The Bestseller

by Stephen Leather

Overview

Would you kill to write a bestseller? Well Adrian Slater says that he's prepared to do just that – and announces the fact in a creative writing class.

Lecturer Dudley Grose is convinced that Slater is a psychopath and means what he says. But the Dean of the university doesn't believe him and neither do the cops.

But when a student on the course vanishes and her bathroom is awash with blood, the police wonder if Slater has actually carried out his threat, and if the book he's writing contains the evidence that will put him away.

The Bestseller is a book about murder, but it's also an insight into the creative writing process and how ePublishing has changed the rules for ever, creating a world where murder as entertainment might actually pay.

The Bestseller is a fast-paced novella of 53,000 words, about 180 pages, with a shocking twist in the tail.

Stephen Leather is one of the UK's most successful thriller writers. He was a journalist for more than ten years on newspapers such as The Times, the Daily Mail and the South China Morning Post in Hong Kong. Before that, he was employed as a biochemist for ICI, shovelled limestone in a quarry, worked as a baker, a petrol pump attendant, a barman, and worked for the Inland Revenue. He began writing full time in 1992. His bestsellers have been translated into more than ten languages. He has also written for television shows such as London's Burning, The Knock and the BBC's Murder in Mind series. Two of his books, The Stretch and The Bombmaker, were made into movies for Sky One.

Product Details

BN ID:	2940011535147
Publisher:	Stephen Leather
Publication date:	09/28/2011
Sold by:	Smashwords
Format:	eBook
File size:	294 KB

About the Author

Stephen Leather is one of the UK's most successful thriller writers, an eBook and Sunday Times bestseller and author of the critically acclaimed Dan "Spider' Shepherd series and the Jack Nightingale supernatural detective novels. Before becoming a novelist he was a journalist for more than ten years on newspapers such as The Times, the Daily Mirror, the Glasgow Herald, the Daily Mail and the South China Morning Post in Hong Kong. He is one of the country's most successful eBook authors and his eBooks have topped the Amazon Kindle charts in the UK and the US. He has sold more than a million eBooks and was voted by The Bookseller magazine as one of the 100 most influential people in the UK publishing world. His bestsellers have been translated into fifteen languages. He has also written for television shows such as London's Burning, The Knock and the BBC's Murder in Mind series and two of his books, The Stretch and The Bombmaker, were filmed for TV. You can find out more from his website www.stephenleather.com

Editorial Reviews

Narrator Mark Arnold is terrifying from start to conclusion—or is it the conclusion? The tale begins on an abandoned boat during a stormy night. Arnold expertly contrasts fading author/professor Dudley Grose and his psychopath student, Adrian Slater, who claims he plans to murder a woman as research for writing a bestseller. Along comes Jenny, a student who attracts both men, adding tension to the story with her sweet yet oblivious personality. Listeners will delight in attending Grose's creative writing class, where would-be authors share their efforts in droning monotones or with too much enthusiasm. Arnold excels at altering his pace and style as situations change. Being unable to determine which characters are reliable and which are not is deliciously disturbing throughout. S.G.B. © AudioFile 2017, Portland, Maine

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