My influences
It’s impossible to write unless you read, so the saying goes. And just like everyone else, I have read, watched and listened to many things that have influenced the way I think and see the world. If you are considering buying one of my books and want to size up what my literary, TV, film & musical tastes are, you’ll find this page useful. If, like me, you like lists of favourite things, you’ll enjoy reading this too. If none of these apply, you’ve probably not been interested enough to click on this link anyway, so I’ll stop now and get on with it:
Favourite fiction books (in no particular order) 
Drive, James Sallis
The Talented Mr Ripley, Patricia Highsmith
Casino Royale, Ian Fleming
No Beast so Fierce, Eddie Bunker
The Ice Harvest, Scott Phillips
The Last Good Kiss, James Crumley
Brighton Rock, Graham Greene
American Psycho, Bret Easton Ellis
The Crooked Man, Philip Davison
Libra, Don DeLillo
He Kills Coppers, Jake Arnott
American Tabloid, James Ellroy
Dead I Well May Be, Adrian McKinty
Olive Kitteridge, Elizabeth Strout
The Damned United, David Peace
Favourite non-fiction books 
The Miracle of Castel Di Sangro, Joe McGinniss
Hitchcock, Francois Truffaut
Manhunt: The 12-day chase for Lincoln’s Killer, James Swanson
Revolution in the Head, Ian MacDonald
Bare Fists, Bob Mee
Puskas on Puskas, Rogan Taylor & Klara Jamrich
Hand of God, Jimmy Burns
On Snooker, Mordecai Richler
Football in Sun and Shadow, Eduardo Galeano
Tor! Ulrich Hesse-Lichtenberger
Favourite films 
Miller’s Crossing
The Godfather Part II
The Big Lebowski
Reservoir Dogs
Rope
Fargo
Memento
Dead Man’s Shoes
The Long Good Friday
Raging Bull
Favourite TV shows 
The Wire
Mad Men
I’m Alan Partridge
Boardwalk Empire
Peep Show
Curb Your Enthusiasm
The Sopranos
Spaced
In Treatment
Better Call Saul
Favourite music
She Bangs the Drums, The Stone Roses
You’ve Got to Hide Your Love Away, The Beatles
I Close My Eyes and Count to Ten, Dusty Springfield
Fall on Me, REM
Teenage Kicks, The Undertones
Saturn 5, Inspiral Carpets
The First Cut is the Deepest, P.P. Arnold
There She Goes, The La’s
History, The Verve
Always on my Mind, Willie Nelson