Quick Reads 2013- Crime Reads

The Challenge

1 in 6 adults of working age in the UK finds reading difficult and may never pick up a book.  People’s reasons for not reading are varied but are often based in fear. Some people say they find books scary and intimidating, thinking they are ‘not for them’ or that books are difficult or boring.

Quick Reads sets out to challenge these beliefs and to show that books and reading can be for everyone. Each year they commission big name authors to write short books that are specifically designed to be easy to read. They are the same as mainstream books in every respect but are simply shorter and easier to tackle for adults who are less confident in their reading skills. The books are then sold through major retailers, online booksellers and are loaned from libraries. A powerful outreach campaign around Quick Reads delivers the books and accompanying learning resources to literacy practitioners across the country. Quick Reads books are vital in educational settings such as further education colleges and libraries, prisons, military bases, care homes and family centres as well as in workplace learning centres.  They are also used in settings as diverse as oil rigs, cross channel ferries, bus depots and refuse disposal units.  Practitioners tell us that Quick Reads are the ideal tool to use with their learners and evaluations reveal very real benefits to quality of life, well-being, self-esteem, confidence and job prospects.  We also know that adults who become readers through Quick Reads encourage their children to read, transforming their prospects and creating the next generation of readers. Quick Reads is making real, lasting changes to people’s lives.Since 2006 we have distributed over 4.5 million books, registered 3 million library loans and through the outreach work hundreds of thousands of new readers each year, often in some of the hardest to reach communities, are introduced to the joys and benefits of reading. Find out more here: http://www.quickreads.org.uk/.

In support of the Quick Reads campaign it gives Raven Crime Reads great pleasure to highlight two of this year’s criminally good Quick Reads titles from two of Britain’s favourite crime and thriller writers:

A Dreadful Murder by Minette Walters

Based on a true story…Caroline Luard is shot dead in broad daylight in the grounds of a large country estate. With few clues available, her husband soon becomes the suspect . . . But is he guilty? Bringing to life the people involved in this terrible crime, bestselling author Minette Walters uses modern detective skills to attempt to solve a 100-year-old crime.

About the Author: Minette Walters has written 12 novels and has won the CWA John Creasey Award, the Edgar Allan Poe Award and two CWA Gold Daggers for Fiction. Her previous Quick Read, Chickenfeed, was voted the 2006 Quick Reads Readers’ Favourite.

Wrong Time, Wrong Place by Simon Kernick

You are hiking in the Scottish highlands with three friends when you come across a girl. She is half-naked, has been badly beaten, and she can’t speak English. She is clearly running away from someone. Do you stop to help her? Even if it means putting your friends’ lives – and your own – in terrible danger?

About the Author: Simon talks both on and off the record to the Met’s Special Branch and the Anti-Terrorist Branch, to hear first hand what happens in the dark and murky underbelly of UK crime. His recent number one bestselling books include The Last 10 Seconds and The Payback. Relentless was the bestselling thriller of the year 2007.

Where to get Quick Reads:

The Galaxy Quick Reads book range are sold throughout the UK and Ireland at only £1.00 each from bookshops, supermarkets and online or can be borrowed from libraries across the country.  In addition to the two crime titles I’ve highlighted why not try one of these as well…