WHAT BOOK would Linwood Barclay take to a desert island?

…are you reading now?

Prussian Blue, by the late Philip Kerr. I’m probably one of the last people to discover his Bernie Gunther novels.

I had read Berlin Noir years ago, but somehow had not gone on to read more of Kerr’s books until picking up his final novel, Metropolis, a stunning piece of work, a few months ago.

I’m in awe of the writing. He was so good. There are some writers you can’t skim because every paragraph is a joy to read.

Waiting for me on my nightstand are new novels by Laura Lippman, Michael Robotham and Steve Cavanagh.

Linwood Barclay is currently reading Prussian Blue, by the late Philip Kerr

…would you take to a desert island?

If anyone has written a book about how to get off a desert island, or how to build a raft out of coconuts, I suppose that would be my first choice. Second might be an empty notebook so I could write about my own experiences. (This is why it’s always a good idea to carry a pen with you.)

But if it has to be an actual, honest-to-God book, I’ll take Fierce Pajamas, An Anthology Of Humor Writing From The New Yorker. Hilarious pieces by everyone from Dorothy Parker to Steve Martin will help keep me sane while I wait to be rescued.

…first gave you the reading bug?

The first books I ever really devoured were the Hardy Boys mysteries. I not only enjoyed following brothers Frank and Joe as they solved crimes, but I loved the actual collecting of their adventures.

I liked to place them on my shelf, in order, the cover designs on the spines lining up so perfectly. The same was true of Tom Swift, boy inventor, and such titles as Tom Swift And His Flying Lab, Tom Swift And His Rocket Ship and Tom Swift And His Space Solartron. (See a pattern here?)

The first books Linwood ever really devoured were the Hardy Boys mysteries 

After the Hardy Boys I moved on to Agatha Christie, the Nero Wolfe detective novels by Rex Stout, and television tie-in novels of my favourite shows.

I wish I could tell you I was reading Hemingway at age 12, but really I had my nose in paperback adventures of The Man From U.N.C.L.E. (The Vampire Affair, #6, is a particularly good one.)

My tastes really matured around the age of 15, when I discovered the Lew Archer novels by Ross Macdonald. Here was someone who was taking the conventions of the crime novel and using them to comment on societal issues such as family dysfunction and environmental degradation. He remains my favourite author.

…left you cold?

I’ve always been reluctant to criticise books by other authors because I know how much work it takes to write any kind of book, good or bad. But I will confess I read only the first of the Dragon Tattoo novels.

It had a lot going for it, in particular the character of Lisbeth Salander, who is a terrific creation, but it was a tough slog for me, and I never moved on to the others.

There are plenty of other novels everyone else has professed to love that I’ve picked up and said to myself: ‘I don’t get it. This is beyond terrible.’ (No, I am not going to tell you which ones.)

But that’s one of the great things about this business. There’s something for everyone. 

Linwood Barclay’s latest thriller, Elevator Pitch, is out now in paperback, published by HQ, £7.99.