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Neil Cross

Neil Cross

Neil Cross

Neil Cross is the author of several novels including Always the Sun and Burial, as well as the bestselling memoir Heartland. He has been lead scriptwriter for the two most recent seasons of the acclaimed BBC spy drama series Spooks and continues to... Read full bio

Author Revealed:
Q. What comment do you hear most often from your readers?
A. How can someone so normal write such disturbing stories?
Learn more about Neil Cross
My life in 8 words: "The life I dreamed of, with less sleep."
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    1. LUTHER Promo from BBC1
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    2. LUTHER Promo from BBC1
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    3. Introducing Neil Cross
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    4. Bestselling Author Neil Cross Talks about his New Novel
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    5. Authors Revealed: Neil Cross
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    6. Neil Cross: Natural History and Burial
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    7. Meet Neil Cross
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Captured will be released on August 05, 2010 in Trade Paperback
Aug 05, 2010
Captured is now available in Trade Paperback
Aug 05, 2010
Apr 30, 2010
Apr 30, 2010
Captured will be released on March 18, 2010 in
Mar 18, 2010
Captured is now available in
Mar 18, 2010
Excerpt:
Excerpt 1 from Captured
Feb 18, 2010
Jan 14, 2010
Jan 14, 2010
Captured will be released on January 07, 2010 in Trade Paperback
Jan 07, 2010
Captured is now available in Trade Paperback
Jan 07, 2010
Holloway Falls will be released on December 15, 2009 in eBook
Dec 15, 2009
Holloway Falls is now available in eBook
Dec 15, 2009
Holloway Falls will be released on August 06, 2009 in
Aug 06, 2009
Holloway Falls is now available in
Aug 06, 2009
Always The Sun will be released on August 06, 2009 in Trade Paperback, Mass Market Paperback
Aug 06, 2009
Always The Sun is now available in Trade Paperback, Mass Market Paperback
Aug 06, 2009
Burial will be released on August 06, 2009 in
Aug 06, 2009
Burial is now available in
Aug 06, 2009
Jun 27, 2009
Author Revealed Answer:
What is your birthdate?
Apr 04, 2009
Author Revealed Answer:
What were your previous occupations?
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Author Revealed Answer:
What was/is your favorite job?
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Author Revealed Answer:
What is your favorite movie?
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What is your favorite television show?
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Who are your favorite authors?
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Author Revealed Answer:
Is there a book you love to reread?
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Author Revealed Answer:
What is your motto or maxim?
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Author Revealed Answer:
What’s your greatest fear?
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Author Revealed Answer:
Which living person do you most admire?
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Author Revealed Answer:
What do you regret most?
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Author Revealed Answer:
What’s your greatest flaw?
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Author Revealed Answer:
Who is your favorite fictional hero?
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Excerpt:
Chapter 2 from Burial
Mar 31, 2009
Excerpt:
Text Excerpt 1 from Natural History
Mar 31, 2009
Excerpt:
Chapter 1 from Always The Sun
Mar 31, 2009
Mar 31, 2009
Burial will be released on January 05, 2009 in
Jan 05, 2009
Burial is now available in
Jan 05, 2009
Brightcove:
Meet Neil Cross
Dec 03, 2008
Always The Sun will be released on November 17, 2008 in
Nov 17, 2008
Always The Sun is now available in
Nov 17, 2008
Heartland will be released on November 17, 2008 in
Nov 17, 2008
Heartland is now available in
Nov 17, 2008
Natural History is now available in
Oct 15, 2008
Natural History will be released on October 15, 2008 in
Oct 15, 2008

Neil Cross Revealed

Q. What is your motto or maxim? A. I can't imagine ever being in a position where I might need one, or could use one without looking like an imbecile.  "A guilty conscience needs to confess," you say. "A work of art is a confession." You think you sound like Dorothy Parker, but actually you sound like the windy old buffoon you so patently are. I wouldn't mind having my own catchphrase, though, if I could only think of one that wouldn't get on my family's nerves after about five minutes. So it would probably be - "I'll put the kettle on, shall I?", or; "Yes, you can play on the Wii." Q. What do you regret most? A. In order for me to be right here, right now, everything that ever happened had to happen exactly the way it happened. Change one factor, change everything. That's not New Age balderdash, it's chaos theory - it's life. I very much like where I am now, so how can I regret anything? Q. Who is your favorite fictional hero? A. Yossarian, Indiana Jones, David Tenant's Dr Who. Q. With whom in history do you most identify? A. That's a dangerous game to start playing. I don't identify with (or even slightly resemble) any of my many heroes. It worries me that, because I've never had cause to be brave, I might lack the capacity. So I most identify with the scum and the cowards, fearing that, but for an accident of history, I'd be walking amongst them. Q. What are your most overused words or phrases? A. "tea", "cup", "kettle" and "that bloody dog." Learn more about Neil Cross

Authors on the Web

Sunday Star-Times, August 14, 2010
...had new crime fiction from Paddy Richardson, Paul Cleave and Vanda Symon, as well as 'inpats' Wellington-based Englishman Neil Cross and Dunedin-based Scot Liam McIlvanney. More than a dozen New Zealanders are now regularly writing crime-based thrillers....
The Australian, May 19, 2010
...NEIL Cross has been a nightshift worker in a supermarket, a market stallholder, and a guinea pig for a multinational pharmaceutical giant. Now the writer spends his time thinking up ways...
San Angelo Standard-Times, May 8, 2010
...by Raymond E. Feist "Boys and Girls Like You and Me," by Aryn Kyle "Burial," by Neil Cross "Chobits," by Clamp "Cleopatra’s Daughter," by Michelle Moran "Come High Water," by Carolyn Brown "Correction," by Thomas Bernhard "Counterfeit Lady," by Dawn...
New Zealand Herald, March 20, 2010
...Canadian poet, short story writer and novelist Gil Adamson; Pakistani novelist Kamila Shamsie; and Wellington-based British crime writer Neil Cross. Kate De Goldi, who was running the panel, teased out connections between them and kick-started an...
Liverpool Daily Post, March 10, 2010
...Ghost by Robert Harris 3. 1984 by George Orwell 4. The Testament by John Grisham 5. Burial by Neil Cross 6. Jamaica Inn by Daphne du Maurier 7. Doors open by Ian Rankin 8. Dissolution by C J Samson 9. Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy by John Le Carre 10...
Tonight South Africa, February 4, 2010
...Country by Mike Nicol (Umuzi R170) Rome: The Emperor's Spy by MC Scott (Bantam R215) Captured by Neil Cross (Simon & Schuster R185) Breathless by Dean Kontz (HarperCollins R185) Pirate Latitudes by Michael Crichton (HarperCollins R200) Blind Eye by...
The Independent, January 7, 2010
...as the Tenth Doctor. This programme is filled with fierce joy and wonder and magic, sometimes scary magic. Neil Cross's novel 'Captured' is published by Simon & Schuster...
Guardian.co.uk, December 11, 2009
...John O'Connell's choice Captured by Neil Cross (Simon & Schuster, £12.99) With every book Neil Cross's prose grows leaner and more charged. Captured cleverly manipulates us so that we begin it full of sympathy...
Guardian.co.uk, December 11, 2009
... John O'Connell's choice Captured by Neil Cross (Simon & Schuster, £12.99) With every book Neil Cross's prose grows leaner and more charged. Captured cleverly manipulates us so that we begin it full of sympathy...
Crime Watch, August 8, 2010
...also be searched and listed by reviewer, today my review of the latest thriller from Wellington-based crime writer Neil Cross (who was born, raised, and had his early career in the UK), CAPTURED, was published by EuroCrime . CAPTURED features Kenny, a...
MYSTERIES in PARADISE, August 6, 2010
...Best Crime Novel, here is a report of my rather slow progress in reading them all: Burial by Neil Cross Cut and Run by Alix Bosco ACCESS ROAD, Maurice Gee my rating 4.6 Bold Blood by Lindy Kelly CONTAINMENT, Vanda Symon my rating 4.7 Next up is...
Crime Watch, July 15, 2010
...writing). It’s the creativity within the convention, like with music, or Shakespearean sonnets. And, as I believe Neil Cross said to me in an interview last year, literary fiction itself is in fact a genre, a type of writing. It's not an inherently...
MYSTERIES in PARADISE, July 12, 2010
...On Saturday I posted this list, collected from friends of this blog, sorted in order of title. Here is the list now sorted according to author. ** next to an author's name signify the number of times that title was mentioned in the 15 or so lists that I...
MYSTERIES in PARADISE, July 10, 2010
...Belinada Bauer** BLEED FOR ME    Michael Robotham BLOOD OF THE WICKED    Leighton Gage BLUE LIGHTENING    Ann Cleeves CAPTURED    Neil Cross CASE HISTORIES     Kate Atkinson CHILD 44    Tom Rob Smith CITY OF SHADOWS    Ariana...
Crime Watch, June 29, 2010
...few weeks ago , along with new books by established Kiwi crime writers such as Paddy Richardson, Paul Cleave, Neil Cross, Vanda Symon, and Alix Bosco, there are also some debutant Kiwi crime writers on the horizon whose first books will be launched later...
Crime Watch, June 13, 2010
...Paul Cleave (Random House, February 2010) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- HUNTING BLIND By Paddy Richardson (Penguin, February 2010)...
From Inside the Box, June 9, 2010
...a brilliant but self-destructive detective who strikes up an odd relationship ( Ruth Wilson , "The Prisoner") with a killer. Neil Cross ("MI-5") created the show, which also stars Indira Varma ("Rome"), Steven Mackintosh ("Underworld: Evolution"), Paul...
From Inside the Box, June 9, 2010
...a brilliant but self-destructive detective who strikes up an odd relationship ( Ruth Wilson , "The Prisoner") with a killer. Neil Cross ("MI-5") created the show, which also stars Indira Varma ("Rome"), Steven Mackintosh ("Underworld: Evolution"), Paul...
Crime Watch, May 17, 2010
...already read several other books by Australian and Kiwi authors this year, including Paddy Richardson, Paul Cleave, and Neil Cross, amongst others. However I may still decide to read another author, in order to get an even more diverse trio of...
Crime Watch, May 1, 2010
...the arrival of a number of new shows, spearheaded by Luther ( created by Wellington based screenwriter and author Neil Cross ), is not a moment too soon, with "these brave new dramas" giving British television a chance to catch up with the richness and...
Crime Watch, May 1, 2010
...the arrival of a number of new shows, spearheaded by Luther ( created by Wellington based screenwriter and author Neil Cross ), is not a moment too soon, with "these brave new dramas" giving British television a chance to catch up with the richness and...
PETRONA, April 28, 2010
...on my shelf from the ever-generous publisher, Quercus. I'm certainly looking forward to that. Also out is Neil Cross 's bleak little number, Captured , which is, as the Bookseller puts it, a "brutal tale of revenge getting out of hand...very much a...
Crime Watch, April 18, 2010
...L is for Linwood Barclay's FEAR THE WORST M is for Marsh, Dame Ngaio N is for Neil Cross O is for OR SHE DIES P is for Peter Robinson and THE PRICE OF LOVE Q is for Qiu Xiaolong R is for THE RINGMASTER S is for...
Crime Watch, March 22, 2010
...Liam McIlvanney’s ALL THE COLOURS OF THE TOWN, multiple copies of Lindy Kelly’s BOLD BLOOD, three Neil Cross titles, plenty of Ngaio Marsh (including her autobiography BLACK BEECH AND HONEYDEW), and some other Kiwi crime. I may have to...
Crime Watch, March 9, 2010
...s most intriguing voices, as they talk about craft, character, and style". Wellington-based crime novelist and TV screenwriter Neil Cross (BURIAL, ALWAYS THE SUN, Spooks , Luther ) was joined on the authors' panel by internationals Gil Adamson (author of...
douglas.nerad, March 1, 2010
...be bitter, twisted, burned-out, manipulative, or just not very like you. This all ties in nicely with something Neil Cross wrote about titles and working titles found on the Scrivener FB page … Who knew working titles of such famous books were so...
The Rap Sheet, February 14, 2010
...confrontation with the nutty and ill-informed right-wing “tea baggers,” as author Gary Phillips explains . • And British author Neil Cross offers his “literary top 10...
PETRONA, February 4, 2010
...technologies of the modern world. [Actually, this review was posted on 1 February, but never mind.]Captured, by Neil Cross, one of those books for which you will have to set aside an hour or two to read from first page to last without a break. The...
PETRONA, February 4, 2010
...of the modern world. [Actually, this review was posted on 1 February, but never mind.] Captured, by Neil Cross , one of those books for which you will have to set aside an hour or two to read from first page to last without a break. The Disappeared, by...
MYSTERIES in PARADISE, January 23, 2010
...Hamilton - Kerrie gautami tripathy (The Name of the Rose) - Gautami Crime Watch - N is for Neil Cross - Craig DJsKrimiblog, N for Nesbø, Nesser - Dorte Crime Scraps:N is for Nemesis and Nesbo - Norman Petrona: Ingrid Noll - Maxine Reactions to Reading -...
Crime Watch, January 18, 2010
...New Zealand-related post or two, this week I am including a post on Wellington-based novelist and TV screenwriter Neil Cross, who has previously been long-listed for the Man Booker Prize, and whose latest novel, CAPTURED was recently released in the...
Word Magazine blogs, December 29, 2009
...The Ice Cream wars and A good man in Africa. Can also also vouch for The New Confessions. Neil Cross is another highly readable author - I am particularly fond of Always the sun. However if you want to have an unforgettable experience of the best of...
Crime Watch, December 15, 2009
...whom’s previous book was released in mid/late 2008) have books coming out in the New Year. Wellington-based Neil Cross I understand may also have a new thriller, and Vanda Symon’s fourth, BOUND, should be released later in the year. Michael...
Crime Watch, December 15, 2009
...whom’s previous book was released in mid/late 2008) have books coming out in the New Year. Wellington-based Neil Cross I understand may also have a new thriller, and Vanda Symon’s fourth, BOUND, should be released later in the year. Michael...
Opinionated? Me?, December 14, 2009
...Light by Miranda Beverly-Whittemore. Dad says, “Library I am reading now also recommended.” Natural History by Neil Cross. Dad says, “From library. I am about to read.” I also read books my parents own themselves. As my Dad says,...