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No Alternative (Or why I wrote No Accident)
I didn’t need to write No Accident. I’d already written No Bodies, a perfectly good story to launch the Kent Fisher murder mystery series. A UK agent had read it from cover to cover, keen to see how an environmental health officer (EHO) would solve a murder. Alas, she didn’t take me or the book on. It needed polishing, some work on the characters. I was getting closer to a publishing deal, so why didn’t I do the work, improve the story and resubmit it? Something was missing. In No Bodies, there’s a reference to Kent Fisher helping the police round up a drugs gang. Yeah, just the sort of…
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Peril at End House by Agatha Christie
12th March 2023. While I make no secret of my love for Agatha Christie’s murder mysteries, each book I read makes me marvel even more at how original, creative and addictive her stories are. They’re set many decades ago, when values and standards varied from today, but the writing still feels contemporary in many ways, making them a joy to read. Peril at End House is set in the 1930s and features Poirot at his most arrogant, though Hastings manages to get a few shots in to deflate the Belgian’s ego. That said, Poirot also has the courage to admit he’s made a colossal mistake as he struggles to solve…
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Lord Edgeware Dies by Agatha Christie
6th February 2023. Poirot is called upon to unravel another complex murder, where the prime suspect has publicly talked of killing her husband. Yet she was in a different place when he was murdered. As Poirot and Inspector Japp of Scotland Yard investigate the murder, all is not as it seems. With contradicting evidence, questions that Poirot struggles to answer, and a long list of suspects, this is a story that continues to confound until the detective finally makes sense of all the disparate clues. Narrated by Captain Hastings, who is once again patronised and made fun of by his Belgian friend, it’s a cleverly plotted story with several twists…
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Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie
2nd January 2023. Agatha Christie’s most famous book reveals her mastery of plot, character and setting. At the time it was written, I imagine the plot was ground breaking – a locked room murder with a difference. Hercule Poirot is on hand to investigate as the Orient Express is stopped by snowfall and left isolated on the tracks. As no one could have escaped, the murderer must still be on the train. With only observation, interviews of the witnesses and deduction, Poirot has to solve a seemingly insoluble puzzle. And he does it with style, pulling apart an elaborate plot that must have taken some creating. The directness to the…
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Moi? A cosy mystery author?
From the moment No Accident was released by a US publisher in 2016, I’ve refuted any claim that my novels are cosy mysteries. Why would I do this, you might ask? The cosy mystery genre offers a huge market within crime fiction. A simple search on Amazon will confirm this. Yet under this extensive umbrella, there are a significant number of single, elderly ladies solving murders in quaint villages, or on cruise ships, or in stately homes. Many of them bake cakes, arrange flowers or run bookshops. Many have cute dogs or cats. It’s all sweet, friendly and safe – even though people are being bumped off at an alarming…
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Who Do You Think You Are?
A Writer’s Journey Part 1 Becoming a celebrity could help me solve a couple of problems. If I was a household name, it would be easier to get a book deal and sell thousands of novels. Quicker too. There’s also a chance of being invited onto the BBC ancestry series, Who Do You Think You Are. If nothing else, it might help me to discover whether I have ancestors who passed down their creative DNA to me because I’ve no idea why I wanted to become a writer. Okay, in case you’re thinking I’m a tormented soul in an ivory tower, or one of those people who papers their bedroom…
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More than a Murder Mystery
Isn’t it lovely when readers surprise you? Here I am, writing murder mysteries for crime fiction lovers, doing my best to create the most baffling and convoluted plots possible. Being a huge fan and admirer of Agatha Christie, I’ve studied her approach and techniques, determined to learn from the best-selling crime writer of all time. When the reviews and feedback come in, I’m delighted when readers enjoy the plots, the complexity and the unexpected twists that lead to an exciting climax. But many of them love the characters and the backstory. They want Kent Fisher to find the woman of his dreams, to deal with his boss and the bureaucracy…
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A hero for today’s murder mysteries
Have you ever read a book or watched a TV programme and wished you could write something as good? Neither had I until I saw the original Inspector Morse series. The superb characterisation, complex and intriguing plots, and the beautiful Oxford settings captivated me. About the same time, BBC 1 aired the Miss Marple series, adapted from Agatha Christie’s books. Both programmes evoked the same emotion and desire to write a complex murder mystery. At this point, I should tell you I was already a writer. Not a successful one, unless you include the national short story competition I won at the age of 12. That early enthusiasm and promise…
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Talking to Boomers on Books
25th April 2021. My thanks to Vince Stevenson for a fascinating interview about the creation of No Accident and what goes on in the mind of a crime writer. Check out the interview below.
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No Sex Please We’re Crime Writers
Have you ever wondered why there’s so little sex in crime fiction? Maybe there is and I’m reading the wrong books. Maybe sex and murder are not good bedfellows. Some categories of crime fiction, such as cosy mysteries, exclude explicit sex, graphic violence and excessive swearing. In my book, literally and metaphorically, this doesn’t exclude romance, sexual tension and people sleeping together. It simply frowns on graphic description. But sex scenes should only be in a story if they are essential to the plot or character development. This should be the case in any book in any category. If a killer, for instance, seduces his or her victims before killing…
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An interview with author J A Schneider
I’m delighted to welcome psychological suspense author, J A Schneider to Robservations. Her latest novel, What You’ve Done, is released tomorrow, 16th April 2020. I was lucky enough to read it recently and it’s brilliant, driven by a strong lead character in attorney, Mia Pearle, who feels a sense of responsibility and guilt when 16-year old Kelly is brutally murdered in a quiet town in Connecticut. Having also read and thoroughly enjoyed Girl Watching You, I thought it was time to find out a little more about J A Schneider. Please tell me a little about yourself and your writing. When very young, I’d hear complaints that I’d rather read…
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An interview with author Paula Williams
I’m delighted to welcome crime novelist Paula Williams to Robservations. The third novel in her Much Winchmoor series, Burying Bad News, is published on 17th March 2020. Having enjoyed the first book in the series, Murder Served Cold, I thought it would be interesting and fun to learn more about Paula and her writing. Paula, please tell me a little about yourself and your writing. I began my writing career writing short stories and serials for women’s magazines, which I still do sometimes, although it’s now a sadly shrinking market. So I started thinking of a change of direction and decided to dip my toe in the murky waters of…
