Books

Antony Beevor, right, believes Rasputin is one of the most significant historical figures ever (Image: Getty / Antony Beevor) For a virtually illiterate peasant born in the depths of Siberia in January 1869, Grigori Rasputin had the most extraordinary impact on history. In fact, muses Sir Antony Beevor, the Russian …

Jo Nesbo (Image: Jo Nesbo) Crime writer Jo Nesbo has revealed both his daughter and his mother have not read any of his bestselling Harry Hole novels. The 13 books featuring the brilliant but troubled detective have sold more than 50 million copies across the globe and have been adapted …

John Thaw and Kevin Whately as Inspector Morse and his faithful sidekick Sgt Lewis (Image: PA) Nothing beats an odd couple when it comes to detective films. Think Mel Gibson and Danny Glover as the mismatched partners in the hit Lethal Weapon franchise, or Eddie Murphy as Axel Foley, the …

The Hiding Season by A C Glass, Hardback, £18.99 After her husband leaves her, Maya Landry moves to Montana and takes a job maintaining exclusive ski lodges off-season in the Rocky Mountains, fulfilling her need for solitude until she stumbles across a dead body in one of them. Forced to …

Len Deighton, who has died at 97, saw Michael Caine star as Harry Palmer in film of The Ipcress File (Image: Shutterstock) In the spring of 1960 a 31-year-old former chef and flight attendant called Len Deighton got in touch with the Daily Express to pitch an idea he called …

Spy writing legend Len Deighton has died at the age of 97. The former chef and cookery writer, whose early break came when his ‘cookstrips’ – a combination of a recipe and cartoon – appeared in the Daily Express in 1960, is widely regarded as having helped introduce modern spy …

Olivia Colman and Dame Judi Dench in Murder On The Orient Express (Image: PA/Twentieth Century Fox Film Corp/Nicola Dove) Fifty years after Dame Agatha Christie’s death, the world still can’t get enough of her brilliance. The Queen of Crime’s Seven Dials Mystery on Netflix, starring Mia McKenna-Bruce, has been a …

John Grisham has revealed his favourite books (Image: Getty) A best-selling author has shared his favourite books, with one being by a beloved crime writer. John Grisham has written 37 number-one fiction bestsellers and has sold over 300 million copies worldwide. He is one of only three English-speaking authors to …

Ryan Gosling stars in Project Hail Mary based on Andy Weir’s bestseller (Image: AP / Amazon MGM Studios) First published in Daily Express on May 8, 2021. Science-Fiction writer Andy Weir, whose debut novel The Martian sold five million copies and became a hit movie starring Matt Damon, is trying …

Tobias Santelmann as Harry Hole in new adaptation of Jo Nesbo’s bestselling Norway-set novels (Image: Netflix) The actor bringing troubled but brilliant detective Harry Hole to life in a must-watch new Netflix drama nearly did not get the role – because he came across as too “nice” and too “good …