Today I’m hosting a stop on Louise Beech’s fantastic THE MOUNTAIN IN MY SHOE blog tour.

Louise has gathered a couple of her fab writerly mates – Russ Litten and Nick Quantrill – from her home town of Hull into the tour bus for a chat about crime fiction, their books and writing. It makes for a fascinating read …

So, lads…. crime fiction. What is that and what does it mean to you? What drew you to writing it? 

NICK: For me, crime fiction is a way to explore the world around me, try to make it sense of it. It can local, national, international, but I think it’s the best genre for doing the job. I’ve always been a crime reader, so writing it was the logical next step.

RUSS: I like crime fiction and I read it, but I don’t write it and have never had any…