‘The Surgeon’s House’ by Jody Cooksley

Published by Allison & Busby,
22 May 2025.
ISBN: 978-0-74903172-5 (HB)

Woe betide a woman who behaved in any way contrary to her ordained role in late 19^th century England. Ordained, of course, by men, who could behave as they liked, and convinced themselves that women were the weaker sex in terms of intelligence as well as physical ability.

But Rebecca Harris has flouted convention and found a way to treat women as human beings deserving of respect, including, or especially, those who escape from abusive marriages, or, heaven forfend, give birth to a child outside holy wedlock. She has taken over Evergreen House, a place where unspeakable cruelty was inflicted on such women, and transformed it into a place of warmth, solace and above all refuge for both the women and their children.

Evil has been perpetrated in Evergreen House, but that is in the past – until Rose, the cook and housekeeper, loved by all the women, is brutally murdered. Suddenly everything Rebecca has built seems to be in danger of falling apart. The house’s income shrinks as orders dry up for the delicate baskets and wallpaper the women make. The uber-conventional overseers of the Charity Board, led by covetous Mr Lavell, threaten to send the children to a bleak orphanage and turn Evergreen House into one of the disciplinarian magdalen laundries to which most unmarried mothers are consigned. And then the body of Felicia, one of the young women, is found in the grounds. Who can be responsible for undermining Rebecca’s dream?

The background to this dark, almost Gothic mystery, and the world both in and outside Evergreen House, has all clearly been thoroughly researched. The unlit lanes and alleys; the slightly seedy taverns; the asylums for the insane, where money and influence buy favours; the deeply flawed medical research: all these are as powerfully realized as warm and welcoming Evergreen House itself. The characters are sharp and varied, ranging from lively, ambitious Sophia and her bright son Albie, to stern, supercilious Mr Lavell, and many more besides. Rebecca herself is a very human mix of determination and vulnerability, and her husband George has hidden depths.

Questions need to be answered. First and foremost, who murdered Rose and Felicia? Who is the mysterious Angela? Whose side will Dr Threlfall who works in the basement take? Finally, how will Rebecca ensure the survival of the haven she has created for pariahs of society? The Surgeon’s House is both tense murder mystery and a detailed illustration of a slice of history, and makes an excellent fist of both.   ~
------
Reviewer:  Lynne Patrick 

Jody Cooksley studied literature at Oxford Brookes University and has a Masters in Victorian Poetry. Her debut novel The Glass House is a fictional account of the life of nineteenth-century photographer, Julia Margaret Cameron. The Small Museum, Jody’s third novel, won the 2023 Caledonia Novel Award. Jody is originally from Norwich and now lives in Cranleigh.  

https://jrcbooks.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.

‘The Saint-Fiacre Affair’ by Georges Simenon

Published by Penguin Classics,
27 July 2025.
ISBN: 978-0-24178825-7 (PB)
Originally Published 1932.

Shaun Whiteside’s excellent and idiomatic translation of The Saint-Fiacre Affair has been newly republished. The novel is the thirteenth in the Maigret series and appeared originally in 1932 when Simenon was 29.

Maigret is visiting his home village in the centre of France for the first time since the death of his father because the police have received an anonymous message: ‘I wish to inform you that a crime will be committed at the church of Saint-Fiacre during first mass on All Souls’ Day.’ The mass appears to have passed without incident until the Countess of Saint-Fiacre is discovered dead in her pew at the end of the service. There are no signs of violence. Maigret is initially concerned that the countess’s missal has gone missing and he is eager to track it down. When he recovers it, Maigret discovers a note which is assumed to have hastened the death of the already ailing aristocrat.

The detective has a number of problems, one being whether a crime has actually been committed despite the countess’s demise. Another is that Maigret’s father had been the estate manager for the old count (now dead). Initially nobody seems to recognize Maigret, but gradually his connection to the village dawns on the inhabitants.

The young count has a mistress and financial problems; his mother had young lovers; the estate manager has his own problems; the local doctor and priest have their difficulties. Debts, greed, affairs, gigolos and jealousies are revealed. The story works its way to a gloomy and gripping dinner party at the chateau, presided over by the count with all possible suspects present. The count announces that the ‘murderer’ will die by midnight and claims that ‘we are carrying out a psychological experiment’. The tension builds, but Maigret takes a back seat:
 

Never in his career had Maigret felt so uneasy. And it was probably the first time that he had a very clear sense that he was not a match for the situation. Events were out of his control. Sometimes he thought he was starting to understand, and a moment later a phrase from Saint-Fiacre called everything into question again!  

One of the many qualities of Simenon is his ability to create atmosphere and character in a few lines. There is a constantly suffocating, nostalgic and yearning mood in the village. The cold and darkness of winter is relentless. Maigret is typically sparing with speech - he prefers to observe. The writing is quietly arresting (‘The bellringer had walked flat-footedly away, like a theatre director who doesn’t care to watch his play’). Simenon’s economy extends to the length of the novel: in barely 150 pages he creates a complete world (some contemporary writers could take note).

I haven’t read as many Maigret novels as I would like, given that Simenon wrote 75 of them. I don’t know if I shall ever get round to the rest of them, but The Saint-Fiacre Affair certainly encourages me to do so.
-------
Reviewer: David Whittle

Georges Simenon was born in Liège, Belgium in 1903 and died in 1989. At sixteen he began work as a journalist on the Gazette de Liège. He moved to Paris in 1922 and became a prolific writer of popular fiction, working under a number of pseudonyms. In 1931 he published the first of the novels featuring Maigret, his most famous and enduring creation. He wrote 75 books in the Maigret series.

 

David Whittle is firstly a musician (he is an organist and was Director of Music at Leicester Grammar School for over 30 years) but has always enjoyed crime fiction. This led him to write a biography of the composer Bruce Montgomery who is better known to lovers of crime fiction as Edmund Crispin, about whom he gives talks now and then. He is currently convenor of the East Midlands Chapter of the Crime Writers 

St Hilda’s Crime Fiction Weekend 8-10 August 2025 Detecting the Gothic.

 

Our Friday evening started with a 
Meet and Greet
which was held in the Jacqueline Du Pre Building. Hosted by Sarah Hilary in
conversation with Mick Heron.

Sarah invited Mick to tell us about Slough House and spy Jackson Lamb and Mick’s own dark imagination.

6.30 -7.15

We had pre-dinner fizz on Riverside Lawn
followed by dinner in the St Hilda’s Dining Room.
Our Guest Speaker was
Anna Mazzola,
Winner of the 2025 
CWA Gold Dagger
for Best Crime Novel of the Year.
The Book of Secrets.

9.20-10.50
Saturday
After a warm welcome from Sarah Hilary, our first speakers were 
Ruth Ware and Louise Welsh,chaired by Jane Casey.

Ruth Ware.  The title of Ruth’s talk in the programme is:
Something Nasty in the Woodshed: Fear and Anxiety in Gothic Fiction. 

That seem to hint at something malevolent and supernatural. And her brilliant talk  certainly contained something lurking around every corner that we should be looking out for.

Her debut book In a Dark, Dark Wood takes writer Leonora to the English countryside for a weekend break. But the supposedly fun-filled weekend takes a sinister turn. Her most recent book is The Woman in Suite 11. Beware of an all -expenses paid trip to a luxury Swiss chateau.

Louise Welsh. The title of her talk is
Lost in the City, Lost in the Woods.

She studied history at Glasgow university and worked as a dealer in second-hand, out-of-print and antiquarian books. Louise won the ILP John Creasey First Novel award  for The Cutting Room in 2002.  She has written two further books in this series, The Second Cut 2022) and  The Cut Up. (2026)But in all eleven books.  The most recent being To The Dogs.  The cover alone scares me.

And her following nine books all also delve into the murky darkness of the Gothic novel. 

11.20 - 12.50

The next panel was Catriona Ward

and Stuart Turton.

Chaired by Jake Kerridge

 The heading of Catriona’s talk was:

Reading With Our Bodies as a Physical Act
She was born in Washington DC and grew up in the US, Kenya, Madagascar, Yemen and Morocco. She now lives in London.  Her books are all classed as Horror.  Her latest one is Looking Glass Sound. A story of friendship,
betrayal, and dark obsessions. 

The heading of Stuart’s talk was intriguingly:
A Big Monkey did it and Ran away:  Why Gothic’ At Its Best When it Isn’t Poe Faced.

Stuart explores the daft edges of gothic crime fiction. Weird conclusions and the oddest characters. His latest book is The Last Murder at the End of the World.

3.00– 4.30

 The Last two sessions of the afternoon were

Olivia Isaac Henry
telling us that Folk Horror is having a revival.

Her most recent book is Hallows Hill A delicious gothic horror treat…...

And William Ryan on how
Photographs Can Shape Atmosphere,
Character and Plot.

5.00 - 6.30

Catherine Ryan Howard talked on serial killers who loom large in crime fiction possess almost supernatural powers, more gothic monster than flesh and blood man. Her most recent book is Burn After Reading, A book I read recently and can heartily recommend.

Stuart Neville. Beyond the Pale: Moving Past the Boundaries of Crime Fiction.

Using the original of the expression  ‘Beyond the Pale’ He looked at how writers often explore beyond the safe confines of crime genre conventions, He explored how the genre’s earliest practitioners, such as Edgar Allan Poe  often flirted with the supernatural and macabre, not drawing a line between one genre and the other.

His latest book, published 28 August 2025, is Blood Like Ours.

 7.20 - 8.00 pm
Drinks Reception and and informal book signing in the Jacqueline Du Pre Building.

8.15pm
The P.D. James Dinner in St Hilda’s College Hall 

It has become a tradition to celebrate the dinner with a special celebrity ‘Whodunnit’

Written by Philip Gooden.

I admit that I was laughing so much that I forgot to take photographs. Oh! Except for one. But he was well disguised,

 Photo left is Julie Luscombe and Lorraine Carpenter, the gap between them is my seat. 

           The highlight of the conference was the
Guest of Honour

Val McDermid

Val spoke on Reinventing the Gothic.

A past that never dies, the Janus face of duality and identity, dark and psychological instability, and excess…

 

She was as always, brilliant, funny and incredibly entertaining. I could listen to her for hours.

After she gave her presentation, she was interviewed by
Abir Mukherjee
(see photograph left)

Ambrose Parry are Chris Brookmyre and Marisa Haetzman

They introduced us to a macabre history of Edinburgh and the stealing of corpses. The casual way in which  graves were plundered and bodies stolen is fascinatingly gruesome.

The conference dates for next year are 
4-6 September 2026. 

'In English Please' by Gitta Edelmann,

Have you ever been to a bookshop in Germany, Austria or Switzerland? Did you notice the English section?

You might take it for granted – and so do we German-speaking people – that you can buy novels and non-fiction books in English abroad. In fact, a lot of us like to read in English, too, either to have the pleasure of the original writing or to keep up our language skills. Switching to another language also helps me to still enjoy relaxed reading while I am line-editing a German manuscript and see potential of improvement in almost every
sentence.

Moreover, in German, Austrian and Swiss bookshops you come upon loads and loads of books that have been translated – mainly from the English language.

It’s different the other way round. What about your local bookshop? How many translations from the German language can you find there, let alone books in German? How many novels have you read lately that were translated from another language?

Yes, I thought so. The book market in English-speaking countries is different from others.

Let’s have a look at some numbers: In 2023 almost 9,000 titles were translated into German, i.e. 14.5% of first editions. English was the most important language (59.1%). At the same time, around 6,500 licences for translation were sold by German publishers – mostly to China, the Czech Republic and Russia. The percentage of translations into English was vanishingly low, I could not even find a reliable number.

Some of my books have been translated – into Russian, Korean, Hungarian and Ukrainian. Still, the most desirable language for writers is English. The market is huge – who would not like to reach out to so many potential readers?

Being not only published but also translated into other languages is a big thing for authors, a dream that doesn’t come true easily. Publishers in English-speaking countries, most notably, do not seem too interested in literature from other languages.

Good translations that do not only convey the content but also the writer’s style are rather expensive. I know of writers that are testing a different way now. They have AI translate their books so that they can self-publish in

English. But to put it bluntly – AI translations are crap. When I translated some short stories from Scottish English to German, I compared an AI version to mine just for fun. It was not even halfway acceptable. Some sentences meant just the opposite and some were a garbled mess. So, I definitely can’t recommend AI for literary purposes.

But what can a writer do? Wait? Pray? Give up hope?

No, you should never give up hope, you might be lucky in a different way than you thought.

To cut a long story short: I was lucky. My German publisher decided to have my Scottish mystery series MacTavish & Scott – The Lady Detectives of Edinburgh translated into English!

Be Thrilled is the digital label of the German publisher Bastei Lübbe and they mainly publish ebook and audiobook series. They have also released a few mystery series in English (original) and German (translation) like Cherringham and Mydworth by Neil Richards and Matt Costello and Bunberry by Helena Marchmont (she’s actually Olga Wojtas).

I met Neil Richards and Matt Costello at the ten-year anniversary party of Cherringham. When we talked, Neil suggested to try it the other way round: pick my German series and translate it into English. I loved the idea, of course, and discussed it with my editor and the programme manager. Fortunately, my publisher is very open-minded and willing to try out new ideas. And my books sell quite well in German. So, in line with their other series set in Britain, MacTavish & Scott was finally chosen as a pilot project to hopefully fit in and conquer the English-speaking market.

What is the series about?

Young Scot Finola MacTavish has moved from the picturesque Isle of Skye to Edinburgh to work as a private detective in Anne Scott's agency. Along with computer whiz Lachie, the two lady detectives solve a series of baffling cases. Finola soon realises that she has a knack for investigation and shadowing people – preferably in disguise. What's more, she always has her granny's herbal medicine to hand, and the drops in question are much more than just a
headache remedy ...

Meanwhile six of my sixteen books in the cosy crime series have been translated and I have proof-read them to correct some misunderstandings and translation mistakes. From 1^st July on, they will be published one by one as e-books and later also as audiobooks. By now, an English narrator has been found, and I look forward to listening to her voice reading my stories.

As you can imagine, I am very happy. I see my writing in the British mystery tradition, not only by choosing Scotland as the setting (I was lucky enough to live a few years in Edinburgh and spend many holidays in the places I now use as background for my series) but also in the way I develop my characters (in my head they speak English, anyway) and their cases. By the way, you will not always find a murder to solve in these books, I like to commit other crimes, too, like extortion, theft, fraud, stalking … But every now and then, there is a dead body – you just never know when or how.

You are curious how it all worked out? Then you might like a look at The Missing Gardener and read about the first cases for the wee detective agency in Albert Terrace in Edinburgh Morningside. And yes, I do know this street well – that’s where I lived with my family.

I would love to hear from you what you think about translations in general and MacTavish & Scott in particular, so feel free to contact me: gitta-edelmann (at) email.de

And always have fun reading!

 Gitta Edelmann is an author of mysteries for adults and children. She also writes romance, historical fiction and fantasy and occasionally 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 Group.

(Portrait Gitta Edelmann by Christa Henke)

www.gitta-edelmann.de     

Sykehouse International Film and Writers Conference. Report by Jared Cade

Recently, I had the pleasure of attending the Sykehouse International Film and Writers Conference which took place on Friday 27 and Saturday 28 June at Owston Hall Hotel, a privately owned historic country house hotel and golf course near Doncaster in south Yorkshire.

The Sykehouse festival was set up by bestselling author and multiple-award-winning scriptwriter Samantha Lee Howe and her husband David to celebrate their love of film making, and to give a wider audience and recognition to the great work of independent filmmakers and scriptwriters world-wide. The two-day event saw screenings of films, author panels and interviews throughout the day. It was a great opportunity for writers and film makers to network over a drink or two in the bar.

I got to see some terrific films in the Marlborough Suite and my only regret is that I couldn't see them all. Tapped was a brilliant film featuring life on a London housing estate. If you ever get the chance to see it - DO! Other stand out films included The Black Rock, Visiting and Poor Tom.

The writers’ panels took place in the Chartwell Suite and I was on three panels which meant that - sadly - I couldn't see all the films. The first panel was called Crossing Boundaries: Blood vs Brains. Although my sleuths Lyle Revel and Hermione Bradbury use their brains to solve the mysteries I put before them, I cited Murder in Pelham Wood as essential reading for anyone who finds themselves trapped inside a psychopath's secret lair with nowhere to hide because it provides invaluable advice on how to escape. 

 

Caroline England, Colin Mardell, Victoria Dowd, Jackie Kabler,
Jared Cade and Moderator Tim Rideout.

                              

 The other two panels I was on were Cops vs Amateur Sleuths: The Race is On (give me amateurs any day) and Agatha Christie: The Legend. How Agatha Christie Influenced My Writing. Needless to say, I had a great time and got to meet up with some old friends and make new ones. Writers Byrony Pearce, Victoria Dowd, and Tim Rideout were all excellent moderators.

The Sykehouse Film and Writing Awards took place during a lavish gala dinner. It was 30 degrees outside, but happily the ballroom was air conditioned. I’m delighted to have won two awards - the bronze Noose Award for Best Crime Novel for my Lyle Revel and Hermione Bradbury mystery The Elusive Dietrich and the silver Silken Rope Award for Best Short Story for my stand-alone tale ‘Blue Mountains Tragedy.’ Everyone came away a winner owing to some terrific raffle prizes to which people donated generously. All proceeds went to IDAS (Independent Domestic Abuse Services) and The Pink Ribbon Foundation (25 Year Anniversary).

 Photograph above is Jared Cade and Jackie Kabler

The staff were friendly and helpful, and I was surprised to see golfers hitting the golf course at six o’clock in the morning. A special thanks must go to Samantha and David Howe and their brilliant team for putting together such a terrific festival! I look forward to returning next year.  

The Sykehouse Film and Writers Festival
will take place on the weekend of
Saturday 16 and Sunday 17 May 2026
 at the Holiday Inn, Doncaster, off A1 J36, DN4 9UX.
Guests of honour include
Antony Johnson, Sophie Hannah and Neil Marshall.
The event can be booked here:
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/sykehouse-film-and-writers-festival-tickets-1379246636819 

‘The Antique Store Detective and the Deadly Inheritance’ by Clare Chase

Published by Bookouture,
22 August 2025.
ISBN: 978-1-83618-369-3 (PB)

Bella Winter is the owner of Vintage Winter, an antique shop in Hope Eaton. Her parents had separated when Bella was a child and she had gone to live with her mother, but she loved the times she spent with her father, a police officer, at Hope Eaton, and sometime after his death, she had moved into his flat and opened her shop. Now Bella is very happily settled and has many local friends, notably John Jenks who assists her in her shop, and John’s forceful mother and his quiet father; his brother, Leo, who runs the local cafe, and sister-in-law, Carys, a teacher; plus, his youngest brother, Matt, who is Bella’s charming and flirtatious neighbour. During her time in Hope Eaton, Bella has developed a reputation as a detective, investigating crimes that affect her local community, and she believes that she has inherited her father’s talent for detection. She is encouraged in this belief by her godfather, Tony, a retired police officer who is always happy to assist with her investigations.

Bella has agreed to help Althea Powell, the wife of a local landowner and businessman, who wants her to value some of the contents of their house, High Seat, without telling her husband, Bernard. Althea confides in Bella that the family is short of money, and she wishes to persuade Bernard to sell some antiques in preference to selling the properties they rent out, which include several cottages and Leo’s cafe. Althea thinks that it is more important to save people’s homes and livelihood, but Bernard is desperate to keep up appearances.

Another thing that is distressing Althea is the terminal illness of her oldest and dearest friend, Clemmie Crowe. Bella also knows and likes Clemmie, and John is a close friend of the ill woman, so they go to the hospice together to visit her. Clemmie is very weak and seems to be slightly confused, but it is a shock when she dies that same afternoon. Bella knows that Clemmie was very sick, but nevertheless her instincts tell her Clemmie’s death has been hastened, especially as she had asked a young detective that she was acquainted with to visit her. Unfortunately, the detective was delayed and arrived too late to discover what Clemmie wanted. Bella pushes the police to ask for a postmortem, and this proves that she is correct, Clemmie was murdered, but it is hard to imagine who would have motive to kill a woman who had such a short time to live?

Bella starts to investigate, determined to gain justice for Clemmie, and spurred on by the realisation that the premises that house Leo’s Cafe is in imminent danger of being sold. When Althea shows Bella a ruby necklace that is her personal property, Bella realises that it is incredibly valuable, and the sale of it could alleviate a lot of the family’s financial problems. However, Bella can sympathise with Althea’s wish to retain it, in order to leave it to her niece, Paula. Bernard has two sons, Althea’s stepsons, and she feels reluctant to add her necklace to the money that Rory, her greedy, extravagant, younger stepson, will persuade Bernard to give him, and which he will then waste. Althea gets on well with her older stepson, Gregory, but loathes Rory, who is spendthrift, entitled and manipulative, and manages to get far more money from his father than Bernard can afford. When Althea’s necklace vanishes, Rory is the main suspect, and now Bella has two cases to solve, although she believes that the murder and the theft must be connected. More deaths occur, and the necklace turns up in an unexpected place. This throws Bella’s ideas into confusion, but she is determined to discover the truth, even though her investigation may endanger her own life.

The Antique Store Detective and the Deadly Inheritance is the third book in the series featuring Bella Winter and her friends at Hope Eaton. It has a cast of engaging characters and a plot with numerous twists, turns and red herrings. This is an enjoyable addition to a delightful series, which I recommend for fans of cosy crime, especially those who enjoy an intimate, village setting.
-------
Reviewer: Carol Westron

Clare Chase writes classic mysteries. Her aim is to take readers away from it all via some armchair sleuthing in atmospheric locations. Like her heroines, Clare is fascinated by people and what makes them tick. Before becoming a full-time writer, she worked in settings as diverse as Littlehey Prison and the University of Cambridge, in her home city. She’s lived everywhere from the house of a lord to a slug-infested flat and finds the mid-terrace she currently occupies a good happy medium. As well as writing, Clare loves family time, art and architecture, cooking, and of course, reading other people’s books.

www.clarechase.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.  

www.carolwestron.com