The Princess of Conspiracy Novels

Earlier this month I wrote (see here and here) of my appreciation for a forthcoming British release, The Accident Man, by the pseudonymous Tom Cain. That novel incorporates conspiracy theories surrounding the 1997 traffic-accident death of Diana, Princess of Wales, into a broader tale about assassinations and revenge.

Apparently, I’m not the only one enamored of Cain’s audacious debut work. Veteran thriller novelist Wilbur Smith (The Quest) seems rather keen on it, too, as he explains in The Christian Science Monitor:

I receive a great number of proof copies of soon-to-be published books ... asking for quotes [for] the dust jackets. I bin most of them, but two caught my fancy recently. One was The Accident Man, a first novel by Tom Cain. It is a cracking thriller woven around the death of Diana, Princess of Wales. Another one that I liked was Tip and Run by Edward Paice, which is a history of the campaign of the German General Von Lettow-Vorbeck in East Africa during World War II. It is a scholarly work, but totally fascinating.

And I find it interesting that one of my favorite writers, Eoin McNamee, has his own novel based around the death of Diana coming out shortly in the UK. It’s entitled 12:23: Paris. 31st August 1997 and is described by its publisher, Faber and Faber, thusly:

A shocking novel exploring the mystery of the security services and the death of Diana, Princess of Wales.

August 1997. As the century grinds to a close Diana Spencer and her Egyptian lover are visiting Paris. An international fixer puts a team in place to watch the Princess. Former Special Branch man John Harper is recruited as part of the team. Ritz Hotel Deputy Director of Security Henri Paul and paparazzo supreme James Andanson are their surveillance targets. But they are not the only ones watching Spencer, and soon much more sinister forces are on the move …

Ten years after Diana’s death, this explosive conspiracy thriller is set to cause a lot of controversy.

I am rather excited about 12:33, not only because I have a no-doubt-unhealthy fascination with conspiracy theories, but because McNamee--in addition to penning works under his own name--also writes thrillers as “John Creed.” His first Creed work, The Sirius Crossing, won the inaugural, 2002 Ian Fleming Steel Dagger Award, given out by the British Crime Writers’ Association. It was followed by The Day of the Dead. The latest Creed novel is Black Cat Black Dog, which reached UK bookstores a couple of months back. I had the pleasure of meeting McNamee/Creed on the evening he received his Dagger, and came away with a rare picture of him, besides.