If Twitter’s your thing then you can also follow Crimetime at https://twitter.com/#!/crimetimeUK.

Thank you for your patience.

Bit of a strange old weekend just gone. Boiling hot, and finally the flowers on my balcony have decided to get into the act, after hiding in the dirt all spring away from the freezing cold. Went out to lunch on Saturday down at the Wapping Project which really is a fine restaurant. Then on Sunday I actually watched a bit of a football match. Never thought I would, but sitting on the previously mentioned balcony with a glass of celebratory champagne (More about that later) the whole of the Island had their windows open and all I could hear were shouts and moans, so I switched on the box and watched it through the windows. Blimey, no wonder we lost. It was like watching ballet dancers vs donkeys.

Talking of TV matters, since I’ve been doing this book on crime series, there seem to be new ones every day, and it’s difficult to keep up. There’s Human Target on ScyFI Channel which I can’t get on my satellite box, and Justified on Five USA which pixilates like a bugger(I’ll have to wait for the box sets of those). I really do need to update my system as I seem to be the only person left without a LCVD/LED/Plasma thin screen. Trouble is, when I priced up exactly what I wanted at John Lewis a while back, it came to an eye watering £2200 which didn’t include the 3D option, but did include an electric driven stand, and what fun that would be. But even so, very hard to justify in these straitened times. However, one new series I did catch was K-Ville which I thought was great.

Back to the celebrations as promised. On Friday I bought a copy of the Sun to check out the review pages, and lo and behold there was a top review of Guns Of Brixton. It’s weird when that happens as a surprise, as it can be a nasty surprise, believe me. Luckily the reviewer loved the book I’m glad to say, (what’s not to love?), and Superb was the word of the day (His, not mine) so, I’m getting his e-mail address soonest to thank him. Then on Saturday, Mr Maximum Crime himself phoned to tell me the book had gone to number one on the Amazon hard boiled crime chart. Never been number one before, so that’s why the bubbly. Don’t know how that might affect sales, but it can’t hurt. And if it does well someone might buy the film rights so’s I can afford that new TV set up.

Music wise, bought a couple of albums from Nick at Heyday. Sugarlumps 3 on Acid Jazz with fifteen ace psychedelic tracks, and A Phase We’re Going Through on Fruits De Mer (love that label) with more oldies revisited in a groovy way. It’s just like the summer of love revisited round here. Finally, I was very sorry to hear of the death of Pete Quaife from my very favourite band, The Kinks. RIP.See ya.

When did you last hear a GG record on the radio? A long time. He’s been pretty well airbrushed out of history, whilst some people get away with it. Funny old world. All I can say is that I really liked his first album and played it constantly, alternated with Astral Weeks. But I was pretty well zonked out most of the time back in those days.

So why the gap? Domestic troubles I’m afraid. “In every dream home a heartache” as the song goes. And also I was putting the (almost) finishing touches to 101 Great Crime Series, which is at the typesetters now, so I’m having a bit of a holiday. When I say finishing touches, there’s so many new crime series about, that book will never really be done. Best so far by a mile – Luther. And tonight another brand new one Father & Son.

It’s my birthday next week. Closer to seventy than sixty now. Who’d’ve guessed it? I never though I’d make old bones, and now I have. So what’s next? I keep saying I’m going to pack this rubbish in, (But it’s the kind of rubbish that makes you rich or keeps you poor) but there’s a novel I half finished then dumped because it was garbage, so maybe I’ll go back to that for another go. Or maybe there’ll be a sequel to Guns Of Brixton. Who knows?

Reading wise, it’s back to Mark Billingham’s latest, and I’ve just finished (In one day, it’s that good) Peter Robinson’s Bad Boy.

Musically, I’m having a Danny & The Juniors and Johnny & The Hurricanes revival.

The hits keep on happening

Later.

So as for reading I’ve done bugger all, so I’ll have to go back to the new Mark Billingham, as I’ve forgotten all about it, before I can do a review.

Talking of reviews, my crit of the new John Connolly is in the Indie On Sunday today, and if you haven’t read it (And why not?) I expect it can be found somewhere in the net as soon as.

Also I was on the Robert Elms show on Radio London 94.9, and DAB on Friday lunchtime. What a nice bloke. Plugging everything I could of of mine, plus lots of other stuff including Luther (starring Idris Elba from The Wire) the new BBC 1 crime series. It’s had mixed crits but I loved it, and it goes straight into the book.

I meant to give Nick a mention too, but just as I was going to, they had to go over to Bow & Bethnal Green to announce the result of the election, and I got so disconbobulated, it went right out of my head. Sorry mate, next time I promise.

Music wise, a whole bundle of old vinyl this week including Wanda Jackson, Bobby Darin, The US T-Bones and The Fleetwoods amongst others.

By the way, last time I mentioned the Voidoids on Fruits de Mer records. should’ve been Vibravoid. Apologies to all concerned, the vinyl was such a beautiful shade of pink, it reminded me of strawberry ice cream and I wanted to eat it.

More soon.

Buy Sharman – The Complete Series starring Clive Owen on DVD

For more info on the series check out the Sharman website.

Listen online at http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p001d7kb

It’s Marathon day again so the Isle of Doggies (Woof, woof) is closed down. Nothing new there then, as the Jubilee line is closed every weekend, and the DLR too. East London. What a trip! The weather forecast was hot and humid, and in fact it’s pissing down. I don’t know how weather forecasters can take the money and keep a straight face.

A while back I said I was reading the new John Connolly. I’ve reviewed that for the Independent On Sunday, so I won’t say any more here, and also Terror’s Reach by Tom Bale (Preface-June-H/B £12.99). A bit of a disappointment that one, though I managed to finish it, which is saying something. The plot idea is interesting, but hardly new: Take an isolated community, cut it off from the world, then plunder it. There’s dozens of films and books that use the idea. Westerns, crime, science fiction. Ed McBain did a great one. So did Robert B. Parker. Even the wonderful Dame Agatha with Ten Little… Oops, got to call it And Then There Was One these days. I was reading it under my desk during English many years ago, and Mr Bamford confiscated it and didn’t give it back until the end of term. Bastard! These days I imagine anyone reading anything in English class would get a medal. These days of course it’s harder now, with the new technology, and mobile communication to isolate anyone, especially in England. But of course “NO SIGNAL’ is always useful. Terror’s Reach is a small island off the South Coast inhabited by mostly rich people. A gang invades the place, closes it down, and that’s that. Except for Joe Clayton, an undercover cop who lost everything when a job went wrong. Career, family, and he had to change his name and take a job as a bodyguard.

I’ll admit there’s a few neat twists, as Joe moves around the island, trying hard to protect everyone, and keep out of the bad guy’s clutches, but ends up captured, then freed again. Trouble was I didn’t really care about the characters, and that matters. As one editor once said about one of my books “There’s a good little novel trying to get out of this big novel” Still rankles, but then I think his taste ran to more gentle fare, if you get my drift. Same with this one. Lurking inside the book is a better one.

Right, what else? I’m reading the new Mark Billingham due out in August, From The Dead. Looking good so far. And just arrived the latest Peter Robinson – Bad Boy also August. More on those later, but it looks like a good summer crime fans.

As I’ve got a few things coming out over the next few weeks I’ve overdosed on vinyl. Voidoids on the marvellous Fruits De Mer label, plus stacks more new stuff and reissues, and a whole bundle of old records from the Jive Dive and Sam Hobden. More on those next week.

Oh well, back to the kitchen, and it’s stopped raining