‘Seconds to Midnight’ by David Orson Newton

Published by Chiselbury,
 23 April 2026.
ISBN: 978-1-917837-43-9 (PB)

This is a timely and dystopian novel set in 2029/30 - The UK and Europe is on the brink of War.  The reader is initially unsure exactly who the enemy is but gradually as the plot unfolds it is clear that Russia and China are the main protagonists. 

The story follows the lives of five humans who enter the conflict - some willingly and others not.  This is basically a scenario about Cyberwarfare where the public is largely unaware of what is going on. 

British Intelligence launches two Top Secret operations which are powered by an artificial super intelligence designed to prevent war but the question throughout the novel concerns AI and whether it is saving humanity or replacing it? 

The five characters whose individual stories provide the mainspring of the action are a retired spy, a journalist chasing truth, a data scientist with potentially dangerous loyalties, a street fighter trying to make sense of chaos and a veteran who was determined never to fight again.  Each of these individuals confront a chilling present and deals with their circumstances in ways that explore conscience, fear and a desire to relate to another human.  

This is an unusual novel and not one I would have readily chosen but it proved a fascinating read and sadly appropriate to our age when many feel uncertain about the future and the possibility of AI replacing the need for humanity. 

A thoroughly worthwhile read.
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Reviewer: Toni Russell

David Orson Newton
is a combat veteran and technologist. Newton’s work has taken him from the warzones of Afghanistan, Iraq and Yemen to the leading edge of innovation in Silicon Valley. He now resides with his wife and son in rural Devon, England. An alumnus of the Faber Academy, Seconds to Midnight is his first novel.

Toni Russell is a retired teacher who has lived in London all her life and loves the city.  She says, ‘I enjoy museums, galleries and the theatre but probably my favourite pastime is reading.  I found myself reading detective fiction almost for the first time during lockdown and have particularly enjoyed old fashioned detective fiction rather than the nordic noir variety.  I am a member of a book club at the local library and have previously attended literature classes at our local Adult Education Centre.

News from the Continent:

 Dead or Alive

 by Gitta Edelmann

In crime fiction most stories are about death. Homicide, manslaughter – though, unfortunately, it’s all too often a woman that is slaughtered, so that we have to add femicide to the list – assassination, suicide. Or, at least, the novel or short story is about an attempt to unalive somebody. Of course, there are other crimes a writer can use in their narrative but most readers these days will probably expect a murder. 

In a crime novel we find dead characters and living characters.  In the writer’s head, however, they are all alive and kicking. Sometimes painfully so. They have to be, otherwise – at least that’s my experience – the writing will not go smoothly.  

Even if the narrative is plot-driven by questions like who is the villain, what appens next, by twists and climaxes, at the heart of the story we find the characters: the victim(s), the investigator(s), the witnesses and the bystanders. They have to act and think, investigate and make mistakes, solve the crime(s) or be caught.  They need a past and a present, strengths and weaknesses, and probably a hidden agenda. They have to be people like you and me. So far, so good. 

But, as always in life, there is a downside to those very alive characters in my head. They do solve most of my plot problems for me, but they may also cause new challenges by doing what they want. Nowadays, I just raise my eyebrows when that happens, nothing more. There is no point in forcing my ideas on others, not even on people born from my imagination. 

In a romantic novel my heroine decides to get her happy ending with a man who is not the one I originally designed for her. But in the course of the storyline he has proved himself to be the better choice. Fine, no problem. Keep going, girl. You know best and all empathising readers will understand and approve. 

A character in an alternate historical novel set in an airship is very moody and prickly. I need him to be like this to oppose the female captain and I know his background, but in one of the scenes he acts extremely erratic before going back to his cabin. The airship sways and an empty whisky bottle rolls out from under his berth. Ah, now I see. Good to know his secret. 

Alas, it may be far more complicated in a murder mystery. 

The first time such an unforeseen interference came up when I was writing a book in the Scottish mystery series MacTavish & Scott. I had drafted a detailed plot, and I knew the victim, the murderer, the how, the when, the where, and the why. I had already introduced a few red herrings for my private detectives and was happily writing away when something awfully shocking happened: My designated culprit was knocked off the Salisbury Craigs in Edinburgh by a person unknown. Now what?

No, I couldn’t change the scene back to my original outline. Somehow, it all felt so utterly right now. I had to admit to myself that I had been mistaken in the identity of the murderer.  I took a deep breath and once again I screened each of the other suspects for motive and opportunity. Some hours of thinking and a night of good sleep later, I finally knew who the real murderer was. And the story was so much better than my original idea.  

For another book in the series I had outlined a showdown for the last few pages. My detective was taken hostage by the killer and tried to talk her way out of the situation waiting for her friend to come to her rescue. But after a few sentences had been exchanged, I realised that the man was indeed shady, but he was not the murderer. Oops! 

Needless to say, that in the end I found a twist, a new suspect, a new solution to the case. And, again, I liked it better than the original idea.  

Meanwhile, I have learned how to avoid my stories being interrupted by such surprises: I abstain from plotting, though sometimes I have a rough idea how the story could end. But I keep an open mind. After 20 books of
MacTavish & Scott I know my lady detectives and their methods so well that I can trust them to solve the case I give them. I outline an assignment, like finding a missing person, and a setting, do some research for the background I want to use, and create a bunch of interesting and diverse characters. Then I just start writing, wondering what will happen.  

This will probably not work for everyone – there are as many methods of writing as there are authors. But if you get stuck in your manuscript, why not just ask your characters what they would like to do? They might answer. 

Fictional characters are never dead, even if they are murder victims. They live in the writer’s and the readers’ brains at least as long as we are writing or reading their stories. Sometimes they even stay alive forever and become immortal. 

Gitta Edelmann is a German author of novels and short stories in different genres. She is best known for her Scottish mystery series MacTavish & Scott – The Lady Detectives of Edinburgh that meanwhile comprises 20 books. The first six books have also been translated into English. Occasionally, she works as a translator or editor. She is a member of PEN, the Murderous Sisters and other writers’ associations in Germany, and of the Mystery People. 

www.gitta-edelmann.de

‘Deception’ by Alan Parks.

Published by Baskerville,
2 July 2026.
ISBN: 978-1-39981971-8 (HB)

It is December 1941 and Joseph Gunner, a former front-line soldier, is sitting in the Plaza Hotel near Central Park, smartly dressed and watching Joe Kennedy Jr (whose father, the powerful Senator Joe Kennedy Snr, is grooming him to be a future President of the United States) sharing a bottle of champagne with a young woman.  Gunner is in the States, officially as a member of the British Overseas Council, but actually as a member of the British Secret Service, there to try to persuade the USA to enter the Second World War.  Gunner’s job is to encourage pro-war sentiment, using planted news stories, radio broadcasts and blackmail, and generally disrupting the anti-war groups, of which Senator Kennedy is a vociferous supporter.  So when, later that evening, the younger Kennedy is photographed in a compromising situation with the young woman, this is useful evidence for blackmail. 

However, Alice, the woman involved in the ‘honeytrap’, is murdered and Gunner realises that the entrapment plan had been betrayed, so he tries to find out what is going on.  In so doing he becomes involved with Nazis, the New York mobs and the NYPD and, inevitably, there are more deaths.  Gunner starts to uncover a complex conspiracy, one that exceeds anything that he could have imagined.  The anti-war forces have the money, the resources and the manpower to pull some amazing stunts – including painting a huge Nazi swastika on an American ship in harbour for repairs, a tremendous coup if a photograph should ever get out. 

The plot maintains the tension throughout, helped by the well-described atmosphere of the time.  The characters are interesting, with individual allegiances changing without warning.  Gunner’s wartime injuries impinge on his ability to keep going and his doubts about his colleagues (he does not trust his boss, Nickerson) add to his problems and the general stress.  The sections of the book are divided into the week or so before Pearl Harbour, so the final outcome is not a surprise for the reader. 

This is the second in the series and works very well as a stand-alone.  The next book promises to be as gripping.
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Reviewer: Jo Hesslewood
Other books by this author:  in the Joseph Gunner series:  Gunner; in the Harry McCoy Thrillers:  Bloody January, February’s Son, Bobby March Will Live Forever, The April Dead, May God Forgive, To Die in June

Alan Parks has worked in the music industry for over twenty years. His debut novel Bloody January was one of the top crime debuts of 2018 and was shortlisted for the prestigious international crime prize the Grand Prix de Littérature Policière. He lives and works in Glasgow. 

Jo Hesslewood.  Crime fiction has been my favourite reading material since as a teenager I first spotted Agatha Christie on the library bookshelves.  For twenty-five years the commute to and from London provided plenty of reading time.  I am fortunate to live in Cambridge, where my local crime fiction book club, Crimecrackers, meets at Heffers Bookshop .  I enjoy attending crime fiction events and currently organise events for the Margery Allingham Society. 

‘Threefold Death’ by Victoria Dowd

Published by Datura Books,
8 Sept 2026.
SBN: 978-1-91741522-4 (PB)

Threefold Death is the second in Victoria Dowd’s Charlotte Blood Chronicles set in 1930. Charlotte is hoping to earn herself a permanent position as an investigative journalist at the Daily Clarion. She gets a chance to prove her worth when she is invited, along with two other reporters from rival newspapers, to join a small team of archaeologists hoping to discover the tomb they believe to be that of the warrior Queen Boudica who led the Celtic tribes against the invading Roman Legions. The party also includes Lord Elverage, who is financing the expedition, his wife and his nar do well son. 

The 2,000 year old tomb lies in an isolated spot deep in a corner of the Norfolk marshes. When the entrance is broken into they discover not only the ancient remains in the centre of the chamber but also a fresh corpse hanging upside down against the back wall.  Not only had the young woman been hanged, but she had also been stabbed and her face submerged in a pool of water below, her long red hair fanning out into the water. 

Is this grisly threefold death, by hanging, stabbing and drowning, the result of some curse or part of an obscure Druid sacrificial ceremony?   

Fierce storms begin to rage and rough seas make it impossible to escape from the marshy island. More deaths follow. The murderer has to be one of their party. Charlotte must weigh up the possibility that any further investigation on her part will make her their next target. 

There is a distinct gothic atmosphere to this whodunnit which has all the hallmarks of the locked-room mystery of the Golden Age. How did the murderer manage to conceal a dead body in a grave that has been untouched for over two thousand years? In addition, the party is trapped until the storm abates and they can be rescued. 

The fast-moving plot will keep readers turning the pages, puzzling over the red herrings as they try to identify the culprit. However, one of the greatest pleasures for me reading Victoria Dowd’s novels is her wonderfully drawn characters. One of my favourites is the outspoken Mrs C, Charlotte’s forthright landlady who is fiercely loyal to Charlotte. There is obviously far more to be revealed about Mrs C and her wartime experiences working with Archie Blood, Charlotte’s deceased husband, in the next book in this series which I hope I won’t have to wait too long to discover.
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Reviewer: Judith Cranswick   

Victoria Dowd was born and raised in Yorkshire and after studying at Cambridge, went on to be a successful criminal law barrister for many years.  Victoria’s debut crime novel, The Smart Woman’s Guide to Murder (published by Joffe Books) is the first part of a dark, humorous crime series that is a modern take on the Golden Age of crime fiction and authors such Agatha Christie, Ngaio Marsh and Josephine Tey. She is an award-winning short story writer, winning the Gothic Fiction prize for short fiction 2019 by Go Gothic. Victoria has had short stories published in BTS Literary and Arts Annual, Gold Dust magazine and also by Stairwell books in their literary and arts journal Dream Catcher. Her work has also been selected for publication in an anthology entitled A Ghostly Challenge. She speaks at various literary festivals, most recently in Bath, and at various schools and book groups.

https://victoriadowd.com/  

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/ 

‘Murder in the Wings’ by Amy Myers

Published by Severn House,
7 July 2026.
ISBN: 978-1-4483-1762-2 (HB)

Cara Shelley runs the Happy Huffkin Café, which is situated in the grounds of Tanton Towers, a large stately home owned by Max and Alison Farran Pryde. Like so many historic houses, Tanton Towers is open to the public in order to help with the vast expense of maintaining it and Cara’s café caters for the visitors, as well as helping provide for special events. Cara has become very close to Max and Alison and is always eager to help them. In the recent past there have been violent deaths connected to Tanton Towers, which Cara played an important part in solving. This has earned her the reputation of being a local ‘Sherlock’. It has also resulted in the development of her relationship with Detective Superintendent Andrew Mitchem who has recently moved into Cara’s cottage with her, and she is now happier than she has been for years.

One of the money-making endeavours at Tanton Towers is their new open air theatre and the first performance is Shakespeare’s As You Like It, performed by a rather eccentric local theatre company, the Merriday Players. The main performers in the company are all descended from Edward Merriday, a famous Edwardian actor-manager, his first wife, Rose, and his second wife, Miriam. Even a hundred years after the deaths of Edward Merriday and his two wives, the strange mix of heritage and talents causes tension within the company, with conflicting rumours claiming that either Rose had attempted to poison Miriam, or that Miriam had tried to poison Rose. Hannah, the company’s director, is a descendant of the second wife, Miriam, and casts Rose as the villain of the story. She vigorously declares her belief in Miriam’s talent and the love she claims Edward and Miriam shared. She is supported by her cousin, Eileen, a quiet, meek woman, who does not perform but serves as the play’s prompter. The younger actors include handsome, charismatic Jack, who is an excellent and ambitious actor; Tricia, who is beautiful, talented and ambitious, and is in a relationship with Jack; Dan is quiet and reliable, a good actor who would prefer to be a director; Mia is self-contained and composed and wishes to be a writer. The most flamboyant and eccentric of the actors is Matthew, who is known as the Golden Guy because, whatever role he is playing, he insists upon wearing a golden robe. 

Max is very negative about the arrival of the Merriday Players and Cara does her best to support Alison. Cast members keep turning up at the Happy Huffkin for coffee, food and meetings, and Cara is one of the two caterers who are providing refreshments for the two performances. To Cara’s horror, at the end of the first successful performance of As You Like It, Hannah is poisoned on stage while toasting Edward and her ancestor Miriam. 

Cara is horrified because she likes all of the suspects. Andrew is away from home investigating another case and when Cara meets the investigating detective, Detective Inspector Charmers, she dislikes and distrusts him and thinks that, far from being charming, he resembles a weasel. When the detective focuses his attention on people that Cara cares about, she is determined to discover the truth. Andrew returns and strongly objects to Cara’s involvement in the case, which he feels could involve a conflict of interest between his personal and professional lives. Cara continues to investigate, even though her determination to discover the murderer threatens to endanger both her relationship with the man she loves and her own life. 

Murder in the Wings is the third book in the British Stately Home mysteries, with a determined but vulnerable protagonist in Cara Shelley, and features a lively cast of eccentric characters. This is a gently paced mystery perfect for fans of cosy crime.
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Reviewer: Carol Westron 

Amy Myers was born in Kent, where she still lives. For many years she worked as a director in a London publishing firm, before realising her dream to become a writer. Her first series featured detective, August Didier, a half French, half English master chef in late Victorian and Edwardian times. She also wrote a series with her American husband James Myers featuring Jack Colby, car detective, there are 8 books in the series. She also writes a series set post WW1, featuring chef-sleuth Nell Drury. There are three books in this series.  She has also written nine books featuring Marsh and Daughter, and in between a series about a Victorian chimney sweep Tom Wasp. Her most recent series is The British Stately Home Mystery series. There are two books in this series. Amy also writes historical novels and suspense under the name Harriet Hudson. 

http://www.amymyers.net/  

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. Her most recent books is The Apples of Sodom. 

 www.carolwestron.com 

‘The Spy and the Snake’ by M. J. Robotham.

Published by Head of Zeus,
9 July 2026.
ISBN: 978-1-0359219-7  (HB)

Maggie Flynn has been a spy with MI5 for a few years and so is pleased to have had her contribution and skills acknowledged with an assignment abroad.  She is not so sure about it when she hears the details but sets out for Budapest where she is to pose as the wife of a notorious British defector (and MI6 agent), make contact with him and smuggle him back to the UK.  It is made clear that the onus is on her alone to organise and carry this out in a few days. 

On arriving in Budapest Maggie is immediately entranced by the city, the cakes, the coffee and also the people.  However, she is somewhat dismayed by her first sight of the defector, Fitzroy Carver, who is physically very large and, as she discovers, frequently very drunk.  Maggie makes contact with his carer, Lida, who seems to understand him and, having reviewed her own situation, Maggie decides that she has to take some risks.  Zoltan, who has been giving her breakfast and advice, proves to be a firm support and, with Lida and Zoltan’s brother, plans are swiftly made to get Fitzroy out of the country. 

The chief component of the plan is a beaten-up campervan nicknamed Rita which, it is hoped, will carry all three across a few borders without attracting attention.  As work on Rita proceeds, Maggie continues to get to know Budapest and meets another English person, Tom Bredon, who seems to be very pleasant - but Maggie has her suspicions. 

In the space of a few days, she has done well to organise her exit strategy, but she is made aware of the danger she is in when she is picked up and questioned by the local secret service.  Her release suggests that Tom Bredon is not what she thought him to be.  However, the plan must be followed and, after a somewhat rocky beginning she, Lida and Carver, ably assisted by the campervan, undertake the difficult journey. 

The story is set in late 1960’s London and Hungary – the Swinging Sixties and the Cold War.  The author creates the atmosphere of underlying tension and hope, lets Budapest play its own part in the story, and creates some lively and attractive characters.   The gentle humour and the sense of friendships built in difficult circumstances adds to the picture.  Maggie’s determination to succeed provides some nail-biting incidents and is rewarded with some well-earned bits of luck for her and for other people she meets on her assignment.  

This is the second book in the Maggie Flynn series. It’s not necessary to have read the first book but it might, at some point, be interesting to know how she got into the arcane world of espionage.  She has proved herself to be quick-witted, brave and resourceful, and it will be interesting to see how her character is allowed to develop as she learns more about the complex world of espionage and its devious inhabitants.
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Reviewer: Jo Hesslewood
Other books by this author:  in this series:  Mrs Spy; The Scandalous Life of Ruby Devereaux (General Fiction). 

M. J. Robotham is a former journalist and midwife. Her first novel, The Spy, was published in 2018. The Scandalous Life of Ruby Devereaux (General fiction) was published by Aria in 2024. Her latest book is The Spy and the Snake, published 9 July 2026. 

Jo Hesslewood.  Crime fiction has been my favourite reading material since as a teenager I first spotted Agatha Christie on the library bookshelves.  For twenty-five years the commute to and from London provided plenty of reading time.  I am fortunate to live in Cambridge, where my local crime fiction book club, Crimecrackers, meets at Heffers Bookshop .  I enjoy attending crime fiction events and currently organise events for the Margery Allingham Society.

‘The Imposter’ by Sophie McKenzie

Published by Canelo,
2 April 2026.  
ISBN: 978-1-83598-032-3 (PB)

The unexpected guest at a party is always a good place for a mystery to start, and Mia's arrival on the scene is certainly unexpected. The Carson family are having a dinner to commemorate the birthday of their late paterfamilias, Nathaniel, when who should arrive but a young woman who claims to be his illegitimate daughter. Under the terms of Nathaniel's will, if her claim is valid, she would be entitled to an equal share of his considerable fortune, along with four of his legitimate offspring. Suspicions, and hackles, are immediately raised. 

Zane, the eldest, refuses to believe Mia is who she claims. Rae, next in line, is dubious. Tommy, the youngest, says very little. Only Cassie, the narrator, is willing to accept that she may be everything she says. DNA evidence seems to prove Cassie right, but Zane remains adamant. 

But as Cassie probes more deeply into Mia's past, and her motives, her own suspicions grow. Other family members are harbouring secrets, and Nathaniel had a few of his own. Skeletons tumble from cupboards at an alarming rate; everyone's a suspect, and a final cliff-top denouement that will have your heart in your mouth. 

If there's one thing Sophie McKenzie is an expert on, it's how to keep up a cracking pace. That's not the only example of her skill; she also knows how to create a twist and turn on almost every page, until the poor reader doesn't know who to trust. Her characters have that scratch-them-and-they-bleed quality which makes you love them, hate them and suspect them to the bitter end – and it does get pretty bitter for just about everyone. Zane is domineering and self-centred yet with vulnerable spots. Rae is brittle but has a softer side. Tommy is the epitome of the spoiled, selfish youngest son, but still manages to be likeable. Cassie tries to be the sensible one, but even she has her insecurities. And Mia, sweet, accommodating Mia, seems a little too good to be true. Is she who she claims to be, or is she just playing a part? 

This is a psychological thriller packed with the kind of misdirection that will keep you guessing right to the last few pages, even though the clues are there all along, buried just deep enough to fool the most experienced crime fiction reader. I challenge you to put it down before you've unearthed the truth. 
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 Reviewer: Lynne Patrick 

Sophie McKenzie is the award-winning author of a range of teen thrillers, including the Missing series (Girl, Missing, Sister, Missing and Missing Me), Blood Ties and Blood Ransom and the Medusa Project series. She has also written two romance series: the Luke and Eve books and the Flynn series, which starts with the novel Falling Fast. Split Second is her first teen stand-alone novel in seven years. Sophie's first novel for adults is the psychological thriller Close My Eyes. 

www.sophiemckenziebooks.com
And here: facebook.com/sophiemckenzieauthor
Twitter: @sophiemckenzie 

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.

‘From the Shadows’ by G.R. Halliday

Published by Point Blank,
2 July 2026.
ISBN: 978-1-83643288-3 (PB)

The Scottish Highlands, and in Inverness two young men are missing: Robert and Nichol. Then DI Monica Kennedy’s called to an unpleasant crime scene … 

This is Scottish Noir at its bleakest. Forget Inverness as the city of tartan and Nessie models: this is an Inverness whose darker areas rival the bleakest bits of Edinburgh or Liverpool, and whose brooding, misty hills cover dark secrets.

DI Monica Kennedy is a sympathetic figure: a single mother who only manages her young daughter, Lucy, and the demands of police work with the help of her down-to-earth mother. She’s very tall and has difficulty keeping her patience with her two subordinates, brash red-haired Crawford and pliable tech-wizard Fisher. She’s a local girl, and we gradually discover that her past includes links to Charlie Bartle, chief hard man of Rapinch, the housing estate the police would rather avoid. 

The story is told in the third person throughout. It begins with sixteen-year-old Robert, who’s been receiving strange messages from his mum. She left him and his dad six weeks ago. He succumbs to a drug in the hot chocolate he thinks his dad left him. The next chapter follows Monica’s investigation of a body dumped on a remote moor. The second main strand in the story follows social worker Michael Bach, who’s concerned about seventeen-year-old Nichol, who’s been sending him strange messages asking for a meeting, but doesn’t turn up. The two investigations continue in parallel. The third focus is on a man named only as ‘the Watcher’, and this is a stream-of-consciousness taking us into the mind of the killer. The chapters are short and move cleverly from one event to the next so that you want to keep reading. I did find bits of the book difficult, as we were brought to sympathise with each young person as they were drugged – great suspense, but upsetting. 

A fast-paced, convincing PI with sympathetic protagonists, clever plotting and a vividly described Highland backdrop.
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Reviewer: Marsali Taylor

G.R. Halliday was born in Edinburgh and grew up near Stirling in Scotland. He spent his childhood obsessing over his father's work as a paranormal investigator, which has been a major inspiration for his writing. He now lives in the rural highlands outside Inverness, where he is able to pursue his favourite pastimes of mountain climbing and swimming in the sea.

Marsali Taylor grew up near Edinburgh and came to Shetland as a newly-qualified teacher. She is currently a part-time teacher on Shetland's scenic west side, living with her husband and two Shetland ponies. Marsali is a qualified STGA tourist-guide who is fascinated by history, and has published plays in Shetland's distinctive dialect, as well as a history of women's suffrage in Shetland. She's also a keen sailor who enjoys exploring in her own 8m yacht, and an active member of her local drama group.  

Click on the title to read a review of her recent book
Death in a Shetland Family
www.marsalitaylor.co.uk 

‘Death at the Village Garden Party’ by Debbie Young

Published by Boldwood Books,
31 July 2026.
ISBN: 978-183518592-6 (HB)

Two years ago Alice Carroll’s life had been at a low point: her partner of over twenty years had left her in order to travel and ‘find himself’, then she was made redundant from her job at a local museum. In search of a new start, Alice moved to the Cotswold village of Little Pride and bought a curiosity shop from its elderly owner who wished to retire. After a shaky start, both Alice and the shop have become popular in the village and she has made lots of friends, also she has started a relationship with a local millionaire, Robert Praed. Most extraordinary of all, Alice has shown a remarkable talent for investigation and has successfully solved several murders. 

Alice is still not completely accustomed to Robert’s great wealth and she is shocked when he tells her that he has purchased the house and estate of the late Duke of Bunbury, the last in a long aristocratic line who had led a dissipated life and died without issue. The estate is situated near the isolated and rural village of Cold Bottom and all of the villagers were tenants and employees of the late duke. Robert plans to open the house as a conference and wellness centre and intends to retain the status quo regarding the inhabitants of Cold Bottom, allowing them to retain their homes and jobs. 

 One of the ways in which Robert hopes to smooth the transition for the villagers is to reinstate the annual fair, which has been a tradition for generations, although the last duke had allowed it to lapse. Alice admires Robert’s determination to make bonds with his new tenants but everything she has heard about Cold Bottom makes her feel uneasy because, on her first visit to the village, she was threatened by the late Duke’s gamekeeper who pointed a gun at her. Her doubts increase when Robert asks Alice to deliver some flyers to the villagers to advertise the fair. She is accompanied by her friend Danny and they find the whole village deserted, apart from one aggressive old man who throws a chamber pot at them from the first floor window and subjects Danny to racial abuse.

This confirms Alice’s instinctive feeling that the villagers of Cold Bottom are hostile and the atmosphere there is sinister. Despite Alice’s misgivings, the fair goes well, even though most of the villagers take advantage of Robert’s generosity to drink far too much. When the fair is over and most of the people from the surrounding villages have left, Robert, Alice, Danny and Danny’s partner, Jack, are waiting in a marquee for the villagers to come and listen to a presentation about Robert’s plans for the estate. Only one villager turns up and before he enters the marquee, he is killed, shot in the back by a bolt from a crossbow. Afraid that they might become suspects, Alice and her friends start to investigate, but soon Alice receives threats, which warn her to stop probing before she too becomes a victim.

Death at the Village Garden Party is the fourth book featuring Alice Carroll and the other residents of Little Pride. It is a gently paced murder mystery with engaging and eccentric characters, perfect for those who enjoy a traditional cosy crime series.
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Reviewer: Carol Westron 

Debbie Young was born and raised in Sidcup, Kent. When she was 14, her family relocated to Germany for her father’s job. Debbie spent four years at Frankfurt International School, broadening her outlook as well as gaining the then brand new IB (International Baccalaureate). She returned to the UK to earn her BA (Hons) in English and Related Literature at the University of York, then lived and worked for a while in London and the West of England as a journalist and PR consultant.  In 1991 she moved to the Cotswolds. In 2002, she married a Scot named Gordon whom she met in Swindon – and not, as village rumour once had it, a Swede named Scottie.  She has written four series. Her most recent one is Cotswold Curiosity Shop Mysteries. Death at the Village Christmas Fair, is the fifth book in this series.
 

https://authordebbieyoung.com  

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. Her most recent book is The Apples of Sodom.

www.carolwestron.com 

Whitby Lit Fest Announce Hugh Bonneville as Surprise Headline Guest

Tickets now on sale for four-day festival featuring John Boyne, Ann Cleeves, Joanne Harris, Si King, Greta Scacchi, Corinne Bailey Rae and more. 

Whitby Lit Fest has announced a major last-minute addition to its 2026 line-up, with Downton Abbey and Paddington star Hugh Bonneville joining the festival as a headline guest. 

Tickets go on sale for this year’s festival today [31 August] available on the Whitby Lit Fest official website. 

The festival, which takes place across Whitby, runs from Thursday 19 to Sunday 22 November. 

One of Britain’s best-loved actors, Bonneville is known to millions as Robert Crawley, Earl of Grantham in Downton Abbey, and as Mr Brown in the hugely successful Paddington films. 

But in Whitby he will be appearing in another role –bestselling children’s author – as he introduces his latest book, Rory Sparkes and the Spy Who Loved Tea. 

Bonneville will take to the stage at the Whitby Pavilion at 1pm on Saturday 21 November for a special family event packed with storytelling, spies, secret codes and some extremely suspicious cups of tea. 

His latest adventure follows unlikely young hero Rory Sparkes, who discovers a series of secret coded messages hidden inside a neighbour’s recipe book and becomes convinced a mysterious family is involved in a covert conspiracy. 

Things become stranger still when Rory’s mum, teachers and seemingly every adult around him develop an obsession with a particularly unpleasant new brand of tea. Could Rory finally have uncovered a genuine spy plot? 

Illustrated by Loretta Schauer, the book combines mystery, mischief and humour and is aimed at readers aged seven to 11. 

Bonneville will talk about creating Rory’s world, bring the story to life and take questions from young audience members and their families. 

His addition provides another major name in an already packed Whitby Lit Fest programme spanning crime, fiction, history, poetry, politics, food, film, children’s literature and the stories of the Yorkshire coast. 

Among this year’s headline guests are John Boyne, author of the international phenomenon The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas with his new novel, The Weight of Angels; Number One Sunday Times bestseller Ann Cleeves, marking 40 years in print and the publication of her 40th novel; Chocolat author Joanne Harris; Hairy Biker Si King; bestselling crime writers Elly Griffiths and Mark Billingham, and internationally acclaimed actor Greta Scacchi. 

The festival will also welcome Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter Corinne Bailey Rae for a special family event celebrating her picture book Put Your Records On, inspired by her much-loved hit song. 

Other guests across the four days include Peter Oborne, Ch 4’s Chief Correspondent Alex Thomson, Louise Minchin, Lucinda Hawksley, Sally Coulthard, Jess Kidd, Laura Purcell, Andrew Lownie, Alistair Moffat, Sian Williams, Nicky Hambleton-Jones, Zaffar Kunial and many more. 

Events will take place at venues across the town, including Whitby Pavilion, Eighteen91, Flowergate Hall, Whitby Museum, Whitby Library, the Coliseum and the Jet Black Jewel. 

Lois Kirtlan, chair of Whitby Lit Fest, said: “We were already incredibly proud of the programme we had assembled for Whitby this November, so to be able to announce Hugh Bonneville as a surprise addition just as tickets go on sale is fantastic. 

“Hugh is loved by audiences of all ages, from Downton Abbey to Paddington, and we think families are going to have enormous fun discovering another side to him as the creator of Rory Sparkes. 

“The whole programme reflects what we want Whitby Lit Fest to be – big-name writers alongside exciting new voices, events inspired by Whitby and the Yorkshire coast, and everything from crime and history to politics, poetry, food, film and children’s books. 

“We would encourage people to take a look at the full programme and book early, particularly for some of our headline events and smaller-capacity venues.” 

Whitby Lit Fest opens on Thursday 19 November, with bestselling author Jess Kidd launching proceedings with a suitably seaside-themed mystery, before four days of conversations, performances, workshops, family events and literary encounters. 

Hugh Bonneville is at Whitby Pavilions (Northern Lights Suite) on Saturday 21 November, 1pm. Tickets £11 (adults) and £5 (children). 

For the full programme and booking information, visit the Whitby Lit Fest website.

Whitby Lit Fest - Inspired by and Celebrating Whitby