Whodunnit? Bestselling crime writer's face remains a mystery in native land

Should Simon Beckett ever feel the need to be centre of attention, all he has to do is book a flight to Germany.

He can't quite explain why, but despite being barely known in his home country, the Sheffield crime writer has become something of a phenomena with our European neighbours.

It's not just Germany. He's regularly recognised at airports in Scandinavia. Poland and Italy have both proved lucrative markets, but it's Germany where things tend to get out of control.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

"I was there towards the end of last year and the publicist said they had organised a signing," says Beckett.

"All perfectly normal. Except this was a 900-seater venue in Cologne and they'd sold every single ticket.

"Standing in front of that many people is guarantee to frighten any author. We tend to be quite solitary beings.

"It's very strange. In Germany people queue up with enlarged photos of me which they want signing – it's like I have another life.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

"They often ask if I'm recognised a lot in Sheffield and look perplexed when I tell them the idea is laughable, but the fact I'm pretty much ignored over here is just as it should be."

Beckett's European popularity has recently been confirmed. When The Bookseller magazine published its annual league table of authors' success abroad, it was his name which stood out. After totting up the figures, it emerged Beckett had outsold big hitters like Hilary Mantel who won last year's Man Booker Prize for Wolf Hall and high profile American names from Patricia Cornwall to John Grisham.

While most authors are content to sell a few thousand hardback copies, Beckett's latest book Whispers of the Dead sold about half a million hardback copies in Europe – 300,000 of them to German readers.

He's still at a loss to explain the reason for his Continental success.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

"I always feel a little stupid when people ask why I think the books are so popular abroad, because I really don't have an answer," says Beckett.

"I have a good translator, but really the whole thing is a mystery."

Not least because for a long time, it looked like Beckett's literary ambitions were destined to remain unfulfilled.

After graduating from Sheffield Polytechnic with an English degree in the 1980s, he drifted from job to job. Most of his twenties were spent doing property repairs and fitting cavity wall insulation, followed by a stint teaching English in Spain.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Returning to England he played percussion in various bands, but it came to nothing and it was only then, in his mid-30s, that he started writing the book he always believed was in him.

For a brief moment, it seemed he had finally landed on his feet.

Fine Lines was published in 1994 and Beckett secured deals for three further books, but when sales failed to live up to expectations he disappeared back into obscurity.

Despite the inevitable disappointment, Beckett knew he had found something he was good at and became a freelance journalist.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Writing articles for national newspapers and magazines became a full-time job, but when an assignment took him to infamous Body Farm in Tennessee, his desire to pen another novel was reignited.

In America, Beckett met the forensic scientists whose job is to study corpses in varying states of decomposition and when he returned the seeds of The Chemistry of Death and his lead character Dr David Hunter were born.

"The second time around there was much less pressure," he says. "I was doing OK as a freelancer so I didn't need the book to do well, it was more a labour of love and a much more enjoyable process."

Beckett was in his mid 40s when The Chemistry of Death was published in 2006 and now approaching his 50th birthday he has three David Hunter bestsellers under his belt.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Aside from being page turners, all three are the result of extensive research and since he renewed his writing career, Beckett has built up a wealth of contacts in the field of forensic science.

"Maybe it's because I'm a journalist, but everything is checked and double checked," he says.

"Funnily enough I had originally applied to study biochemistry at university, but I failed my science A-levels which looking back was probably a godsend to the scientific world.

"However, it is an area I'm fascinated by and I'm lucky now to know enough people who can guide me in the right direction and answer whatever bizarre questions I may have.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

"Inevitably you get one or two pithy emails from people who take great pleasure in pointing out some error, but I do my best to make sure everything is accurate."

With his own career having taken so long to take off, Beckett knows his story is a comfort to other aspiring writers.

"I sometimes teach a creative writing class and one of the things I say is that you have to have a confidence and a commitment to carry on in the face of inevitable rejections," he says.

"There is a tendency to see publishers as the enemy and it can be disheartening when a manuscript is sent back which you suspect hasn't even been read.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

"However, I've been in publishing offices and I've seen how many books they receive. There are surrounded by literally mountains of manuscripts.

"The trick is to just keep going. There are days when it takes hours to write just a couple of hundred words which I know are no good. During difficult spells there's always a temptation to walk away, but sooner or later you just have to force yourself to sit down and write."

Successful crime writers are constantly approached by television and film companies looking to exploit a ready-made fan base and Beckett has had offers to bring David Hunter to the screen.

No firm deal has yet been done, but he already knows that if or when a production company steps in, some of his readers will inevitably be disappointed.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

"I've dabbled with writing screenplays, but it's a very different technique," he says. "If my books were to be adapted I'd like some involvement, but in terms of writing the script I think you do need a fresh pair of eyes.

"I wouldn't ever dare to suggest who I thought should be cast in the central roles.

"The one thing I've learnt from meeting readers in Germany is that people have very different and very fixed ideas about what he looks like. Occasionally an actor's name will be mentioned and half the people in the room will tell you, in the nicest possible way of course, why they are totally unsuitable for the part."

Since his first foray into publishing, the popularity of crime genre, once considered the poor relation to literary fiction, has soared. There are still some who look down their nose, but when they do Beckett can't help but smile.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

"I don't often come into contact with writers of high brow literary fiction," he says. "However, I am secretly delighted that a crime novel can now be shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize. That would have almost been unthinkable a decade ago and you can almost hear the bleating from appalled traditionalists."

With his next book underway, Beckett might yet get the attention he deserves in this country. But if recognition doesn't come, that will be just fine by him.

"Whispers of the Dead got to number eight in the UK book charts and for me that was really the icing on the cake," he says. "But you know what, I'm happy with the way things are right now.

"Maybe it's to do with being a percussionist. Had the band ever worked

out, I'd have been the one who sat in the background that no one noticed. I think, may be, that's the way I like things to be."