Daynote - Thu 18 Jan 2026

Toot toot! Off to London today for Capital Crime and very excited about it. A full weekend of talking books, catching up with friends old and new and swanning about in the capital. Absolutely can't wait.

My panel is tomorrow morning at 0930hrs, on the 'London' Stage at Capital Crime.

I'm appearing as part of the Secrets and Shadows panel, alongside (actual former spy) James Wolff, Chris Humphreys and Paul Warner, chaired by Jane Thynne. I'm really looking forward to it. Grab your ticket here.

ON DECK: Nothing on the docket so far, because I was finishing off a critique read on a friend's (exceptional) novel. But train journeys are a fine, fine time to do a bunch of editing, I find. So I'm hoping on my way south I'll be able to finish off the consolidation edit on DRIFT and arrive in London fully prepped for the weekend.

LISTENING: Loved this Read and Buried Podcast interview with Bonnie Burke-Patel, who was shortlisted with me for the McDermid Debut Award last year and was absolutely lovely. A fascinating dig into her publication story, working practices and areas of interest.

WATCHING: Busy packing last night, but we made time to watch a new episode of the excellent Youtube series NONNA WISDOM, this time from the Italian island of Procida in the Bay of Naples:

It's wild to me that some of the best travel documentary filmmaking I've seen recently is for a sponsored content ad for boxed wine, of all things. But it's great stuff.

READING: Too busy packing, but when I'm back home I'll be finishing off DECEPTION by Alan Parks (Bookshop, Waterstones, Amazon), which is roaring along nicely. I didn't bring it with me, because I never actually get any reading done on these trips and it was time to admit that to myself.

KIT: I'm a 'bag guy' (and a jacket guy, but that's another story) in that I'm always on the lookout for the ideal bags for different situations, because a really good bag can make an enormous difference to travel, I've found. And I was reminded again this morning of why I like the Peak Design Travel Backpack so much. It's incredibly expensive, but I use it constantly (for both day job and publishing-related travel) and it's proven itself over and over again. Very hard-wearing, great internal organisation, comfortable even with a lot of stuff in it. If you do a lot of travel, I can't recommend it enough.

LINK: Loved this piece from Emma Darwin over at The Itch Of Writing about Le Carré's TINKER, TAILOR, SOLDIER SPY. A novel I find can still stand up to a heck of a lot of craft and critical analysis, even decades after publication.

UP NEXT: Tomorrow will be a hectic day, starting early, so I suspect there won't be a daynote. But if you're in or near London, come along to Capital Crime and you can hear me blathering for real. And if you're a subscriber/blog reader and you're attending Capital Crime this weekend, please do say hello.

Onward!