Cameron Ward, a philosophy graduate with a professional background in IT, has worked in both publishing and the public sector. Based in West Sussex, he is the author of A Stranger on Board, The Safe House and Spiral, which is due out in paperback on August 1 (Penguin, £8.99). His previous published works, under the name Adam Southward, include the Kindle-bestselling Alex Madison series
The book I loved as a child
The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame. Yes, it’s a celebration of friendship and loyalty, nature and adventure. But I loved it because I was terrified of the Wild Wood, which made it my first crime thriller (yes, Toad is a criminal), and also my first audiobook (on cassette).
The book that inspired me as a teenager
Terry Pratchett’s The Colour of Magic. His Discworld books are lessons in philosophy wrapped up in magical genre fiction. They teach you to question everything, and do it with a smile on your face.
The book I’ve never finished
I’ll level with you, I don’t finish most of the books I start. No judgement on the books – it’s subjective. I am very time poor, and life is too short to read things you don’t enjoy. If I had to pick one, it would be Fifty Shades of Grey by EL James. It needs no introduction. I read 100 pages but just couldn’t…
The book that moved me most
I read The Road by Cormac McCarthy many years ago and it’s still with me. It’s a post-apocalyptic thriller – raw and poetic with hauntingly beautiful prose. It’s also a profound meditation on love, resilience and the best and worst of human nature.
The book I’m reading now
Everybody Knows by Jordan Harper. Set in the world of Hollywood PR, it follows a ‘black-bag’ publicist as she reveals the sordid underbelly of her world and the ‘beast’ that runs it. An absolutely superb crime novel: dark, cinematic and horribly believable.
