Visit my website at www.rowmark.co.uk for details of all my crime novels

I'm often asked what is the difference between a crime novel and a thriller, and I have to admit I have difficulty in answering this question even though I have written seven crime novels and two thrillers. So for enlightenment I turned to the International Thriller Writers organisation who characterise a thriller as: “the sudden rush of emotions, the excitement, sense of suspense, apprehension, and exhilaration that drive the narrative, sometimes subtly with peaks and lulls, sometimes at a constant, breakneck pace." I think this is true of the crime novel. OK, so it depends on what type of crime novel. Some admittedly unfold at a more leisurely pace depending on the personality of the main character, his or her background, the story and the setting. If it is a cozy mystery then, yes, it is less likely to move along at breakneck speed although there will be suspense, peaks and lulls. So let's hear more from the International Thriller Writers. "Thriller...

Some authors might know from day one where they are heading but for me I had to travel down several roads before I reached my destination, which was writing crime novels.  I now look back and wonder what took me so long to write in a genre that has been my favourite reading matter nearly all my life.  It is blindingly obvious that I should have chosen to become a crime writer from the beginning but I started by writing historical sagas instead.  No idea why.  It took me three novels, set in Wales (land of my fathers) between the First and Second World Wars before I realised that my future lay in a life of crime, writing it, that is.  But that period of writing sagas wasn't wasted.  Although those novels have never been published and are unlikely ever to be so, I look upon the period spent writing them as an apprenticeship.  It takes time for most writers to find their 'voice' or 'style' and experimenting with different types of writ...

I'm delighted that major on line retailer The Book Depository is featuring my crime and thriller novels in their Featured Crime and Thriller  section.  There are some good prices and FREE worldwide delivery, which is fantastic. I'm in great company just below Reginald Hill, P.D. James and Ian Rankin and alongside Agatha Christie, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Agatha Raisin. What more could a crime author want?! You can find details on The Book Depository web site and see more about my DI Andy Horton crime series and my thriller novels on my official web site , or here of course.