Pakistan, March 31 -- Michael Collins insists he is not a genre writer. Recently in Toronto as part of the Authors at Harbourfront series, alongside Linwood Barclay and Norway's Jo Nesbo - two thriller novelists who made no bones about the kind of books they write - Michael Collins stood in front of the microphone and mumbled, "I'm not really a genre writer," before launching into a reading from his new book Midnight in a Perfect Life.

He proceeded to read the least-thrilling chapter in the entire novel, a set piece that has little, if anything, to do with the plot.

Midnight in a Perfect Life is Collins's ninth published book, his sixth novel to go along with three collections of short stories. His second novel, The Keepers of Truth, wa...