First and foremost, I wanted to be a writer. The crime/suspense element came later. My first novel, The Goddaughter was published by Weidenfeld in 1975. My second novel, The Lovers and The Loved was published by Heineman in 1990. These are straightforward novels, love stories. Here’s a Lear for the graphic novel era. Pace is everything in a production, directed by its star... ★★★☆☆ Fast-paced political-cum-spy thriller with a chilling ring of authenticity and an eerie closeness to present events in Ukraine. Unputdownable”---Xan Smiley, The Economist.

The Translator: Harriet Crawley talks to Crime Time The Translator: Harriet Crawley talks to Crime Time

A paragraph on the rear of the book from a paper written by none other than Rishi Sunak should have warned me to steer clear but i paid little attention at the time as i was quite excited to find a new novel that centres on a subject i have been following for many years. When I lost my job in Moscow in January 2016, I knew that I wanted to write a novel set in Russia, and this novel would not be about me. I had spent the better part of 20 years in Russia, and I was hooked on the country and on its people. At the same time, like so many others, I was revolted by Putin and his politics. Little did I know that worse, much worse was to come. I haven’t read anything else by Harriet Crawley, but based on this I would read more of her novels, and if you enjoy a good spy thriller I can definitely recommend this one! Marc writes (main picture): I specifically focused on the South Africa captain Siya Kolisi, far left, as he sung the national anthem, Nkosi Sikelel’ iAfrika, as he sings with so much passion and emotion. This spy novel would be super on the telly! Crawley speaks Russian and lived and worked in Moscow for years, so her vision of Moscow should be spot on. When Clive Franklin is seconded to accompany the Prime Minister on an important trip, little does he know that he will meet his old lover Marina again across the table during negotiations, nor that he'll be the go-between for information about a Russian threat to the transatlantic cables that link North America and Europe from Marina. Will they get out alive? This was a really great read with many a twist and plenty of jeopardy. Loved it.

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Shuggie Bain, by Douglas Stuart. It was turned down by 42 publishers and in 2020 it won the Booker Prize. I think my style is old-school, in the sense that I care about grammar and punctuation, but I hope it’s clear, and unambiguous. I like short sentences, and I think both adjectives and adverbs should be used sparingly. Sometimes I work over sentences many, many times until I find a harmony between the words. As far as structure goes, I think of myself as a storyteller, and I like to take the reader from A to B without too many deviations. I work hard at my dialogue (which I love writing) and I hope it has energy and life. Moscow, September 2017. Clive Franklin, a Russian language expert in the Foreign Office, is summoned unexpectedly to the city to act as translator for the British Prime Minister. His life is turned on its head when, after more than a decade, he discovers that his former lover, Marina Volina, is now the interpreter to the Russian President.

The Translator: one of the top thrillers of 2023 and of the

Prescient and pacey, this book sizzles with the author’s expertise.”-- Edward Lucas, author of The New Cold War: Putin's Threat to Russia and the West Reading this book has left me with a picture of an author slaving over British state press releases in the dead of night, flanked by wispy blue cigarette smoke & ashtrays that resemble mountains, in search of material for cheap & easy novels.My son Spencer was born in 1987. In 1988 both my brothers tragically died in an aeroplane crash and we went to live with my father (my mother had died in 1983). A taut, highly topical thriller, set in Moscow and centred on a devastating Russian plot to sabotage the undersea communication cables linking the US to the UK. Also, a passionate love story between two people determined to stop this cataclysmic act. We are delighted to reveal that our April Book of the Month is the thrilling The Translator by Harriet Crawley. You lived in Russia for a significant amount of time – what influence do you think living there has had on your writing?

The Translator Reviews - Bitter Lemon Press The Translator Reviews - Bitter Lemon Press

Serov imagines himself to be a figurehead and true descendant of the Stalin era, Old Mother Russia needs to be restored to her original boundaries, regardless of the toes he tramples on or the losses he causes. Clive is asked to step in to translate for the British PM in Russia where he finds himself drawn into the insidious intrigues of the Russians, and also surprised to find his ex-girlfriend in the midst of this dangerous game of political chess. Set in Moscow and centred on a devastating Russian plot to sabotage the undersea communication cables linking the US to the UK, this is not only a sizzling and pacy thriller, but a passionate love story between two people determined to stop this cataclysmic act There was some hard editing yet to come, but also the reward of finding a brilliant independent publisher in Bitter Lemon Press. And 29 years after publishing my last book, here is another. As my elder brother always told me, ‘Life is a long-distance race.’Harriet Crawley’s The Translator, has been described by Antony Beever as ‘a classic thriller of the new Cold War’. There are delicious characters on all sides, and the threads of their individual stories weave beautifully throughout to make an authentic spy thriller with lashings of emotional depth. Clive and Marina's relationships shed light on so many aspects of the mass of contradictions that make up modern Russia, from the cynical machinations of the corridors of the Kremlin, through the rise of the oligarchs, and right down to the political unrest on the streets. President Serov makes an intriguing Putin-esque figurehead, and the personalities in his inner-circle provide fodder for some excellent story-lines, especially the chilling General Varlamov with his personal and professional agendas. Change the plan you will roll onto at any time during your trial by visiting the “Settings & Account” section. What happens at the end of my trial? Now we’re in familiar thriller territory. Only two people can save the West, two translators, one Russian, one British, and they were lovers once, till she left him for another man. Can they now work together? Despite intense scrutiny, can Clive and Marina prevent World War Three? It’s an absorbing read and leads to a long and exciting climax. Just remember: it’s 2017. And the fate of the world is in their hands.