Crime Fiction Focus with Leigh Russell

Crime Fiction Focus

with Leigh Russell

Today we are going to do something a little bit different here at the Project. The lovely Leigh Russell, who was interviewed here about her debut crime novel, Cut Short, has agreed to return to the Project to share some more in depth advice and experience about writing crime fiction. her new novel and the second book in the D.I. Steel series, Road Closed, has just been released and is proving to be as popular as her last book. If you are interested in writing crime fiction, or just in reading this genre, then get yourself down to your nearest bookshop or library and grab yourself a copy. My dad is a fan of Leigh Russell. Trust me, my dad is rarely wrong.


hi Leigh, welcome back too the project! Let's kick off by taking a look at the the different apprroaches to crime fiction that you take with Cut Short and Road Closed; for example, in Cut Short we are aware who the killer is while in Road Closed we are not. Can you talk us through the pros and cons of each approach?

When I started writing CUT SHORT the character of my killer fascinated me. It’s an intriguing question: what motivates someone to kill? But as my detective, Geraldine Steel, is the character my readers will follow through the series, I altered the balance to focus more attention on her. So the book is written mainly from Geraldine’s point of view, but the reader also follows the killer’s story. In ROAD CLOSED the killer’s identity isn’t clear until the end. The reader is kept guessing. DEAD END is different again. With a series, some readers like the familiarity of a formula, while others prefer each book to be totally different. So while each of my books follows a murder investigation with the same detective, my plots are completely different. A review for The New York Journal of Books describes ROAD CLOSED as a “refreshingly compelling and original narrative” and I hope to maintain this sense of originality with each of my books, within the parameters of the genre. It’s going to be a challenge!

It is inevitable that the odd mistake in police procedure will creep into crime fiction, since it changes on such a regular basis. I think most readers will forgive these, but nothing is a bigger turn off in crime fiction than when the police procedures are completely wrong. How do you go about keeping your information as accurate as possible?

To serve the story I occasionally deviate from my aim for authenticity. For example, it takes weeks to obtain the results of DNA testing. In ROAD CLOSED, this time frame is condensed to 24 hours. The alternative would be to spin the narrative out over several weeks in the last few pages, which would slow the story down and wouldn’t work artistically. In general I do my best to be as authentic as I can, which is why I research police procedure so carefully. When I come across a detail that doesn’t ring true in a book I’m reading, straight away the illusion is broken and I no longer believe in the world of the book. So I do a lot of research to make my books plausible. I have contacts within the police force who are very helpful and answer any query I have, however trivial.

In your opinion, what makes a convincing villain?

I’m not sure that a convincing villain requires a different approach to any other character. I don’t feel I can create characters unless I see the world through their eyes so my killers are not completely evil monsters. I have to understand what motivates them, so they are human beings who commit evil actions rather than two-dimensional purely evil characters. In some ways, the killer in CUT SHORT is as much a victim as the people he kills, so there is some social commentary in the book, although that is incidental to the main focus of the story which is the murder investigation. All my killers have their stories.

Devising a believable - and likeable - main character for a series takes some doing, as they need to be fully rounded yet still have scope for development. However, when writing a first novel the character has to work much the same as if it were a standalone work. How did you approach these issues when creating Geraldine?

Many authors devise the arc of their protagonist’s progress through the entire series before they begin writing, but I had no idea CUT SHORT would be the start of a series so I didn’t plan ahead at all. Geraldine is introduced in CUT SHORT but her story really begins to unfold in ROAD CLOSED. Fortunately there are several leads in CUT SHORT I now realise I can follow up later in the series and I’ve introduced a storyline for Geraldine in ROAD CLOSED that opens up all sorts of possibilities. I’m far more excited about her development now than I was when I began writing.

How important is the actual structure of a crime novel in creating things like tension and pace?

In crime fiction the structure and pace of the plot are vital. I plan my books very carefully to achieve a balance between realism and excitement, so readers believe in the world I create, yet are caught up in the suspense and excitement. There is a reason I use short chapters; I find having to put a book down when I’m in the middle of a chapter can be annoying, so I write short chapters to suit the modern way of life where people seem to lead such busy lives.

And finally, with the massive amount of crime fiction out there, what do you think makes some works stand out from others? Please feel free to blow your own trumpet here; your books have been a great success so as a successful debut novelist, what do you think is the secret ingredient?

That’s a big question - I wish I knew the answer! My own books are plot driven, so people read on to find out what happens, but what interests me is character. I have speculated that the popularity of my books may be due to a combination of plot and character but of course many authors write exciting plots and convincing characters, so I’m not sure that really accounts for the success of my books. ROAD CLOSED was printed ahead of schedule as WH Smith’s Travel selected it for a June promotion so it has only had a few reviews so far. A Top 50 amazon reviewer has written that "The characters are believable and I really like Geraldine... I also liked the way everything dovetailed together so that while you're reading you get those light bulb moments when a piece of the jigsaw slots into place..." Eurocrime says the book is "tense and gripping... with an exhilarating climax that you don’t see coming until it is too late... Geraldine is a gifted, strong and likeable character” and a review for the New York Journal of Books writes that ROAD CLOSED is "a gripping, fast-paced read, pulling you in from the very first tense page and keeping you captivated right to the end...Geraldine Steel is a complex and highly driven character, with multifaceted feelings of contradiction and nuance." Jeffery Deaver also mentioned both plot and character when he described CUT SHORT as "a seamless blending of psychological sophistication and gritty police procedure. And you're just plain going to love DI Geraldine Steel." In fact most of my reviewers comment on both plot and character, so I suspect it is a combination of strong plot and engaging characters that is winning fans for my Geraldine Steel series. But is this really what makes some works stand out from others? I wish I knew!



Once again a big thank you to Leigh for sharing her experiences with The Literary Project. CUT SHORT can be bought here at amazon, as can ROAD CLOSED. If you'd like to find out more about Leigh and her writing, she blogs over here, and you can see her reading an extract from her debut novel, CUT SHORT, over here.



**********************COMPETITION TIME*********************************

Leigh is also giving away a SIGNED copy of Road Closed to a lucky Project reader! As always, all you need to do is type PICK ME!!!!! in the comments box to enter (although please at least leave your name, and remember to check back!) The competition will close on Wednesday, with the winner announced on Thursday here on the Project. Good Luck!!