Milo's Top 15 Books of 2010

http://www.milorambles.com/2010/12/15/my-top-15-books-of-2010/

I am thoroughly pleased to announce that the fourth high-octane Joe Hunter thriller - CUT AND RUN - has made it into top book and TV reviewer Milo's Rambles' list of favourite 15 books of 2010. Considering the number of great books published this year, I feel fortunate indeed, and also blessed to be named alongside so many other superb books/authors. Thank you Miles.

'Choose and Book' chooses Slash and Burn

http://chooseandbook.blogspot.com/2010/09/slash-and-burn-new-joe-hunter-thriller.html

I was very pleased to come across the unsolicited review of Slash and Burn above. It's a very genuine, from-the-heart-review that left me smiling with pride.
I don't know the name of the reviewer, but would like to say thanks anyway. So if you read this...thank you.

'Off The Wall' (and into the pages of history)

For an 'off the wall' interview with me, as well as his singular take on Joe Hunter 3 - Slash and Burn - nip on over to Lee Hughes' blog where I promise you'll have a chuckle and come away from it glad that you visited. While you're there, you might want to check out some of Lee's other stuff. He's a top writer in the horror, crime and sci-fi field and, I predict, a big name for the future.

To read the interview and book review double tap here: http://leehugheswrites.blogspot.com/2010/06/second-review-matt-hiltons-slash-burn.html

Dead Men's Dust - the reviews keep on coming

http://www.bestsellersworld.com/2010/06/02/dead-mens-dust-by-matt-hilton-review-2/

My regular followers are possibly bored with reading reviews of my first book by now, but any way, here's another from Jud Hanson at Bestsellerworld.com who enthusiastically gives DMD 5 stars.

...and I'll enthusiastically receive them.

Thanks Jud.

Turning up the HEAT

"If you like the Jack Reacher books, you'll love Hilton's series... Action-packed from start to finish."

So sayeth Boyd Hilton (no relation) of SLASH and BURN in his roundup of 'The Top New Thrillers Out At The Moment' in this weeks HEAT Magazine (dated 5 - 11 June 2010). He also says a bit more, but I'd infringe copyright if I pasted the full review. If you're a HEAT Magazine reader you can see the review on page 125 (or you can sneak a look at your mum's, sister's, wife's, girlfriend's copy if you're not).

Mysteries Galore praise Dead Men's Dust

http://www.mysteriesgalore.com/2010/05/23/dead-mens-dust-by-matt-hilton/

It's gratifying to find that US reviews of Dead men's Dust are strting to appear now that the mass market paperback edition is on general sale. Above is a link to a glowing report from Mysteries Galore Dot Com if you'd care to take a read.

Slash and Burn keeps on keeping on

http://www.book-views.com/articles/486/1/Slash-and-Burn-by-Matt-Hilton/Page1.html

http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7965017-slash-and-burn

http://book-critique.com/

Some people who have been huge supporters and fans of Joe Hunter since his inception in Dead Men's Dust are Patricia Reid and Gina Metz, both of whom live in the USA but are such great supporters that they get the UK edition of Joe's latest adventure as soon as it is published. I am indebted to both Pat and Gina for their enthusiasm and willingness to review my books.

The links above will take you to Pat's most recent review, this time for Slash and Burn (it's the same review at three different sites) if you'd like to see what she thinks of the latest book.

Grit Lit dot Com - open for business

Can I direct  you to a great new resource site for readers (and writers) of thriller and crime fiction - usually of the tougher protagonist type - where head reviewer Myles Knapp brings us the best in gritty literature to satisfy any readers tastes.

Myles Knapp has been reviewing books for his regular newspaper collumn 'Grit-Lit' which appears throughout the USA and has now moved all of his archives onto his very own website. Why not take a look here http://grit-lit.com/ and let Myles know how much you enjoy his site. Already there are many books and articles archived at the site, with many more to come.

For the (Daily) Record...

http://blogs.dailyrecord.co.uk/sharilow/

Shari Low of the Daily Record says of Slash and Burn:

"Three books into the Joe Hunter series and Matt Hilton delivers another hardcore, action-packed gritfest featuring a cold-blooded killer with a heart of gold."

For the full review, click the link above.

Thanks Shari.

JAW at Col Bury's New Crime Fiction

http://colburysnewcrimefiction.blogspot.com/2010/01/can-mate-truly-review-his-mates-book.html

Click the title above to read an honest and heartfelt review of Judgement and Wrath over at Col Bury's New Crime Ficton.

THE TELEGRAPH'S THRILLERS OF THE YEAR

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/bookreviews/6662621/Thrillers-of-the-year.html

I think I might have mentioned this before, but didn't have a link at the time. So here's what the Jeremy Jehu from the Telegraph newspaper recommends as thrillers of the year. It's good (I think).

Grit Lit welcomes Joe Hunter - Take Two

As the link to the Contra Costa Times website is short-lived, Myles Knapp has given permission for me to post the review he did of Dead Men's Dust direct to my blog here. My thanks to Myles for his kindness.

Grit Lit: Prolific Matt Hilton leaves other gritty writers eating his 'Dust'


By Myles Knapp

Contra Costa Times correspondent

Industry scuttlebutt — more reliable than one of those unaffiliated blogger dudes but not as reliable as this fine family publication — rages on and on about a new author prolific beyond the imagination of normal scribes.

The back story: First-time author pens a great book. By the time he's found an agent, he's finished his second book; by the time the agent is ready to send out book No. 1, writer had finished book No. 3; by the time a publisher bought No. 1, writer had finished book No. 4; and by the time book No. 1 came out in the United States and the United Kingdom, the writer had finished book No. 5.

And the good news for Grit Lit readers — publishers plan to release two Matt Hilton hardcovers a year for the next two years "... at least.

• "Dead Men's Dust" by Matt Hilton (William Morrow, $24.99, 336 pages, www.MattHiltonBooks.com). Joe Hunter is the perfect Grit Lit tough guy. If you haven't been able to satisfy your jones for Lee Child's Jack Reacher, Robert Crais's Joe Pike or are still rereading Travis McGee hoping John D. will rise from his grave and write another unmatched novel, dig out your credit or library card and order "Dead Men's Dust."

Hunter is a former Special Forces agent with exceptional killing skills. Skills that lead some to call him a vigilante. But if you're a single mom whose children have been threatened, Hunter's the guy you need.

Hunter is one of the most exciting new tough guys to come along in years. And he's up against a devious, smarmy, rotten, scary tough guy, Tubal Cain. Just the name makes you want to cock and lock your Glock, doesn't it?

Hunter spent years in the Special Forces hunting bad guys. His objective — kill murderous thugs, save innocent strangers. Now, with trusty SIG Sauer strapped to his side, he sets out on another mission. Only this time, it's personal.

Grit Lit welcomes Joe Hunter

http://www.contracostatimes.com/books/ci_14050506?nclick_check=1

I just spotted this review of both me and Dead Men's Dust in Myles Knapp's column Grit Lit at the Contra Costa Times. Although my prolific output is a tad misquoted, I'm not complaining. A damn fine review in my estimation.

Since originally posting this story I have had the pleasure of communicating with Myles Knapp, who informed me that the story runs in a number of newspapers. "Generally it runs the entire family of papers which includes the San Jose Mercury, Contra Costa Times, Oakland Tribune, San Ramon Valley Times, Marin IJ, the San Mateo Times plus a bunch of other papers. Plus they offer it for free to a bunch of non-competitive major city dailies." So it looks like the word is well and truly spreading on the West Coast of the USA. My genuine gratitude goes out to Mr Knapp.

What The Australian says about Judgement and Wrath

Here's a review for Judgement and Wrath in The Australian - I like it even though it's in an almost-but-not-quite-as-good-as-Lee-Child-way. You can read the review here.

Unsolicited Comments Welcome...

Some of the kindest and inspirational comments I receive about my books come from my friends and family, and I guess that to some extent you would expect that to be the case. I am grateful, obviously, but every now and again I come across a totally unsolicited comment from people who do not know me, who may not have even read any of my books, and these really are touching indeed.

Take for instance a letter sent to Cumbria Life magazine in response to an article published about me in May this year:

WELL DONE MATT HILTON
"Carlisle and Morton School, should be proud of crime writer Matt Hilton (Cumbria Life, May), who did not have the advantage of a grammar school and university education like many other writers, but left school at 15. He must surely be Cumbria's writer of the year."

Well, I'm honoured that someone should even feel like that having read about my story, and to have taken the time to voice an opinion. This was without an agenda or any other reason than perhaps the author of the letter felt inspired by my tale. My huge thanks go to Tom Moore (who I'm pretty sure I've never met before) from Southport for his very kind words. Inspiration is reciprocal, my friend.

...and also thanks to Val, (who is a friend), for buying the magazine, just so she could cut the snippet out of the pages to pass on to me. That's inspirational too.

From Blue Suede Shoes to a Cool Blue Cover

Here's a little interview I did regarding my early days and how i got started in the writing game. Hope you find it informative.

http://www.cumberlandnews.co.uk/news/learning/my_schooldays/hold_on_to_that_dream_says_cumbrian_man_who_landed_800_000_book_deal_1_625267?referrerPath=news/learning

Of Dandelions and Daffodils...and explosions (just in case you thought I was growing soft)

Flowers have featured heavily in the last couple of days of my life.

Not very 'thrilling' you might think for a thriller author to be talking about flowers, but there is a reason for it.

Explosions, too.

First off, DANDELION.

I had to chuckle when my well-meaning mam said she'd been reading Judgement and Wrath and had got to the point where Dandelion first shows up. 'It's not Dandelion, it's Dantalion,' I explained. 'Oh, well, you know who I mean,' she responded.

Well, actually, that got me thinking. Must make sure that I don't pick a villain's name that is difficult to pronounce in future. Even in Dead Men's Dust, there were different people calling the killer TWO-BALL Cain (which I'm sure as a red-blooded man he appreciated), while me and a few others pronounced his name Chew-bel Cain.

Another thing that has been mispronounced is Arrowsake (the secret base where Hunter trained while fighting terrorists). Some people ( even on the audio reading of DMD) pronounced it ARRO-SACK-AY as though it was a Japanese name. It isn't it's pronounced ARROW (as in bow and arrow) and SAKE (as in oh, for f..k's sake!). My fault entirely, as I used the original base for the wartime Special Operations Executive as the idea behind Arrowsake. This was based in Scotland at Arisaig, which I turned into a phonetic (ish) sounding Arrowsake to avoid the ire of the locals.

With Dantalion, you can pronounce it DAN-TALLION or DAN-TAY-LION but please don't call him Dandelion - I'm not sure that the warped contract killer would care too much for that. Being callled his mother's little angel was enough to send him off on one, let alone being callled her little weed.

Oh, and by the way, the title of DMD is plural - but it still occasionally gets the singular Dead Man's Dust.

Let this be a lesson to all you aspiring authors when considering titles and character names.

Now for DAFFODILS.

Well, what can I say?

As followers of this blog know, I appeared on BBC Radio Five Live on the Simon Mayo show where J&W was reviewed by three critics. Although I kind of expected to be attacked as being a 'commercial' thriller writer as opposed to being a 'literary author, the last thing I expected was for a discussion to spring up as to what two 'yellow things' were on the cover of the book. Someone suggested rubbish, and someone else suggested 'Daffodils', while I was thinking WHAT THE F..K? Did two tiny yellow blobs of colour mean anything to listeners who couldn't even see the book cover?

OK, so I got that the presenter and the critics were only having a little banter, so I didn't feel precious about it, but you could probably hear from my desultory explanation that 'They're lights in the distance.' that i wasn't that chuffed at the direction the conversation had turned.

But, hey, overall, I came out feeling good. Two of the critics liked the book and said so, while the third, although constantly referring to Lee Child as being better also summed up by saying he liked it.

Now for the EXPLOSIONS!!

The feedback I've had has been massive, and very incendiary from some people (get the explosion reference?).

I've had some well-wishers emailing, and some telephoning, and even some demanding that one of the critics be boiled in oil then strung out for the ravens to peck at....and I have to say a HUGE thank you to you all.

Another one for the aspiring authors here: not everyone will like your work. FACT. Some will try to pull it down at the expense of making others sound better. FACT. Critics criticise. FACT. Just take any bad press on the chin and move on.

...although that big pot of oil is approaching bubbling point!!

Seriously, though, here's some quotes gleaned from said radio interview:

“suffused with testosterone. . .. very exciting . . . I liked Joe Hunter.” Zara Husain

“Fun, furious. . . a good read. . . . cracking pace. . . crisp pacey thriller.” Joel Morris

“I enjoyed it. . . classic opening scene. . . last 1/3 really exciting. I was totally caught-up in it.” Boyd Hilton.

So what's there to complain about, huh?

My thanks to Simon Mayo, and to Zara, Joel and Boyd, for featuring me on the show.

The Northern Echo says...

http://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/leisure/entertainment/books/reviews/4726598.Judgement_and_Wrath_by_Matt_Hilton__Hodder_and_Stoughton____12_99_/

This is what The Northern Echo has to say about Joe Hunter's latest adventure - Judgement and Wrath. My thanks to Steven Craggs.
Matt

Links to reviews of JAW

http://www.book-views.com/articles/196/1/Judgement--Wrath-by-Matt-Hilton/Page1.html

http://book-critique.com/articles/187/1/Judgement--Wrath-by-Matt-Hilton/Page1.html

http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6883824-judgement-and-wrath

http://www.ibookdb.net/review/292235

All links kindly supplied by Pat Reid.

Another review of JAW

http://www.bestsellersworld.com/2009/10/13/judgment-wrath-by-matt-hilton/

This is a review of Judgement and Wrath over at Bestseller World