When print magazines began to struggle and the internet took over, journalist Andrew Lowe decided to do something different and became a crime author. Having written for The Guardian, Sunday Times and Men’s Health, he used his creative skills alongside his degree in psychology to channel his fascination with crime and other extreme behaviour into a series of contemporary thrillers. And readers approved. His first novel, Creepy Crawly, and the eight Jake Sawyer mysteries that followed, became ebook bestsellers.
Now, ironically, Andrew’s writing is back in print big style with Vinci Books republishing the entire series on 22 May. We invited him to the site to talk about Jake Sawyer, the dark and creepy atmosphere of the books, the Peak District where they’re set, and more…
What are crime fiction lovers going to love about Creepy Crawly and the Jake Sawyer series?
The characters and the stories. I try to focus on the grey areas between ‘bad’ and ‘good’. I’ve worked hard to make the villains sympathetic by showing a lot of their backstory and psychology to run in parallel with the main police procedural. I do a lot of research and consulting to make the plausibility of the crimes and the character reactions as strong as possible.
I’ve always been fascinated in crime and extreme behaviour in general – what drives people to make extreme decisions and take action that many of us would find abhorrent but which makes total sense to them, or gives them something they need emotionally or psychologically. I’ve always found the idea of labelling people as ‘monsters’ a bit of a cop-out.
Who is Jake Sawyer and what’s the inspiration behind him?
Sawyer is a compelling mix of formidable and vulnerable. He seems cocky and reckless at first but as we learn more of his backstory, that all starts to make sense. He’s carrying a lot of trauma from witnessing the murder of his mother when he was a young child, and he’s constructed some pretty strong defences which we’ll see come down across the series.
And who or what is he up against in Creepy Crawly?
The book starts with a live burial from the POV of the person being buried. This isn’t cosy crime! Sawyer has spent time in the Met and transfers back to a Major Investigation Unit in the Peak District, near his home town, to investigate the discovery of the live burial victim – and to start a freelance investigation into his mother’s murder, as the man convicted for the crime is about to be released. He doesn’t think he did it.
Who are some of the other characters we need to look out for as the series begins?
Readers will love Sawyer’s old flame Maggie who is now a family liaison officer and private therapist. She’s tough but empathic and keeps him honest. There’s also DS Ed Shepherd, who becomes Sawyer’s de facto sidekick. Shepherd is sharp and funny but he’s more by-the-book than Sawyer and readers will like his nerdy local knowledge. We also meet the series main Big Bad in Creepy Crawly – local crime boss and wannabe politician Dale Strickland. Oh, and there’s an exceptionally nasty half-Dutch villain called Austin Fletcher who becomes more and more vital to the series.
Tell us about the setting and the role it plays in the atmosphere as well as the story?
The books are mainly set in the towns and rural surroundings of the Peak District, Derbyshire and Staffordshire. I spent a lot of time there when I was a kid, and I wanted to set the books in the middle of natural beauty offset by the nefarious dealings. Like David Lynch, I like the idea of the darkness beneath a chocolate-boxy exterior. The books are full of real Peak District locations, and one reader has already sent me a brilliant Jake Sawyer Peak District Tour.
It’s great that the entire Jake Sawyer series is coming out in print at once and going into bookshops. For you, which books have been the big highlights in the series, and why?
Creepy Crawly, as the origin story. It’s where I got to grips with Sawyer and realised how much depth there could be in the backstory. Each book is a standalone case but the backstory advances too. I also love Chase The Devil (Book 5). It’s one of the darkest in the series, I wrote it during the 2020 lockdown, and I used it to get out a major bugbear I have over animal cruelty. I also love The Dying Light (Book 3) as it’s the one where we find out what really happened with the murder of Sawyer’s mother.
What are the overarching storylines to watch out for and/or how does Jake develop as the series progresses?
The key storyline in the first three books is Sawyer tracking down the truth over why his mother was murdered. There’s also a backstory over his rivalry with crime boss Dale Strickland, the complex relationship with Maggie, and a surprising twist in Sawyer’s dealings with the terrifying Austin Fletcher. On an individual level, I love the story in Pray For Rain (Book 4) where several forces work together to catch a killer the tabloids call The New Ripper.
You’re renowned for hooking readers in and keeping the pace up, but are there any deeper themes you wanted to explore in Creepy Crawly or indeed across the series?
I dig deep into the nature of trauma and mental illness – around Sawyer and many of the villains – but there are many recurring ideas around the bottomlessness of retribution and revenge, and the often problematic nature of unconditional love.
Which other crime authors/books have influenced you and what are you reading at the moment?
I read a lot of Neil Cross books when I was researching – the author who created Luther – and Sawyer definitely has elements of Luther in him. I think I read a bit too much British crime before I started Sawyer but I’ve been catching up lately by reading MW Craven’s books and also two fantastic crime thrillers by American writer SA Cosby – Razorblade Tears and All The Sinners Bleed.
The latest novel, Tender is the North has just come out. What’s next for you and for Jake Sawyer?
I’m working on a new series set in and around London, featuring two new characters forced to work together who form a symbiotic bond – a male DCI who is starting to show signs of cognitive decline and a brilliant but erratic female DC with ADHD. The first book, The Whispering Bones, is out now, with the second out in July.
The Jake Sawyer series is out in print from 22 May. Order using the buttons below.
