caption death_date birth_place imagesize nationality birth_date genre image article_title name occupation
'' a scent of new-mown hay '' cover art 1993 1923 northumberland 150 px british 1923 thrillers , horror , historical fiction new mown hay cover.jpg john blackburn -lrb- author -rrb-
 john blackburn bookseller
john blackburn -lrb- author -rrb-

john fenwick blackburn -lrb- born northumberland , 26 june 1923 ; died 1993 -rrb- was a british novelist who wrote thrillers , horror novels , and `` the flame and the wind '' -lrb- 1967 -rrb- , an unusual historical novel set in roman times , in which a nephew of pontius pilate tries to discover the facts about the crucifixion of jesus .
his horror novels are often structured as thrillers , with detective story plots involving international espionage , but leading to a supernatural resolution .
this means that , as with some of the books of james herbert , many of blackburn 's horror novels are notable for pace and plotting rather than for atmospheric effects .
blackburn specialised in mixing modern concerns such as germ warfare and international conspiracies with ancient traditions and curses , often to ingenious effect .
many of his books feature stock characters , including general charles kirk of british intelligence and his friends , the scientist sir marcus levin and his russian wife tania .
blackburn 's novels `` nothing but the night '' and `` the gaunt woman '' were the basis for screenplays .
`` the gaunt woman '' appeared as a made for tv movie in 1969 as `` destiny of a spy '' and `` nothing but the night '' was released to theaters in 1972 .
