‘Truth To Tell’ by Aline Templeton

Published by Allison & Busby,
21 May 2026.
ISBN: 978-0-7490-3343-9 (HB) 

Wedding bells will be chiming in the near future for DCI Kelso Strang, head of Scotland's Rural Crime Squad, and his lawyer fiancée Catriona Fleming. Cat is a familiar figure from Aline Templeton's earlier series, as is her mother Marjory, a retired DI, and they're busy arranging flowers, seating plans and meetings with the vicar. Kelso is keen to be married but less enthused by all the wedding-related fuss, so when a body turns up in a remote Highland village, he's guiltily relieved.    

The body belongs to Brodie Campbell, the local gamekeeper, who was useful to the local police. But Brodie was so unpopular with most of the village that everyone's a potential suspect, and Kelso finds just about everyone reluctant to talk in case they incriminate someone else. 

DS Livvy Murray has been detailed to help Kelso with the investigation. The shortcomings of the Airbnb they're staying in make her keen to shift the blame for the murder on to outsiders from Glasgow's gang culture so that she and Kelso can go home, especially after the arrival of a capable graduate entry DC whom Kelso has worked with before. In the past Livvy wasn't above going rogue in pursuit of her own theories, but she has calmed down a lot.  All the same, her tendency to use her initiative pays off, with a discovery that comes close to cracking the case. 

Aline Templeton certainly knows how to put together a storyline that's almost as twisty as the mountain passes. As well as the murder, there's a drug problem, common in small communities where both work and leisure activities are thin on the ground for young people; and a parallel investigation is looking at hijackings of deliveries from local fish processors. But as always in Templeton's books, the characters and the locations are at least as important as the plot. The story unfolds against a spectacular Highlands backdrop of mountains, lochs and precipitous roads; the weather is as dramatic as the landscape and causes more than one problem for the SRCS team. 

Kelso, Livvy and Cat are familiar figures, and following their development is one of the great pleasures of the series. Kelso's boss DCS Jane Borthwick, the redoubtable JB, makes an occasional appearance and has work problems of her own; and workshy DI Mackenzie from the local force is no help at all. 

In the village, the women are nursing secrets. Mairead runs the local café despite fragile health, and has plenty to hide, especially from her feckless artist husband. Zoe Cooper, waitress at the café, girlfriend of local bad boy Jago Innes and woman of mystery, comes and goes as she pleases. And then there's Anna Bruce, who recently moved to the village and has created a thriving catering business; no one seems to know anything about her. 

Eventually secrets are revealed, Brodie Campbell's killer is unmasked, and Kelso and Livvy can go home – he to prepare for his wedding, she to await their next case. As, no doubt, will Aline Templeton's many readers with eager anticipation, me among them; Kelso Strang is rapidly becoming one of Scotland's most engaging detectives.   
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Reviewer: Lynne Patrick

Aline Templeton grew up in the fishing village of Anstruther, on the east coast of Scotland not far from St Andrews.  The memories of beautiful scenery and a close community inspired her to set the Marjory Fleming series in a place very like that – rural Galloway, in the south-west of Scotland. After attending Cambridge University to read English she taught for a few years.  She now writes full-time.  Her most recent series features DCI Kelso Strang, officer in charge of Police Scotland’s Serious Rural Crime Squad. Truth To Tell is the seventh book in the series. 

http://www.alinetempleton.co.uk  

Lynne Patrick has been a writer ever since she could pick up a pen, and has enjoyed success with short stories, reviews and feature journalism, but never, alas, with a novel. She crossed to the dark side to become a publisher for a few years and is proud to have launched several careers which are now burgeoning. She lives in Oxfordshire in a house groaning with books, about half of them crime fiction.

Capital Crime: 18-20 June 2026

LAST FEW TICKETS REMAINING 

‘Shadow of the Sphinx’ by Judith Cranswick

Published by Liden Press,
5 June 2026.
ISBN: 978-1-91884501-3 (PB)
Also available in Kindle format.

The story is narrated by Harry, a young man whose early life had been suffocatingly sheltered because he had been brought up in an old-fashioned way by his timid mother and two overbearing and judgmental aunts. This had seriously damaged his self-esteem and confidence, until he was rescued by a third aunt, Aunt Jessica, who is very different from her sisters. Aunt Jessica is a career woman, a highly respected archaeologist who, in recent years, has given historical lectures to elite tour groups. Two years ago, Aunt Jessica invited Harry to join her as her assistant and to use his excellent IT skills to make sure her lecture slides are delivered flawlessly. On his first trips Harry had been anxious and insecure, but even on these tours he was a valuable assistant who, along with succeeding in his technological duties, has helped his aunt to solve several murders. By the time Aunt Jessica invites him to accompany her on a trip to Egypt, he has grown in confidence and worldly knowledge, and is delighted to join her on a trip to visit several historic sites, such as the pyramids and the Sphinx, which also includes a journey on the riverboat, The Spirit of Isis. 

At Heathrow, Harry has an unfortunate encounter with an entitled woman who is quarrelling with an unseen man. She storms away and runs over Harry’s foot with her case on wheels and does not apologise. Naturally, Harry dislikes her at first sight, and she does not improve on further acquaintance as she bullies her assistant and tramples over the feelings of everybody who comes near. The woman’s name is Eloise Masterton and she is the owner of a high-end chain of boutiques. 

As the tour continues, Harry is increasingly impressed by what he discovers about Aunt Jessica’s past. She has worked on some very important archaeological digs with eminent archaeologists and had helped make some significant finds. As with all his travels with his aunt, Harry enjoys the wonderful sights and experiences and local culture, however his pleasure is marred by the constant presence of Eloise, who continues to be loud, demanding and boastful, while she treats those around her with contempt. She is especially condescending to Margot, her dowdy, long-suffering assistant. Despite this, Margot appears to be attached to her employer, although sometimes she is embarrassed by her. However, there are several other people on the tour that have reason to dislike, if not hate, Eloise. Chief among these is Eloise’s ex-husband, Ralf, who obviously still bears a grudge, and Ralf’s new wife, Gemma. Also present are Simon and his wife Isabella. Simon is a very handsome man whom Eloise describes as an ‘old flame’. It seems that this is a flame that Eloise wishes to rekindle, but Simon is far less keen on resuming the relationship. 

When Eloise is murdered, Harry and Aunt Jessica are determined to investigate, as well as attempting to support Margot, who is bereft at the death of her boss. Soon it becomes clear that, as well Ralf and Simon and their wives who have personal grudges against Eloise, there are also business associates who may have reasons to wish her harm. With so many suspects and so many motives, this may prove to be the most difficult case that Harry and Aunt Jessica have ever undertaken. 

Shadow of the Sphinx is the fourth book in the series featuring Harry and his aunt. Alongside the interesting murder mystery, this is a delightful travel guide that brings alive some of the most fascinating places in Egypt and explores the myths and history of the country. Harry and Aunt Jessica are engaging protagonists. Jessica is an intelligent, independent woman who has battled her narrow-minded family’s prejudices to forge her own career, while Harry has overcome his insecurities and vulnerabilities to become a much more confident young man. Shadow of the Sphinx is a delightful and unusual mystery which I recommend.
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Reviewer: Carol Westron

Judith Cranswick was born and brought up in Norwich. Apart from writing, Judith’s great passions are travel and history. Both have influenced her two series of mystery novels. Tour Manager, Fiona Mason takes coach parties throughout Europe, and historian Aunt Jessica is the guest lecturer accompanying tour groups visiting more exotic destinations aided by her nephew Harry. Her published novels also include several award-winning standalone psychological thrillers. She wrote her first novel (now languishing in the back of a drawer somewhere) when her two children were toddlers, but there was little time for writing when she returned to her teaching career. Now retired, she is able to indulge her love of writing and has begun a life of crime! ‘Writers are told to write what they know about, but I can assure you, I've never committed a murder. I'm an ex-convent school headmistress for goodness sake!’ 

http://judithcranswick.co.uk/  

Carol Westron is a Golden Age expert who has written many articles on the subject and given papers at several conferences. She is the author of several series: contemporary detective stories and police procedurals, comedy crime and Victorian Murder Mysteries. Her most recent publications are Paddling in the Dead Sea and Delivering Lazarus, books 2 and 3 of the Galmouth Mysteries, the series which began with
The Fragility of Poppies. 

www.carolwestron.com 

‘Stranger in the Village’ by Kate Wells.

Published by Boldwood Books
30 January 2024.
ISBN: 978-1-785134289 (PB)

Jude Gray lives in a small Malvern village, now widowed following the death of her husband Adam who had spent most of his life running a working farm full-time. Now Jude has taken over the reins assisted by her farmworker Noah, her shepherd, who was the third-generation shepherd to have been employed by Malvern farm.  After a rather gruelling lambing season, she is looking forward to some time off. 

Her sister Lucy has now moved into the farm and following a disaster at the start of the year Jude is thrilled to hear that the paperwork has now been signed off and Lucy has full custody of her son Sebbie. 

Sitting in her office, which had been her husband’s old music room, when he was a child Jude ponders on an idea of a glampsite.  Bell tents and toilet blocks in the bottom field instead of sheep. Then she thought Shepherd’s huts. A quick log onto Farmer’s Guardian and the idea takes hold. 

But not everyone is delighted with her new venture. Particularly Des Smith. Her obnoxious neighbour who had recently moved into the cottage previously inhabited by her friend Sarah. His wife Loretta is pleasant and kind unlike arrogant, pompous Des. 

Although Noah didn’t exactly love the idea of turning a grazing field into a camping site, he knows that Malvern Farm needs more than just agriculture to keep the place afloat. 

Apart from the unpleasant Des, Jude thinks that things are going well, until a night out at the local pub surrounded by friends Des gets a right hook from Spud with ‘Stay away from my wife’. When Lucy verbally hits out at Des, he comes back with ‘Sanctimonious Bitch, you’ve no idea what’s coming your way. No Idea at all’.

In this second book in the series, we meet again Police Detective Binnie who was also enjoying an evening at the Lamb. But it was short lived as the evening was shattered by a loud screech of tyres followed by a thump and the sound of rubber spinning as the driver tried to get away fast. It was too late for an ambulance.  Was it an accident or was it murder? 

The installation of her Shepherd’s huts did not go smoothly.  But her first guest Marco Ricci had a wonderful smile. Will her other guests be as charming? 

Reports of a stranger wearing red trainers roaming over her farm at night is unsettling. Who is He? What is he looking for? 

Complex and intriguing, this mystery will grip you to the end. It did me.
------
Reviewer: Lizzie Sirett

Kate Wells is the author of the Malvern Farm Mystery series. She began her adult life training as a nurse at Great Ormond Street Hospital and then moved to Reading where she took a teaching degree. When she took a career break to have her two daughters, she began creating stories and hasn't stopped writing since. Having spent time living and working on farms she developed a love of the rural life and often dreamt of running a sheep farm, especially when she married the son of a farmer. It wasn't to be though, so, she lives out her farming dreams through researching and writing her books. These days she lives in Malvern with her family and is often found out on the common talking to the free-grazing sheep and cattle or walking her collie-cross up on the hills. As Kate Poels she writes books for children. 

Coming Soon: 'The Corpse With The Steely Gaze' by Cathy Ace

 Published by Four Tails Publishing

13 July 2026

The 16th book in the Cait Morgan Mystery series

Jayson Flyntt melted millions of hearts whenever he gazed directly into the camera as the star of a long-running American soap opera; now he’s in Vancouver’s “Hollywood North” to make a science fiction movie he believes will revive his waning fortunes. When his body is discovered in puzzling circumstances at a filming location on Cait Morgan’s university campus, it’s believed he’s been the victim of a tragic accident. But Cait’s instincts tell her that not everything is quite as it seems – and not just because of the illusions being conjured around her by the production’s crew.

When Cait grabs the unique opportunity to peer behind the silver screen, she discovers that some people within the dead actor’s closest circle not only have their own – sometimes disconcerting – agendas but might even benefit by the star’s death. And when she and her retired-cop husband, Bud, focus more sharply on the dead man’s past, some unexpected local connections develop. Stumped by inexplicable clues, Cait whittles down too many suspects to...none. So she has to take some uncharacteristic steps, because she’s determined to reveal the full picture.

Making our usually confident Welsh Canadian criminal psychologist feel like a fish out of water on her home turf, this sixteenth Cait Morgan Mystery tests her with an investigation that challenges the techniques she’s leaned upon in the past, and even leads her to question some of her most deeply held beliefs.

 

Cathy Ace’s Cait Morgan Mysteries are Christie-esque whodunits featuring a globetrotting Welsh Canadian psychologist (optioned for TV by Free@LastTV). Her WISE Enquiries Agency Mysteries feature a quartet of softly poached female PIs solving cases from a Welsh stately home. She’s won the Bony Blithe Award, IPPY and IBA Awards, and has been twice shortlisted for CWC Awards of Excellence, plus the CrimeFictionLover Best Indie. She’s a Past Chair of Crime Writers of Canada. 

www.cathyace.com 

‘Old Bones in Puglia’ by Tom Benjamin

Published by Constable,
14 May 2026.
ISBN 978-1-4087-2418-7 (PB)

English born Daniel Leister and his father-in-law, Giovanni Fraidate, head of the Bologna-based family firm of private investigators, travel to the wilds of Puglia for an Easter break. Their destination is the remote town where Daniel’s late wife’s family originated. Giovanni, called even by his family, the Comandante, has requested the trip to visit the dying sister of his late wife who is in hospital in the town. Daniel’s daughter also accompanies them to the hospital and Daniel is struck by the resemblance between Rose and her great aunt. Both are pale skinned with striking red hair in contrast to the rest of the region’s occupants. 

They visit the Palaeolithic Museum and discover that artifacts are going missing and replaced by clever forgeries. The value of the stolen pottery lies not in its monetary value but in its historical origins. The pieces date back to an ancient tribe who inhabited this remote area in pre-Roman times. The original objects could only have been stolen by someone working in the museum. The elderly Professor Malaparte in charge of the museum is keen to buy back the originals and requests the Comandante and Daniel’s help in trying to identify the thief and trace the missing historical treasures. 

Their investigation leads them to a local art teacher, an expert craftsman still using the same clay and traditional techniques, but before they can question him, the man goes missing. Before long, Daniel and the Comandante are drawn into a confusing world of feuding mafia families, revenge, kidnap and murder where no one can be trusted. 

As in all the books in the Daniel Leicester series, ‘Old Bones in Puglia,’ has a complex plot that weaves to a fast and furious finale that keeps the reader turning the page. As always, the characters are well drawn, and this book reveals far more about the Comandante who served as a military police officer in the town many years ago and is forced to face the demons of his past. Tom Benjamin’s greatest skill as a writer is his ability to create an immersive setting. This is a community steeped in the past, where witchcraft, mysticism and superstition are never far from the surface. Even the preparations for Holy Week create an eerie sense of unease and foreboding. 

Although this is the seventh book in this excellent series, it can be read as a standalone.  
------
Reviewer: Judith Cranswick

Tom Benjamin started off as a reporter covering crime in North London. After a stint on the nationals, he joined Scotland Yard as one of its famous spokesmen. He went on to pursue a career in international aid before emigrating to Italy, where he credits his language skills on the time he spent working as a bouncer on the door of a homeless canteen. A Quiet Death in Italy, the first in a series featuring Bologna-based gumshoe Daniel Leicester, was published in ebook by Little, Brown in November 2019, and in paperback in May 2020. Book Two in the series, The Hunting Season, will be published in November 2020. 

Judith Cranswick was born and brought up in Norwich. Apart from writing, Judith’s great passions are travel and history. Both have influenced her two series of mystery novels. Tour Manager, Fiona Mason takes coach parties throughout Europe, and historian Aunt Jessica is the guest lecturer accompanying tour groups visiting more exotic destinations aided by her nephew Harry. Her published novels also include several award-winning standalone psychological thrillers. She wrote her first novel (now languishing in the back of a drawer somewhere) when her two children were toddlers, but there was little time for writing when she returned to her teaching career. Now retired, she is able to indulge her love of writing and has begun a life of crime! ‘Writers are told to write what they know about, but I can assure you, I've never committed a murder. I'm an ex-convent school headmistress for goodness sake!’ 

www.judithcranswick.co.uk 

‘See Them Run’ by Marion Todd.

Published by Canelo Crime,
23 July 2020.
ISBN: 978-1-78863818-0 (PB)

‘The Bride and Groom would you lead the way’. Couples began streaming onto the dance floor.

 Andy’s phone began to buzz ‘Hey like the kilt’
Andy didn’t know who it was ringing him. He replies ‘Glad you like it.

He watched his wife Angela as she rose unsteadily from her seat to join the dancers.

So, R U A Real Scotsman, what’s under the kilt?
Andy felt a familiar stirring.

The banter went on and Andy stepped out into the cold of the evening and made his way down the hotel drive. As the hotel disappeared from view Andy picked out the headlights of a car. He lifted his kilt. The car revved and then lurched forward and speeded up. 

DI Clare Mackay received the call from the hotel. She had recently moved from Glasgow to St Andrews, and it currently felt a lonely place to be. The incident was a hit-and-run.  The car hadn’t just hit him the killer had been determined to kill. Having hit the man then reversed over him. And left a card on his chest bearing the number 5. Francine the bridesmaid, said that Andy was probably outside to meet another woman as he was in the habit of having affairs. 

The following night another victim is struck down and a number '4' card is left at the scene. Clare and her team realise they're against a killer stalking the streets of the picturesque Scottish town, bent on carrying out three more murders, no 3,2 and 1. 

Andy’s wife Angela admits to Clare that she and Andy had a marriage of convenience, and there is little she can tell the police of what Andy does or how he spends his time.  The only regular things he did was to go out to a club with the lads every Thursday.  

To solve the case Clare knows that she must face her own past and discover the deepest secrets of the victims and the killer, before there are a further three murders. 

Cleverly plotted this is a real page turner. Highly recommended.
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Reviewer: Lizzie Sirett 

Marion Todd is a native of Dundee. She studied music and worked for many years as a piano teacher and accompanist. Early writing success saw her winning first prize in the Family Circle magazine short story for children national competition and subsequently writing for her local newspaper. Now a full-time writer, Marion lives in north east Fife, overlooking the River Tay. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

‘Six Mile Store’ by A.M. Belsey

Published by Deixis Press,
17 March 2026.
ISBN: 978-1-91709012-4 (PB)

The Six Mile Store is old and grubby and positioned in the middle of nowhere. It provides basics for the local residents, but also its gas pumps are in a perfect position for those travelling long distances to Minnesota or North Carolina, so travellers pause there to refuel. As a small child Honey had been fascinated by the store and its contents, now as a teenager she works at the store at weekends during term-time and more frequently during the holidays.  

The story opens in July when Honey is working at the store to help out the owner who is ill, she works alongside another young woman, Sammy Legs, and they are both surprised when the owner employs, Lisa, a middle-aged acquaintance to work alongside them. Soon Honey is confiding in Lisa, whom she admires because of her dedication to her daughter. She also feels slightly envious of the effort that Lisa puts into facilitating opportunities for her little girl. Honey’s parents have never bothered about her, independence was forced on her at a young age, and her relationship with them has broken down. Sometimes Honey regrets this and wishes that her mother would show some interest in her achievements and plans for the future, but she knows there is no way to break through their habitual indifference and has given up even trying to phone them when she has important news. 

At the start of the book, Honey has just got a place to do a Masters degree in English Literature at a nearby Baptist college, and she is excited because, instead of having to pay, she can study for free and will be given a room on campus, and will even be paid a small amount if she takes some classes and does some tutoring. 

The regular local customers at the Six Mile Store are a mixture of quietly desperate people, just scraping a living, and most of their lives are confused and out of control. It is a community riddled with drug use and loneliness. Despite her desire to get academic qualifications to secure her future and move on, Honey is also confused and there is the continual threat that she will lose control of her life, and it will spiral into free fall. There are many people who are making Honey’s life difficult, especially the predatory cop who keeps turning up at the store, and her hypocritical college supervisor who keeps finding fault. The best thing in Honey’s life is her relationship with her Turkish boyfriend, Karim, but she knows that he is due to return to Turkey in September. In the community that surrounds the Six Mile Store there is a hardly recognised tension and the ever-present fear that the underlying violence will break through. 

The Six Mile Store is a novella that describes the realities of life in an isolated American community. Most of the book is narrated in the First Person by Honey, who is an engaging protagonist, young and naïve but basically kind, as she struggles to improve her life despite poverty and family indifference. However, part of the narrative is in a different viewpoint, which takes the story in a different and unexpected direction. This is a fast-moving short read, which will be enjoyed by readers who like hard hitting stories that mirror the grim realities of life for people living on the edge of survival.
------
Reviewer: Carol Westron 

A. M. Belsey was born in Arkansas but moved to the United Kingdom at age 21. She has never looked back. Her debut crime novella – Six Mile Store – hits the shelves. But it didn’t start out as a crime story and AM Belsey didn’t set out to be a crime author. That’s just where the characters and story led. 

Carol Westron is a Golden Age expert who has written many articles on the subject and given papers at several conferences. She is the author of several series: contemporary detective stories and police procedurals, comedy crime and Victorian Murder Mysteries. Her most recent publications are Paddling in the Dead Sea and Delivering Lazarus, books 2 and 3 of the Galmouth Mysteries, the series which began with The Fragility of Poppies.  

www.carolwestron.com

‘How to Cheat Your Own Death’ by Kristen Perrin

Published by Quercus Books,
28 April 2026.
ISBN: 978-1-529440567-1 (HB)

Two separate murders half a century apart. The same modus operandi. Both victims, Vera and Felicity, were artists. Both had connections with the village of Castle Knoll. Coincidence? The police think so, but they are not in possession of all the facts. Annie Adams, heiress, would-be crime fiction author and amateur sleuth, is in possession of a few more.

 When her mother, an artist like both victims, keeps finding animal hearts on the doorstep of her Chelsea home, coincidence flies out of the window. Annie has several advantages over the police. To her the first murder is more than a 50-year-old cold case. Vera was a friend of her late great-aunt Frances whose journals she inherited along with two dilapidated houses and a fortune. The journals tell her a great deal about what happened back in the Swinging Sixties. Also, Felicity has had recently become her mother's apprentice, so Annie has a vested interest in both murder cases. What's more, she has an ally in Detective Rowan Crane, who has already helped her solve two murders although is not involved in investigating Felicity’s. 

The story unfolds in two separate but curiously similar timeframes. Annie’s tale starts out as a search for the mysterious dumper of bloody hearts on her mother's doorstep and soon begins to stray into Felicity's death and thence into Vera's. Great-aunt Frances knew nothing of Felicity, of course, so extracts from her journal focus wholly on her friendship with Vera and the circumstances and people surrounding Vera's death. 

As links between the cases proliferate, it's down to Annie and Crane to join the dots, work out who they can trust and who's lying, and ultimately solve not only both murders but also various other crimes in both time frames.

Confused yet? Yes, so was I for a while, especially when characters from one timeline kept popping up in the other. Parallels keep emerging too, not least between the characters. Annie and Frances have plenty in common: both are feisty and determined, and more likely to walk towards danger than flee from it; they each have a male partner-in-crime who wants to protect them, which means romance is on the cards both now and fifty years ago. There are other parallels too. Annie learns early on that her eccentric mother is lying to her; Frances discovers that flamboyant Vera has been branded a pathological liar by her abusive husband. 

But all becomes clear long before the dramatic denouement. Kristen Perrin certainly knows how to keep her readers on their toes, and sometimes on the edge of their seats. This is no ordinary murder mystery – but then which of us is satisfied with an ordinary one? Not me, and not true lovers of the genre.
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Reviewer: Lynne Patrick 

Kristen Perrin is originally from Seattle, Washington, where she spent several years working as a bookseller before moving to the UK to do a master's and a PhD. She lives with her family in Surry, where she can be found poking around vintage bookstores, stomping in the mud with her two kids, and collecting too many plants. She has written three books. 

Lynne Patrick has been a writer ever since she could pick up a pen, and has enjoyed success with short stories, reviews and feature journalism, but never, alas, with a novel. She crossed to the dark side to become a publisher for a few years and is proud to have launched several careers which are now burgeoning. She lives in Oxfordshire in a house groaning with books, about half of them crime fiction.

 

Written in Blood by Peter Tickler

Trials and tribulations of a crime writer - Cornish Crime.  

At the time of writing, I have just spoken at the Bude Literary Festival.  It’s a long old drive from Oxfordshire, and so (of course) I decided I could only manage the stress and strain by taking a week’s holiday while I was about it. Who said marketing wasn’t tough? But I managed. I was interviewed in the Bude library and had a very enthusiastic audience. Of course, setting a crime story in a real place has its problems, notably getting the geography and other details right, so I had taken opportunity to get someone who lived in Bude to check the manuscript out before I gave it to the editor. It was just as well I did, because she found one glaring error where my protagonist Doug Mullen and his partner Becca Baines turned left rather than right. How was that possible, when my wife and I have have spent several happy holidays in the area and know the town very well?  It all came down to me changing Doug’s holiday house in Bude from one street to another – from Breakwater Road to Lynstone Road if you must know!

But does that sort of error matter? To someone who doesn’t know Bude, maybe not. But to locals – and indeed holiday makers who regularly come to Bude – of course it does. If one detail is wrong, they ask themselves, what other details has Tickler got wrong? Can he be trusted? Other thoughts may enter their heads. What is this Tickler chap doing, writing about our town when he lives miles away? Why don’t ‘e stick to Auxford. These would all be fair questions. As a farmer’s son who left the farming world to study and then live in in Oxford, I am conscious of the parochialism one can encounter. I returned to Lincolnshire for a party, and when I tried to talk to one of my brother’s friends, I was dismissed by him a townie: ‘what would you know about it?’ But being a townie or an outsider does give me a different perspective on communities. I am able to tune into Doug’s feelings as he finds himself in a world where he is an outsider investigating a murder that most of the locals would prefer to forget. He is viewed with deep suspicion by those from whom he might expect support, even by the dead girl’s mother. Of course, I am writing fiction. There is a dark truth which Doug needs to uncover in Bude. But I can assure you that everyone I have encountered on this trip to Bude has been most welcoming. I hope that won’t change when they have read the book! 

If you are ever visiting Bude, do call into the Spencer Thorn bookshop for a copy of

Death in the Sea Pool.

https://www.petertickler.co.uk

Twitter: @ptickler