Douglas Starr on Killer of Little Shepherds

Douglas Starr, author of The Killer of Little Shepherds, discusses how real life crime-fighters managed to solve crimes before modern technology.

Read an extract from The Survivor

Download the first chapter of Sean Slater’s devastating debut thriller, published this month by Simon & Schuster UK.

Win signed proof copies of The Death Instinct, by Jed Rubenfeld [closed]

Watch the video, read the extract and answer two questions to win a signed proof copy of Jed Rubenfeld’s spellbinding literary thriller about terror, war, greed, and the darkest secrets of the human soul.

Read an extract from The Death instinct, by Jed Rubenfeld

Read an extract from the eagerly awaited follow up to the million-copy selling The Interpretation of Murder, winner of the 2007 Richard and Judy Book of the Year.

The Death Instinct will be published in April, but watch for a competition to win signed proof copies here on Bookdagger on Friday.

February crime round-up

A selection of the best new crime fiction from the Bookdagger publishers for the month of February…

Criminal Profiling and Serial Murders: The Theory Behind Investigations

Chris Carter, author of The Crucifix Killer and The Executioner, looks at the psychological make-up of the serial killer.

Read an extract from The Executioner

A sneak preview of the first chapter of Chris Carter’s second thriller featuring Detective Robert Hunter, The Executioner, to be published in July.

Read an extract from No Angel

Jay Dobyns, alias Jaybird, is an ATF undercover agent who infiltrated the Hells Angels motorcycle club from 2001 to 2003. Read an extract and watch an introduction to No Angel, a gripping account of his time undercover.

If you liked… The Daughter of Time, by Josephine Tey

In the second of this series, we showcase an all-time classic crime novel, and suggest some titles from the Bookdagger publishers that hit the same spot. This month, it’s Josephine Tey’s historical crime classic The Daughter of Time, published in 1951.

Writing a thriller

Chris Carter, author of The Crucifix Killer tells us about the development of his central character, Robert Hunter.

Read the first chapter of The Crucifix Killer, by Chris Carter

When the body of a young woman is discovered in a derelict cottage in the middle of Los Angeles National Forest, Homicide Detective Robert Hunter finds himself entering a horrific and recurring nightmare. Naked, strung from two wooden posts, on the neck of the victim has been carved a strange double-cross: the signature of the Crucifix Killer.

Read the first chapter of Twisted Wing, by Ruth Newman

The claustrophobic environment of Ariel College, Cambridge, has become the hunting ground of a serial killer. For the students, a siege mentality has developed following weeks of media interest in the ‘Cambridge Butcher’. College life has become not about surviving their exams, but surviving full stop.

Lynda La Plante talks about The Red Dahlia

Detective Anna Travis is working on a horrific, brutal murder case that has created a media frenzy. The victim, Louise Pennel, a 24-year-old, single, ‘fun-loving’ girl, was last seen in a London night club wearing a sequinned mini-dress and a red rose in her hair.