Authors reveal mystery behind crime writing

Everyone loves a mystery, and library readers are no exception, so this autumn Herefordshire Libraries has teamed up with a host of top authors to reveal the secrets behind crime writing and give budding authors the chance to write their own crime novel.

Following on from their sell-out evening with the Medieval Murderers in May, Ross Library starts the library’s crime season on Friday, September 11 at 7pm when bestselling authors Caro Peacock and Rebecca Tope reveal their secrets of successful crime writing.

Rebecca Tope is the author of three popular murder mystery series, featuring Den Cooper, Devon police detective, Drew Slocombe, Undertaker, and Thea Osborne, house sitter in the Cotswolds. She’s also the "ghost writer" of the novels based on the ITV series Rosemary and Thyme.

Caro Peacock writes historical mysteries and is the author of A Foreign Affair, A Dangerous Affair, Death of a Dancer, and Death at Dawn. She also writes as Gillian Linscott.

Tickets priced £3 are available from Ross Library, telephone 01432 383280. There will be an opportunity to ask questions and buy signed books on the night.

Hereford plays host to bestselling author Anne Perry on Friday, September 18. Anne will be running a crime-writing workshop at the Museum Resource and Learning Centre, 58 Friars Street, Hereford from 2pm until 4pm, followed by an evening talk in the Woolhope Room, Hereford Library from 7.30pm.

Anne Perry is a prolific author selected by the Times (London) as one of the twentieth century’s “100 Masters of Crime”. Her publishing career began with The Cater Street Hangman in 1979, the first book in the series featuring the Victorian policeman Thomas Pitt and his wife Charlotte. In 1990, Anne started a new series of detective novels about private detective William Monk and volatile nurse Hester Latterly. None of Anne’s books have ever been out of print, and they have received critical acclaim and huge popular success worldwide.

Tickets cost £5 for the crime-writing workshop and £3 for the evening talk. Tickets for both events are available from Hereford Library: Tel. 01432 383280. Please note: Hereford Library is a historic building and access to The Woolhope Room is via stairs only.

Phil Rickman, bestselling author of the Merrily Watkins mysteries returns to Herefordshire Libraries by popular demand on Friday, October 23 for Mysterious Marches: in conversation with Phil Rickman at Leominster Library. 7pm onwards. There will be an opportunity to buy copies of Phil’s latest titles and get them signed on the night. Tickets priced £3 are available from Leominster Library, telephone  01432 383290.

Previous author events in the libraries have proved very popular and advance booking is recommended for all these events.
www.herefordshire.gov.uk/libraries