Taken from December 2025 newsletter
A Plot For us in the northern hemisphere, it is the perfect weather for snuggling up with a good book. Or maybe writing one…The first draft of the fourth book in the Detective Tom Robertson series is well underway. It starts the same evening that book three, Dangerous Reprisals, finishes, as Tom thinks he’s going to enjoy a quiet walk back to his apartment along the Thames…All the books take place over a couple of weeks, with lots of subplots. The aim of book four is not just to solve a murder, but to tie together many of the loose ends from the first three and complete the first mini-series. The working title is Body in the Thames, but these things do change. I tend to be more of a ‘plotter’, planning a book, than a ‘pantser’ who just goes for it and writes, but in a first draft it still can go off in another direction. It looks like Tom’s former colleagues could be about to get their comeuppance, his interview skills will be put to the test as he tries to tease a confession from the antagonist in Deadly Justice, and he has a decision to make about the direction of his career. But Tom still hasn’t found himself a girlfriend; maybe that will happen in book five or six…If you have been reading the first three books in the series, please consider giving them an honest review on Amazon. These are invaluable, particularly for independent authors. Drop me an email agw@agwinkworth.com about your thoughts on these books and the prequel. A Twist I have just finished reading Janice Hallett’s The Examiner which came out earlier this year. It is not your usual format for a crime novel, written in the form of messages, emails, texts and documents, but it does work. And is definitely difficult to put down, as you would expect from a Sunday Times Bestseller. There is a twist to one of the major characters that I really didn’t see coming. Body in the Thames has a couple of big twists that I hope will keep readers guessing. How do you feel about books that reveal pieces of information that you weren’t told at the time? Is this okay, or do you prefer all the facts lined up so you can make your own judgement about the crime? A Christmas Read It is that time when I raid my bookshelf, local bookshop and Amazon, for a seasonal selection, maybe a classic like Agatha Christie, Poirot’s Christmas. I have another Janice Hallett in my collection, as well as some less well know authors. Do we like it when a Christmas-themed book pops up in the middle of a series? Like LJ Ross’s Ryan’s Christmas or Belsay? Or prefer it when they are a standalone?  Enjoy your Christmas reading. Thank you! AGW |