Barry Maitland: Ash Island Wednesday, Nov 9 2016 

Uncategorized , , Auntie M Writes Crime 12:16 am

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Barry Maitland’s Brock and Kolla series, set in England, has been one of Auntie M’s mainstays for years. Then last year he brought out a second series, featuring DS Harry Belltree and set in his current home of Australia. The second in the new series, Ash Island, finds Harry just back to work after his near death in Crucifixion Creek and is a strong sequel.

Harry’s posting away from Sydney and the horror of the past case suit him fine. He and his wife, Jenny, are expecting their first child together, and living in a cottage in Newcastle with Jenny’s new guide dog.

Harry’s case revolves around a body found in the marsh vegetation of Ash Island, showing obvious signs of torture. He’s convinced this is a dumping ground for bodies, and he’s proven right, but not without consequences.

Newcastle was the area of the accident that robbed him of his parents and Jenny of her sight. Harry knows it wasn’t an accident: his father was a well respected Aboriginal judge, and he’s always understood that his father’s position led to his death.

How these deaths are connected to the bodies buried in the marsh provide some of the strongest action scenes in the book, as Harry not only tries to find out what’s at the bottom of the accident, and those buried bodies, but whom he can trust.

The area comes alive under Maitland’s assured descriptions.
There will be a double surprise at the end, and the resolution Harry seeks will come at a steep price. An accomplished and fast-moving plot will keep readers flipping pages as the past reaches it fingers into the present.

 

Hakan Nesser: Hour of the Wolf Tuesday, Nov 8 2016 

Uncategorized , , , , Auntie M Writes Crime 12:05 am

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Fans of the Inspector Van Veeteren Mystery series might have wondered what author Hakan Nesser had up his sleeve when the Chief Inspector took retirement.

That question is answered in Hour of the Wolf, a mystery where the reader is quite aware Whodunit but the question becomes: can the police find him?

It’s a rainy night when a young man is hit by a car, killed instantly, and the drunk driver slowly deludes himself that there’s nothing to be gained by turning himself in to the police.

It’s a moral question that has far-reaching implications as the police investigate with few leads. The man thinks he has made his peace with his decision when the case drops off the police radar and the news. A few weeks later he even starts a new love affair.

Then he receives the first blackmail letter. He was seen.

The unraveling of the payment turns into a second, far more devastating murder that involves the former Chief Inspector. With his replacement, Reinhart, now running the case, Van Veeteren is forced to take a back seat but is unable to keep himself from investigating on his own, with good reason.

It is difficult to explain more of this many-leveled plot without giving it away. This is nordic noir at its best: with the complex portrait of the inner thoughts of the killer as his mind continues to deteriorate; with the numbed feelings of those affected by the killings and how they must work through their grief to feel again; with the threads of an investigation that appears to be going nowhere until suddenly the pieces fall together.

Fans of Karin Fossum’s Inspector Sejer series will want to track down this title for that same kind of introspective police procedural. It should be noted that this was first published in Swedish in 1999 and has taken this long to be translated for US readers. Don’t wait any longer to read this intelligent and brooding novel that will have you reaching for the others in the series.

 

Stefan Ahnhem: Victim Without A Face Sunday, Nov 6 2016 

Uncategorized , , , , Auntie M Writes Crime 12:18 am

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Swedish screenwriter Arnhem’d debut crime fiction, Victim Without a Face, is the ultimate revenge novel, filled with taut tension the escalates as the action rises.

Detective Fabian Risk and his wife are trying to jumpstart their crumbling marriage. Determined to begin over, he moves the family with their two children from Stockholm and the mess he leaves behind there to his home town area of Helsingborg. The very day they arrive at their new empty house, before the moving van even arrives, he receives a visit from his new boss, Astrid Tuvesson.

She’s interrupted his vacation to settle in because a photo has been found on a murder victim’s body, and Fabian is in it.

The high school photo of his class becomes a key piece of evidence when members of the class start showing up as murder victims. Making it even more difficult is that the method used to kill them differs in each person, a major clue in itself.

When a key piece of evidence is found in Denmark, the Danes obstruct the Swedes ability to examine it, starting a battle which will bring Fabian to Denmark with long-range fallout.

And just when he’s certain he’s figured out who the murderer is, things swiftly change and he’s forced to reconsider, bringing himself and his family into the crosshairs.

An accomplished and visual debut, with a protagonist readers will want to follow.

 

Linda Huber: Ward Zero Saturday, Nov 5 2016 

Uncategorized , , Auntie M Writes Crime 12:49 am

All the way from Switzerland, please welcome Scottish author Linda Hubers, who will describe her inspiration for her newest psychological suspense novel, Ward Zero:

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The Grandchild Trick

A couple of years ago, I was home alone one Tuesday evening, watching a consumer programme on Swiss TV. It’s one of the kind that uncovers scams as well as testing various foodstuffs and shampoos etc, so it’s always interesting, and this particular week I found myself glued to the sofa.

The programme showed an old lady who’d been tricked out of her savings. How had this happened? Well, she’d answered the phone one day, and found a man on the line, saying he was an old friend of her husband. He chatted on in a way that convinced the lady he really had known her family – she was a widow now, and lonely, like many older people, so she was happy to talk to a friendly voice on the phone for a while.

For a few minutes, conversation was general, but then came the sob story. He had run out of money and wouldn’t get his wages until the following week, and he had to pay something urgently. Could she help?

Of course she could. She went to the bank, withdrew most of her meagre savings, and handed them over. By the time her family became aware of what had happened, the money was long gone.

Tragic as this was, it wasn’t a single occurrence. More and more people started to come forward, saying their elderly relative had been swindled in a similar way, and soon the scam was dubbed ‘der Enkeltrick’ in Switzerland – the Grandchild Trick. (Nowadays, of course, banks are watching out for it, and if an older person suddenly withdraws half their savings in cash, the bank will jump in and ask questions.)

My mind was buzzing when the programme finished that night. What kind of person would perpetrate such a cruel trick? And how on earth did the conmen manage to convince the old people they were talking to long-lost family contacts? Where did these criminals find their victims? And what if…?

When you get to ‘what if…?’, you have the beginnings of a story. I sat down at my computer and started to write Ward Zero.

I set the book in a hospital, because where else are people so vulnerable, and willing to trust strangers? And having worked in various National Health hospitals in the UK, I knew my way around. I knew the services provided and the workings of a ward, though I have to say I had to read up on modern post-operative routines – knee replacement surgery has changed in the past couple of decades!

In my book, Sarah arrives back in England after working abroad for a couple of years, and finds her foster mum, Mim, hospitalised after knee surgery. Over the course of the next few visits, Sarah becomes embroiled in a cruel scam. Someone at Brockburn General isn’t what he says he is, and before long, Sarah is fighting for her life…

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Ward Zero:
Horror swept through her. Had she been buried alive?
On Sarah’s first visit to see her foster mother, Mim, in Brockburn General Hospital, she is sucked into a world that isn’t what it should be.

Someone is lying, someone is stealing. And someone is killing – but who? With a grieving child to take care of, as well as Mim, Sarah has to put family first. She doesn’t see where danger lies – until it’s too late.

If you think you’re safe in a hospital, think again.

Linda Huber grew up in Glasgow, Scotland, but went to work in Switzerland for a year aged twenty-two, and has lived there ever since. Her day jobs have included working as a physiotherapist in hospitals and schools for handicapped children, and teaching English in a medieval castle. Not to mention several years spent as a full-time mum to two boys and a rescue dog.

Linda’s books are psychological suspense novels, and the ideas for them come from daily life. The Paradise Trees and The Cold Cold Sea were traditionally published in 2013/2014 before she self-published The Attic Room in 2015 and Chosen Child in early 2016.
Ward Zero, her fifth book, was inspired by a consumer programme on Swiss TV.

Universal Amazon link for Ward Zero: getBook.at/WardZero
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/authorlindahuber
Twitter: https://twitter.com/LindaHuber19
website: http://lindahuber.net/
blog: http://lindahuber.net/blog/

 

Kim Kasch: Moraine Le Fay and the Viking Saturday, Nov 5 2016 

Uncategorized , , , Auntie M Writes Crime 12:13 am

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Kim Kasch’s Moraine Le Fay and the Viking gives a twist and brings a little heat to a tale readers may have heard of but not explored. Here’s her excerpt and explanation on what drives her to write:

THREE reasons to read a Viking Romance:
1) Ragnar;
2) Lagertha; and,
3) Rollo

MORGAINE LE FAY AND THE VIKING is one such tale of the extraordinary lives and epic adventures of two people: Holger Danske and Morgaine Le Fay.

Theirs was a romance that threatened two kingdoms.An attraction more powerful than any sword, stronger than any warrior and more magical than all the powers of Merlin.

MORGAINE LE FAY AND THE VIKING.
Everyone has heard of King Arthur and his magical sword, Excalibur, but there’s another legendary hero who received a magical sword from the Norse Goddess known as The Lady of the Lake. Meet Holger Danske and his sword “Cortana”.

The Vikings, led by Holger Danske, invaded England. Yet somehow, even as enemies, Holger and King Arthur’s half-sister, Morgaine Le Fay, shared a forbidden love.

MORGAINE LE FAY AND THE VIKING is the secret Denmark never shares…until now.

Travel across oceans, continents and countries to discover the story of legendary Viking hero, Holger Danske, and his magical romance with King Arthur’s half-sister in Morgaine Le Fay and the Viking.

EXCERPT FROM MORGAINE LE FAY AND THE VIKING

FOREWORD

This is an old story told from a totally different perspective. This is a Viking’s tale.
MORGAINE LE FAY AND THE VIKING is a legendary romance filled with honorable Knights from King Arthur’s Round Table, Salacious Pirates, and Brutal Vikings. It is the retelling of the romance between King Arthur’s half-sister, Morgaine Le Fay, and her epic lover, the Viking Prince of Denmark and heir to King Geoffrey’s throne, Holger Danske. And though you might think you know these characters from the British stories, this tale comes from an entirely different point of view. The Viking perspective.

Everyone knows of Excalibur and King Arthur but few know of his brother-in-law, the Danish Viking Prince and warrior Holger Danske or his sword Cortana. MORGAINE LE FAY AND THE VIKING is a mature Young Adult retelling of folk-lore legend and Danish leader, Holger Danske, and his magical romance with the sorceress Princess Morgaine Le Fay.

They met on a battlefield, poised against each other, but their attraction was more powerful than any sword, stronger than any warrior and more magical than Merlin, yet theirs is a tale more tragic than Romeo and Juliet.
Weaving the stories from English, French and Danish together this is one slice from the rich tapestry of tales that have come together throughout time and history.

While most everyone who searches for tales of the middle ages and seeks out stories of Knights and battles, castles and magical swords, they will only find the stories of King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table. Yet, it is only with the help of the Viking warrior Holger Danske of Denmark and Charles the Great (a.k.a Charlemagne of France) that King Arthur beat back the Saxons and retained leadership of Camelot.

Amidst these battles and legends, Morgaine Le Fay is worthy of her own stand-alone stories for she was such a strong woman everyone believed her to be a sorceress or more than human. Some said she was half fairy because she rode with the men in battle and was more than willing to take enormous risks for the men she loved.

Some believe she was the most powerful sorceress in all of history, having tutored under the guidance of Merlin and quickly surpassing his abilities. But it is her tragic love story with the Danish Prince that forms this first story in the Viking Series: MORGAINE LE FAY AND THE VIKING.

Morgaine’s true love, the Viking Norse leader and legendary warrior, is immortalized in stone in the dungeons of Hamlet’s Castle on the shore that
sits between the sound of Denmark and Sweden.

But there is much more to this tale than a simple love story.

King Arthur received his magical sword, Excalibur, from the Norse Goddess, also known as The Lady of the Lake, but Excalibur was not the only magical sword she ever relinquished to mortal hands. She gave just such a magical sword to the Danish Prince, Holger, and one to the French King, Charlemagne. Together these three heroic men joined forces to fight side by side. Britain, France and Scandinavia battled back the invading Saxons.
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I am married to a Dane who was born and raised in Denmark, and have visited the Castle of Kronborg in Helsingør, Denmark, and viewed the statue Holger Danske in the casemates. I have also visited both England and France and tried to stay true to the themes of all three legends, (from Denmark-Holger Danske, England-King Arthur, and France-Charlemagne), while weaving them together. However, I have taken artistic liberties with language and in dramatizing the tale of The Viking Princess.

There is an entire world full of rich stories about epic battles that go far beyond King Arthur’s realm and other countries hold their legendary heroes in this same high regard. This is one such story.

holger-danske

FIRST SIGHT

Morgaine’s head was held high, her back straight, with her chin jutted forward, as she rode like a warrior into battle. Covered in shiny mail, she sat upon her lively white steed, much like a nobleman, but no one could be mistaken. One glance and anyone could see simply by looking at her, this was a fine lady, with skin as smooth as silk and clear as a summer day, her russet curls plaited and twined around her head, forming a crown of braids befitting a high-born princess.

Raising her hand to shield her eyes from the harsh morning light, she turned toward the mountains, searching for a sign. Something. Anything.
Nothing was there. Still she sat, waiting.

It was after sunset when the shadows finally shifted across the horizon. That’s when she noticed the dark silhouettes of men. Not peasants. These were broad-backed warriors on horseback, sitting outlined against the blood-red moon. They were moving closer, nearer to battle.

Arthur did not want his sister on the front lines. “You should be in the background working your magic,” he insisted, hoping she would heed his pleas.

She threw her head up in defiance and gave a little snort. “Never,” she insisted.

His voice took on an authoritative tone. “I am the King,” he reminded her with a frown etched over his face. She turned to grin at him, “Did you think I could forget?”

With a heavy sigh, he went on, “It is not as a King that I am asking, but as your brother. I cannot bear the thought of you being hurt for me. I want you in the background, not on the forefront of battle.”

She shook her head, and then reached across the gap between them. She ran her palm over his cheek. “Do not waste your worry. You know, death holds no fear for me.”

“Perhaps,” he nodded. “But there are worse things than death. Please sister, if only for my sake, move to the back and do not separate yourself from us—I beg of you.” He tried to convince her not to ride forward from the front lines, but she wouldn’t listen.

“Do not even think of it,” she said, with that familiar look of determination in her eyes and the stubborn tone Arthur had become so acquainted with. Pulling back on her reins, she danced her horse around him. “I am a symbol for the men to look upon. I must move about for all to see.”

And no matter how much he wanted to deny it, they both knew she was right. Sitting out in front of the knights, she made an unforgettable impression.
“But you can inspire from anywhere, it need not be the frontline,” he insisted.

She shook her head, disregarding his warning as she rode ahead to act as the King’s guard over her brother. Sitting proud and tall, she fully intended to protect him from the onslaught that was about to begin. Arthur was transfixed. She was more beautiful than ever. An angel blanketed in shadows but edged in starlight, no man on the battlefield would ever forget her face.

She felt the fire burning inside her belly. The cry of war rising up into her heart, she wanted nothing more than to ride.

As the men moved nearer, she raised her hand, stopping Arthur’s men—holding them back, “Wait for my signal,” she called out, “Steady!” Finally reaching up over her head, she dropped her sword across her body as the moonlight glistened on the shiny steel, blinding the men riding toward them into battle.

Morgaine let out a laugh that echoed over the field as she galloped forward, and then immediately she swung her mare away from the men. Standing out alone and off to the side, she was a vision…

Suddenly time stood still. She was frozen, as a warrior on their frontline came into view. His arm raised up over his head, sword in hand, he led the charge against her, against Arthur, and against all the people of Camelot. He was a brute of a man and her attention was riveted.

There was no turning away; he was all she saw, all she noticed. Opening his mouth, he let out a roar as he rode straight toward her, this man with the golden mane.

The moonlight shimmered down on him. His browned skin glistened and his hair gleamed like an autumn jewel beneath the starlight. Suddenly she was reminded of hot summer days and amber pebbles washed up on the white sandy shores. Fascinated, she was spellbound by his glowing skin beneath the fading evening sun.

She was mesmerized.

Shaking her head to clear the fog inside her mind, she readied herself for his blow. Raising her shield, she steeled herself.
He was a giant among men, with ten times the form of any god she could imagine.
Was it possible? Was this an illusion? Could he be real?

His sapphire eyes found hers, locking on her lilac orbs, and a blinding heat struck her like a bolt of lightning. She could not turn away. His sword raised high in the air, his shield barely covering his broad chest, she stared at his form. A rush of fire raced through her, as she sat still watching this man ride with such a majestic carriage.

Giddy and out of breath, her heart beat faster than she could ever recall.
What was happening here? What magic was this? She wondered at her own body, feeling dizzy as a young maiden at her first games. Someone must have cast a spell. She turned her head, searching for the Viking sorcerer performing this magic.
There was none.

She had never had this reaction to any man. No. Morgaine had never had this reaction to anyone.
Her breath caught in her chest, and she could barely breathe. The air was trapped inside her throat, choking her. She had to cough to force the air back into her lungs.

This man could not be human. He was either a devil or a demon, she was sure of it and yet he had signaled his men into the battle before he veered off to the side, riding straight toward the sorceress with the flaming locks. His mouth was open as he let out a warrior chant she had never heard before.
Another spell, she told herself, an incantation—perhaps the same one he cast upon the knights and warriors.

She turned to her side, to see how her men were holding up under this magic.
It could not be.
His words had no effect on them. They were not under his spell. Their swords were unsheathed, raised, and ready to do battle. The knight beside her let out a thunderous cry, spurring his horse faster, as they rode past her into the throng of bare-chested men with the horns upon their heads.

Her steed moved forward, but she did nothing more than hold on to the reins as her mare carried her into the field of battle and straight toward the magic man. She was unprepared, mesmerized, and out of control…

Opposite each other they rode, one toward the other. She saw him motion to his men to continue riding forward as he veered further off to the side…to make his way straight toward her.

In a matter of moments, he was upon her. Sweeping up beside her like the blast of a storm, he stole her breath away. His thickly muscled arm snaked out away from his body, striking before she could do a thing or even before she realized what had happened. But there was no pain. It was not with a thrust of his sword that he struck, it was only his arm. Quickly twisting, he shifted his weight to make room for her. His powerful arm wrapped around her waist, grabbing her with the strength of the ocean’s tide, he pulled her toward him.

Morgaine sat motionless as a statue in the garden; she offered no resistance. Instead, she simply slid sideways from her horse onto his. It happened in one swift motion.

Pressing his palm flat against her belly, he held her in place, tightly nestled in front of him. She felt the warmth of his breath on her neck, caressing her face. Her hands fell limp to her side, accidently brushing against the hot flesh of his thigh. His skin burned beneath her fingertips.
The heat rose from her hands to her chest, and a small gasp escaped her lips as she let her hands rest upon his thickly muscled leg. He chuckled low in his throat and she knew he understood the effect he was having on her senses.

Pressing his firm rippled chest into her back, she felt something she had never felt before…lust.
She could do nothing to resist him. Leaning back, she drank in the strong, musky scent of him and felt her head spin. He held her steady and still.
Another mesmerizing potion, she thought, his spicy scent must be the mixture of a wizard’s tonic, worn to hypnotize his enemies.

Unable to fight the strength of his powerful magic, she succumbed. His tantalizing aroma made her want nothing more than to be with him, alone.

small-me
Visit me at http://www.kimbrakasch.com

And http://www.kimkasch.blogspot.com

Buy link:

Book Title: Morgaine Le Fay and the Viking

Author Name: Kimbra Kasch

Author Location: Portland, Oregon

Name of series and book number in series: The Viking Series – Book 1

Genre: Young Adult Romance

Publisher: Midnight Frost/Crimson Frost
http://www.midnightfrostpublishing.com/

Date of Publication: August 26, 2016

Number of pages: 285

Word Count: 80,000

Formats available: pdf, mobi, epub

Cover Artist: Gin Kiser

Author Bio:

Hi everyone! I’m a romance writer who grew up in a family with 9 kids and only 1 t.v. so I spent my days reading and, later, writing. I love books. . .maybe because I never got to pick t.v. shows we watched. But I’d run home after school to catch the last fifteen minutes of Dark Shadows…
I still love to run…or at my age, maybe I should say wogging (a cross between walking and jogging). Here in Portland, I love Halloween themed runs – where people don costumes and run. It’s a lot of fun…and I know those two words don’t always go together: fun…and…run. But it is.
And, with all those Halloween themed runs, I guess Dark Shadows had more of an influence than some people might think. Even today my favorite author is Stephen King. My all-time favorite book is Salem’s Lot.
Favorite romance novels are The Hunger Games…okay, I know, it’s a survival book but it’s really all about romance. Then there were the series: Twilight, Fifty Shades, and more, but I also love paranormal, Horror and even light books like Dewey the Small Town Library Cat… Mainly, I just love to read. . . and write.
I’ve just had my first novel published and am looking to share it with the world. It’s a story I was inspired to write after visiting Hamlet’s Castle and seeing an enormous Viking statue down in the tunnels next to the dungeons.
Sorry to be so long-winded but did I say I love to write? …and talk and…knit, and sew, and bake… I could go on but I’ll close by saying, I hope you’ll stop in on my site and I can tell you I have a couple other stories you should check out: How about a story about a Demonic Tattoo artist in Portland, Oregon: Demon’s Ink? Or, how about a love story? Of course we all know love is risky, but in The Cats of Cullaby Creek it’s dangerous….
You can find them here: https://www.amazon.com/Cats-Cullaby-Creek-Kim-Kasch-ebook/dp/B01AVVSB44/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1471659591&sr=8-2&keywords=kim+kasch

 

A. D. Garrett: Truth Will Out Thursday, Nov 3 2016 

Uncategorized , , , Auntie M Writes Crime 12:07 am

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Forensics expert Nick Fennimore and DI Kate Simms return in their third outing Truth Will Out/, a strong entry in the series that finds the two struggling against the professional boundaries that restrain them from working together.

While Fennimore is always on the hunt for his kidnapped daughter, Suzie, a possible sighting in Paris from Believe No One has the action switching back and forth between Scotland, England and France.

Simms is still feeling the sting from her family after being away for several months spent in the US. This undercurrent will play throughout the book when a mother and child are kidnapped driving away from what should have been a day out at the cinema. Police politics keep Simms at arms length in the investigation as she’s supposed to be home on leave.

Julia Meyers and her young daughter Lauren are leaving a movie, the little girl on a high as only a six year-old entranced with a princess movie can be. Yellow food coloring the child is sensitive to, eaten in sweets, set Lauren off on a temper tantrum that is only subdued when she has a near miss with a car leaving the car park.

A chastened Lauren is soon strapped into her car seat, and the harried mother joins the cars leaving the car park. Then the unthinkable happens: What appears to be a monster breaks through the trunk where he’s been hiding into the back seat, taking mother and child captive, and starting a nationwide search for them both.

The case has a eerie resemblance to an eight year-old kidnapping/murder Fennimore has just been using to illustrate his summer course. DNA evidence had arrested the wrong man, whom Fennimore had been able to have released–but the real killer was still at large.

Along with Fennimore’s search for Suzie, these cases form the compelling and distinctive plot of this book, which has several surprises near the end, with twist piled upon twist. Just when you think it’s over, there’s another plot point curve to keep you immersed.

Auntie M loves this series for what she learns about forensics, thanks to one of the co-authors, forensic scientist and Senior Policing Lecturer Helen Pepper. Award-winning psychological thriller author Margaret Murphy is the flip side of the duo, and the series illustrates her complex plotting and rapid-fire pacing.

The chemistry between the widowed Fennimore and the married Simms adds to the tension, and the dialogue is realistic. Highly recommended.

 

John Bainbridge: Deadly Quest Sunday, Oct 30 2016 

Uncategorized , , , Auntie M Writes Crime 12:42 am

Please welcome John Bainbridge, who along with his wife, Anne, write the Gaslight Crime blog, and who will explain to readers just what IS a Penny Dreadful, a delightfully creepy topic for Hallowe’en!

deadly-quest-enhanced

Writing a Penny Dreadful
By John Bainbridge

A couple of years ago I wrote the first adventure of a Victorian vigilante called William Quest, a gentleman adventurer with a swordstick who seeks to right wrongs and even up the injustices of society. That book was called The Shadow of William Quest.

Now I’ve written a sequel called Deadly Quest.
The whole project arose from my interest in the Victorian underworld. I’ve always wanted to write a novel that is part detective story, part thriller, and which hearkens back to the traditions of the Victorian Penny Dreadful tales and the Newgate Novels.

Many a Victorian writer wrote these popular tales, which were the staple fiction diet of the newly-literate classes in 19th century England. I’ve read a lot of them over the years. The best ones are fast-moving, often sinister and have lots of action. They are occasionally subversive, pricking at the mores of the day with often undiluted social criticisms.

Most of the writers are forgotten these days, but some went on to great heights. Even Charles Dickens used elements of the Newgate novel in Oliver Twist.

My first novel was set in London and Norfolk. The new book, Deadly Quest, is set entirely in London, mostly down by the River Thames. I’ve tried to capture a real feeling of London in 1854.

Fortunately, I’ve spent years studying Victorian history – I did it as a minor subject in my university degree. I’ve devoted a lot of time since to an expanded study of the Victorian underworld, particularly as regards London.

I’ve walked the streets and alleys used by my characters, by day and night. London has changed a great deal in 160 years, of course. Much of the Victorian cityscape has been bombed or swept away by developers. The London that is in my imagination is more real to me now than the modern city. There are traces of Quest’s London still to be seen, but they get fewer year by year . . .

Deadly Quest has scenes in a notorious rookery of the time called Jacob’s Island. A district of appalling poverty in Victorian times, Charles Dickens visited it with a police guard. It features in the climax of Oliver Twist.

It was already partially demolished by the 1850s. The area was bombed by the Luftwaffe in the London Blitz, and redevelopment accounted for much of the rest. Today that once dreadful slum is a development of luxury flats. You can still visit Jacob’s Island, but it takes quite a leap of imagination to get back to Victorian times.

One problem I encountered in my sequel was that I revealed virtually the whole of Mr Quest’s back story in the first novel, explaining why he decided to take the law into his own hands, fighting for truth and justice and so on. In the new book we start with a completely clean slate.

It’s my intention to do a whole series of William Quest novels, though the original conception of a Victorian avenger has changed since the first book. The outsider now finds himself working on both sides of the law.

This wasn’t unusual in Penny Dreadful novels of the Victorian Age, where the author often found his or her villain transformed into the hero.

With the creation of e-book readers, we are finding ourselves in a very similar situation to those Victorian readers. A whole new audience has appeared, eager for books. It seems to me that we should study the methods of the writers of Penny Dreadfuls and Pulp Fiction to cater for this expanding market.

They found a popularity after all, and created their own genres.

Deadly Quest can be found at:

 

Clella Murray: Murder at the University Friday, Oct 28 2016 

Uncategorized , Auntie M Writes Crime 12:10 am

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A friend recently said she had just read my book, Murder at the University and remarked, “Why Universities are just like businesses. They have the same good guys and villains!”

It had never occurred to me that some people thought universities were a heavenly never, never land! When a university women’s book group reviewed my book all twelve said they knew who the villain was – and each had pinpointed a different person in a different department. So it seems members of a university have no problem envisioning their coworkers capable of murder!

In Murder at the University, when John Paul Davis, a wealthy, computer alumni, returns to his alma mater, he becomes involved in solving a murder to protect a lovely young post-doc suspect, Rachael Howard.

Davis finds himself in a dilemma. Who killed Professor Dewit and wife…another professor or a professor’s wife, perhaps a student or maybe even Rachael Howard? Davis calls for help from three people: Richard Moore, his old mentor; Bagley, an overweight policeman; and Davis’s boarding house owner, the intriguing Chloe Manning. Ultimately, Davis has to solve the murder in order to save his own life.

I wish I could say I outlined the book, planned all the chapters and did all the things a writer is supposed to do. Unfortunately I have a tendency to just tell tale tales, my grandmother called them lies, my mother called them an active imagination! My husband has Alzheimer’s and is handling it beautifully but the thought of losing him is ever present. To me writing is an escape. 50% of everything I write goes to the Alzheimer’s foundation.

C. B. Murray grew up in Iowa, graduated from Smith College, did graduate work at the University of Michigan and performed research work in Oak Ridge, Tennessee where she met her husband. After the birth of two daughters, she moved to Delaware where her husband taught physics at the University of Delaware and Murray wrote the Noir Series of mysteries: Murder at the University was the first murder book written, but was never published, until now. Others include The Chinese Treasure, A Pox on You, and VX: A Deadly Mist. She has three books in the Magic Series: A Bite of Magic, A Second Helping of Magic and Matrimonial Magic With Mayonnaise. Dangerous Journey, her first children’s book, won first place in the young adult fiction section from the National Federation of Press Woman. Murray has published non-fiction in Delaware Today magazine and the Philadelphia Inquirer. Visit the website http://www.clellamurray.com for book reviews and comments.
50 % of all profits go to the Alzheimer’s Fund

 

Interview: Connie Johnson Hambly/The Jessica Trilogy Wednesday, Oct 26 2016 

Uncategorized , Auntie M Writes Crime 12:04 am

Connie and Auntie M met having fun and frivolity at New England Crimebake. Welcome to her very interesting world as she describes how she came to write her Jessica Trilogy:

Auntie M: The first time we met at New England Crime Bake’s costume dinner, you were dressed as a jockey and I flashed immediately on the Dick Francis mysteries set in the racing world. You’ve given Jessica Wyeth, the protagonist of The Jessica Trilogy, horse riding ability and talents, too. It seemed so natural to you to write that for Jessica that I’m guessing you took that experience from your life?

CJH: I did! I often say that the best fiction hangs on the bone of fact, so taking experiences from my riding past and infusing them into my main character made sense. Most readers want two things from spending hours between the cover of a book: They want to be entertained and they wouldn’t mind learning a thing or two. The more realism an author can weave into a story, the more engaged the reader is. As for Crime Bake, I definitely channeled my inner “Chick Francis.” I had to put those silks and breeches into use!

AM: From a dairy farm to Boston lawyer and investment banking–what made you decide to transition to fiction?

CJH: True confessions: Pursuing a career in law was a really bad career choice for someone who is conflict adverse! All kidding aside, going to law school was a terrific way to learn to write.

The craft of writing a brief and sculpting a legal argument is very similar to constructing a tightly woven thriller. Also, law school focuses writing on how your words will interpreted by your reader. Manipulating a bias for the benefit of your story (or argument) is essential.

Good writing means taking in a lot of information, throwing a lump of clay on the word wheel then sculpt, sculpt, sculpt. I’ve used my skills in law and as a writer for Bloomberg BusinessWeek and other journalism adventures. I wrote my first book, The Charity, mostly as a legal thriller. Trust me – compared to law or banking, writing fiction is a heck of a lot more fun!

The Charity - Cover_new.indd
AM: The first book in the trilogy, The Charity, involves a case of arson. Your family’s dairy barn burned down in a case of arson. How much of that imbued the first book? What’s different?

CJH: The loss of our barn devastated my family both financially and emotionally. We experienced a profound loss of security one would normally expect to feel growing up in a small town. The man who tossed a match into our hayloft confessed to having a grudge and wanting to get even. Two things happened that continue to shape my world view.

The first is that he was a beloved husband and father. He had a wife and family. People loved him, yet he did something reprehensible. As a child, when I was still seeing the world in black and white, knowing that people could consider him a “good man” boggled my brain.

The second thing is that he signed a written confession. He admitted his guilt, but because of a technicality, he never was found guilty and was set free. Knowledge that the world can be an unfair and scary place solidified inside of me. People can do evil things and get away with it. What’s not so great in life makes for great reading.

My books skirt the edges of good and bad. Is the Irish Republican Army a group of freedom fighters or a terrorist organization? How far does a person need to be pushed before he (or she!) sees violence as a viable option? The answer to that all depends on what side of the match your barn is on.

AM: You’ve decided to write about a strong woman who doesn’t have superhero qualities yet gets herself out of hot water a lot. She’s smart and devious at the same time, in the best possible way. How is Jessica Wyeth different from Connie Hambley?

CJH: Ha! For starters, Jessica Wyeth is a lot more cool, strong, clever, and beautiful than I am! I know women who tend families while undergoing chemotherapy, who have experienced profound and sudden losses, who have climbed mountains, or started successful companies. They did all of this without special powers or an Uzi.

Jessica Wyeth resonates with readers because she wakes up in the morning and makes it through her days any way she can. She’s a strong woman because she doesn’t give up. Describing her as devious hints that there is something diabolical or evil about her. Jessica has a strong moral code that keeps her true even while circumstance is exerting a magnetic force to pull her off center. She has an unbreakable will to survive.

the_troubles_-high-res
AM: In Book Two in the series, The Troubles, you use Jessica’s search for her background to bring her to Ireland and explore the situation of Northern Ireland and the IRA. How did you conduct your research? Please tell me you got a trip to Ireland out of this!

CJH: I have traveled to Ireland, but that was before I knew my story was going to go there, too! Still, the impact of that trip infuses my settings and characters with a realism my readers enjoy.

The sunlight comes in at a different angle there. The earth smells different. There is a fourth dimension that flirts with your peripheral vision, giving you glimpses of another world. Those impressions have stayed with me and bringing them to life on the page was a way for me to relive my visit.

I was recently interviewed for IrishTV and the question turned to me having one last document to obtain before I can receive my Irish citizenship. The interviewer wanted to know why was citizenship important?

Walking where my ancestors walked–where my grandparents were born–made me feel connected and whole in a way I had never felt. Researching the book explained many family mysteries–including why my grandmother’s birth certificate listed her nationality as English even though she was born in the Republic of Ireland! My goal for the readers of The Troubles is to come away with a greater sense of what regular people experience while history swirls around them.

AM: What’s the idea percolating for Book Three–any firm plot lines yet?

CJH: Oh yeah! The working title of Book 3 is The Wake, and if you’ve ever been to an Irish wake, you know that they are a blend of sorrow and song, laughter and tears. Looking at the timeline of my story, Jessica returns to the U.S. weeks before the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta.

The horrific Centennial Park bombing provided a historical event I could hub my story around. The equestrian disciplines I focus on are eventing and equine therapy. Oh, and remember that bad people can come wrapped in pretty packages? I have a few new characters to challenge readers and a few established characters back by popular demand.

AM: Whose work was the biggest influence on your decision to write this kind of suspense thriller?

CJH: If Colleen McCullough and Stieg Larsson had a child, Jessica Wyeth would be their baby girl. The Troubles is McCullough-like as a sweeping, multi-generational tale and the whole story arc of my three books unfolds like Larsson’s Girl With a Dragon Tattoo trilogy.

AM: When you’re not concocting plots and coming up with characters, who’s book do you like to read for relaxation today?

CJH: Hmm. Good question. I read all the time and both established traditional authors and independently published authors are in my TBR pile. I try to read different genres and not focus in on one author, although I admit to reading almost all of Jo Nesbo’s books. I love a well-crafted thriller and Gillian Flynn’s Gone Girl and Paula Hawkin’s Girl on a Train hit that mark.
level-best-windward

I have a short story in the upcoming Level Best’s New England’s Best Crime Stories: Windward. Giving Voice unfolds the story of a survivor of human trafficking during her equine-assisted therapy session. Horses? Crime? I think I see a theme here.

hambley-w-horse
You can find Connie’s books here:
Connie Johnson Hambley
Twitter: @conniehambley
http://www.conniejohnsonhambley.com

 

Paul Cleave: Trust No One Sunday, Oct 23 2016 

Uncategorized , , , Auntie M Writes Crime 12:37 am

trustnoone

Ngaio Marsh Award Winner Paul Cleave’s Trust No One is as wholly original and creative a psychological thriller as you’re likely to read this year.

Protagonist Jerry Grey is struggling with rapid onset Alzheimer’s after being known to readers everywhere under his pen name, Henry Cutter, as a terrific crime novelist. His books have a wide audience and their following have kept Jerry and his lawyer wife, Sandra, and their only daughter in comfort. He is forty-nine years old.

When he’s diagnosed shortly before his daughter announces her engagement, the parents give Eva a few days to enjoy her glow before changing her world forever. She rises to the occasion and she and her fiancé agree to push the wedding up so Jerry can walk her down the aisle. Involved in these hasty wedding preparations, Sandra and Eva don’t seem to notice Jerry is busily scribbling in a journal that he’s keeping so when his mind goes–and there is evidence every day that he is rapidly losing touch with himself–he can read it remind himself of the process, and of who he used to be.

The wedding goes off without a hitch, but there’s an unfortunate bit at the reception apparently. And the next thing Jerry knows, he’s in a home and he keeps confessing to the murder of a woman who turns out to be a character in one of his crime novels. Now he’s really confused. Why has Sandra stopped visiting? How did he manage to ruin his daughters wedding when it went off so well? And what’s really happening in those moments Captain A, as he calls his Alzheimer’s, rob him of conscious thought and memory? Because Jerry has become the police’s number one suspect in a number of recent murders that occur when he manages to escape fro the home.

Who can he trust? Maybe no one. And there’s no good ending in sight.

At once a terrific psychological thriller, this is also an up close and personal look at a mind that is deteriorating. All of the stages of rage and grief are here, as is the sense of betrayal in so many areas, personal, physical, and mental.

Yet with Cleaves ironic sense of humor, the reader learns about the dreaded disease while Jerry goes on the hunt to figure out what’s really happening in his life. A mix of entries from earlier when Jerry’s succumbing to the disease are interspersed with present day action, ratcheting up the tension.

You’ll be flipping pages like Auntie M was to figure out who Jerry really can trust, and who he can’t.

 

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