Tag: crime fiction

Christmas Crackers

Books make great stocking fillers and perfect presents when you buy someone the whole series as you could do with my recommendations of Christmas crime novels.

What Child Is This? by Bonnie MacBird (Collins Crime Club)

The fifth in MacBird’s oeuvre of Sherlock Holmes’ adventures, this Christmas one has a Dickensian flavour with its sweep of characters from the meanest existing in poverty and workhouses to the higher echelons of society living in luxury. Holmes is rather in the Scrooge frame of mind bah humbugging all the festivities but he takes on two cases both involving sons: the attempted kidnap of a beloved three year old child and the disappearance of a younger son of a marquis.

Inspired by Conan Doyle’s The Blue Carbuncle, and illustrated by Frank Cho, What Child Is This? brilliantly recreates the Victorian London of the Holmes oeuvre and offers another intriguing mystery novel to delight fans and those new to the genre. MacBird has produced a page-turning tale full of cracking characters and devilish plots with style and wit with a dénouement to warm the cockles of the reader’s heart.

Born in San Francisco, educated at Stanford, Bonnie MacBird lives in London with her husband, computer scientist Alan Kay. A fan of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle since age ten, she’s active in the Sherlockian community in both the UK and the US, and lectures regularly on Sherlock Holmes, writing, and creativity. A veteran of Hollywood, MacBird has been a screenwriter (original script for TRON), an Emmy winning producer, a playwright, studio exec (Universal) and actor.

Murder Most Royal by S. J. Bennett (Zaffre)

What’s not to like about our late Queen Elizabeth solving murder mysteries while others flap around trying not to upset her sensibilities? The third in the series in which the Queen’s trusted assistant, Rozie, aids the “detective” by going to the places and asking the questions the monarch cannot, is a delightful read.

A body part washed up on the beach near the Sandringham Estate where the Queen and most of her immediate family are spending the Christmas holidays, threatens the peace and tranquility of the festive season especially when Her Majesty recognises a ring on the dismembered hand. The victim is a distant cousin but the murderer could be much closer to home.

Witty and brilliantly observed by Ms Bennett, Murder Most Royal is full of intriguing possibilities, fabulous set pieces relating to the royal family and is a great who-done-it. The author has been a royal watcher for years, but is keen to stress that these books are works of fiction: the Queen, to the best of her knowledge, did not secretly solve crimes.

SJ Bennett was born in Yorkshire, England, and travelled the world as an army child and a student of languages. After various jobs as a lo bbyist, strategy consultant and start-up project manager she wrote several award-winning books for teenagers before turning to adult crime novels with the Her Majesty the Queen Investigates series, set in 2016. She lives in London.

Summer Reads

I read and review all genres but I’ve chosen a selection of crime books that show the range and scope of narratives some of my favourite authors engage in – there’s something for everyone from police procedurals to amateur sleuths, legal thrillers to avenging families. All of these books are available through bookshops or Bookshop.org which supports independent bookshops.

One Good Lie by Jane Isaac (Canelo)

Famed for her police procedurals, Jane Isaac presents us with a thriller which deals with the aftermath of a murder with huge repercussions for the family as another murder happens which may or may not be related – and everyone is a suspect…

The Rule by David Jackson (Viper)

Daniel’s parents’ have instilled in him to obey the rule. But when his father’s life is threatened, Daniel breaks that rule. What follows is a chilling sequence of events with the police on one side and vicious criminal family on the other and Daniel’s parents sliding into a vortex of wrongdoing to protect him. 

The Killing Kind by Jane Casey (HarperCollins)

Jane Casey keeps the reader on their toes in this legal thriller. Barrister Ingrid Smith is being stalked by the man she got off a harassment charge. But nothing is as it seems as she uncovers links that go back to one of her first cases as a junior. Brilliantly manipulative first person narrative.

Body On The Island by Victoria Dowd (Joffe Books)

An Agatha Christie type scenario: the five Smart women (the book club amateur sleuths) plus Jess, Angel, Bottlenose and Spear as well as two drowned bodies are thrown up on an uninhabited island, facing starvation, hypothermia and the knowledge that there is a murderer among them. As the body count rises suspicion eats away at them all. Who is the killer and will the Smart women manage to outwit him or her?

The Invitation by A.M. Castle (HarperCollins)

A locked room mystery only this time it’s a castle on a Cornish Island which becomes cut off from the mainland by a storm. The hostess, with her new and much older husband and two adult children, knows all the secrets her friends have hidden for years and she’s determined to have fun exposing them. But someone else is pulling the strings and murder is on the menu in this

The Three Locks by Bonnie MacBird (Collins Crime Club)

MacBird steps back into the world of Holmes and Watson to adroitly weave three stories into a compelling narrative featuring a range of characters whose motives are often hidden behind convention and deceit. Through meticulous research and rigorous attention to period detail, she eloquently evokes the Victorian atmosphere and, of course, the world of Holmes and Watson created by Conan Doyle.

Syn by Malcolm Hollingdrake (Holbrook)

Malcolm Hollingdrake has produced a dream team with DI Decent and DS Warlock for this new series. The narratives are intensely dark and gritty. He handles the themes with assurance and the storytelling is superb as the language flows and compels the reader on with enough twists and turns to keep the reader on their toes until the dramatic dénouement.

Two Wrongs by Mel McGrath (HQ)

When young women die in mysterious circumstances at a Bristol university, Honor fears for her daughter’s life. Haunted by her best friend’s “suicide” years before, she realises there is a connection and she could at last avenge the deaths and right the wrongs. But is she strong enough to face the repercussions? A perfectly plotted, gripping tale of revenge.

Linda Huber

Linda Huber grew up in Glasgow, Scotland, but went to work in Switzerland for a year aged twenty-two, and has lived there ever since. Her day jobs have included working as a physiotherapist in hospitals and schools for handicapped children, and teaching English in a medieval castle. Her writing career began in the nineties, when she had over fifty short stories published in women’s magazines. Several years later, she discovered the love of her writing life – psychological suspense fiction. Her ninth novel, The Runaway, was published in March 2020. She also writes feel-good novellas as Melinda Huber, and really appreciates having the views enjoyed by her characters right on her own doorstep!

Hi Linda how lovely to see you in my virtual cocktail lounge. What can I get you at the bar?

L: Thank you – you need to either win the lottery or take out a huge mortgage to buy cocktails in Switzerland, so I’ve been looking forward to this! I’ll have a White Lady, please. They always look so elegant.

We can do elegance, Linda. Do you remember where we first met in real life?

L: I think that was in London. Bloodhound Books threw a huge party in a bar near King’s Cross Station, and I came over from Switzerland for that. It was a good evening!

It was and I was stunned to see you there, travelling all that way for a party! What were your first impressions?

L: You looked très chic in a dress, if I remember rightly. It was one of those evenings we were all meandering around in semi-darkness saying, ooh, look, there’s so-and-so!

Happy memories. Points in common?

L: The main point everyone had in common that night was – we were all screaming at each other, the music was so loud… Writers have so much in common, though, and it’s great to be able to chat in real life about the ups and downs of the writing life, especially if you write in a similar genre, as we do. Nobody “gets” it like another writer!

Indeed and we both started off by writing short stories. Tell me about your latest book?

L: A psychological suspense novel The Runaway. This one’s set mainly in and around St Ives. We had several holidays in Cornwall when I was a child – I just loved the magic of the place. The book centres on a family of three who relocate there from London. One of them discovers that you can’t run away from a secret. Or… can you?

I’ll look forward to reading that. What are you working on now?

L: My WIP at the moment is another psych. suspense novel. It’s just back from its structure/characters/plot edit, so I’m working through my editor’s suggestions and corrections. This one, which is giving me biggest headache ever as far as finding a title’s concerned, will probably join the others in my self-published collection, though it won’t be ready for a few months.

We can only think wistfully about book events at the moment so what would be your dream panel (at any event) – subject, fellow panelists or a Q&A with someone you have met or would love to meet?

L: That’s a hard one. I think I would like to be on a panel discussing character development in crime fiction. The other panelists would be Elly Griffiths, Elizabeth George and Mary Higgins Clark. (I can dream, can’t I?) And if could do the impossible, I’d like to watch a panel with those three plus Ruth Rendell. These ladies all write/wrote such great characters.

I’d join you for that! What are you most looking forward to when lockdown is finally lifted?

L: Being able to go where I want to go without packing face masks and hand sanitiser, and without the nagging fear at the back of my mind all the time.

Is there anything lockdown has made you think about/want to do?

L: I think we’ve all learned to appreciate what we have, in this pandemic. It’s often the little things in life that give us the most pleasure – a zoom chat with my kids, meeting (at a suitable distance) friends locally and having a chat or a coffee. In the Spanish Flu epidemic last century, it took them three years to get on top of it. I’m hoping for two, this time, but we’re not even halfway there yet. Thank heavens for the Internet…

Absolutely and it’s been so lovely to catch up with you now Linda. I hope it’s not too much longer before we can meet in real life. In the meantime let’s have another White Lady.

You can find out more about Linda and her books here and follow her on Twitter @LindaHuber19

Chris Nickson

For many years Chris Nickson lived in the US, where he was a music journalist (among many other things). He now writes historical crime, mostly set in Leeds where he was born and raised, covering a range of era from the 1730s, all the way to the 1980s. Lately his focus has been on Simon Westow, an 1820s thief-taker, and Detective Superintendent Tom Harper, a working-class man who runs Millgarth police station in Leeds in the late 1800s/start of the 20th century.

Hi Chris how lovely to see you in my virtual cocktail lounge. What can I get you at the bar?

C: I’d love a cup of tea, please. No sugar, just the tiniest splash of milk.

Well that’s a first  but fortunately my teapot is at hand. So where did we first meet in real life?

C: We haven’t – at least not yet. Maybe sometime post-coronavirus, if such a time can exist.

Well I hope it does and I look forward to visiting Leeds some time. First impressions?

C: You’re a good writer, and a lovely genial soul.

That’s kind. Points in common?

C: Both crime writers, of a certain age, and our politics both seem to lie firmly on the left.

The last novel I read of yours was The Tin God, a Tom Harper Mystery, which I loved. Tell me about your latest book.

C: Last month The Mystery Press published The Anchoress of Chesterfield, which, as the title suggests, isn’t set in Leeds, but is the fourth in an occasional series set in medieval Chesterfield. I lived near there after I moved back to the UK and really like the place.

Set in the 1360s, it features John the Carpenter who has been happy to leave the investigation of death behind. For six years now he’s been content to work with wood. But times are growing desperate.

Then the coroner summons him to look at the mysterious death of an anchoress, a religious woman who lived in confined solitude. She’s been murdered. Her father is an important local landowner, a man of influence with the crown. He’s distraught, and the money he offers John to find the killer can solve his problems and leave his family comfortable for life. But the path to the truth leads John to places where he’s not welcome and in danger for his own life.

Sounds intriguing. What are you working on now?

C: There’s a new Simon Westow, To The Dark, coming at the end of December, and another Tom Harper set for the middle of next year. Publication has been delayed because of Covid. I’d completed another Tom Harper to follow that, now awaiting my revisions, and I’m 10k in yet another one, because the devil finds work for idle hands.

That’s some output! When you take a breath between books, what would be your dream panel (at any event) – subject, fellow panelists or a Q&A with someone you have met or would love to meet?

C: Raymond Chandler, Knut Hamsun, and another long chat about the blues with guitarist Billy Gibbons from ZZ Top. We once spent several hours discussing it on the phone.

Great choice. What are you most looking forward to when lockdown is finally lifted?

C: I’m not sure I trust this government to lift it safely, so I’ll hang back.

Is there anything lockdown has made you think about or want to do?

C: It’s certainly made me think a lot more about my own mortality, and the need to get the books written that I want to complete.

Thanks for joining me today, Chris. More tea?

You can find out more about Chris Nickson and his books here and follow him on Twitter @ChrisNickson2

William Shaw

William Shaw’s fiction has been shortlisted for the CWA Historical Dagger and a Barry Award and long-listed for the CWA Gold Dagger plus twice for the Theakston’s Prize. His DS Alexandra Cupidi series – and the standalone bestseller The Birdwatcher – are set in Dungeness Kent. He also writes the acclaimed Breen & Tozer crime series set in sixties London. He worked as a journalist for over twenty years and lives in Brighton. His eighth book, Grave’s End, the latest in his Alex Cupidi series, was published in July by Riverrun.

Hi William how lovely to see you in my virtual cocktail lounge. I’m on a winner here as I don’t have to pay for the drinks. However what can I get you at the bar?

W: Oh. I’ve brought my own hip flask of rhubarb gin, as it happens.  

You obviously didn’t trust my selection of beverages! I hope that isn’t to do with where we first met in real life?

W: Waterstones, Brighton, I believe. Around 2012 or 2013. It was for a book launch, but I can’t remember which one. There was wine, wasn’t there? Probably snacks.  

There’s always wine and, of course, we’ve met up at many book launches since as well as at CrimeFest and Morecambe & Vice. First impressions?

W: Smiles a lot. Slightly shorter than me.

I’m beginning to feel like Hermia in these interviews. Any points in common?

W: We both write books, for starters.

And we’ve both worked as journalists. Thinking about book festivals, what would be your dream panel (at any event) – subject, fellow panelists or a Q&A with someone you have met or would love to meet?

W: Innua Ellams because I’ve seen a couple of his plays recently and they’re so good. The last was Three Sisters just before lockdown. C. L. Taylor, who I’ve never been on a panel with – but she seems both wise and funny which is my ideal combination. Marina Hyde for similar reasons. 

Sounds great. I love your Alex Cupidi series although I haven’t read the latest one, so tell me about Grave’s End.

W: In Grave’s End, an unidentified cadaver is found in a freezer in an unoccupied luxury house. No one seems to know or care who it is or who placed it there. When DS Alexandra Cupidi is handed the case, she can have no idea it will lead her to a series of murderous cover-ups and buried secrets. Namely the discovery of the skeleton of public-school boy, Trevor Grey, beneath a housing development. His disappearance twenty five years earlier had almost passed unnoticed. But as evidence surfaces that his fate was linked to long suppressed rumours of sexual abuse, Cupidi, her teenage daughter Zoe and her friend Bill South find themselves up against powerful forces who will try to silence them.

I’m looking forward to reading that. What are you working on now?

W: I am half way through a standalone set at sea that is filled with VERY bad rich people and there’s a storm coming and I’m not at all sure how they’re going to get out of this. No date yet for that one. Plus my next in the Alex Cupidi series has just gone off to the copy editors and involves trawler-men, but still doesn’t have a title. Titles are hell.

You’ve certainly been busy writing-wise but what are you most looking forward to when lockdown is finally lifted?

W: I play in a ceilidh band. Even when lockdown is lifted I think it’s going to be a long time before we get to do anything like that again, sadly. Weird to say that you miss crowded rooms, isn’t it?

It is. What has lockdown made you think about/want to do?

W: I’ve been doing all sorts of DIY-ish stuff. I built some hefty raised beds and I’ve been restoring cane chairs. Not very crime fiction, is it?

I still remember the lovely bookcase you made for free books outside your house! Thank you so much for joining me here, William, and I look forward to meeting up when all this is over.

You can find out more about William Shaw and his books here and follow him in Twitter: @william1shaw


Rod Reynolds

Rod Reynolds is the author of four novels, including the Charlie Yates series. His 2015 debut, The Dark Inside, was long-listed for the CWA New Blood Dagger, and was followed by Black Night Falling (2016) and Cold Desert Sky (2018); the Guardian has called the books “Pitch-perfect American noir”. A lifelong Londoner, in 2020 Orenda Books published his first novel set in his hometown, Blood Red City. Rod previously worked in advertising as a media buyer, and holds an MA in novel writing from City University London. Rod lives with his wife and spends most of his time trying to keep up with his two young daughters.

Hi Rod how lovely to see you in my virtual cocktail lounge. What can I get you at the bar?

R: If it’s cocktails it has to be a mojito, please!

A popular choice here. So where did we first meet in real life?

R: Oh no, you’ve got me there – at a book event, maybe someone’s launch? I do remember we then were thrown together for a panel at CrimeFest shortly after, which was great fun.

Yes I think it was an Orenda book event at Waterstones and since then we’ve done two CrimeFest panels together. What were your first impressions?

R: Bubbly, lively, chatty, fun.

Any points in common?

R: Writing, writing and writing. Also, my old job was to buy advertising space in some of the magazines you used to write for.

I’ve enjoyed your Charlie Yates series. Tell me about your latest book?

R: My latest book, Blood Red City, has just been published and is my first standalone. Set in my hometown of London, it sees a crusading journalist sent a video of an apparent murder on a London Tube train. When she begins to investigate, she’s drawn into a terrifying web of money, politics and power, where information is the only thing more dangerous than a bullet.

Sounds my perfect type of book. What are you working on now?

R: I’m working on a standalone that’s a bit more of a psychological thriller – but I haven’t discussed it with my publisher yet, so I can’t say too much more about that!

What would be your dream panel (at any event) – subject, fellow panelists or a Q&A with someone you have met or would love to meet?

R: I’d love to interview my big writing hero James Ellroy. I’m a huge fan so I’d like to ask him loads of in-depth questions about his work – the kind of thing authors hate, because I’d be asking him about some minor plot point in a twenty-five year old book that he probably barely remembers writing. He’d most likely just call me names and berate me for the duration.

Well if you’re reading this Mr Ellroy… What are you most looking forward to when lockdown is finally lifted?

R: Being able to go to gigs again. I don’t get to go to that many these days anyway, and lockdown has made me miss and appreciate seeing live music even more.

Is there anything lockdown has made you think about/want to do?

R: Do some of the trips I’ve had in mind for years, such as travelling across Canada. It’s too easy to put these things off but lockdown and the pandemic have reminded me that there’s no time like the present.

I wonder what your daughters will make of travelling across Canada? Thank you so much for joining me, Rod and I hope we meet up at some book events soon.

You can contact Rod Reynolds rodreynoldsauthor@gmail.com or follow him on Twitter: @Rod_WR

Victoria Dowd

Victoria Dowd was a criminal law barrister for many years, until she finally hung up her wig in favour of more fictional crimes. An award winning short story writer, Victoria’s début novel, The Smart Woman’s Guide to Murder, was published by Joffe Books in May this year and is the first in a series featuring the Smart women.


Hi Victoria how lovely to see you in my virtual cocktail lounge. What can I get you at the bar?

V: Hello! I’d like a Guilty 12 please, the cocktail invented on The Orient Express in homage to Agatha Christie. The 12 mystery ingredients represent each of the suspects. Sounds pretty lethal to me!

Deadly but I’ll join you – probably keeps all viruses at bay! So I don’t think we’ve actually met in real life, have we?

V: Sadly not but after lockdown ends I’ve made a promise to myself to meet all the wonderful authors, bloggers and reviewers I’ve met online as a result of my book being published. I’m going to be very busy!

But happily busy, I hope. Apart from both being authors what else do you think we have in common?

V: I absolutely love the Cocktail Lounge! Cocktails and books – two of my favourite things. And crime, of course.

Of course. Tell me about your début.

V: The Smart Woman’s Guide to Murder was published by Joffe Books last month. It’s a crime novel in the tradition of the Golden Age of crime fiction. Members of a book club stay at an isolated country house and when they are snowed in the murders begin. There’s a lot of dark humour between the guests, particularly the mother, daughter and aunt. The atmosphere is very far from cosy! To survive, they will, of course, need to work out “whodunit”.

Another one for my TBR pile. What are you working on now?

V: I’m hard at work on the follow up book in the series. It’s called The Smart Woman’s Guide to Survival since the women who survive the first book decide they need to get better at surviving so they go on a Bear Grylls style survival course. They’re not well-suited to this kind of environment. When they find themselves on an uninhabited island in the Outer Hebrides and people start being murdered, it’s either one of them or someone else is on the island with them. I’m loving writing this novel. It’s based on an actual island in the Outer Hebrides which has one large Manor House and a very small chapel. I first saw it in photographs taken by John Maher and got in touch with him. It turned out he was the drummer in the punk band the Buzzcocks. The island is uninhabited but I managed to speak to the owner who is absolutely wonderful and agreed to take me over there. There’s no electricity and, of course, no phone reception or WiFi – perfect for a murder mystery so it’s all very exciting, if a little scary. I’m hoping to get over there later in the year or next year maybe – who knows?

What would be your dream panel (at any event) – subject, fellow panelists or a Q&A with someone you have met or would love to meet?

V: I’d love to be interviewed by Caitlin Moran at a literary festival such as Hay. I’ve seen her in conversation a few times and love her books. Because it’s a “dream” panel, I’m going to have to say Agatha Christie. She is my heroine and I utterly adore her work. Alongside her, I’d go for Sophie Hannah (because she writes the new Poirot so beautifully), Susan Hill (as I adore everything she writes and love her gothic novels such as The Woman in Black), Hilary Mantel (for sheer genius and eccentricity) and crime writer Margaret Murphy. Margaret gave up so much of her time just before my book was published to speak to me on the phone and email to give me so much advice and support. I couldn’t believe a best selling crime writer would be so interested and helpful to a new crime writer. She really made such a huge difference and is an amazing author. And finally, I’d have to have Helena Kennedy QC. When I had my first case in the Old Bailey, I remember sitting in the loo just saying to myself, “I can’t do this!” There was a knock on the loo door, I opened it and there was Helena Kennedy who simply said, “Yes, you bloody can. Now get out there!” She is the very epitome of yes, you bloody can and a strong, incredibly intelligent woman who, no matter what the case, crusades for justice. I think that’s a wonderful panel of Smart women to dream about sitting alongside.

An amazing array of smart women – a real dream panel. And what a lovely tribute to Margaret Murphy and Helena Kennedy. In the meantime, what are you most looking forward to when lockdown is finally lifted?

V: Having a hug with my sister and having a launch party for my book – which I’m hoping to combine. It’s been a little weird having a launch during lockdown but it has been very special and unique. The wonderful authors at Joffe Books and Books ‘n’ all Promotions came together for a Facebook launch that involved virtual drinks, food and quizzes with real prizes to celebrate the launch of The Smart Woman’s Guide. One of the lovely ladies even made prizes for the quiz of key rings of my book and fridge magnets. I was just so incredibly touched by the effort that went into this for a first time author that none of them had ever met. I also had a zoom party with close friends who all appeared on the screen in various forms of fancy dress. There were quite a few cocktails drunk that night. People have been absolutely wonderful and, in some ways, it has been so different that it’s made it something I will always cherish the memory of. Having said that, I think I can still have a real party too. As I’m sitting in the garden for this interview, my lovely neighbours who are part of a jazz band called Kalamazoo are rehearsing, I’m having a cocktail in the sun and talking about books. What could be more perfect?

What indeed? Is there anything lockdown has made you think about/want to do?

V: It’s really made me think how important independent bookshops are and libraries. I used to spend a lot of time grabbing a coffee and wandering around my local bookshop browsing and chatting to the owner and all the people who work there. I miss that a lot and hope that when we surface, those shops are still intact and can thrive again. Local based businesses have been so important over the last few months. Not just for books, but round us the farmers, dairies and local farm produce shops have been utterly invaluable. It used to be so easy just to click on a supermarket website for whatever we wanted but I’m never going back! I love the local farm shop and the tiny dairy who have never failed to deliver milk and fresh eggs. I think it has really hit the re-set button for me and I’m going to hold my family and friends so close and value all the small, irreplaceable things in life.

It’s been lovely to chat with you Victoria and I’m really looking forward to celebrating with you in the real world!

Your can find out more about Victoria Down here and follow her on Twitter @victoria_dowd 

Bernie Steadman

I’ve missed seeing Bernie Steadman at our usual get-together at CrimeFest this year so am delighted to welcome her here. Bernie is the author of The West Country Crime Mysteries (Bloodhound Books), a trilogy set in the city of Exeter and the surrounding Devon towns, coast and countryside.

Hi how lovely to see you in my virtual cocktail lounge. What can I get you at the bar?

B: It’s very nice to be invited, thank you. I’ll have a dry gin with Fevertree tonic, much ice and a slice of lime. Under no circumstance must there be vegetables in my gin. Shall I bring two?

One of my own favourites so yes please! Where did we first meet in real life?

B: We met at Bristol CrimeFest, several years ago. Actually, we met in the bar at CrimeFest I seem to remember.

Always a good place to meet! First impressions?

B:I thought you were warm and welcoming, as I knew very few people, but you gave me your time, which was kind. Now, you’re a mate. You took me along to dinner one evening, and now we have a regular “girls’ night out” on the Friday of CrimeFest where seven or eight of us go for something to eat and a good old natter.

A highlight of the weekend. Points in common?

B: We both started writing a little later than some of our contemporaries, but have refused to be judged by that paltry detail! We both lean to the left of politics, love animals, and our families, and are determined to do what we want to do, when and how we want do it.

Sounds about right. Tell me about your latest book?

B: My last published book was Death on the Coast (Bloodhound Books), the last of a trilogy of police procedural crime books set in and around the Devon coast and Exeter. It deals with issues of revenge and betrayal, and rounded off the series, at least for now!

What are you working on now?

B: My next book, The Man She Couldn’t Trust is a standalone thriller set in Crete. It was a book shouting to be written, and the research was fun, too. No cover to reveal as yet, until edits are completed, but there will be more to follow over the summer, which is exciting! It will be published by Bloodhound Books in November 2020

B: Following that I have started a slightly “cosier” crime series which will be set in Lyme Regis, near where I live, and feature two women who run an art gallery and uncover fraud and other poor behaviour amongst the local populace. Lyme is a beautiful place, and will be almost a character in the books.

I shall look forward to that, as Lyme is one of my favourite places. We’ve missed book events under lockdown so what would be your dream panel (at any event) – subject, fellow panelists or a Q&A with someone you have met or would love to meet?

B: My dream panel would be at CrimeFest, with Kevin Wignall as moderator. He’s hilarious, and I like to have a laugh to conquer the old nerves. It would be around a sense of place in novels. Kate Atkinson with her “Jackson Brodie” hat on, mainly so I can bow a lot, Stuart McBride because his Scottish characters leap off the page and beat you round the head, Jane Harper because the sense of place in “The Dry” was handled superbly, and finally, Peter May, because I have read everything he has written and you cannot beat the Lewis Trilogy for bringing the Scottish Islands to life. I’d just sit there, that would be enough.

Sounds a perfect panel. What are you most looking forward to when lockdown is finally lifted?

B: Well, I had to miss a holiday to Crete, so that could come back. It will be wonderful to see and cuddle my family again. I’ve missed them.

One thing lockdown has made you think about/want to do?

B: Write a Will. Also, to do the things I really want to do, because we genuinely have no idea what’s coming next. Don’t put stuff off, do it!

B: Well that was thirsty work. Thank you so much for inviting me to the Cocktail Lounge, mine’s a large one!

A pleasure to see you here, Bernie – cheers!

You can follow Bernie on Twitter @BernieSteadman and find out more about her and her books here

Dave Sivers

Today my guest is Dave Sivers, co-founder of  BeaconLit and author of the popular crime series featuring the Aylesbury Vale detectives, DI Lizzie Archer and DS Dan Baines. Dave’s latest novel In Ink introducing DI Nathan Quarrel is just published.

Photo (c) Cliff Hide

Hi Dave what better way to celebrate In Ink’s launch than in my virtual cocktail lounge. What can I get you at the bar?

Hi Anne, and thanks for having me. I think I’ll start with a mojito, please.

So where did we first meet in real life?

D: It was at BeaconLit, the book festival in Ivinghoe, Bucks that I co-founded. 2014, our second festival, and the first full-day event after a half-day pilot the year before.

As long ago as that? I remember it was Lesley Lodge who invited me. First impressions?

D: Well, we’d known each other on social media for a couple of years by then. I can’t now remember who found who first online, or whether it was Twitter or Facebook, but you’d come across as a friendly, bouncy person who’s interested in what people have to say, and that was the person I met in real life. Apart from that, maybe I noticed you weren’t particularly tall.

Obviously not an attribute we have in common but we do have some similar interests?

D: Well, we’re both interested in books, writing, and crime fiction in particular, and I’d say we both like and care about people. We like a glass of wine, too!

Very true and in the past we’ve enjoyed a glass or two at many a book launch. Sadly those have all been cancelled for the time being so tell me about In Ink.

D: In Ink, which has just come out, introduces DI Nathan Quarrel and is set in West Hertfordshire, in particular Hemel Hempstead and Tring. It’s a serial killer chiller and, after five Archer and Baines books, it’s been great fun creating and getting to know a whole new cast of characters and research a new area. I do know West Herts – I lived there for 15 years – but I enjoyed delving into some of the details to give my setting a bit of added depth.

Thinking about festivals, what would be your dream panel – subject, fellow panelists or a Q&A with someone you have met or would love to meet?

D: I’m going to moderate a panel on biographies, whether my panelists have actually written one or not – it’s my dream, so we’ll say they have. So I’m choosing Nelson Mandela, William Shakespeare, Bruce Springsteen, Elizabeth I and Marilyn Monroe. It doesn’t matter that all except the Boss are dead, right?

That’s an amazing panel. In the meantime what are you working on?

D: In between finalising and promoting In Ink, I’m working on the sixth in my Archer and Baines crime series, set in Buckinghamshire’s Aylesbury Vale. I’m hoping to release it in the first half of 2021. Hate crime is one of the themes. I’m still wrestling with a title.

What are you most looking forward to when lockdown is finally lifted?

D: Two things. The first is seeing my dad again. I last saw him at the beginning of March and, although we speak on the phone regularly, we miss actually seeing each other. The second is really trivial, but I’ve reached a point where I’d (almost) kill to go out for a cappuccino and a cinnamon bun in Costa. Although one positive to come out of all this is I’ve got more into baking and have found I can knock up a pretty mean cinnamon bun myself!

Is there anything lockdown has made you think about or want to do?

D: I guess it’s made me think about the duality of human nature quite a lot. Lockdown has brought out some great good in people – neighbours looking out for each other, more friendliness and consideration when you encounter other people, and the wonderful, hard working people in the NHS, in supermarkets and other essential shops, the posties and other delivery people, all of whom have kept things going and done it with a smile. But then you see the stockpiling and groups of people not social distancing. I try not to judge them without knowing the facts, but even then you get the odd fool who really thinks the rules don’t apply to them, and you read some awful stories.

D: I guess any crisis can bring out the worst in people as well as the best. I was struck the other week by a little story of a family who put a teddy bear display in their front garden to cheer up their neighbours. They regularly changed the scene. Then someone stole the lot. But you know what? Neighbours rallied round and contributed cuddlies to new display. The best and worst of humanity in microcosm.

D: The other thing I’ve really become aware of, living in a fairly rural area, is how much traffic and aircraft noise really obliterates the sounds of nature. We’ve been for walks when all you can hear is birdsong and the buzz of insects, but the silence is already becoming eroded now. It will be interesting to see what the so-called New Normal looks like when we settle into it.

Dave thank you so much for joining me. I look forward to raising a glass in real life in the not too distant future.

Thanks for inviting me to the Cocktail Lounge, Anne – it’s been great to chat. Another mojito for the road, perhaps?

You can find out more about Dave’s books on his website as well as follow him on Twitter: @davesivers and Facebook: davesiversauthor1