Reading in April

April's reads! Definitely in no particular order, and I think all crime this time.

Keith Moray, Deathly Wind:  I’m sorry, the lurking ten-year-old in me just wants to giggle at the title! Glasgow gangsters, dead dogs, revenge and retribution: quite an entertaining read once you get all the characters sorted out.

Other editions

Keith Moray, Murder Solstice: Entertaining now I’ve got to know the characters a little, though I still don’t want to know what everyone is driving or riding. Incidentally sixteen is the age of legal responsibility in Scotland. I think I’ll happily carry on with this series.

Other editions

Carmen Radtke, A Matter of Love and Death: Very different from the Missing Bride series but really interesting, beautifully sensitive and suspenseful. Set in Adelaide in a time of poverty and distress, this sees respectable telephonist Frances edging into a much more dubious world of nightclubs and illicit drinking, yet she manages to hold true to herself. A very satisfying mystery.

Other editions

Jason Goodwin, The Janissary Tree: Yashim is a eunuch in early 19^th century Istanbul, able to enter the harem of the Sultan and investigate the murder of one of the girls, but also trusted to help the seraskier investigate the deaths of of four young officers in his new army, the force brought in to replace the Janissaries. The Janissaries, however, do not really want to be replaced. This is a fascinating insight into the Istanbul of the time, fragile, flammable, and frightening in many ways – exciting, too.

Lynda Wilcox, The Lockington Legacy: A very entertaining, light read, with an awful lot of Ls in it! Linzi and Loren Repton have set up a detective agency, and are commissioned to recover the Lockington Legacy, a diamond necklace, in the course of which they stumble upon a murder. Instrumental in their solution is the mysterious Magda, dog owner and feeder of the homeless who looks like a bag lady but is evidently much more (quite apart from consuming heroic quantities of tea and biscuits). I need to find out more about Magda!

Other editions

E.S.Thomson, Dark Asylum: The setting has shifted to a lunatic asylum but this plot is just as deep, macabre and intriguing as the first book, and the writing is just as good. As insanity is a looming threat in these books this is particularly poignant for our main character: there’s just enough relief to keep us going.

Other editions

James Oswald, Nothing to Hide: Constance is a much put-upon person, so that the reader feels some kind of relief when she fetches up in the Leith Walk home of Madame Rose and her cats, to be succoured and supported. Constance is rather self-destructive (she reminds me a bit of Claire Balding and her autobiography My Animals and Other Family) but very sympathetic and we really do want her to win, even if occasionally we’d like her to keep her mouth shut just for a little while. I’m sorry it’s written in the present tense, but it’s possible to get past it as it’s first person narrative.

Doug Johnstone, A Dark Matter: This was not what I was expecting – I had thought from comments I had read that it would be more comedic. Instead it is tragic, wistful in places, but ultimately very pleasing with some very odd turns in the mysteries that are investigated by this odd family of undertakers and private detectives in Edinburgh. For anyone concerned about these things (like me) the cat is all right.

Elly Griffiths, The StoneCircle: Really enjoyed this as usual – the perfect pandemic escape. I had intended to ration it and instead read it in a couple of evenings. What a shame!

Cecilia Peartree, The Spy who came out of the Bushes: Delighted to meet the 20^th Pitkirtly mystery, which even makes reference to the demand for archivists in the black economy. Oh, I love Christopher and Amaryllis! And all the other regulars – and poor Maisie Sue whose wedding day to Benjamin or Benedict is inevitably spoiled by the appearance of her supposedly ex husband sporting a fatal knife wound.

Other editions

M.J. Lee, Death in Shanghai: I wasn’t sure about the cliched British (fine, no doubt a lot of British administrators were indeed silly asses but this was a bit shallow) or the endlessly dancing waiters, but I was intrigued by the set-up and keen to know more. I found a lot of it to be rather trite, and here and there rather American. But there was originality here, too, and some well observed characters: I don’t think I’d like to work with Danilov, but I enjoyed reading about him, and about Strachan.

J.D. Kirk, The Last Bloody Straw: Another excellent episode in this series, black and hilarious by turns. The twist at the end was both necessary and satisfactory - or should I say twists? Some more foreseeable than others. And poor DC Tyler is beginning to come into his own.

Chris Longmuir, Missing Believed Dead: the third in the Dundee Crime series. I was really trying to find her suffragette series but kept missing! Anyway, these are very good. This third one has a missing girl who seems to have come home, thus causing more disruption in her family almost than her original disappearance. An excellent mystery, right up to the last minute (and maybe even beyond).

Short stories out now

               




















Quite Useful in Minor Emergencies - a quick collection of sixteen short stories out today! BUT if you receive the newsletter you'll have seen most of them already so don't rush off blind to buy it - you've been warned!

Letho Observer

The usual warning - if you were expecting the newsletter and haven't received it, or would like to, then let us know at contact@kellascatpress.co.uk!

We're also doing something a bit different for a change this quarter with a link to a promotion we're participating in - lots of free crime and thriller books! There's a link at https://AuthorsXP.com/giveaway.

<h2 style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://authorsxp.com/giveaway"  target="_blank" rel="noopener">Win up to 25+ Crime/Thriller eBooks & Gain Access to Deals & Steals on even more!</a></h2>

<div align="center"><strong>(2) Grand Prize "Gift Baskets" of ALL eBooks!</strong>  <br />

<strong>(20+) Winners of Individual eBooks (randomly selected titles)</strong></div>

<p align="center"><a href="http://authorsxp.com/giveaway"  target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img src="http://authorsxp.com/images/crime.jpg"  border="0"></a></p>

Keep well,

Yours aye,

Lexie

A catch up on what I've been reading

I've abandoned any kind of reading challenge for this year as I was so late starting - I still have a George Eliot book sitting on the hall table waiting to be read for it! But I have been reading, of course, and so below is the list - mostly crime, of course!

Dead Wood: I bought Chris Longmuir’s three book collection and this is the middle one. I enjoyed the first of these as a separate book, and started the second one ages ago. Various circumstances led to me not making any progress with it after the first few pages, but I went back to it recently and was amazed to be able to slot back into what was happening straightaway, a sign of a good writer, I think. I wasn’t quite sure till the end who the perpetrator was, but I found the characters really compelling and wanted them to find the right paths eventually.

Thorn in my Side by Sheila Quigley: I was wary of this as it’s the first in what’s called ‘Holy Island Trilogy’ and I’ve been stung by a ‘Holy Island’ book before. This is better, rough and tough and I suspect not quite true to police life but interesting. Could do with a bit of an edit – ‘classified’ is an American term, not a British one, a straight jacket is not the same as a straitjacket, for example, apostrophes deserve a day off, too, and it’s the second book I’ve read recently with a reference to florescent lighting – blooming lovely! I didn’t like the main thrust of the plot – just not my kind of thing, and I wasn’t convinced that an open order of monks could be taken over so secretly. But I did appreciate the portrayal of experiencing diabetes, the characters of Smiler and Aunt May, and I liked the variety of characters and their personal experiences.

Big Sky, Kate Atkinson:Ah, bliss, a new Jackson Brodie! Great start, leading us up the garden path as usual! She’s wonderful at laying multiple trails, including some drawn over from previous books (I was delighted to meet Reggie again), and slowly weaving them together in unexpected ways. The ending is episodic but ultimately very satisfying – she does like to tie up her loose ends. I read this far too fast – stupid. How long might we have to wait for another one? But unlike a lot of crime fiction they bear rereading well.

Other editions

Helen Fields Perfect Kill: urgh, a dark one indeed. But well  written, and of course the tantalising ongoing non-relationship between Luc and Ava is a major component. Inevitably I read it too quickly and really want to go back and read it again.

Other editions

Elly Griffiths, A Dying Fall: a great counterpoint to Helen Fields, lighter and gentler, though I wouldn’t call it a cosy. Ruth’s near stream-of-consciousness narration (only that it’s third person) keeps the story alive, though there’s little danger of it falling flat between domestic crises and deaths of old colleagues. An excellent entertainment, always feeling as if it’s part of real life.

Nick Quantrill, Broken Dreams – straight into the action here, private detectives finding the person they’ve been innocently following has been murdered. Much of the paragraph layout is confusing – it’s not clear who’s speaking – and I couldn’t particularly warm to the narrator. This is another book where you think – why is he hurling himself into that particular chasm? How thick is he, to go and poke that particular bear? But it kept the attention quite well, even if I wasn’t particularly convinced by the solution.

The Silent Companions, Laura Purcell – and she seems such a nice girl when you meet her! This is a thoroughly creepy, Gothic book, and as I read the first thirty or forty pages I changed my mind three or four times about the 19^th century narrator – there’s a 17^th century one who comes in later and though she has her secrets she is rather less ambiguous. Wisely written in smallish chunks so you don’t completely wallow in darkness, this is a very good read.

The Burned Man, Jason Vail: The usual good stuff – in fact, perhaps a little better than the last couple in the series, which were turning into some kind of American action film. But we’ve settled back into 12^th century England now, and there is indeed plenty of action and excitement and humour, as well as a decent plot.

Way Beyond a Lie, Harry Fisher: This is an impressive debut, and if there are one or two elements that you feel you may have seen before, the whole comes together well and the writing is very good – you really feel as if you’re there and with the characters. Has the missing wife been kidnapped? Did she run away? Did she exist at all? The plot is full of action and you’re not quite sure who to suspect and who to trust. Very good, entertaining book.

Other editions

Death in the Asylum, Caroline Dunford: I’m a long way behind in this series so picked up a few at once. This is the third, and I liked it better than the second, even if it rushed a bit towards the end. The plot held together well and carried on the characters and lines from previous books.

Caroline Dunford Death at the Wedding Party: My edition of this needs a serious proof read, unfortunately, and I’m never quite convinced by Rory’s accent. But as always these are entertaining and full of action and amusement. I carried on with Death in the Pavilion – well, poison ivy doesn’t generally grow in Britain, but we’ll disregard that and enjoy Euphemia’s growing relationship with the awful Richenda, which is great fun. Then Death in theLoch, which takes the characters back to the Highlands with Rory and Bertram at each other’s throats and plenty of government skulduggery.

The Gathering Murders, Keith Moray: Okay start, though I very much dislike being told the make and model of every vehicle that appears. And is the Padre Church of Scotland? I think they might take issue with him offering the last rites, if so. However, the setting is rather pleasant and the lead characters are quite appealing. I was slightly puzzled by the ‘village green on the hill above the town’! but it’s a gentle and amusing book for the most part. – the ending, however, stretched credulity a bit.

Other editions

Miss Blaine’s Prefect and the Golden Samovar, Olga Wojtas; An amusing twist on the current fashion for time-travelling lady investigators, often librarians. This one has a serious hang-up about The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie which is the thing that endears her to the reader through her rather irritating though funny omniscience and Morningside superiority. Her well-bred pomposity sits badly, occasionally, with her use of current slang. The setting is less familiar to me, mid 19^th century Russia, which made for a good background. Altogether an amusing book.

Other editions

Swordheart, T. Kingfisher – witty, really witty. I enjoyed tremendously this road trip romance between a middle-aged (soi-disant – she’s thirty-something) woman and an enchanted sword, with a priest called Zale and an ox-driving gnole for company. It’s a well-paced adventure, a fantasy romance, a comedy about older women, families, the law, cults … a really entertaining read.

Other editions

Douglas Skelton, Thunder Bay – good start, very emotional. The characters felt real though densely packed on a small island. The island itself I wasn’t so sure about – don’t quite know what it was but it didn’t come to life for me. But I’ll read more of this author.

Other editions

The Body in the Marsh, Nick Louth – A good sound police procedural with a nice twist that I saw coming but still enjoyed. I thought it was the first in a series but it turns out to be later than that – nevertheless it was perfectly readable as a standalone.

Worst Case Scenario, Helen Fitzgerald: This is a funny but quite a stressful read, taken from the point of view of a parole officer who has submitted her resignation and is trying to sustain a long-distance relationship with her husband in Australia while also keeping in touch with her son, annoyingly consorting with someone involved in her current high-profile wife-murdering case. So often I found myself yelling ‘No! Don’t be so stupid!’ as her whole life tumbles into chaos – her own fault, in so many ways, but still you want to hug her and drag her away from it all.

Other editions

Death Stalks Kettle Street, John Bowen: A cosy with a conscience. We have a lead character with mild cerebral palsy, and another with bad OCD, and both conditions are rather well and sympathetically described. But it’s not a heavy book – Beth is attending a writing workshop with a famous author who has produced nothing for years, while Greg is receiving odd warnings, or clues, about the next in a series of local murders – both of them think that something is a bit suspicious, but how could it be in ordinary lives when they have other things to think about, like Greg’s horrible therapist and Beth’s crush on the famous author? Mind you, I’d like to distinguish between ‘ravish’ and ‘ravage’ here. The plot leads us up one or two garden paths before we reach the dramatic conclusion, made all the more convincing by very good preparation.

A Breath on Dying Embers followed, with some serious personal traumas for Jim Daley with his awful wife Liz, and a more prominent part for his boss, Carrie Symington, whom I like – and interesting consequences for Brian Scott. A very good read as usual, with a bit of a cliffhanger ending – roll on the next book!

Author interview with Caroline Dunford

Today we're lucky enough to have an chat with Caroline Dunford, author of the very successful Euphemia Martins series which kicks off just before the First World War. This is the launch day for the latest Euphemia, Death at the Races!

Caroline, welcome! The Euphemia series is huge, and now there's a spin-off, too, the Hope Stapleford series. I'm only on Death in the Loch! I may never catch up, which is quite a good feeling  - there's always be more to read! I think you've said that your Euphemia books are based on a story from your own family history - would you like to tell us more?

The Euphemia Martins Mysteries aren’t autobiographical, although they were inspired by events in my own family. I woke up one night after dreaming of my great grandmother, who I had never met, and the stories of the first three Euphemias simply fell into place. Fortunately, I keep a notebook by the bed and was able to write the ideas down.

In the books, when Euphemia’s father, who is a vicar, dies, she becomes a maid to help support her family, even though her mother is the (estranged) daughter of an Earl. There are some parallels with my own family.

My great grandmother came from a rather rich family, but when her own mother died and her father remarried, she came to hate her stepmother. Her father told her to either except her new mother or leave. She chose to leave and became a maid. However, in the real world, being a maid when you have been brought up in a luxurious home is quite an adjustment. The harsh working conditions, and her own lack of skills, meant that my great grandmother quickly became ill. However, she was saved by falling in love with a tobacconist, with whom she had thirteen children, all of whom survived infancy. Her original family never forgave her - although one brother did visit his nephews and nieces. He, so the family legend goes, eventually hung himself. So, my line of the family has no connection with my great grandmother’s family. I have a single picture of her walking with my grandmother and my aunt, who was the very image of Shirley Temple as a toddler.

That's fascinating, if rather sad - families can be very tough. Getting back to the fiction, though, the historical period you've chosen is a pretty rich one, with lots going on and plenty of extant sources - how do you do your research, and how, if at all, do you keep it contained? Do you find it hard to stop the research and start the writing, or is it the other way around?

Both of my parents were children in London during the Blitz of WWII so talk of war was not uncommon during my childhood. Both of my grandfathers also served. My maternal grandfather was a spotter in WWI (he was a lot older than his wife) and often spoke to my mother about aspects of that war. So, I’ve always felt that both world wars strongly affected my own family. My interest in the wars has only minimally been about the actual fighting, my fascination is how people coped, how ordinary people lived in extraordinary times. Some faced them with great bravery and courage, while others crumpled under the sheer weight of war. 

 The conversations I’ve had had with relatives started my interest, but I’ve also read a lot of historical reference, as well as literature of the period, covering both world wars, which has given me a lot of insight into the people who lived then. And, yes, like most authors, I’m not above Googling the occasional piece of information that I can’t ferret out elsewhere. The internet is an incredible resource for writers, but it’s important to verify sources and also not to disappear down a rabbit hole of research.

 I’m currently exploring medicine in WWI for a future Euphemia (A Death in the Hospital) and I’m finding it far too fascinating. When I’m writing, all I want to do is write and when I’m researching, all I want to do is research. The only way I can manage deadlines is by working out strict word deadlines and keeping to them.

 I write notes in hard-backed notebooks in an attempt not to lose them. But I also have a scattering of papers and books that range out in ever increasing circles from around my desk.

I’d also recommend, for anyone who can reach it, Eden Camp war museum in the north of England, which I love. There is a deluge of information as well as interactive elements, lifelike displays and ex-army and air force vehicles. Best of all, it in no way glorifies war, but instead records with pinpoint accuracy these pivotal moments in our history both at the front and at home.

I must go! I love military museums. What drew you to writing - and why crime?

 I started off writing short stories and selling them. Most of them were either fantasy or horror. I tried to write a full-length fantasy story, but even I knew it wasn’t very good. Eventually, it occurred to me to write what I truly loved reading - crime. I’m not overly keen on police procedural stories, but I do love good stories with intriguing puzzles which examine human nature under pressure. During war, and with sudden loss, the trappings of society fall away. What is left is the true nature of people. There is nowhere to hide and both characters and readers can be challenged to consider what is at the heart of the human condition - what is right and what is wrong. I’m not offering any glib answers, but I do love making readers think about awkward questions that arise both in fiction and in real life.

Are you a full-time writer, or do you do other things?

I do some very part-time lecturing, as a Teaching Fellow in a department of ongoing learning within Edinburgh University. I’m keen on actively learning new skills and I like to share that enthusiasm. I love working with new and emerging writers of all ages. Currently I teach creative writing and freelance journalism, but it’s very much a side-line to my writing. I do consider myself to be a full-time writer, and it is my primary means of income. However, I think it is very important to not sit and simply write. To improve my writing, I feel I need to spend a reasonable amount of time living a life, and not simply making one up for my characters. 

Have you any hobbies that help your writing? or that help you escape from writing?

 I rarely escape from my writing. It definitely benefits my mental health to write. I use my stories to ask questions, explore choices and hopefully create memorable characters. Those characters are in my head almost all of the time. Many of them are so strong that they seem to have an active influence on what happens in the stories - sounds a bit mad, I know. Fortunately, I find this to be a common thing with many authors that I know.

Yes, we're all at least a bit mad!

 However, I do spend my Wednesday evenings at a silver jewellery making class. There I wallow in blow torches, mild acids, anvils, hammers, burnishers, files and solder. It’s one place I can’t daydream about my writing without incurring the occasional injury. This means I can stop the internal chatter of my stories for at least two hours a week. I also end up making pretty, shiny things too, which is a definite bonus.

That sounds wonderful! It's a craft I haven't tried yet.

 I also enjoy cooking, and baking. Although I use recipe books for inspiration, I am a very much a see-what-I-have-and-make-stuff-from-it kind of cook. Currently I am enjoying a foray into Middle Eastern cooking with lots of lime, sumac, fresh coriander, ras al hanout and almond yoghurt. 

That's very on-trend - and it's giving me ideas for dinner this evening! Anyway, new book out today - where can people find you and your books?

Earlier this year Hachette launched the first of a new series with Hope for the Innocent. This is set shortly before WWII and will continue during the outbreak of war. It follows descendants of the Euphemia Martins Mysteries series, with the occasional cameo from characters of those books.

 The Euphemia Martins series is continuing. The new book, A Death at the Races, and Euphemia and Fitzroy driving across Europe to Monaco. It’s double the length of the previous Euphemia novels (but the same price) as I’m stepping up the length of all future stories with Hachette’s approval.

 All books are available from Amazon, and from the Hachette website , but you can also find them in your local bookstores or have your bookstore order them. All books are available in ebook and paperback forms. The Euphemia Martins books are also available from most libraries in hard back and large print. There are also audio books available too.

Oh, and I have a website https://caroline-dunford.squarespace.com/  Every Friday I post an extract from Spymaster Fitzroy’s diaries – and these are free! There will be a link to the latest extract at the bottom of the home page and then you can go back and read all the previous ones. Although, be warned, while there are no spoilers, they are not in chronological order.

I’m on twitter as @verdandiweaves

That's wonderful, Caroline - lots and lots to read! Thanks for dropping in and good luck with the new release!