Sophie Hannah: ‘I gave up on Wuthering Heights three times’
The crime writer on actor Frances Farmer’s life-changing story of survival, her favourite self help and discovering Agatha Christie’s alter ego
December 2024
2024 in Culture
‘Perfect for winter nights’: the best crime novels to read at Christmas according to Ian Rankin, Bella Mackie and more
From Maigret to Sherlock Holmes and Miss Marple, authors choose the whodunnits they love to hunker down with at this time of year
December 2022
Guess who? Val McDermid, Ian Rankin, Sophie Hannah and other crime writers reveal their favourite detectives
At the end of a year when murder mysteries rode high in the charts, we ask crime writers to celebrate the best fictional detectives
December 2020
Further reading
Turning over a new leaf? The best books for a new year
From Agatha Christie’s Mary Westmacott novels to life lessons from a Stoic philosopher, Sophie Hannah recommends books to see in 2021
October 2020
Top 10s
Top 10 underrated Agatha Christie novels
On the centenary of the godmother of crime fiction’s debut, Sophie Hannah - author of the new Poirot mysteries - picks her favourite lesser-known gems
September 2020
Self and wellbeing
Why I'm addicted to self-help books
What’s the best way to tackle a toxic partner, identify a narcissist or feel happier? Self-help books contain clues to life’s mysteries, argues crime novelist Sophie Hannah
December 2018
Made in ...
Sophie Hannah on west Didsbury: ‘I believed I would live in Manchester for the rest of my life'
The novelist remembers her childhood in the leafy suburb and how she later fell in love with Cambridge
April 2018
Books blog
It's no mystery that crime is the biggest-selling genre in books
Sophie Hannah
Sales of crime novels in the UK have soared, overtaking general fiction for the first time. But this thrilling genre can be a comfort, too
March 2018
Book of the day
Money in the Morgue by Ngaio Marsh and Stella Duffy review – Inspector Alleyn returns
This skilfully completed ‘continuation novel’, set in a New Zealand hospital, is an exquisite reminder of the brilliance of Marsh’s London detective
January 2018
A prize for thrillers with no violence against women? That’s not progressive
Sophie Hannah
Ignoring brutality may sound like a good idea but it won’t make it go away – we should challenge prejudice, not celebrate it
November 2017
Poirot is a show-off, but he’s brilliant. That’s why I brought him back to life
As Murder on the Orient Express brings vintage Agatha Christie back to our cinemas, novelist Sophie Hannah tells how she resurrected the brilliant Belgian detective on the page
August 2017
Top 10s
Top 10 twists in fiction
Court dramas, classic mysteries and bloody crimes ... from Du Maurier to Lehane, Sophie Hannah chooses her favourite twists in novels (or does she?)
December 2016
Rereading
Will the latest Agatha Christie adaptation be a Boxing Day hit?
An early short story by the queen of crime, The Witness for the Prosecution, will be broadcast on 26 and 27 December on BBC1
January 2016
Grip-lit? Psychological thrillers were around long before Gone Girl
Sophie Hannah
Is the popularity of dark crime fiction written by women really the sign of a game-changing new genre? Only if you have forgotten PD James, Ruth Rendell, Daphne du Maurier ...
December 2015
Agatha Christie: with drugs, violence and swearing, will the queen of crime recapture Christmas?
The Tennis Church – an original short story for Christmas by Sophie Hannah
June 2015
Craig Raine should be free to express a fleeting moment of horniness
Sophie Hannah
The Twitterstorm unleashed by his absurd, lustful Gatwick poem is sheer bullying. Poets must be able to expose imperfect feelings
May 2015
No one should condescend to Agatha Christie – she's a genius
Christie is consistently condescended to as merely a brilliant plotter of mysteries. But she’s so much more than that
December 2013
Top 10s
Sophie Hannah's top 10 pageturners
The bestselling thriller writer picks 10 addictive reads - from crime to poetry, all guaranteed to be unputdownable
February 2013
My hero
My hero: Agatha Christie by Sophie Hannah
Christie's psychological insight is profound, and is present in the formal structures of her novels as much as it is in Poirot's or Miss Marple's shrewd one-line analyses of motives for murder, writes Sophie Hannah
