Peter Lewis R.I.P.

I was extremely sorry to learn of the death, on 25 May, of my friend Peter Lewis, after a long and difficult illness. I first met Peter and his wife Margaret on my very first crime writing event - the inaugural lunch of the northern chapter of the CWA at Boroughbridge, back in 1987; also in attendance were such great names as Reg Hill, Bob Barnard, and Peter Walker. We all became good friends.

Peter was an academic who wrote two major literary biographies. The first, about John Le Carre, won an Edgar in 1986. The second, about Eric Ambler, was published in 1990 and Peter wrote a guest post for this blog almost a decade ago about the revised edition. He dabbled in crime writing himself, and I included a couple of his stories in Northern Blood anthologies - the second of which was published by Flambard Press, the small press which he and Margaret (herself the author of two excellent books about notable crime writers, Ngaio Marsh and Ellis Peters) set up.

Flambard also published the UK edition of my novel Dancing for the Hangman. I was very grateful for the enthusiasm that Peter and Margaret showed for the book and I still have in our hall the lovely framed artwork they commissioned for the cover. The book didn't make any of us a fortune, but I'm still proud of it.

I met Peter and Margaret many times over the years. The photos at the top and bottom of this post were taken almost exactly fifteen years ago, in the back garden of the home of Ann and Tim Cleeves at Whitley Bay. It's sad to think that both Tim and Peter are no longer with us, but I have many happy memories of convivial times spent in their company. My deepest condolences to Margaret and her family.