Tomorrow I’m heading off to Belfast for a few days, and will pop my head round the door of the ‘States of Crime’ conference being held at Queen’s on Friday and Saturday. As its title suggests, the conference will be looking at representations of the state in crime fiction, and how it is shown negotiating issues such as criminality, policing, justice and civil rights.
I’ve had a peek at the programme, and it’s stuffed with talks on international crime (Italian, French, German, Austrian, Swiss, Russian, Finnish, Swedish, African, Spanish, British, Irish, American). Heaven!
The icing on the cake is a round table with David Peace and Eoin McNamee. Peace is a bit of a literary god in my eyes: I think his Red Riding Quartet is one of the best things ever written – irrespective of genre – and I’m really looking forward to seeing him in discussion at the No Alibis Bookstore on Friday evening.
Mrs. Peabody Investigates 
I found 1974 like reading a scream! Too intense for me, but I can see his talent even if I am too lowbrow to be able to fully understand it. The conference looks great, I hope you enjoy it, lucky you!
That’s a very good description of the reading experience, Maxine! I’d never come across anything like it before, and really admired the way he pushed the boundaries of the crime genre. I’ve read all four now, and the power is cumulative. You’re left completely limp by the end, but it’s an amazing literary achievement in my view. Not sure the Yorkshire Tourist Board feel the same, though… Thanks, I’m sure I will enjoy, and will report back at some point.