‘Blackstone Fell’ by Martin Edwards

Published by Head of Zeus,
1 September 2022.
ISBN: 978-1-80110020-5

The story is set in 1930 and opens in Blackstone Fell, a remote village in rural Yorkshire, not far distant from the wild and threatening countryside immortalised by Emily Bronte in Wuthering Heights. Nell Fagan is a journalist who is determined to retrieve her career, which stalled after she made a disastrous error and lost her position on a London newspaper. Now Nell is using a false name and chasing a new story, stubbornly staying on track, even though she feels menaced by her surroundings in a way that she has never felt in the roughest and most vicious parts of London. Posing as a photographer, Nell attempts, with indifferent success, to get on friendly terms with the inhabitants of Blackstone Fell. These include the hell fire vicar and his young, terrified wife; the genial young doctor who gallivants about the district in his fast car; the retired major who is still mourning his late wife; the elderly doctor of psychology and his son and daughter who run a sanatorium for people with mental health problems; and the curmudgeonly recluse who lives in the ancient tower that is such a scar on the landscape and evades all Nell’s attempts to talk to him.

Nell is nearly killed by a falling boulder, and it becomes evident that her disguise has been penetrated. Nell is a stubborn, abrasive personality but she has to admit, if only to herself, that she needs help. She heads back to London to ask her fellow journalist, Jacob Flint, to attempt to persuade his friend, Rachel Savernake, to listen to her story and consider assisting her. Rachel is a wealthy, beautiful, highly intelligent and reclusive young woman who is fascinated by murder, the more bizarre and complex the better. Unfortunately, some time ago, Nell had lost Rachel’s goodwill when she lied to her. However, Nell has a tempting bargaining chip to gain Jacob’s cooperation, she offers him a way in which he can attend a seance by an elusive medium that his editor is determined to unmask as a fraud.

Jacob brokers the meeting between Nell and Rachel, during which Nell tries to interest Rachel in the investigation by telling her about two mysterious disappearances that occurred in Blackstone Fell, three hundred years apart. However, it soon becomes clear that Nell is investigating a far more recent and potentially dangerous murder. Rachel is intrigued by the case Nell outlines but the journalist makes the unforgivable error of again lying to Rachel, claiming to have told Rachel everything she knows, but holding back an essential piece of information. Rachel’s analytical instincts tell her that Nell is being less than forthcoming, which angers her, and she refuses to help.  Despite being warned of the risks any rash action will probably provoke, Nell returns to Yorkshire alone, but, as Nell intended, Rachel is intrigued by her story and she and her small and trusted team of helpers also head for Blackstone Fell.

In the meantime, Jacob’s incognito meeting with the medium ends in disaster when the medium outwits him and threatens to destroy his entire career. Luckily for him, Rachel’s incisive mind suggests a way forward by which he may retrieve the situation. By the time Rachel arrives at Blackstone Fell, Nell has disappeared. Now Rachel and her friends have the task of discovering Nell’s fate, as well as continuing to investigate the deaths that had aroused Nell’s suspicions and the unexplained disappearances of so many years ago. Rachel is convinced that the investigations are linked and is determined to move them forward, however dangerous it may prove to be.

Blackstone Fell is the third book featuring Rachel Savernake and her companions. This is a fascinating novel, with an enigmatic protagonist and a complex, intriguing plot. Rachel is an intriguing character, incredibly clever and cold-blooded and ruthless to everybody but the few people she cares about. The books have the authenticity of the author’s detailed knowledge of the period, plus a darkly clever plot, set in a sinister, brooding landscape. Blackstone Fell is a page turner which I wholeheartedly recommend.
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Reviewer: Carol Westron

Martin Edwards was born 7 July 1955 at Knutsford, Cheshire and educated in Northwich and at Balliol College, Oxford University, taking a first-class honours degree in law. He trained as a solicitor in Leeds and moved to Liverpool on qualifying in 1980. He published his first legal article at the age of 25 and his first book, about legal aspects of buying a business computer at 27, before spending just over 30 years as a partner of a law firm, where he is now a consultant. He is married to Helena with two children (Jonathan and Catherine) and lives in Lymm. He is a member of the Murder Squad a collective of crime writers.  In 2007 he was appointed the Archivist of the Crime Writers Association and in 2011 he was appointed the Archivist of the Detection Club. He is a former chair of the Crime Writers’ Association and since 2015, he has been President of the Detection Club. Martin writes three series. He has also edited forty-two anthologies.

 www.martinedwards.com.         
www.doyouwriteunderyourownname.blogspot.com

Carol Westron is a successful author and a Creative Writing teacher.  Her crime novels are set both in contemporary and Victorian times.  Her first book The Terminal Velocity of Cats was published in 2013. Since then, she has since written 6 further mysteries. Carol recently gave an interview to Mystery People. To read the interview click on the link below. 

https://promotingcrime.blogspot.co.uk/2017/11/carol-westron.html www.carolwestron.com
http://carolwestron.blogspot.co.uk/
To read a review of Carol latest book click on the title
The Curse of the Concrete Griffin 

‘One Fatal Secret’ by Jane Isaac

Published by Canelo,
16 June 2022.
ISBN: 978-1-80032404-6 (PB)

Nicole and Ethan are happily married with two children, Katie and Finlay. They have a good lifestyle thanks to the Harrisons, Ethan’s employers, who are also good friends.

Then the news one day comes in, of the Company’s plane coming down in the channel, with Ethan aboard. The pilot Conrad was a friend and very good at his job. There seems to be no survivors.

Evidence then comes to light suggesting Conrad took sleeping pills just before the flight. His widow, Ania, is positive that he would never have taken any kind of drug and then piloted a plane.

Both Nicole and Ania are left with two young children whose lives are shattered at losing their father.  It’s not long before Nicole finds out that she really knew very little about Ethan’s work and who he was actually involved with.

The two women decide to get together and try to uncover more about their husbands and what they were up to. The more they discover about them and their work, the more they realise how little they actually knew about the men they were married to and the people who employed them. Was the plane crash really an accident or could there have been more to it?

Both Nicole and Ania then notice people watching their homes, or are they being paranoid? To add to the mystery, Nicole starts receiving strange messages on Instagram. Then she finds a note to Ethan from a “Mags” ending with a kiss. Who is she? Her world is turned upside down, especially when Ania’s car is driven off the road. The police are sure it is just an ordinary road accident, but Nicole is not convinced. She is now more resolved than ever to find out what really happened on that fatal flight.

A thoroughly absorbing thriller which grips the reader right from the very beginning and leads to an extremely satisfying ending. I cannot recommend this book highly enough.
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Reviewer: Tricia Chappell

Jane Isaac lives with her husband, daughter and dog, Bollo, in rural Northamptonshire, UK. Her debut novel, An Unfamiliar Murder, was nominated as best mystery in the 'eFestival of Words Best of the Independent eBook awards 2013.' The Truth Will Out was nominated as 'Thriller of the Month - April 2014' by E-thriller.com and winner of 'Noveltunity book club selection - May 2014'. Jane's latest title, A Deathly Silence is her latest book published by Legend Press on the 15 October 2019. Jane loves to hear from readers and writers. Visit her website at.

www.janeisaac.co.uk

Tricia Chappell. I have a great love of books and reading, especially crime and thrillers. I play the occasional game of golf (when I am not reading). My great love is cruising especially to far flung places, when there are long days at sea for plenty more reading! I am really enjoying reviewing books and have found lots of great new authors. 

‘The Drowned Man’ by David Whellams

Published by ECW Press,
16 May 2013.
ISBN: 978-1-77041148-7 (HB)

 Chief Inspector Peter Cammon is called out of retirement to travel to Canada to retrieve the body of a murdered colleague. He takes the assignment reluctantly but then gets involved in investigating the crime. He is an experienced policeman with a wealth of helpful colleagues and relations so the investigation develops rapidly in the UK, Canada and the USA.

The murder was an example of overkill - the man was brutally attacked, run over and dumped in a canal yet the probable cause for his death was relatively trifling. He was concerned with the purchase of three letters from the US Civil War which involved John Wilkes Booth, who was eventually the assassin of Lincoln. The story is a fascinating one as Peter copes with diplomatic personnel and University lecturers, searches for the beautiful Alice Nahri and returns home at intervals to take his dog Jasper for walks. The background of the letters and their significance today - particularly in Quebec - is fully developed. The complications of the investigation over three countries are eventually unraveled by the inspector but not without thrills on the way.
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Reviewer; Jennifer Palmer
This is the second book about Chief Inspector Peter Cammon, the first is Walking into the Ocean.

David Whellams spent 30 years working in criminal law and amending the Criminal Code in such areas as dangerous offenders and terrorism. Walking Into the Ocean was the first book in the series. He lives in Ottawa, Ontario.

2023 CWA Debut Dagger Competition Opens for Entries

The most hotly contended competition for would-be crime novelists is now open for entries.

Aspiring crime novelists have until the end of February 2023 to enter the Crime Writers’ Association (CWA) Debut Dagger, renowned for opening doors for new writers.

Shortlisted authors often get representation by literary agents, with some going on to achieve publication deals.

The competition for the best new voices in the genre has been going for over 20 years and helped launch the careers of established crime writers, including M W Craven, who entered in 2013.

Craven went on to win the CWA 2019 Gold Dagger for Best Crime Novel of the Year for The Puppet Show, and more recently the
2022 Ian Fleming Steel Dagger for Dead Ground.

M W Craven said that, “The CWA Debut Dagger competition gave me a career. I can draw a direct evolutionary line from being shortlisted to the two-book deal I signed.”

The decision to take a week off work and write 3000 words for the competition he said, “would go on to change my life.”

Created in 1955, the CWA Daggers are the oldest and most regarded awards in the genre, and for over two decades the CWA has been encouraging new writing with its Debut Dagger competition for unpublished writers.

The Debut Dagger is awarded every year by the CWA for the opening of a crime novel and a synopsis. Budding authors are invited to submit the opening 3,000 words and a synopsis of the full novel of up to 1,500 words before the competition deadline of Tuesday 28 February, 2023.

Maxim Jakubowski, Chair of the CWA, said: “The winner of the Debut Dagger receives £500, but the main motivation to enter is that shortlisting ensures that your work will be brought to the attention of leading agents and top editors, who have to date signed up over two dozen winners and shortlisted Debut Dagger competitors.”

Submissions are judged using a range of criteria including quality of prose, originality of plot, execution of plot, narrative voice, plausibility, characterisation, setting evocation, and good read factor.

From the hundreds of entries from around the world, around a dozen will be longlisted in April 2023. Longlisted authors are asked to submit a further 3,000 words from their novel. The shortlist is announced at CrimeFest in May 2023, and the winner at the Daggers event held in early July.

Judges comprise top crime fiction editors and literary agents, as well as bestselling author, Leigh Russell, who chairs the Debut Dagger competition.

The competition is only open to writers who have never had a publishing contract for fiction over 20,000 words, or self-published fiction more recently than February 2018. Authors of published short stories are eligible, as are authors of published non-fiction.

Also now open for entries is the annual CWA Margery Allingham Short Mystery Competition. Entrants have until Tuesday 28 February 2023 to enter.

The Margery Allingham Society, set up to honour and promote the writings of the great Golden Age author, works with the CWA to run the writing competition. Submissions have a limit of 3,500 words and stories must pay homage to the author’s definition of a mystery. The winner is awarded £500 and two passes to CrimeFest the following year.

Dea Parkin, Secretary of the CWA and competitions co-ordinator, said: “Crime continues to dominate as a fiction genre, and whether it’s celebrity authors such as Richard Osman or established, much-loved writers such as Elly Griffiths who make the headlines, crime and mystery stories are a key touchstone now for publishers. This short story competition is a fantastic way of developing your crime-writing craft and raising your profile.”

Whether you’re writing suspenseful psychological noir, historical crime or traditional whodunnits, the trend has resulted in hit books in the genre from authors such as Nicola Upson, Martin Edwards and Vaseem Khan.

Dea added: “These stories provide familiarity and comfort in an uncertain world as they offer clues, great characters and locations, with the mystery solved in the end and justice served.”

For writing tips, case studies of shortlisted and winning Debut Dagger entrants, and full details on how to enter both writing competitions, go to
 https://thecwa.co.uk/awards-and-competitions.
To receive a regular enewsletter in the run-up to the deadline, join the Debuts
https://thecwa.co.uk/supporting-crime-writing/join-the-debuts