as they could do things ordinary people couldn’t really. My uncle is an ex-copper, so I used him as a basis. He shares his physical size, nickname, some of his qualities, but has none of the baggage Murphy does. Once I started writing about Murphy, I just found he was more interesting to me. Murphy quickly usurped the boyfriend character and became the star.” Regarding the other protagonist of the series, Veste remarked: “Rossi is by far my favourite character to write now. I can get all these little things about my Italian family in there—my nan asking me if I’m hungry as soon as I’d walked through the door, before saying hello, my dad swearing in Italian, the quick-temper etc.”
A critic in Kirkus Reviews suggested: “It’s hard to take a thriller too seriously when the cops are clueless and the killer is a bit of a bore.” Other assessments of the volume were more favorable. A Publishers Weekly reviewer described it as a “craftily plotted debut” and noted: “Veste keeps this gritty procedural moving through the shocking final revelations.” Geoff Jones, writer on the Euro Crime website, commented: “Dead Gone is a good debut novel but it is on occasions quite horrifically graphic, so be warned.”
The Dying Place
In The Dying Place, Murphy and Rossi search for a killer who tortured and murdered a boy named Dean Hughes. Dean’s body was found in front of St. Mary’s Church, in the West Derby neighborhood of Liverpool. Their investigation becomes more frantic when other delinquent boys go missing.
A contributor to the Raven Crimes website praised “the balance between the stoical and world weary Murphy, set against the hot temper and really quite enjoyable colourful swearing of his police partner Rossi” and “the way that [Veste] roundly avoids the typical stereotypes of many crime fiction novels, giving a realistic feel to the personal lives of both, and how the very nature of their jobs, and this investigation in particular, impinge on their personal relationships- or lack of. They form a solid partnership that is providing a real backbone to the continuation of the series.” The same contributor continued: “Veste balances perfectly the larger sociological issues, with a pacey plot, and a solid cast of characters that proves itself an eminently enjoyable read.”
Bloodstream and Then She Was Gone
Murphy and Rossi are assigned to a case involving a serial killer with a knack for technology in Bloodstream. The killer’s first victims are Chloe Morrison and Joe Hooper, stars on the internet and reality television. After completing another similar double murder, the killer leaves an internet link behind. Murphy and Rossi follow both online and physical clues. In an interview with Carol Jenkins, writer on the Armchair Investigator website, Veste discussed the inclusion of technology in the story’s plot. He stated: “These days when a major news story breaks then people want to use social media to discuss it and give their opinion. You used to shout over the back fence and talk to a neighbour but now Twitter and Facebook give you a global platform to say these things. … It’s something you have to take into consideration when writing a police procedural novel. If you’ve got a serial killer running about the place, people are going to be discussing it online.”
In Then She Was Gone, Murphy and Rossi investigate the disappearance of a rising politician. They discover that the case may be linked to other crimes and a revenge plot. “Veste’s Italian and Scouse heritage has produced an intriguing hothouse flower,” asserted Barry Forshaw on the Financial Times website. Of Rossi, Sue Magee, reviewer on the Book Bag website, suggested: “She’s feisty, conflicted when it comes to family loyalties and very good at her job. For me she was the stand-out character, perhaps because Veste has invested more of himself in her. Murphy didn’t come across quite as well, but that’s more because of the strength of Rossi than a weakness in Murphy.” A critic on the Douglas Skelton website noted that the book featured “a setting that lives and breathes along with the characters.” the same critic added: “It’s a pacy, enjoyable read.”
BIOCRIT
PERIODICALS
Kirkus Reviews, November 1, 2016, review of Dead Gone.
Publishers Weekly, October 17, 2016, review of Dead Gone, p. 51.
ONLINE
Armchair Investigator, http://www.armchair-investigator.com/ (July 25, 2017), Carol Jenkins, author interview.
Book Bag, http://www.thebookbag.co.uk/ (July 25, 2017), Sue Magee, review of Then She Was Gone.
Bute Noir, http://butenoir.co.uk/ (July 25, 2017), author profile.
Douglas Skelton, http://www.douglasskelton.com/ (August 20, 2016), review of Then She Was Gone.
Euro Crime, http://www.eurocrime.co.uk/ (August 9, 2017), Geoff Jones, review of Dead Gone.
Financial Times, https://www.ft.com/ (August 12, 2016), Barry Forshaw, review of Then She Was Gone.
Liverpool Echo Online, http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/ (February 7, 2014), Laura Davis, author interview.
Luca Veste Website, http://www.lucaveste.com/ (July 25, 2017).
Raven Crimes, https://ravencrimereads.wordpress.com/ (October 29, 2014), review of The Dying Place.
Writer’s Workshop, http://www.writersworkshop.co.uk/ (November 17, 2015), Steve Cavanagh, author interview.*
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.
"Astringent and artfully constructed." The Financial Times
"A darkly impressive novel... disturbing and intelligent." The Times
"Page-turner." Sunday Times
"A chilling début from a writer to watch..." Mark Billingham
"Gripping, unpredictable, genuinely shocking and impossible to put down, Dead Gone is a remarkable début." Steve Mosby
"A twisty, psychological crime debut in a gritty setting: a new favourite for police procedural lovers" Clare Mackintosh
"Tense and darkly playful." Chris Ewan
"A major new talent on the crime scene." Eva Dolan
"Fresh...original." Mel Sherratt
"Original and terrifying." Stav Sherez
He is also the editor of the Spinetingler Award nominated charity anthology 'Off The Record', and co-editor of 'True Brit Grit', also an anthology of short stories for charity.
He is a former civil servant, actor, singer and guitarist (although he still picks it up now and again), and now a full-time writer.
He can be found at www.lucaveste.com and on twitter @LucaVeste
ABOUT ME
Luca Veste is a writer of Italian and Scouse heritage, married with two young daughters, and one of nine children. He is the author of the Murphy and Rossi novels, with the third in the series - Bloodstream - released October 2015. The first in the series - Dead Gone - was also published in Germany and Czech Republic.
Part psychological thriller, part police procedural, the Murphy and Rossi novels take place in the city of Liverpool. Taking in both sides of a contrasting city, they explore the changing landscape of Liverpool and "bad" things which can happen within it.
He was the editor of the Spinetingler Award nominated charity anthology 'Off The Record', and co-editor of 'True Brit Grit', also an anthology of short stories for charity.
He is a former civil servant, actor, singer and guitarist (although he still picks it up now and again). In his acting days, he appeared as a "background artist" - read: extra - on a number of Brookside and Hollyoaks episodes and also once spent three nights in a black leather mini-skirt and high-heels, in front of an ever dwindling audience in a Liverpool theatre.
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Murderous mind games for Liverpool author Luca Veste
Debut novel based on real life psychological experiments
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BYLAURA DAVIS
10:00, 17 JAN 2014UPDATED12:40, 7 FEB 2014
WHAT'S ON
Merseyside author Luca Veste
Merseyside author Luca Veste
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Luca Veste has always been fascinated by death. This does, he admits, “make me sound like a bit of a psychopath – but I’m not – I’ve just never had to go through it.”
The Wallasey -based crime writer explains: “Apart from my grandad dying when I was very young I’ve never really experienced death.
“As a child it was not something that ever came up. It was never discussed because nobody ever died. If you don’t know about something you want to know more about it.”
He encountered the second inspiration for his debut novel, Dead Gone, when he was made redundant from the Civil Service.
Luca’s wife encouraged him to study criminology and psychology at the University of Liverpool and it was there, listening to a lecture about the importance of ethics, that he got the idea for a story.
Dead Gone by Luca Veste
Dead Gone by Luca Veste
“Harry Harlow, a doctor in the 60s, decided to take a bunch of monkeys and isolate them from life completely,” says the 30-year-old.
“He put them in a box he called a ‘well of despair’ and left them there for a year with food but with no interaction with other monkeys.
“My initial reaction was one of horror and the next one was ‘what would happen if you did that to a human?’. I think that’s the process of a writer.”
Dead Gone opens with the thoughts of a young woman snatched after a night out in Liverpool by a man driving a taxi who has locked her in the darkness alone.
A series of bodies turns up in the city, each one with a letter attached, giving details of the infamous unethical psychological experiment carried out on them before their deaths.
Although he managed to complete the first draft in just two-and-a-half months, Luca did find some of the writing process a little disturbing.
“There are some of the scenes in the book with the girl in the basement where other writers would have gone much further than I did but I couldn’t because the idea of it is just so horrific – being locked away alone for any long period of time,” he says.
Two detectives find themselves tracking the serial killer – DI David Murphy and DI Laura Rossi, a second generation Italian. Luca drew on his own cultural background to express her family ties.
His nan was pregnant with his dad when she moved to Liverpool to follow her own parents who relocated to the city for work.
Unfortunately, Luca’s grandad was held at immigration for a year.
When he did make it to England, they had two more children before splitting up.
“My nan was a single parent so family was everything,” says Luca.
“That’s where I get that side of Laura Rossi’s character and her close-knit family.”
Luca himself has spent his whole life moving between Wirral and Liverpool. He was born in Arrowe Park Hospital, then moved to Speke, back to Wirral in time for secondary school and then to Norris Green when he left home at 17. Then he met his wife, from Wallasey, and moved back over the River Mersey to be with her.
When it came to writing his book, Liverpool was a natural location – but it didn’t seem so to all publishers.
“A few people had a problem with the setting, which shocked me,” he says.
“There were editors who came back and said ‘we like the story, we just can’t sell anything set in Liverpool’. Then it was sent to an editor at Avon, which is an imprint of Harper Collins, and she had actually studied in Liverpool so she knew the city well and she said ‘I’ve been dying to find something set there. I think it’s a city rich for exploration in crime fiction’.”
And with Dead Gone being tipped by several well-known Liverpool writers, including Kevin Sampson, it seems she was right.
LUCA VESTE is a writer of Italian and Scouse heritage and is the author of the Murphy and Rossi novels Dead Gone, The Dying Place, Bloodstream and Then She Was Gone, part psychological thriller, part procedural, they take place in the city of Liverpool.
Taking on both sides of a contrasting city, they explore the changing landscape of Liverpool and its dark underbelly.
Luca was the editor of the Spinetingler award- nominated charity anthology “Off The Record” and co-editor of “True Brit Grit”, also an anthology of short stories for charity.
QUOTED: "discarded scouse-gangster novel, which contained an element of what makes up Dead Gone – the psychology angle, someone killing people based on real psychological experiments etc. When I started over, I kept the psychology bit, and disregarded everything else. I remember I was re-reading one of my favourite books – The 50/50 Killer by Steve Mosby – and thinking I wanted to write something more like that. So, I started with the woman on the night out, getting in the taxi, and disappearing."
"Then, I was going to concentrate on her partner, but realised writing those ‘ordinary people in extraordinary situations’ novels were extremely difficult to write! I decided I needed a police point of view, as they could do things ordinary people couldn’t really. My uncle is an ex-copper, so I used him as a basis. He shares his physical size, nickname, some of his qualities, but has none of the baggage Murphy does. Once I started writing about Murphy, I just found he was more interesting to me. Murphy quickly usurped the boyfriend character and became the star."
"Rossi is by far my favourite character to write now. I can get all these little things about my Italian family in there – my nan asking me if I’m hungry as soon as I’d walked through the door, before saying hello, my dad swearing in Italian, the quick-temper etc."
Writers in conversation: Steve Cavanagh and Luca Veste
Posted on November 17, 2015 by Harry
We’re running a new, occasional series of writers in conversation. We ask those writers to talk about things of mutual interest to them, but otherwise don’t set parameters for those conversations at all. Steve Cavanagh is a human rights lawyer working in Northern Ireland; The Defence is his debut novel. Luca Veste, a former civil servant / guitarist / actor, is the author of the Murphy / Rossi, Liverpool-set crime series. Longer bios further down but, really, just read on.
Luca – I’m endlessly fascinated by the story of a writer’s journey. I started out quite late – I thought – with my own writing career. I didn’t write stories or anything of that sort until I was 28, so I’ve only been at this thing of ours for a few years. Speaking to other writers however, I know there’s a fair few out there who started writing when they were young, in school, getting attention for having a big imagination. How did it start out for you?
Steve Cavanagh, looking hard.
Steve Cavanagh, looking hard.
Steve – For me the desire to tell stories started early, but it took me a fair few years to get my ass in gear to do it. My Granda and my Dad would sit around with their friends, most nights, telling stories. I would just sit and listen, fascinated. Neither my Dad or my Granda read much, but my Mum did. She read four or five books a week, and I caught the crime bug from her. When I was young, far too young in retrospect, she gave me a copy of Silence of the Lambs and that changed everything for me. I read all the books, especially American crime thrillers, that I could get my hands on. But when it came to writing, I didn’t write crime at first. In my late teens I started writing screenplays, mostly comedies. I even got an agent, but he couldn’t get anything sold so I gave up age 21. After that I always harboured the fantasy of writing a book, but never did it. Then in 2011, when I was aged 35, my Mum passed away quite suddenly. She was the only person who ever encouraged me to write so I thought I’d give it one more shot, for her. I started writing The Defence in September 2011, in secret, after a 14 year break. What about you? Starting at 28 doesn’t seem late at all. And you’ve still got your hair!
Luca Veste, looking cheery
Luca Veste, looking cheery
Luca – Yes, although being half Italian, I would be very annoyed if I lost my hair this soon. We’re a hirsute bunch. Like you, I was surrounded by stories in my family. And jokes. Everyone always has a funny story to top the last one. My dad was a screenwriter as it happens and actually made a film back in the 90s. I was a voracious reader as a child as well. Started with Enid Blyton and then went into horror when I was a teenager. I didn’t really read crime until I was around 23 – which was about 7 years after I’d pretty much stopped reading and started doing “teenage” things – and someone gave me Mark Billingham’s first book. I quickly caught up with his series and have read predominantly crime books since. Dead Gone – my first book – started out life as a very different book and came from writing short stories and progressing to something longer. I abandoned the first version of that story – which was a woeful scouse gangster-style cliche of a novel – and wrote a first draft in a few months. Then, redrafted three times to finally land an agent for it around a year later. How long did it take you to get an agent?
Steve – Well, first of all, Dead Gone is a blinder of a debut. The work paid off. Getting an agent? Well, that took a while. It took me about six or seven months to do the first draft of The Defence, then I spent maybe another six months redrafting it, polishing it. So I think it started looking for an agent mid 2012. And I finally got one in April 2013 so probably around nine months to get representation. And I tell you, those were a hard nine months. I started off trying to get a US agent, but I didn’t think I was good enough to go for any of the big agencies so I mainly tried the small and medium sized agencies. And I got a lot of rejections. Then, I got a little hint of light at the end of the tunnel. I started to get requests for the first three chapters, from agents that just wanted a pitch letter, and then requests for the full manuscript. I got a real buzz from this and a bigger downer when the rejections came back. One agency really loved the first three chapters, and requested the full book. I was really enthusiastic about this small UK based agency, but I’d been in that situation before so I thought I may as well try a couple of the bigger agents. I was getting rejections anyway so I thought I may as well get rejected by the best.
It was a rejection which contained the lines, “You can write, but this book will never be published.” Man, I was devastated . . . Then on the Wednesday I had two of the biggest agencies in the UK come back and offer representation for the same book.
I remember it was a Monday night, I got the email from the small agency who’d read the full manuscript and who I’d been really keen on. They hated it. It was a rejection which contained the lines, “You can write, but this book will never be published. Write something else and we’ll read it.” Man, I was devastated. I thought, that’s it – this book is over I need to write something else. Then on the Wednesday I had two of the biggest agencies in the UK come back and offer representation for the same book that I’d been told would never be published. It was an amazing feeling. So now I’m very proud to be a Heathen (I’m represented by AM Heath).
How did you hook up with your agent?
Luca’s first born
Luca – I was quite bullish when it came to finding an agent. I knew a few other writers at the time and there were a couple who always raved about their agent. Now, I edited a couple of charity anthologies around that time, and I think that agent was tipped off that I was writing a novel. He sent me a message on Twitter saying good work on the anthologies, when you’ve got a novel to show people, I’d love to read it. That was back in February 2012. I finished the first draft in about March, read it once, thought it was as good as it was ever going to be, and sent it to the agent.
He rejected it, somewhat nicely, a few weeks later.
I took his notes on board, redrafted, and sent it back in the June.
He rejected that one as well, with the option to resend another draft. I was, similar to you, devastated. I’d worked tirelessly on all the notes and only succeeded in creating new problems.
I received an email back straight away, asking if I could speak on the phone. What followed was ninety minutes of the agent telling me exactly what was wrong with the book, what need fixing, and a general tearing apart of my work. The last five minutes of the call was him offering me representation. I immediately accepted the offer.
By this point, I was convinced I couldn’t write a better book, so decided to send it to four other agents. One rejected within a day, as they had decided to concentrate on children’s fiction. The other three agents asked for the full manuscript. As a matter of courtesy, I emailed the original agent, who by now was quite friendly with me, and let him know I was showing other agents the book and was getting some interest. I received an email back straight away, asking if I could speak on the phone. What followed was ninety minutes of the agent telling me exactly what was wrong with the book, what need fixing, and a general tearing apart of my work. The last five minutes of the call was him offering me representation. I pretty much immediately accepted the offer.
Best decision I’ve ever made. I rewrote the book in a month, working almost every hour I was awake (which as an insomniac, is quite a few), and he was happy with the result.
What is bizarre, is that it took only six weeks after that to find a publisher. A year to get an agent, six weeks to get a publisher… shows how valuable a good agent can be, and I have a great one in Phil Patterson.
The Defence is ridiculously good. To the point where I was hoping it wasn’t really a debut, but a new novel from an established writer under a pseudonym! I can only imagine it was picked up the next day by a publisher in a sixteen-way auction?
Steve's first born
Steve’s first born
Steve – That’s class. I love that story. What I hear sometimes from writers who are looking for an agent, or a publishing deal, is that they are quite precious about their book. Which is totally the wrong attitude. When you write your first book you basically know nothing. You learn by writing and then it’s your agent’s and publisher’s job to point out all the shit that you can’t see and make the book better.
Thanks for the kind words about The Defence. It was picked up pretty quick, but only after a lot of work. I got representation from Euan Thorneycroft in April 2013, and he sent me pages of notes on the book; what worked, what didn’t work. I knew we were a good match because everything he thought needed changing really did need changing, but I just wasn’t able to see that. So I worked on the book flat out, and we got it ready for submission in September. I remember Euan telling me he was sending it out and that it could take months to hear back, so he would email me in three or four weeks and let me know how we got on. That was on a Monday. On the Friday I was stood in my hall, when I got an email. It was from Euan – there was an offer for the book in the UK. Four offers. He would be conducting an auction. I was completely blown away. I remember running into the living room and telling my wife that the book would be published. At that stage I didn’t care who published it, but I knew somebody would and that was enough. In the end I went with Orion, who publish some of my heroes and things have worked out well.
So in your first book we meet DI David Murphy and DS Laura Rossi. How did you go about shaping those characters and did you conceive the first book as the beginning of a series? If you didn’t, is there anything you would change now?
Luca – That’s my favourite kind of publishing story. Unsurprising, given how good it is, but there’s still an element of doubt with anything regarding publishing!
Well… Murphy happened quite by accident. I’ve already mentioned the discarded scouse-gangster novel, which contained an element of what makes up Dead Gone – the psychology angle, someone killing people based on real psychological experiments etc. When I started over, I kept the psychology bit, and disregarded everything else. I remember I was re-reading one of my favourite books – The 50/50 Killer by Steve Mosby – and thinking I wanted to write something more like that. So, I started with the woman on the night out, getting in the taxi, and disappearing. Then, I was going to concentrate on her partner, but realised writing those ‘ordinary people in extraordinary situations’ novels were extremely difficult to write! I decided I needed a police point of view, as they could do things ordinary people couldn’t really. My uncle is an ex-copper, so I used him as a basis. He shares his physical size, nickname, some of his qualities, but has none of the baggage Murphy does. Once I started writing about Murphy, I just found he was more interesting to me. Murphy quickly usurped the boyfriend character and became the star.
However, back then, his sidekick was a bloke called Nick Ayris.
Going back to that phone conversation with Agent Phil, he casually mentioned that usually it’s a male/female partnership, and that there was nothing Italian in the book. Which was surprising to him, given I was half-Italian.
Nick Ayris became Laura Rossi and that’s why agents are important!
Rossi is by far my favourite character to write now. I can get all these little things about my Italian family in there – my nan asking me if I’m hungry as soon as I’d walked through the door, before saying hello, my dad swearing in Italian, the quick-temper etc.
I did envisage a series if it got picked up, but I’d still change things. I probably wouldn’t have Murphy having quite such a lot of baggage to carry, although that worked (hopefully) eventually. That’s about it though. There’s no plan as such, but I have ideas for about seven or eight books total. I’m writing number four now, so I’m halfway through! And those ideas will probably change.
You and Eddie Flynn… always a series as well?
Steve – Have to say I love Rossi; the Italian swearing! She is such a great character.
Ahm, yeah, I had an idea for the character first. A con artist who became a lawyer, because I wanted to explore the overlap in those professions and how a trial works – the art of cross examination and how that really is the art of persuasion, misdirection and manipulation. Before the book got picked up I had an idea for four or five, and I really wanted to start writing them but I knew The Defence had to be the first one. If that book hadn’t been published I wouldn’t be writing about that character because the events in The Defence cause Eddie to fall back into his old hustler ways. No other storyline could’ve achieved that in the same way. Right now I’m writing the third book. I love series characters so it felt natural to try and start my own. Although, I’ve been hit with several decent ideas for standalone books lately. I don’t know if I’ll write them. Maybe down the line.
Do you ever think of trying a standalone? And how do you go about writing? Plotter, pantser, when and how do you write?
Blood stream
Luca’s third born.
Luca – Can’t wait to read more Eddie.
I’ve got the beginning of a standalone in a word doc on my computer. It’s pretty much plotted out as well, but I’m happy writing the series for now. I’m a big fan of series characters as well, so I’m happy at the moment. I’m a little of both. I plot a little, then just write for a while, before plotting a little more. Usually, this leads to me rewriting half a book, four weeks before a deadline though!
I start with a small idea. Then, I need some sort of theme – with the new one, Bloodstream, it’s about love and media – and I can just go from there. With my books, there’s always an investigation that starts you off, which usually involves a body or the lack of one, so it’s just a battle against making that too samey/cliche and just writing. Then rewriting. Then throwing things at the wall and hoping inspiration hits at some point!
Do you plan much? And the same question about standalones to you… would you consider writing something set in your own country?
Noir? in Belfast?!
Noir? in Belfast?!
Steve – That’s interesting that you start off with a theme. I know Ian Rankin does something similar so you’re in good company. I think doing it that way, with a theme in mind, really helps you focus on what you want to achieve with the book. I’m reading Bloodstream at the moment, and loving it. The whole celebrity thing is really well done, and my wife zipped through the book in a day or so.
I tend not to have a theme, and one or two kind of emerge. I don’t plot or plan anything. I write line by line, and then I go back and rewrite the beginning until I have it nailed. Once I’ve got a decent 50 pages or so, I’m off and I don’t tend to look back until I’m almost at the end. Then I stop. Go back and redraft from the beginning before I write the end. It’s a weird process. I tend to have a vague idea, and go from there. The second book, The Plea, touches on white collar crime like money laundering and how it’s done in the digital age, and there’s a locked room mystery done with CCTV. (A word of advice to new writers. NEVER do a locked room mystery, not until you are well down the line with at least a couple of books under your belt. And then plan it all out from the beginning.)
Standalones are very appealing when you’re writing a series, but also scary. I think you have to time it right. That last thing you want to do is release a standalone when everyone is waiting for the next book in the series. It never quite has the same impact.
I don’t know if I’d write something set in Northern Ireland. I won’t rule it out, but the ideas for standalones that are kicking around in my head are set in the US. Although, I did have one idea for a Northern Ireland story, but I sort of think that would work much better on TV than in a book.
Luca – I’ll take the company of Ian Rankin. I saved a penalty of his, in a crime writers football match. I don’t mention it very often…
Locked room mystery, ouch. That’s not something I have planned to do any time soon!
Interesting that Northern Ireland hasn’t really featured much in your planning. When I started out, I couldn’t imagine setting my books anywhere other than Liverpool. I can’t really imagine writing about anywhere else, even with the help of Google Maps. You didn’t just choose a different city, but an entirely different country. How does that work and is it solely so you can pass of US holidays as expenses?
Tax deductible research, Cavanagh style
Tax deductible research, Cavanagh style
Steve – A US holiday would be very nice.
It’s not so much of a leap really. I grew up watching US TV shows and reading books set in the US, so the language, the rhythms, the pace and the locations, all seem very real to me. Plus, New York fits with the pace and the style of story I wanted to write. And by setting it in New York I can cheat. If I’d set it somewhere in North Carolina, I’d have to take a fair bit of time to describe the place. Whereas, as soon I say New York, every single person reading the book immediately creates their own mental image without me having to help them too much.
If I’d set the book in Belfast it just wouldn’t have worked. Plus, look at all the writers coming out of Northern Ireland, like Stuart Neville, Brian McGilloway, Eoin McNamee, Adrian McKinty, Gerard Brennan, Claire MacGowan. I just couldn’t compete with that lot.
How important is setting to you? A few of the places and buildings in The Defence are fictional, any fictional settings or are they all meticulously researched? And what does Liverpool add to the series, for you?
Tax deductible research, Veste style.
Tax deductible research, Veste style.
Luca – Stuart Neville… now there’s a writer. When I grow up, I want to be as good as him.
Nothing really fictional in my book. Everything exists, with a couple of minor changes here and there, so no one sues me. There’s a house in the first book which plays a major role in the ending and that’s slightly invented. The road it’s on exists, but the house itself is a creation. My police characters work from the real offices in the city centre, they live in real locations (again with some alterations), and I hope daily that it doesn’t get me into trouble!
Liverpool to me just feels natural. It’s a setting not really utilised in crime fiction, so I have that going for me, as it’s somewhere new for readers to discover. It’s big enough, that I have many locations within it to utilise. Plus, there are so many different characters in Liverpool, that I can bring in realism to what is an unrealistic topic. We last had a serial killer in Liverpool back in the 1800s (we’ve exported a couple since then, but never had any on the streets from what I know), which means my serial killer books don’t really conform to the reality of the city. Hopefully, with the characters, topics, and locations, I can make it a little more realistic.
What’s the one thing you want to achieve in your writing career… awards, events, etc?
It’s weird, when you’re struggling to be published you just want to have that moment of seeing your book on a shelf. When you’ve achieved that, then you want somebody to actually buy the bloody book
Steve – You should set your books in Northern Ireland, we’ve had more than our fair share of serial killers. And I totally agree about Stuart – phenomenal talent.
The one thing I want to achieve? I don’t know if I could narrow it down to just one thing. It’s weird, when you’re struggling to be published you just want to have that moment of seeing your book on a shelf. When you’ve achieved that, then you want somebody to actually buy the bloody book, take it home, read it and enjoy it. Then you want lots of people to do that. Ideally, enough to get you onto the bestseller list – so I think your goals change throughout your career. I’m sure there are well known bestselling writers, who want higher sales, and better chart positions every year.
For me, I have two goals. One is to be able to sell enough books, and make enough money that I could be financially stable and support my family through my writing. That is the big one for me. Second goal, to write a better book than the last one, year on year. Awards are totally in the lap of the Gods. You do your best and if someone wants to give you an award, well that’s lovely. But there are plenty of amazing crime novels that don’t win awards but stay in print and become classics.
The other part of this writing game is getting to meet so many other great writers. There are still a few legends on my list of people that I want to meet – Stephen King for one.
What about you – career goals?
Luca – Similar to you, I just want to write a better book than the last one. Security would be up there as well. I’d love to have a novel in hardback, as that’s something I always equate with quality (for some unknown reason). Awards – I’d like them and I hate people who have them (jokes!), but not a top priority.
I’ll be standing next to you when you meet Stephen King. My literary hero. Which neatly leads me into a conclusion to this conversation…
What’s your favourite book? Mine is by the aforementioned – and soon to be Steve and Luca’s best mate – Stephen King, and is The Stand.
Steve – If we meet Stephen King I’m going ask him to take a photograph of you and me. Just for the Craic. “Excuse me, Mr King. Could we get a photo?” “Why sure,” says Stephen King. *Luca hands Stephen King the camera and poses with Steve*
I’m joking of course. I’d be a complete gibbering mess meeting somebody like him. That would be a cool day, and another reason to envy Stuart who has indeed met the man.
Favourite book? I haven’t read it in years, but The Lord of The Rings used to be my favourite book. I used to read it every Christmas, for about ten years. Now I think I’d have to go with Red Dragon, or The Firm. If you’d asked me last week I would’ve said Every Dead Thing by John Connolly or The Concrete Blonde by Michael Connelly. My favourites change all the time.
And as a final final bit – best bit of writing advice you can give to a new writer?
That’s the hardest part of writing, I think. Finishing the bloody thing.
Luca – Ha! We have to do that. Hopefully in the future we’ll get the chance.
I’m awful with advice, but here’s the best I can do… finish. Whatever you’re writing, just finish it. That’s the hardest part of writing, I think. Finishing the bloody thing. Having a complete story in front of you makes things much easier. Then, you can get to the fun part. Rewriting.
Your advice?
Steve – Read and write. Read the best books you can find and aspire to get close to that level. And write as much as you can every single day. It’s the only way to improve.
More about Steve Cavanagh:
Steve was born and raised in Belfast and is a practicing lawyer. He is married with two young children. The Defence, has been chosen as one of Amazon’s 2015 Rising Stars programme. The Defence was longlisted for the Crime Writer’s Association Ian Fleming Steel Dagger, and shortlisted for two Dead Good Readers Awards for Best Ending and Most Recommended Book. Steve writes fast-paced legal thrillers set in New York City featuring lawyer and former con artist, Eddie Flynn. The Defence is his first novel. Find out more at www.stevecavanagh.com or follow Steve on Twitter @SSCav.
More about Luca Veste:
Luca is a writer of Scouse and Italian heritage, author of the Murphy & Rossi series. His latest book is called Bloodstream. He is also the editor of the Spinetingler Award nominated charity anthology ‘Off The Record’. He is a former civil servant, actor, singer and guitarist (although he still picks it up now and again). He can be found at www.lucaveste.com and on twitter @LucaVeste.
QUOTED: "These days when a major news story breaks then people want to use social media to discuss it and give their opinion. You used to shout over the back fence and talk to a neighbour but now Twitter and Facebook give you a global platform to say these things. ... It’s something you have to take into consideration when writing a police procedural novel. If you’ve got a serial killer running about the place, people are going to be discussing it online."
Stream of Subconsciousness
Luca Veste has exploded onto the UK crime fiction scene with his first three novels that are all
nothing short of literary dynamite. Carol Jenkins reports from the edge of her imagination.
The most dangerous serial killer in a Luca Veste crime novel is the writer himself. This relative newcomer to
the crime fiction scene has an unnerving knack of coercing and cajoling the reader into disappearing into
their own dark imaginations to explore their own very personal thoughts and fears with often chilling
consequences. He has become a master at planting an imaginary bomb in your head and then leaving it
up to as to whether you want it to explode.
Imagination
He does this by relying on the power of suggestion, using words sparingly and attempting to sting you with
just one phrase or sentence. This makes for a thrilling and highly active reading experience where you are
not only sitting on the edge of your seat throughout the novel but also on the edge of your own imagination.
It’s a powerful technique that Luca has honed in a short period of time by avidly reading other crime novels
and learning from writers such as Mark Billingham, Steve Mosby, Helen Fitzgerald and Mo Hayder. He only
began writing four years ago and in that time has produced three novels Dead Gone, The Dying Place and
his latest offering Blood Stream that was released last month.
“I realised that the reason a book affects you isn’t always to do with what’s on the page, but more your interpretation of what’s on the page,” he tells me.
“A lot of it isn’t on the page; it’s what you add yourself. Readers get in touch with me and say they thought a particular scene was horrific and I look back and see there is nothing there it’s all about their interpretation.”
Blood Stream employs this very technique with tremendous aplomb and is one of the best crime novels I have read for some time. I always say that the key to a novel is something that makes you laugh, breaks your heart and gives you hope and Blood Stream has all three of these things in abundance.
Compelling
Set in his home city of Liverpool, the novel tackles the timely issue of reality television and social media and
looks at how relative unknowns can be catapulted into the public eye to become famous for no apparent
reason. It tells the compelling story of social media stars Chloe Morrison and Joe Hooper who seem to have it
all - until their bodies are found following an anonymous phone call to their high-profile agent. Tied and bound
to chairs facing each other, their violent deaths cause a media scrum to descend on the city.
Enter crime-fighting duo DI David Murphy and DS Laura Rossi who are tasked with solving the bizarre puzzle.
Chilling
The book provides a chilling commentary on the dangers of social media in ‘setting up’ ordinary people to
become celebrities. Luca uses Twitter feeds in the novel to highlight the fact that now once a crime is
committed it is the subject of much debate on social media.
“These days when a major news story breaks then people want to use social media to discuss it and give their
opinion. You used to shout over the back fence and talk to a neighbour but now Twitter and Facebook give you
a global platform to say these things,” he says.
“It’s something you have to take into consideration when writing a police procedural novel. If you’ve got a
serial killer running about the place –people are going to be discussing it online.”
Microscope
The novel also highlights the fact that the growth of social media has placed new pressure on the police as every move they make it placed under a microscope and the pressure is on for them to solve the case in less time than an episode of Midsomer Murders.
Despite the fact the novel highlights the perils of social media, reality TV and fame for fame’s sake – Luca is not using the story to condemn or criticise. In fact, he first became involved in writing through blogging and is part of a thriving crime fiction community of both readers and authors. He secured his agent through social media and he has built up a respectable following of fans online.
Victimisation
One of the issues he does explore and feels passionately about is the victimisation of women. All of his three novels start from a female point of view and for a man it is refreshing to see his is a fierce advocate of women. He talks with great conviction about how widespread the victimisation of women is in society and while he says he is reluctant to come out and conduct some full-scale drum-beating on behalf of women, he is nonetheless
keen to engage in the debate.
“Women are victimised in all kinds of ways and it’s something that I can constantly aware of. I’m not a fan of crime fiction that dwells on violence against women in a sexualised way,” he says.
“I have got two daughters growing up in a society now and I don’t want them growing up in the society that I grew up in, where there were fewer opportunities for women and more victimisation.”
Characters
His own childhood was spent in the Norris Green area of Liverpool and he can remember having that sense of wanting to escape and better himself. It was this aspect of his own upbringing that inspired the drawing of his main character DI David Murphy, who uses his talent for investigating crime to escape from his own humble beginnings.
Luca tells me David Murphy is based on his uncle who was a police officer and but that there are elements of himself in his character.
Murphy’s sidekick DS Laura Rossi is second generation Italian, something Luca has first-hand experience of as his own father and grandfather came to Liverpool from Southern Italy and settled there in the 50s.
Truth and Lies
The central idea is the theme of secrets and lies and hinges on a serial killer who has a deadly determination to root out liars.
It’s a theme that all of us can identify with which makes the book even more pertinent explains Luca as it means that we could all be in danger for something we unwittingly do all the time.
“If someone was targeting people who are keeping secrets from their partner would any of us be safe? We all lie on a consistent basis,” he says.
“We might tell lies that to us are harmless but to others it could be a huge lie. The central character in the book believes that any lie is wrong.”
During our interview I compliment Luca on his book and then assure him I’m not lying – doubting my own honesty without really knowing why!
As we sign off, I’m reminded of that great quote about truth and lies by US comedian Mort Sahl who said: “Washington couldn’t tell a lie, Nixon couldn’t tell the truth and Regan couldn’t tell the difference!”
QUOTED: "It's hard to take a thriller too seriously when the cops are clueless and the killer
is a bit of a bore."
Veste, Luca: DEAD GONE
Kirkus Reviews.
(Nov. 1, 2016):
COPYRIGHT 2016 Kirkus Media LLC
http://www.kirkusreviews.com/
Full Text:
Veste, Luca DEAD GONE Pegasus Crime (Adult Fiction) $25.95 1, 10 ISBN: 978-1-68177-304-9
The abduction of a university student sets off a dark chain of events in Veste's U.S. debut.Student Jemma Barnes is kidnapped when she takes a
taxi home after a night of clubbing. While her estranged boyfriend, Rob (and apparently, nobody else), panics over Jemma's disappearance, other
dead bodies begin showing up around Liverpool--accompanied by long, florid, and rather pretentious letters referring to shady CIA experiments
decades earlier. The case improbably goes to Detective David Murphy, who is still damaged from the recent murder of his parents and his own
marital problems. (His partner, Laura Rossi, is never fleshed out as a character.) The killer's identity is revealed early in the book, and Murphy
and Rossi manage to overlook the obvious culprit while pegging nearly everybody else as a suspect. That's not the only logistical howler in the
plot: at one point Jemma overpowers her captor and escapes; instead of running straight to the police she turns around to attempt another rescue
and gets herself captured again. Rob also makes a fateful misstep that most people with good sense would have avoided. Veste peppers the
chapters with some weighty quotes about death and grieving, but it's hard to take a thriller too seriously when the cops are clueless and the killer
is a bit of a bore. The obligatory Silence of the Lambs-style torture scenes don't help, nor does a crucial plot twist in which a main character gets a
highly unlikely lucky break. A thriller whose ambitions aren't matched by its dead-silly plot twists.
Source Citation (MLA 8th
Edition)
"Veste, Luca: DEAD GONE." Kirkus Reviews, 1 Nov. 2016. General OneFile, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?
p=ITOF&sw=w&u=schlager&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA468389052&it=r&asid=dec35ecdfbfa48454aca6be9c41f9a7a. Accessed 9 July 2017.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A468389052
---
QUOTED: "craftily plotted debut"
"Veste keeps this gritty procedural moving through the shocking final revelations."
7/9/2017 General OneFile - Saved Articles
http://go.galegroup.com/ps/marklist.do?actionCmd=GET_MARK_LIST&userGroupName=schlager&inPS=true&prodId=ITOF&ts=1499652019526 2/2
Dead Gone
Publishers Weekly.
263.42 (Oct. 17, 2016): p51.
COPYRIGHT 2016 PWxyz, LLC
http://www.publishersweekly.com/
Full Text:
Dead Gone
Luca Veste. Pegasus Crime (Norton, dist.), $25.95 (416p) ISBN 978-1-68177-304-9
Liverpool Det. Insp. David Murphy pursues a wily serial killer in British author Veste's craftily plotted debut. A note found on the first victim,
college student Donna McMahon, indicates that the killer performed experiments involving drugs on the 20-year-old woman (she "wanted to die.
She begged for an end. Not because she was in pain, or through fear. She believed she could see the afterlife"). Two more bodies surface in the
next four days. As Murphy and his able assistant, feisty Det. Sgt. Laura Rossi, focus their investigation on the City of Liverpool University's
psychology department, to which all the victims had some connection, pressure on the beleaguered detective mounts both from the press calling
for his removal and a killer who seems to be targeting him as his next experiment. Though the murderer's grandiose scholarly claims for the
carnage pale in the light of day, and the pivotal character of Murphy's now-estranged wife remains underdeveloped, Veste keeps this gritty
procedural moving through the shocking final revelations. Agent: Philip Patterson, Marjacq Scripts (U.K.). (Jan.)
Source Citation (MLA 8th
Edition)
"Dead Gone." Publishers Weekly, 17 Oct. 2016, p. 51. General OneFile, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?
p=ITOF&sw=w&u=schlager&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA468700023&it=r&asid=7c69a5d2e44b4ae4b02b69e988d003e2. Accessed 9 July
2017.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A468700023
QUOTED: "Veste’s Italian and Scouse heritage has produced an intriguing hothouse flower."
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AUGUST 12, 2016 by: Review by Barry Forshaw
The improbably named Liverpudlian Luca Veste made an auspicious debut in 2013 with Dead Gone, and his caustic cops, Murphy and Rossi, reappear in Then She Was Gone, which re-energises the shopworn police procedural format.
Tim Johnson’s baby daughter has been kidnapped, but the police see him as a suspect. What’s more — did the missing daughter actually exist? And how is this connected to the disappearance of a politician some years later? Murphy and Rossi find themselves opening a particularly nasty can of worms.
A major character in Veste’s work is Liverpool itself, with every aspect of the city vividly evoked, from its historic beauty to its self-deprecating humour. Veste’s Italian and Scouse heritage has produced an intriguing hothouse flower.
Then She Was Gone, by Luca Veste, Simon & Schuster, RRP£20, 436 pages
QUOTED: "She's feisty, conflicted when it comes to family loyalties and very good at her job. For me she was the stand-out character, perhaps because Veste has invested more of himself in her. Murphy didn't come across quite as well, but that's more because of the strength of Rossi than a weakness in Murphy."
Then She Was Gone by Luca Veste
Then She Was Gone by Luca Veste
Category: Crime
Rating: 4/5
Reviewer: Sue Magee
Reviewed by Sue Magee
Summary: It's number five in the Murphy and Rossi series but works well as a standalone and it's a more than decent read.
Buy? Yes Borrow? Yes
Pages: 448 Date: December 2016
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
ISBN: 978-1471141393
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Tim Johnson took his baby daughter out one day and in the course of their walk he was attacked and the baby was stolen. But there was a problem: only Tim seemed to believe that there was a baby and the police were convinced that there was an entirely different crime and that Johnson was their only suspect. He went to prison and was largely forgotten about.
A year later another case began rather annoyingly for Liverpool-based DI David Murphy and DS Laura Rossi. They don't usually get involved with missing persons cases and particularly not when they're asked to keep their investigation quiet. You see, the missing person is Sam Byrne who's on course to be elected as one of the youngest MPs at Westminster and - as is the way of these things - he's tipped for the very top. His parents and the campaign team don't want to raise a hue and cry only to find that the twenty-six year old has gone of for a relaxing weekend somewhere and stayed a bit longer than he expected. The problem is that as Murphy and Rossi investigate they realise that the private Sam Byrne was distinctly unpleasant and there's a trail of crimes that someone seems determined to avenge.
I'm not a fan of joining a series when it's already well into its stride, but a sleepless night and nothing to read convinced me that my thinking was wrong and I'm rather glad. It might be number five in the series but I was never left with a feeling of not knowing what was going on - or that I had no need to read earlier books in the series because I already knew what had happened. So - a good standalone. It's an engaging plot too: the situation escalates quickly and Murphy and Rossi struggle to work out what's going on. It's tempting to disregard what happened when Sam Byrne was at university, but everything seems to lead back to that time.
Like Luca Veste himself, DS Laura Rossi is of Italian and Scouse heritage, but with Rossi it seems to be the Italian in her that's winning the fight. She's feisty, conflicted when it comes to family loyalties and very good at her job. For me she was the stand-out character, perhaps because Veste has invested more of himself in her. Murphy didn't come across quite as well, but that's more because of the strength of Rossi than a weakness in Murphy and it certainly won't stop me looking for earlier - and future - books in the series.
The ending took me by surprise: I certainly didn't see it coming. I'd like to thank the publishers for sending a copy of the book to the Bookbag.
For more crime from the wrong side of the Pennines, try Lost Souls by Neil White.
Buy Then She Was Gone by Luca Veste at Amazon You can read more book reviews or buy Then She Was Gone by Luca Veste at Amazon.co.uk.
Buy Then She Was Gone by Luca Veste at Amazon You can read more book reviews or buy Then She Was Gone by Luca Veste at Amazon.com.
QUOTED: " a setting that lives and breathes along with the characters."
"It’s a pacy, enjoyable read."
Reviews – Books from Luca Veste and Russel D. McLean
Posted by: douglasskelton3 Categories: blog entry Comments Off on Reviews – Books from Luca Veste and Russel D. McLean
Then She Was Gone by Luca Veste (Simon & Schuster, p/back)
luca
I love to be intrigued. I love it when I pick up a book and from the very outset I’m wondering just what the hell is going on.
That’s what happened here.
From the opening pages I wanted to know what was happening. It begins with the kidnapping of a baby. Then it turns out that everything is not quite as it seems. Or maybe it is.
But maybe it isn’t.
And I really want to know.
And then the author takes us away from it.
Completely.
Give us another nut to crack, the case of a missing would-be MP.
WHAAAATTT!
(Worry not, gentle reader, it threads its way back in later).
In case you didn’t know it, Luca Veste is from Liverpool and that’s where he sets his novels. I’ve never been to Liverpool, the closest I’ve ever come is watching The Liver Birds on the telly, but one of the strengths of his writing is the way he brings his city to life. He knows his backdrop and he helps us to become familiar with it. I believe that’s important in any novel, to have a setting that lives and breathes along with the characters.
It’s a pacy, enjoyable read – I won’t tell you too much about the plot but it involves a Tory politician making inroads with the Liverpool electorate (no, it’s not fantasy – Veste explains why but he’s not going to endear himself to Conservative HQ ), some sleazy goings-on at university and a few pretty despicable characters.
Like many other books, it’s crying out for telly – and will win him many new fans.
And When I Die by Russel D. McLean (Contraband, p/bak)
russel
Prior to reading this, I’d reached the handbrake moment in two books in succession – that moment when you say, that’s it, this far and no further (generally in the voice of Captain Jean Luc Picard. I won’t say what they are but I was naturally a bit gunshy and so reached for this Glasgow-based thriller with some trepidation.
After all, that man McLean is from (head shakes) the east coast.
I needn’t have worried.
McLean has delivered a lean and pacy read which both delivers a satisfyingly real city backdrop and a page-turning plot.
The story is told from differing viewpoints, which seems to be something of a trend these days. You’ve got an undercover cop and the daughter of a criminal dynasty who wants to keep her distance from the family business. It works. The characters are believable, as are the people they interact with.
The dialogue is smart and realistic. The violence sharp and fast and necessary to the plot.
There is absolutely no fat in the writing at all, which is refreshing these days. It’s like picking up a novel by my favourite – Ed McBain in his heyday, say – and finding that no-nonsense style of writing did not die with him.
As I said, McLean is not from these shores. How dare he do such a good job on my patch.
I may have to take Queste to Dundee.
Or send the boys round to have a word.
QUOTED: "Dead Gone is a good debut novel but it is on occasions quite horrifically graphic, so be warned."
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Veste, Luca - 'Dead Gone'
Paperback: 400 pages (Jan. 2014) Publisher: Avon ISBN: 0007525575
Merseyside, and a woman's dead body has been left in Sefton Park. She has been murdered and is a university student. A letter left on her body alludes to psychological experiments carried out in the USA in the 1950s.
The case is given to Detective Inspector David Murphy who chooses Detective Sergeant Laura Rossi to work with him, much to the chagrin of DS Tony Brannon. Another murdered woman is found and the local press are questioning Murphy's suitability. David has issues when he failed to save a girl being murdered and his parents were also murdered by the ex-lover of his now estranged wife, who herself has drug problems.
The current murders seem to link to a missing woman from twelve months ago. Jemma Barnes vanished after a night out with girl friends, and her mother and partner , Rob Barker, have tried to locate her. The police and friends however were aware of her "taking off" for weeks and then reappearing. However this time she hasn't. Despite having the confidence of Detective Chief Inspector Stephens, Murphy isn't sleeping and is struggling to make a breakthrough. Is there a serial killer at work? Does the answer lie in the University?
DEAD GONE is a good debut novel but it is on occasions quite horrifically graphic, so be warned! The Liverpool-based author, with Italian roots, is currently a mature student in Psychology and Criminology at Liverpool University.
Recommended.
Geoff Jones, England
January 2014
More European crime fiction reviews can be found on the Reviews page.
QUOTED: "the balance between the stoical and world weary Murphy, set against the hot temper and really quite enjoyable colourful swearing of his police partner Rossi"
"the way that he roundly avoids the typical stereotypes of many crime fiction novels, giving a realistic feel to the personal lives of both, and how the very nature of their jobs, and this investigation in particular, impinge on their personal relationships- or lack of. They form a solid partnership that is providing a real backbone to the continuation of the series."
"Veste balances perfectly the larger sociological issues, with a pacey plot, and a solid cast of characters that proves itself an eminently enjoyable read."
Luca Veste Blog Tour- The Inspiration for The Dying Place/Review
DP Blog Tour2 To celebrate the UK publication of Luca Veste’s second book The Dying Place it gives the Raven great pleasure to post a short piece by Luca on his initial inspiration for the plot. The Dying Place raises some very valid arguments at each extreme of the moral dilemma it presents, but is violence the most viable course of action to deal with the social deprivation that has permeated our everyday lives? Read on…
“When I started writing THE DYING PLACE, my first thought was that it had to be different. Not different in a non-crime fiction sense, but different from DEAD GONE, in a way that would be at least noticeable to people. There was a temptation to go with what had seemingly worked in the first novel – a serial killer thriller, with an unknown force stalking the streets of Liverpool a year on from events in DEAD GONE – and I even mapped out a small plan for such a novel. I found that I wanted to test myself a little however, seeing if I could hold suspense with one body/death for over half the novel. Then, in a conversation with my dad talking about Book Two, the chat turned to what has been an ongoing battle between us about what to do with issues with young people. My dad is very liberal in almost all subjects, with one exception – how to deal with what some people call “scallies”. Young people who cause problems on the streets and within society. A disenfranchised section of society, who are the subject of much media interest, even though they make up a small minority of young people. My dad’s idea – one which is mirrored in so many of his generation – is to get a van full of “old boys” and go around giving these “scallies” a good kicking, which apparently would sort them out and solve all the problems caused by them.
lucaNaturally, I have misgivings about this idea. Violence stopping violence just doesn’t seem to work logically in my mind. However, I know there is – and has been since time began – a clash of generations, with the older generation always believing the younger generation is somehow a “problem”. That clash of generations was something I become more and more interested in, and eventually became the focus of THE DYING PLACE. I knew, however, that allowing my own thinking to intrude in the novel would make the book too much of a manifesto against one idea. Therefore, I had to present the two forces equally – the issues and crimes caused by some young people vs the rose-tinted view of the past some older people have. The book opens with those two view-points – a single mother of young teenagers and the issues created by a society which still treats them with disdain… and a pensioner, lamenting the way he sees his city changing around him, and the very real crimes he experiences. As we go through the book, the characters we meet are from both sides, their experiences skewing viewpoints and thoughts.
What I hope it creates is a moral dilemma in the readers mind. Whilst you may begin feeling sympathy for one character may change over time. I want to challenge a reader, whilst also providing a thrilling read, which will hopefully keep you gripped. There’s nothing better than hearing “I couldn’t stop turning the pages… ” for me.
Oh, and book three will be a serial killer again… but with a twist! ”
Raven’s Review
luca
Once inside…there’s no way out. A fate worse than death…
DI Murphy and DS Rossi discover the body of known troublemaker Dean Hughes, dumped on the steps of St Mary’s Church in West Derby, Liverpool. His body is covered with the unmistakable marks of torture. As they hunt for the killer, they discover a worrying pattern. Other teenagers, all young delinquents, have been disappearing without a trace. Who is clearing the streets of Liverpool? Where are the other missing boys being held? And can Murphy and Rossi find them before they meet the same fate as Dean?
I think it was Karin Slaughter who said that to really tap into the sociological fears and concerns of any community that the perfect conduit for this is crime fiction. In The Dying Place– the follow up to his debut novel Dead Gone– Veste proves the point admirably. Focusing on a band of older vigilantes, swiping errant youths off the streets of Liverpool, and incarcerating them to undergo a form of behavioural re-programming, Veste uses the plot to provide a thoughtful and balanced examination of how these youths, that are such a thorn in the side of their local community, should be dealt with, and if meeting violence with violence is really the right way to address the problem. Do these youths all really fit a template because of the way they dress? Are some conditioned to be ‘bad’ by the very unstable nature of their upbringings, and detrimental familial influences? As the vigilante’s leader becomes more unhinged, scarred by the actions of youths such as these in his personal life, Veste ramps up the tension and the police themselves come into the firing line too.
Cleverly, our empathy is roundly manipulated, as we see how the actions of this vigilante band spirals out of control, and the implications for not only their detainees, but also bringing into play their family backgrounds, and the effects of the investigation on the police protagonists- most notably DI David Murphy, and his feisty DS Scouse/Italian sidekick Laura Rossi. I was most impressed with this detective duo in the debut, Dead Gone, and love the balance between the stoical and world weary Murphy, set against the hot temper and really quite enjoyable colourful swearing of his police partner Rossi. What I also enjoy about Veste’s characterisation is the way that he roundly avoids the typical stereotypes of many crime fiction novels, giving a realistic feel to the personal lives of both, and how the very nature of their jobs, and this investigation in particular, impinge on their personal relationships- or lack of. They form a solid partnership that is providing a real backbone to the continuation of the series, and with the shocking denouement affecting Murphy on an incredibly personal level, I will be interested to see the repercussions of this in the next book. Within the framework of this crime novel, Veste balances perfectly the larger sociological issues, with a pacey plot, and a solid cast of characters that proves itself an eminently enjoyable read. More please…
Luca Veste is a writer of Italian and Scouse heritage, married with two young daughters, and one of nine children. He is currently studying psychology and criminology at University in Liverpool. He is also the editor of the Spinetingler Award nominated charity anthology ‘Off The Record’, and co-editor of ‘True Brit Grit’, also an anthology of short stories for charity. A former civil servant, actor, singer and guitarist (although he still picks it up now and again), he now divides his time between home life, Uni work and writing. Follow on Twitter @lucaveste
Find out more about Dead Gone here