Another month, another book, and this month’s Darley Anderson Author’s Book Club pick comes from Sunday Times Bestselling Author, Tim Weaver! After ten books, two Richard and Judy Book Club picks, and a National Book Award Nomination, Tim knows his stuff when it comes to writing and reading commercial fiction. His work has been translated into 13 languages to date, and has an ever growing readership for his David Raker Missing Persons Series. His tenth title, NO ONE HOME, was published on 20th February in PB, Ebook and Audio and was selected as a Richard and Judy Spring Book Club Pick!
This Month’s Pick…
“This was one of the thrillers that made me want to be a writer. Set in the midwest, in the middle of a deep, bleak winter, it centres around accountant Hank Mitchell who, along with his brother Jacob, who he doesn’t get along with, and Jacob’s unpredictable friend Lou, stumbles across a downed plane in the middle of a forest. The plane is small but its cargo is big: inside, along with the dead bodies of the passengers, the three men find a holdall with $4.4m inside. Figuring the money has been forgotten about, or missed, they decide to keep it all.”
Why Tim loves it…
“I love A Simple Plan. It’s a beautifully written page-turner that combines a stunning sense of place with a main character you care deeply about –– even, by the end, when that tiny, spur-of-the-moment decision to keep the money has resulted in horrifying consequences, you’re either still rooting for Hank, or at the very least you’re trying to rationalise some of the terrible decisions he’s made. It was turned into a film in 1998 by Sam Raimi, with a script by Smith himself, but while the film is good, the book remains better: the ending of the book, for one, is completely different, much darker and more challenging, but while Bill Paxton and Billy Bob Thornton are terrific as the Mitchell brothers, nothing’s quite as good as Scott Smith’s elegant, taut and perfectly controlled prose. This is easily one of the best thrillers of the 90s.”
About the Author…
Scott Smith’s A SIMPLE PLAN is available in PB, Audio and Ebook, published originally in 1993. In a review by The New York Times, the book was said to have ‘an emotional accuracy, with an exceptionally skilled plot.’ The book was later released as a feature film starring Bill Paxton and Bridget Jane Fonda. The success of the film and widespread critical acclaim garnered Smith a Critics Choice Award for Best Adapted Screenplay, as well as an Academy Award Nomination for Best Screenplay.
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