The Rule of Jenny Pen director James Ashcroft's Netflix serial killer thriller THE WHISPER MAN has been rated R for "some bloody violence, disturbing images, suicide, language and brief sexual references."
Robert De Niro, Michael Keaton, Michelle Monaghan & Adam Scott star.
Wonderful afternoon in Bridlington with East Riding Libraries talking to @alexnorth.co.uk as part of the Springfest programme.
Be rude not to have fish and chips afterwards...
Excellent morning spent gathering my thoughts and writing questions ahead of talking to @alexnorth.co.uk next week.
Tickets here: www.bridspa.com/event-detail...
That’s lovely to read - thank you! I’m glad you liked Whisper Man so much - and I just hope the others live up to it! But regardless, I really appreciate you taking the time to let me know you enjoyed it. Hope you’re doing well.
Thank you - I really appreciate that!
Merry Christmas.
Really lovely to see that The Man Made of Smoke made the list of Apple’s best books of 2025. apple.co/bestbooks202...
A perfect first minute, this. youtu.be/PuhF4o3nqPw?...
Really happy to be at this too - I love Waterstones Leeds, and I’m looking forward to seeing people there. 6-8pm ish. No ticket required, as far as I know. Just rock up, get out of the cold for a bit, maybe buy some books, and chat to some fabulous local authors.
We're thrilled to announce the highly acclaimed “queen of the psychological thriller” and bestselling writer Lisa Jewell as Programming Chair for the 2026 Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival.
👉 Find out more: bit.ly/3XiRnnu
The cover of the novel The Man Made of Smoke by Alex North. There is blood-red smoke surrounding a white keyhole through which the silhouette of a little boy can be seen.
“It is a rare talent to be able to write a compulsive thriller with such heart … both terrifying and heart-wrenching, bittersweet and hopeful, nightmarish and deeply, deeply human.”
Thank you, @spookyrebecca.bsky.social
The Man Made of Smoke is out in the UK as a very lovely paperback today.
Ah, hello there! And thank you. And the honest answer is: I don’t know! Next year - possibly second half - but I’m not sure. I’m very excited to see it though!
I’m really sorry to hear that, Linda - my condolences to you and your family. I hope you’re as okay as it’s possible to be right now.
This is a really great speech about the value of the arts and storytelling, and the importance of empathy.
I wish that I knew! Something familiar, but which you can’t quite place, like a tune you heard in a nightmare once and only half remember now. (So actually, put like that, maybe I *don’t* wish that I knew…)
“Surprisingly packed with profound humanity” is a lovely thing to read. Thank you so much, Linda.
The cover of Dark Room by Alex North, previously published under the name Steve Mosby. A greeny-black background, with a half-open door with yellow light spilling through.
I forgot to mention on here that I had a ‘new’ book out in the UK last week. Dark Room was previously published years ago under my real name, and then went out of print.
It won’t set the world on fire, or anything, but it’s nice to have it out there again.
Four more of them to come…
Today is a day when arts degrees are worthless, but the product of those degrees is so valuable it would kill an entire industry if they were made to pay for it.
reminder: Jimmy Kimmel is enough of a mensch that he devised a segment on which actors who are just short of having enough work to qualify for union healthcare come on his show and deliver a single line of dialogue
deadline.com/2024/07/jimm...
The link below is a subscriber link with a handful of free clicks.
Maybe a kindly FT staffer will share a gift link... 👀
Filmed in Leeds city centre! And judging by the clock, if it had been ten minutes later then I’d have been in the background. (Really lovely song too.)
youtu.be/BQDDbesNPJ4?...
New—and packed!—column is up at @crimereads.bsky.social. This time, I talk about novels by Michael Farris Smith, @alexnorth.co.uk, @carlhiaasen.com, @kairarouda.bsky.social, Katia Lief, and Rob Hart.
crimereads.com/gabino-igles...
This post by @lewisgoodall.com on the Afghan super-injunction should be read - and read *very* carefully - by all with any interest in law and policy in the UK.
And he is spot-on about Mr Justice Chamberlain.
goodallandgoodluck.substack.com/p/my-two-yea...
⏰ Last chance to vote! The shortlist vote closes tonight, Thursday 10 July at 23.59. Hurry and vote for you favourite to win the coveted Theakston's cask 👉 https://bit.ly/VOTETOP25
@brookmyre.bsky.social @mwcraven.bsky.social @ellygriffiths.bsky.social @radiomukhers.bsky.social
Absolutely brilliant news!
The Salt Path (post-credits scene):
*Moth & Raynor Winn enter their home to find Hannah Ingram-Moore & Johann Hari waiting for them*
Hari: "I'm putting together a team."
With this and Captain Tom, it's getting hard to trust people who go on really long walks.
The Man Made of Smoke by Alex North #TheManMadeofSmoke @alexnorth.co.uk @michaeljbooks.bsky.social #BookReview
randomthingsthroughmyletterbox.blogspot.com/2025/06/the-...
