R.J. Ellory's A SIMPLE ACT OF VIOLENCE On Sale This Week

R.J. Ellory's A Simple Act of Violence, his third novel published in America by The Overlook Press, will go on sale this Thursday, June 2. Nominated for a Barry Award and winner of the 2010 Theakston’s Prize for Best Crime Novel of the Year in the U.K., A Simple Act of Violence is an explosive and soaring new novel.

And the praise is pouring in:

“Ellory is back with an amazing new novel. It’s not only a mystery with enough plot twists to keep the most jaded fan of the genre guessing, it’s also a high-speed car chase of a thriller. This is a superbly entertaining book and one that will endure in the reader’s thoughts long after the last page turns. After several fine novels, it’s high time R.J. Ellory takes his rightful place on crime fiction’s A-list. - Booklist (starred review)

“Impressive prose and pacing, coupled with a grim, unflinching view of reality that James Ellroy would recognize, make this a must-read for noir fans.” – Publishers Weekly (starred review)


"Although R.J. Ellory's A Simple Act of Violence is set in Washington, D.C., just a few years ago, it really concerns the battles of an earlier era. A series of brutal murders draws a homicide detective into a shadow world involving a secret government agency, numerous federal and civic officials, and a scheme to hide acts tied to U.S. involvement in Nicaragua in the 1980s. A police procedural thus shape-shifts into a conspiracy thriller and a historical exposé. . . There are powerful scenes and vivid images in A Simple Act of Violence, which begs comparison with the work of such writers as Charles McCarry and Richard Condon." - The Wall Street Journal

"A Simple Act of Violence is a masterful exercise in suspense that keeps unfolding and taking the reader to unexpected places. This one will keep you up late reading, and then you won't sleep." – John Lutz

"There is something for everyone in A Simple Act of Violence, although the less sophisticated and uninformed readers in the realm of historical politics may tend to get lost in the backstory. That aside, this crime thriller will delight the palate of lovers of political intrigue in international venues, events that ring of historical truth, bringing the action closer to the realm of real life." - New York Journal of Books

Roger Ellory talks about A Simple Act of Violence, his background, and the writing life in an interview with Dean Murphy on The Big Thrill, the website of the Internationatal Thriller Writers Association.

R.J. Ellory in the FINANCIAL TIMES

One of our favorite authors, R.J. Ellory, was recently profiled in the Financial Times. A few of our favorite parts are below.


Watch for his CIA thriller A SIMPLE ACT OF VIOLENCE coming this summer from The Overlook Press! Below, a few of our favorite excerpts from his Q&A with the FT. Go here to read it all!

Roger Jon Ellory began writing in 1987, producing 22 novels in six years, but he remained unpublished until he returned to writing in 2001. The first of his eight thrillers, Candlemoth, was published in 2003. A Quiet Belief in Angels (2006) has been translated into 23 languages and several of his books have been shortlisted for Crime Writers Association awards. Born in Birmingham in 1965, Ellory lives in the West Midlands with his wife and son.

What book changed your life?

The Shining by Stephen King. When I was 13 and quarantined for chicken pox in my school dormitory, I would hear the footsteps of nurses in the corridor and by the time I’d got to the door to look, there was nobody there. I realised then the power of fiction.

...

Who are your literary influences?

I read as many writers as possible who make me feel embarrassed about how clumsy my words are: Steinbeck, Faulkner, Hemingway, Capote, Cormac McCarthy, Annie Proulx.

....

Who would you like to be stuck in a lift with?

Phillip Seymour Hoffman, John Steinbeck, Charlie Chaplin, Arthur Conan Doyle, Audrey Hepburn and Elvis.

A QUIET BELIEF IN ANGELS On Sale Today!

At long last, R.J. Ellory makes his American debut TODAY with the acclaimed thriller A Quiet Belief in Angels!

“There aren’t nearly enough beautifully written novels, that are also great mysteries. Like The Girl With the Dragon Tatoo and Smilla's Sense of Snow, A Quiet Belief in Angels is one of them.” –James Patterson

“A Quiet Belief in Angels is a beautiful and haunting book. This is a tour de force from R. J. Ellory.” –Michael Connelly

"R. J. Ellory is a uniquely gifted, passionate, and powerful writer, and the quality of his prose –every word, every sentence– lifts A Quiet Belief in Angels far above genre." –Alan Furst

“A mesmerizing tale whose intrigue will pull you from one page to the next without pause, casting you into the gloom of dread and the shadow of grief until you reach the climatic end. R.J. Ellory's remarkable talent for probing the unknown establishes him as the master of the genre. The perfect author to read late into the night.” –Clive Cussler

“What a discovery! Superb... one of my favorite books of the past year.” –Otto Penzler

"Roger Ellory is a class act. If you like James Lee Burke or James Sallis, he's a writer who speaks your language." -Val McDermid

“A Quiet Belief In Angels is a riveting mystery, as compelling as it is moving. Joseph is destined to become one of those seminal characters of literature. Here is a book that restores not only a quiet belief in the redemptive power of literature, but is a novel that you will read over and over again.” –Ken Bruen

"R.J. Ellory's A Quiet Belief in Angels starts out like a moody Chopin piano etude and quickly takes on the size and force of a symphony by Grieg - at times poignant and somber, at others plunging recklessly into the deep to consider many of the darkest and most dangerous caverns of the human heart, only to break through to the surface again and surge toward a shattering –and perfectly realized– crescendo. Ellory's style is original and complex, the story quite harrowing, and the book will stay with you long after you've quietly closed the end-pages and stared for a while into the complicated darkness beyond your own bedroom window." -David Stone

"A Quiet Belief in Angels is a rich, powerful, evocative novel of great psychological depth." -Jonathan Kellerman

“Roger Jon Ellory has a way of concealing the shocks in his text so that you stumble upon them, as if by accident, with some of the horror that you might feel if you too discovered the dismembered body of an eight-year-old girl. Each jolt strikes painfully, and the reader will seek, utterly riveted, this masochistic beating right to the end of the book. … This is compelling, unputdownable thriller writing of the very highest order” –The Guardian

“Ellory is a powerful talent, (A Quiet Belief in Angels) seems set to launch him into the stratosphere of crime writers” –Independent on Sunday

“This isn't your standard shock and bore serial killer novel. It's an impassioned story of a man's life told in Ellory's distinctive voice, and it confirms his place in the top flight of crime writing.” –Sunday Telegraph

Please visit http://www.quietbeliefinangels.com/ for all the news that's fit to post, including reviews, tweets, blogs, and a complete schedule of R.J. Ellory's October U.S. events!