Page Updated: 22/04/99
Chris Niles
Chris Niles
Crossing LiveCrossing Live New21 May 99
Run TimeRun Time Newpbk 21 May 99
Spike ItSpike It
About the Author
Bibliography


New First British Edition Macmillan (1999)
Crossing Live
City Radio reporter Sam Ridley's home life has become one long high-volume nightmare - his new neighbours are hosting a permanent dance club in the flat upstairs and a desperate ex-boyfriend is serenading Sam's pregnant house-guest right outside their window.
For some peace, Sam agrees to work the overnight shift: a job so mind-numbingly awful that it's fit only for those who haven't made it yet - and those who never will.
Sam believes this all-time career low can't get any lower - but it can, when he's assigned to interview Bruce McCarthy, a builder who thinks the ghosts in his house are a warning from the cosmos to change his errant ways.
But when McCarthy turns up as a corpse after a wild party, the needle in his arm suggests he wasn't frightened to death. And as Sam tries to discover what put the fear into Bruce McCarthy he finds himself up against forces far more dangerous than the supernatural ...

top
First British Edition Macmillan (1998)
Run Time
"Last night had been one thing, but what would we say to each other in broad daylight when our lust had fadad and the only frisson left was born of awkwardness?
The silence from Michelle's room stretched out as I debated with my inner weasel.
I waited a minute, then eased the door open… when I did that I knew I should have listened to the weasel.
Michelle was in a far worse shape than me. I just felt like death. She was dead."
London radio reporter Sam Ridley (first encountered in Spike It) has hardly been in Sydney long enough to slap on the sunblock, and already his holiday's out of control.
He's got a hangover wilder than a kangaroo on a trampoline. He's cut off from the son he's travelled halfway around the world to see. He's woken up to find his new female friend murdered in the next room. And now he's on the run, in a town that thinks he killed her.
Sam knows he's being framed. What he doesn't know is who set him up. Or why.
But he has to find the answers - before the police find him. They' ve got manpower, muscle, and some very serious guns. Sam's got brains, charm and a hat with antlers on it.
Along the way, he meets men in tights, women enraged, and a very naughty girl with a whip. And the deeper he digs, the more he learns about corruption, coercion and deception - and a secret that even death can't conceal.
'No airport reading would be complete without a terrific thriller, and Run time is just that… The thrill factor doesn't slacken for a second' Cosmopolitan
'Chris Niles has got her radio background spot on, and in Sam Ridley has created an engagingly crumpled sleuth. Refreshingly assured… I can't wait for her next book.' Simon Brett
'Run Time is brilliant' Eva
'Sam Ridley is a memorable addition to the ranks of crime fiction heroes' Sunderland Echo
top
Paperback - Pan (1998)
Spike It
See Review by Andrew Taylor
See Review by Val McDermid
City Radio reporter Sam Ridley is drunk. But not so drunk that he can't spot a good story when it's dead on the floor in front of him.
And as the first on the scene, Sam's ahead of the city's news pack - but not for long. Four hours and one wrong word later, he's demoted to a hard-drinking, hard-news reporter's definition of hell: FEMALE AM, the station's daily women's programme.
Ridley's gone from crime and punishment to sex and shopping in one morning.
But now a man called Shark is on the phone, ready to tell what he knows about the murder. And when Ridley dives into the murky waters Shark calls home, he's going to find himself face-to-face with loss, love, and a monster of a car repair bill.
'Tough, genuine, racy - serving up London hard-boiled.' Andrew Klavan
'A light touch and sparkling dialogue make this the most promising first for some time' Irish Independent
'Sharp and funny portrait of life in a low-rent radio station.' Daily Mail
'A good, engrossing tale which should keep its readers turning the pages.' The Oxford Mail
'An excellent debut, with hopefully more in a similar vein to follow.' Crime times
'A slick and cheeky debut.' Val McDermid, Manchester Evening News
top
About The Author
Chris Niles was born in New Zealand. She has worked as a television and radio journalist in New Zealand, Australia, Britain and Eastern Europe. She is currently with CNN in London.

top

Bibliography
N.B. dates and publishers in dark red indicate British First Editions. Dates and publishers in black indicate recent reprints.

  • Crossing Live (Macmillan, 1999) New May 99
  • Run Time (Macmillan, 1998) New Pan Pbk May 99 (Sam Ridley)
  • Spike It (Macmillan, 1997) Pan Pbk Apr 98 (Sam Ridley)

    • top
    [../twebref.htm]