My current reading was Robert Galbraith’s The Hallmarked Man, which came highly recommended by a friend. It is an intriguing novel about private detective Cormoran Strike and his business partner, Robin Ellacott, who have been hired to prove the police wrong about the identification of a dismembered corpse. It is also over a thousand pages long… Although it is well written, with an engaging plot, my problem with it, which wasn’t obvious before starting the book, is that it is set at Christmas time. As England swelters in a summer heatwave with temperatures consistently around or above 30 degrees Celsius, I found the description of biting winds and putting on overcoats too depressing. I don’t normally put a book down when halfway through but, particularly as I was going away for a few days by the sea, I decided to pause this and take some books with me that should have been more in-keeping with the current weather.
They are displayed in the photo below on my (for this month) Bookcase on the Beach.
Two of the books were written by authors whom I have featured in recent months, LJ Ross and PD James.
LJ Ross’ The Cove is described as ‘escapist mystery’. It is an easy- to -read, perfect for a holiday on the beach book, if you like your whodunnit crime to include an element of romance. I finished it in a couple of sittings. She has just released her fifth book in this series, The Lizard.
PD James’ The Lighthouse is set on a small island off the Cornish coast and, as is in keeping with her books, is a more in-depth crime novel with detailed plot strands to grapple with. Commander Adam Dalgleish is once again on the track of a murderer, this time following the death of a novelist. I prefer it to Original Sin and, next to Death in Holy Orders, it is one of my favourites of all hers.
The third book is Rachel McLean’s The Beach Hut Murders. Of course, just because it has the word beach in the title, it doesn’t mean it is a summer read. This is set in February, on a chilly Dorset coast. It was not really my type of crime story, but if you like a female protagonist and a rural setting, then it is a page-turning police procedural and murder mystery. What is to be admired is McLean’s career as a hugely successful independent author I can only dream about following. Her first novel, The Corfe Castle Murders, won the 2021 Kindle Storytellers Award, and she has gone on to sell over three million books. I have other titles by her, so she may feature in more depth in a future bookshelf photograph.
Does the time of year a book is set matter to you? Are you like me and try to read with the seasons? My Tom Robertson books are, at the moment, all taking place in one year. The prequel, Murder in the Museum, is set in February, followed in June and July by the next five books. The first three have been published already, and the next two will follow shortly. The sixth book, Murder on the Beach, will be set at the end of August, and I hope to have it out next summer to coincide with the holiday reads. It will then, at last, be onto the ones set in the autumn and winter when I finally release the first three books I wrote. They will have been re-written and, hopefully, thanks to reading and learning from many different authors including the three above, I have improved at my craft.
Spoiler alert: in the October and November newsletter, I plan to feature two protagonists that have heavily influenced my writing – Jack Reacher and John Rebus.
I am due another short break at the end of the month, so please reply to this email and let me know what you recommend for crime reading with a summer flavour.
Body in the Thames – Out Soon
I am currently smoothing over a few plot holes in my next release, Body in the Thames, before it goes to my editor next month. During one of the many read-throughs, I discovered someone carrying a mobile phone that could be tracked by the police, and, therefore, possibly ruin the plot, and some blood-covered clothing that disappeared without trace… Can I tie up all the loose ends before my deadline? That is a question that sometimes I calmly answer with a, ‘Yes, of course, loads of time,’ and then a mere hour later I will panic that I can’t possibly get it all done…
Below – Bookshelf on the Beach, taken on the Isle of Wight last month.
Your next favourite story:
As an indi author I am reliant on Bookfunnel promotions to increase my list. Please support other indis and take a look at the books on offer below (many are free):
Short Thrills, True Crime and Crime Fiction, Crime Fiction Sequels, May Cause Late Night Reading, Thrilling Season, Crime, Suspense and Spies, Suspense/Mystery Group Promos, Mystery and Thriller Spotlight, Summer Thriller, Suspense and Mystery in Kindle Unlimited, Crime Thrillers, The Mystery Files, Mystery, Thriller and Suspense Freebies, Into the Shadows, Slices, Sleuths and Summer Secrets, Cozy, Mystery, Thriller, Suspense, Free Cozies for August.
These are still running in case you missed them in an earlier newsletter:
Find Your Next Favourite Author, Crimes and Conspiracies, KU Summer Mysteries and Thrillers, Mysteries and Suspense Giveaways.
From 6th August – Edge of Your Seat Reads,
From 11th August – New Releases Crime Noir,
From 15th August – Trouble Travels the Streets.
If you have missed any of my previous newsletters you can read them here
Best wishes,
AGW