Stephen Leather

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Template:Short description Template:Use dmy dates Script error: No such module "infobox".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".Script error: No such module "Check for clobbered parameters".Template:Wikidata image Stephen Leather (born 25 October 1956) is a British thriller author whose works are published by Hodder & Stoughton. He has written for television shows such as London's Burning, The Knock, and the BBC's Murder in Mind series.[1][2] He is one of the top selling Amazon Kindle authors, the second bestselling UK author worldwide on Kindle in 2011.[3][4]

Biography

Early life

Leather was born in Manchester. He grew up in Sale and Chorlton-cum-Hardy, and attended Manchester Grammar School.[5] He attended Bath University, where he obtained a BSc in Biochemistry in 1980.[6]

Early career

Leather was employed as a biochemist for ICI, shovelled limestone in a quarry, worked as a baker, a petrol pump attendant, a barman, and worked for the Inland Revenue.[6] He began his writing career as a journalist, working for newspapers such the Glasgow Herald, Daily Mirror, The Times, Daily Mail, and the South China Morning Post in Hong Kong.[7]

Writing career

Leather began writing when he was in college; however, he "never managed to get beyond a few pages,"[8] and did not begin writing full-time until he had worked as a journalist for more than ten years.[7]

His first novel, Pay Off, was written while he was still employed at The Daily Mirror.[7] It was published from the "slush pile" at HarperCollins. The novel is a thriller about a merchant banker who takes revenge on two gangsters who killed his father. The book is set in Scotland, where Leather worked for five years on The Glasgow Herald as a business writer.

His second novel, The Fireman, was written while he was working as the business editor of the South China Morning Post.[8][9] In The Fireman, a British tabloid journalist travels to Hong Kong to discover why his sister committed suicide. Both novels, and his third, Hungry Ghost, were published by HarperCollins.

Leather wrote his fourth novel, The Chinaman, while working as night news editor on the business desk of The Times in London.[7][8] At the time, the Provisional Irish Republican Army's bombing campaign was at its height, and in The Chinaman, a Sino-Vietnamese man loses his family in an attack loosely based on the bombing of the Harrods department store in London. Having been turned away by the authorities, the man, a highly decorated Special Forces fighter in the Vietnam War, travels to Ireland and hunts down the people responsible.[7][10][11] The book was used as the basis for the 2017 thriller The Foreigner.[12]

Published works

Leather's novels frequently include themes of crime, imprisonment, military service, and terrorism. Settings are typically London and the Far East. Leather writes different series in slightly different genres. The main character of one series, Dan 'Spider' Shepherd, is a former Special Air Service soldier who becomes an undercover policeman. Another series, Jack Nightingale, is about a former police negotiator who becomes a private investigator;[13] this supernatural detective series is also published by Hodder & Stoughton and includes the books Nightfall, Midnight, Nightmare, Nightshade[14] and Lastnight, San Francisco, New York Night, Tennessee Night, The Whisper Man, Witch Hunt, New Orleans Night, Las Vegas Night, Rio Grande Night.

Leather has written screenplays for London's Burning, The Knock, and the BBC's Murder in Mind series.[1][15][16] Two of his novels, The Stretch and The Bombmaker, were screened for made for TV movies and filmed for Sky Television. The Stretch starred Leslie Grantham and Anita Dobson, two popular soap opera stars from the U.K.[17]

Amazon Kindle releases

Leather became successful in the Amazon Kindle market in 2010.[18] Amazon UK opened an eBook store that year. As reported in The Guardian, Leather anticipated that people buying eBooks would be seeking bargains, and he priced his books at the minimum price for independent writers in order to get his books into the top ten.[4] He then marketed the books on various forums online.[4]

Early in 2011, Leather's books The Basement, Hard Landing, and the vampire novella Once Bitten occupied the top three places in the UK Kindle bestseller list, a feat matched only by Stieg Larsson with his The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo trilogy.[19] That same year, Leather was the second bestselling UK author on the Kindle worldwide, beaten only by Lee Child.[20][21]

Awards and recognition

In 2002, Leather's book Tango One was nominated for the inaugural CWA Ian Fleming Steel Dagger, awarded by the Crime Writers' Association.[22][23] His book Hard Landing was nominated for the award in 2004.[24]

His book Cold Kill was nominated for Best Novel in 2007 by International Thriller Writers Inc.[25] In 2011, Leather sold over 500,000 eBooksScript error: No such module "Unsubst". and was voted by The Bookseller magazine as one of the 100 most influential people in the UK publishing world.[11]

2012 Harrogate Crime Writing Festival

On 5 August 2012, journalist Nick Cohen wrote in The Observer that Leather had created phony Twitter accounts in the name of another writer, and used those accounts to praise Leather's own books.[26] Cohen quoted Leather's response to a question, as a panelist, at the Harrogate Crime Writing Festival, which was recorded for BBC Radio 4:[27]

"As soon as my book is out I'm on Facebook and Twitter several times a day talking about it. I'll go on to several forums, the well-known forums, and post there under my name and under various other names and various other characters. You build up this whole network of characters who talk about your books and sometimes have conversations with yourself."[26]

Leather's comment was widely reported,[28][29][30][31][32] and, on 3 September 2012, forty nine other British authors issued a group statement in which they "unreservedly condemn" the use of sockpuppets, or paid reviews.[33][34][35]

Jeremy Duns and Steve Mosby have alleged that Leather has harassed them online.[36][37]

Bibliography

Novels

Publication year Title Series Original publisher ISBN Notes
1987 Pay Off St. Martin's Press Template:ISBN Hardcover (1988), Paperback (2002), Audio Book (2011), and eBook (2009)
1989 The Fireman St. Martin's Press Template:ISBN Hardcover (1990), Paperback (1996), Audio Book (2011), and eBook (2008)
1991 Hungry Ghost HarperCollins Template:ISBN Hardcover (1991), Paperback (2008), Audio Book (2008), and eBook (2008)
1992 The Chinaman Mike Cramer #1 Pocket Books Template:ISBN Hardcover (1992), Paperback (1992), Audio Book (2007), and eBook (2008). Also published as The Foreigner (2017)
1992 The Double Tap Mike Cramer #3 Hodder & Stoughton Template:ISBN Hardcover (1996), Paperback (1997), and Audio Book (2006)
1993 The Vets Pocket Books Template:ISBN Hardcover (1993), Paperback (1994), and eBook (2004)
1994 The Long Shot Mike Cramer #2 Hodder & Stoughton Template:ISBN eBook (2009)
1996 The Birthday Girl Hodder & Stoughton Template:ISBN Hardcover (1995), Paperback (2006), Audio Book (2007), and eBook
1997 The Solitary Man Ulverscroft Template:ISBN Hardcover (2004), Paperback (1997), and Audio Book (2010)
1997 The Tunnel Rats Ulverscroft Template:ISBN Hardcover (2004), Paperback (2006), Audio Book (2009), and eBook (2009)
1999 The Bombmaker Hodder & Stoughton Template:ISBN Hardcover (1999), Paperback (2005), Audio Book (2003), and eBook (2009)
2000 The Stretch Hodder & Stoughton Template:ISBN Hardcover (2000), Paperback (2001), Audio Book (2001), and eBook (2009)
2002 Tango One Hodder & Stoughton Template:ISBN Hardcover (2002), Paperback (2006), Audio Book (2004), and eBook (2009)
2003 The Eyewitness Hodder & Stoughton Template:ISBN Hardcover (2003), Paperback (2003), Audio Book (2004), and eBook (2008)
2005 Private Dancer Three Elephants Template:ISBN Paperback and eBook
2006 Confessions of a Bangkok Private Eye Monsoon Books Template:ISBN With Warren Olson
2010 Dreamer's Cat Three Elephants ASIN B00486U6VU eBook
2010 The Basement Amazon Encore Template:ISBN Paperback (2011), Audio Book (2012), and eBook (2011)
2011 Once Bitten Amazon Encore Template:ISBN Paperback (2011), Audio Book (2012), and eBook (2011)
2011 Bangkok Bob and The Missing Mormon Monsoon Books Template:ISBN Paperback (2011) and eBook (2010)
2016 First Response Hodder & Stoughton Template:ISBN Hardcover (2016), and eBook (2016)
2018 The Shout Hodder & Stoughton Template:ISBN
2019 The Bag Carrier Independently published Template:ISBN
2019 Rogue Warrior ASIN B07XQ3M13B Novella
2020 The Runner Hodder & Stoughton Template:ISBN

Dan 'Spider' Shepherd Novels

Publication year Title Series Original publisher ISBN Notes
2004 Hard Landing Dan 'Spider' Shepherd #1 Hodder & Stoughton Template:ISBN Hardcover, Paperback, Audio Book, and eBook
2005 Soft Target Dan 'Spider' Shepherd #2 Hodder & Stoughton Template:ISBN Hardcover (2005), Paperback (2005), Audio Book (2005), and eBook (2008)
2006 Cold Kill Dan 'Spider' Shepherd #3 Hodder & Stoughton Template:ISBN Hardcover, Paperback, Audio Book, and eBook
2007 Hot Blood Dan 'Spider' Shepherd #4 Hodder & Stoughton Template:ISBN Paperback and eBook
2008 Dead Men Dan 'Spider' Shepherd #5 Hodder & Stoughton Template:ISBN Hardcover (2008), Paperback (2008), Audio Book (2008), and eBook (2008)
2009 Live Fire Dan 'Spider' Shepherd #6 Hodder & Stoughton Template:ISBN Hardcover (2009), Paperback (2010), Audio Book (2009), and eBook (2009)
2010 Rough Justice Dan 'Spider' Shepherd #7 Hodder & Stoughton Template:ISBN Hardcover (2010), Paperback (2010), Audio Book (2010), and eBook (2010)
2011 Fair Game Dan 'Spider' Shepherd #8 Hodder & Stoughton Template:ISBN Hardcover (2012), Paperback (2012), Audio Book (2011), and eBook (2012)
2012 False Friends Dan 'Spider' Shepherd #9 Hodder & Stoughton Template:ISBN
2013 True Colours Dan 'Spider' Shepherd #10 Hodder & Stoughton Template:ISBN
2014 White Lies Dan 'Spider' Shepherd #11 Hodder & Stoughton Template:ISBN Hardcover (2014), and eBook (2014)
2015 Black Ops Dan 'Spider' Shepherd #12 Hodder & Stoughton Template:ISBN Hardcover (2015), and eBook (2015)
2016 Dark Forces Dan 'Spider' Shepherd #13 Hodder & Stoughton Template:ISBN Hardcover (2016), and eBook (2016)
2016 The Sandpit Dan 'Spider' Shepherd: SAS #1 CreateSpace Template:ISBN Novella
2017 Light Touch Dan 'Spider' Shepherd #14 Hodder & Stoughton Template:ISBN
2018 Tall Order Dan 'Spider' Shepherd #15 Hodder & Stoughton Template:ISBN
2018 Moving Targets Dan 'Spider' Shepherd: SAS #2 CreateSpace Template:ISBN
2019 Short Range Dan 'Spider' Shepherd #16 Hodder & Stoughton Template:ISBN
2020 Slow Burn Dan 'Spider' Shepherd #17 Hodder & Stoughton Template:ISBN
2021 Fast Track Dan 'Spider' Shepherd #18 Hodder & Stoughton Template:ISBN Hardcover, Paperback, and eBook
2021 Russian Roulette Dan 'Spider' Shepherd: SAS #3 Template:ISBN
2022 Dirty War Dan 'Spider' Shepherd #19 Hodder & Stoughton Template:ISBN Hardcover, Paperback, and eBook
2022 Drop Zone Dan 'Spider' Shepherd: SAS #4 Template:ISBN
2023 Clean Kill Dan 'Spider' Shepherd #20 Hodder & Stoughton Template:ISBN Hardcover, Paperback, and eBook
2024 First Strike Dan 'Spider' Shepherd #21 Template:ISBN Hardcover, Paperback, and eBook
2024 Baltic Black Ops Dan 'Spider' Shepherd: SAS #5 Template:ISBN

Jack Nightingale Novels

Publication year Title Series Original publisher ISBN Notes
2010 Nightfall Jack Nightingale #1 Isis Large Print Template:ISBN Hardcover, Paperback, Audio Book, and eBook (2012)
2011 Midnight Jack Nightingale #2 Hodder & Stoughton Template:ISBN Hardcover (2011), Paperback (2012), Audio Book (2012), and eBook (2012)
2012 Nightmare Jack Nightingale #3 Hodder & Stoughton Template:ISBN Hardcover (2012), Paperback (2012), Audio Book (2012), and eBook (2012)
2013 Nightshade Jack Nightingale #4 Hodder & Stoughton Template:ISBN Hardcover (2013), Paperback (2013), Audio Book (2013), and eBook (2013)
2014 Lastnight Jack Nightingale #5 Hodder & Stoughton Template:ISBN Hardcover (2014), and eBook (2014)
2014 San Francisco Night Jack Nightingale #6 Three Elephants Template:ISBN Hardcover (2015), and eBook (2014)
2015 New York Night Jack Nightingale #7 Three Elephants Template:ISBN Hardcover (2015), and eBook (2015)
2018 Tennessee Night Jack Nightingale #8 Independently published Template:ISBN Paperback (2018), and eBook (2018)
2021 New Orleans Night Jack Nightingale #9 Template:ISBN Paperback, and eBook
2022 Las Vegas Night Jack Nightingale #10 Template:ISBN Paperback, and eBook
2022 Rio Grande Night Jack Nightingale #11 Template:ISBN Paperback, and eBook

Lex Harper Novels

Date Show title Notes
2016 Takedown Lex Harper #1 Hodder & Stoughton Template:ISBN Hardcover (2017), and eBook (2017)
2019 Plausible Deniability Lex Harper #2 Independently published Template:ISBN Novella

Matt Standing Novels

Publication year Title Series Original publisher ISBN Notes
2018 Last Man Standing Matt Standing #1 Hodder & Stoughton Template:ISBN
2022 Standing Alone Matt Standing #2
2023 Still Standing Matt Standing #3
2024 Standing Strong Matt Standing #4

Inspector Zhang Short stories

Publication year Title Series Collection Notes
2011 "Inspector Zhang Gets His Wish" Inspector Zhang #1 The Eight Curious Cases of Inspector Zhang (2014) Novella
2011 "Inspector Zhang and the Falling Woman" Inspector Zhang #2 The Eight Curious Cases of Inspector Zhang (2014) Novella
2011 "Inspector Zhang and the Dead Thai Gangster" Inspector Zhang #3 The Eight Curious Cases of Inspector Zhang (2014) Novella
2011 "Inspector Zhang and the Disappearing Drugs" Inspector Zhang #4 The Eight Curious Cases of Inspector Zhang (2014) Novella
2012 "Inspector Zhang and the Perfect Alibi" Inspector Zhang #5 The Eight Curious Cases of Inspector Zhang (2014) Novella
2012 "Breaking" Inspector Zhang #6.1 Short Fuses (2012)
2012 "Strangers on a Train" Inspector Zhang #6.2 Short Fuses (2012)
2012 "Inspector Zhang and the Hotel Guest" Inspector Zhang #6.3 Short Fuses (2012),
The Eight Curious Cases of Inspector Zhang (2014)
2012 "Cat's Eyes" Inspector Zhang #6.4 Short Fuses (2012)
2012 "Inspector Zhang Goes To Harrogate" Inspector Zhang #7 The Eight Curious Cases of Inspector Zhang (2014) Novella
2013 "Inspector Zhang and the Island of the Dead" Inspector Zhang #8 The Eight Curious Cases of Inspector Zhang (2014) Novella

Dan 'Spider' Shepherd Short Stories

Publication year Title Series Collection Notes
2012 "Friendly Fire" Dan 'Spider' Shepherd Spider Shepherd Short Stories (2013),
Spider Shepherd: SAS: Volume 2 (2014)
2012 "Dead Drop" Dan 'Spider' Shepherd Spider Shepherd Short Stories (2013),
Spider Shepherd: SAS: Volume 2 (2014)
2013 "Hard Evidence" Dan 'Spider' Shepherd Spiders Web (2013)
2013 "Hiatus" Dan 'Spider' Shepherd Spiders Web (2013)
2013 "Hard Targets" Dan 'Spider' Shepherd Spiders Web (2013),
Spider Shepherd: SAS: Volume 1 (2014)
2013 "Kill Zone" Dan 'Spider' Shepherd Spider Shepherd Short Stories (2013),
Spider Shepherd: SAS: Volume 2 (2014)
2013 "Natural Selection" Dan 'Spider' Shepherd: SAS Spider Shepherd: SAS: Volume 1 (2014)
2013 "Warning Order" Dan 'Spider' Shepherd: SAS Spider Shepherd: SAS: Volume 1 (2014)
2013 "Hostile Territory" Dan 'Spider' Shepherd: SAS Spider Shepherd: SAS: Volume 1 (2014)
2013 "Rough Diamonds" Dan 'Spider' Shepherd: SAS Spider Shepherd: SAS: Volume 1 (2014)
2014 "Narrow Escape" Dan 'Spider' Shepherd: SAS Spider Shepherd: SAS: Volume 1 (2014)
2014 "Personal Protection" Dan 'Spider' Shepherd: SAS Spider Shepherd: SAS: Volume 2 (2014)
2014 "The Rope" Dan 'Spider' Shepherd: SAS Spider Shepherd: SAS: Volume 2 (2014)
2014 "Planning Pack" Dan 'Spider' Shepherd: SAS Spider Shepherd: SAS: Volume 2 (2014)
2014 "Remote Control" Dan 'Spider' Shepherd

Jack Nightingale Short Stories

Publication year Title Series Collection Notes
2011 "Cursed" Jack Nightingale #1.5 Nightingale - A Short Story Collection (2017)
2012 "Still Bleeding" Jack Nightingale #4.4 Nightingale - A Short Story Collection (2017)
2014 "My Name Is Lydia" Jack Nightingale #2.5 Nightingale - A Short Story Collection (2017)
2014 "Blood Bath" Jack Nightingale #4.5 Nightingale - A Short Story Collection (2017)
2014 "Tracks" Jack Nightingale #5.5 Nightingale - A Short Story Collection (2017)
2015 "I Know Who Did It" Jack Nightingale #4.6 Nightingale - A Short Story Collection (2017)
2015 "The Whisper Man" Jack Nightingale Novella
2016 "Children of the Dark" Jack Nightingale #5.6 Nightingale - A Short Story Collection (2017)
2017 "The Cards" Jack Nightingale #3.5 Nightingale 2 - A Short Story Collection (2018)
2017 "The Creeper" Jack Nightingale #5.7 Nightingale - A Short Story Collection (2017)
2017 "The Asylum" Jack Nightingale #5.8 Nightingale 2 - A Short Story Collection (2018)
2017 "The Undead" Jack Nightingale #5.9 Nightingale - A Short Story Collection (2017)
2017 "The Doll" Jack Nightingale #5.10 Nightingale 2 - A Short Story Collection (2018)
2017 "The Mansion" Jack Nightingale #5.11 Nightingale 2 - A Short Story Collection (2018)
2017 "Possession" Jack Nightingale #5.12 Nightingale 2 - A Short Story Collection (2018)
2017 "Devilzone - A Jack Nightingale Screenplay" Jack Nightingale
2017 "Wrong Turn" Jack Nightingale Nightingale 2 - A Short Story Collection (2018)
2018 "The House on Gable Street" Jack Nightingale
2018 "Knock Knock" Jack Nightingale Nightingale 2 - A Short Story Collection (2018)
2018 "Watery Grave" Jack Nightingale Nightingale 2 - A Short Story Collection (2018)
2018 "Claws" Jack Nightingale Nightingale 2 - A Short Story Collection (2018)

Others Stories

Publication year Title Series ASIN Notes
2012 Banging Bill's Wife Asian heat #1 ASIN  : B007R5LPYQ
2012 The Alphabet Game Asian heat #2 ASIN  : B0085BEJMG
2012 The Pregnant Wife Asian heat #3 ASIN  : B0089G45Q2
2012 The Threesome Erotic short story ASIN  : B00AD6NOGI

Screenplays

Date Show title Notes
2001–2003 Murder in Mind Wrote two of the first series episode (2001) and two episodes of the second series (2002). Also wrote an episode for the 2003 series.[15]
2000 The Bombmaker Made for TV movie based on the book written by Leather
2000 The Knock (Series 5) Episode 2. 90-minute special
2000 The Stretch Made for TV movie based on the book written by Leather. Movie created, written, and produced by Leather
1999 London's Burning Episode 9 & 10. Screened March 2000
1998 The Knock (Series 4) Episode 4, 5, and 6. Screened in 1999

Adaptations

References

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External links

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