Caroline Todd R.I.P.

I was deeply saddened yesterday to learn of the death of Caroline Todd, a delightful person and a gifted writer in collaboration with her son Charles. I've greatly enjoyed Caroline's company, along with that of Charles and her daughter Linda, on many occasions, both in Britain and the United States, and I was in touch very recently to pick their brains about the pros and cons of collaborative crime writing for a course that I'm working on right now.

I first became aware of the name of Charles Todd (the name under which the mother and son duo wrote) twenty-five years ago, when I delighted in their first historical mystery featuring Inspector Rutledge, A Test of Wills. The popularity of that book paved the way for a long and successful career. Their love of England shone through in their writing: it's not easy to capture the sense of a foreign country in a long series of novels, but they achieved this thanks to meticulous research and a great deal of empathy.

The first time I had a long conversation with Caroline was, as far as I can remember, in Baltimore, at the 2008 Bouchercon, when we appeared on a panel together. After that there were many enjoyable encounters. We were, for instance, on a quiz team together at Harrogate a couple of years ago (above photo), and Caroline also took part in 'Forgotten Authors' panels at CrimeFest. I also remember a memorable dinner at Malice Domestic in 2014, along with the actor-writers Melodie Johnson Howe and Kathryn Leigh Scott, while Charles and Caroline were guests of mine at a table at the Agatha awards banquet a couple of years later when The Golden Age of Murder won the prize. 

Four years ago, when I agreed to give a talk in Grasmere to a group of Americans visiting the Lake District, I was surprised and delighted to find that their number included Caroline and Charles, who were on another research trip - as I say, they researched expertly and extensively together. I've also had the pleasure of including their stories in anthologies; their contributions were always entertaining and highly professional.

All our get-togethers were happy ones, because Caroline was a woman of charm, intelligence, and kindliness. She and Charles were due to be guests of honour at the Anthony Awards last night and warm tributes were paid. In particular, Hank Philippi Ryan spoke very movingly about Caroline's personal qualities and literary gifts in a memorable and fitting tribute. I shall miss her and my sympathies go to her family and particularly to my dear friends Charles and Linda, whose loss is so great. 

Crimefest 2012

I’m just back from a few days away, spent in a very sunny Bristol. The main focus of the trip was Crimefest 2012, and the organisers did an excellent job, as ever, with the result that this year’s convention was perhaps the best so far – and I’ve enjoyed them all.

On Thursday I moderated , once again, the panel on Forgotten Authors. Peter Guttridge, Caroline Todd, John Curran and Dolores Gordon-Smith did a great job in enthusing the audience for a range of writers, including Helen McCloy (who is definitely on my must-read list), Ira Levin and R.Austin Freeman. I’m really pleased this panel is so popular  - in fact, I’ve been asked to moderate it yet again next year...

My second panel was on Sunday. This time Peter was the moderator and our theme was “past and present”. Tom Harper, Penny Hancock (whom I hadn’t met before, a very pleasant lady who has made a big splash with her debut novel) and Kate Ellis were my fellow panellists.  Great fun.

Peter featured yet again in the Mastermind quiz – and this year, he was the winner, pipping Peter Rozovsky by the narrowest of margins. Rhian Davies, a blogger of note, and Jake Kerridge, one of our most knowledgeable reviewers, were the other contestants, and all of them deserve congratulation: sitting in that black chair can be a real ordeal, believe me.

On a personal level, I was thrilled that no fewer than four stories which have appeared in books I have edited were short-listed for the CWA Short Story Dagger. My warmest congratulations to Cath Staincliffe, Margaret Murphy, Claire Seeber and Bernie Crosthwaite. Of course, the greatest joy was to meet old friends and make new ones, and my abiding memories will include a host of fascinating conversations with people who –whatever their differences of background – share a love of crime fiction.

Forgotten Authors

No forgotten book today, but I did enjoy moderating the Crimefest panel on Forgotten Authors. The subjects included Adam Diment, Peter van Greenaway (who sounded most intriguing), Leslie Charteris and William Shipway.

My fellow panellists, Peter Guttridge, Caroline Todd, Sarah Rayne and Adrian Magson are all delightful people and it was a real pleasure to be with them. I must thank Ali Karim for the photo. His kindness is as unfailing as his support for crime writers.

And I've been asked to moderate another Forgotten Authors panel at next year's Crimefest....

Crimefest panels

I Fought the Law was the slightly mysterious title of my first Crimefest panel this year. I moderated an appealing group comprising Diane Janes, Frances Brody, Alison Bruce and Dan Waddell. The theme was crime fact and fiction. All four panellists have had their first crime novels published in recent years, but they were all very professional and this made for a lively discussion, even at 9 a.m., which is not my favourite time of the day. The audience was excellent, too

I hadn’t met Dan Waddell before, but found him a splendid panel colleague. He has written a couple of books which make use of his knowledge of genealogy, and oddly enough there was a time (probably about 15 years ago) when I did some research with a view to writing a genealogical mystery myself. But I gave up on the idea, and I have no doubt that Dan is much better suited to it than I would have been.

I was asked to reprise the Forgotten Authors panel, which was popular last year, although with a different group of authors. I’d been on panels previously with Caro Ramsay, Caroline Todd and Suzette Hill, but this was my first encounter with Stan Trollip, who is one half of the South African double act known as Michael Stanley.

We talked about a wide range of authors, ranging from John Buchan to James McClure. Caro amused me with her theory that Desmond Bagley and Duncan Kyle were one and the same person, and it has to be said that their photos do bear an uncanny resemblance to each other. A fun panel, and the only problem was that there was so much to say about the chosen authors that 50 minutes simply was not enough.

Crimefest

Today I set off for Bristol, and Crimefest. I’ve been looking forward to it, whilst worrying for some time that family health issues would prevent me from attending. Happily, this is not the case, and I am hoping that I’ll find the week-end as restorative as I have done on previous occasions.

I’m moderating a couple of panels. ‘I Fought the Law’ on Friday morning concerns writers who write fact and fiction, and those involved include Frances Brody, Alison Bruce, Dan Waddell and Diane Janes.

On Sunday morning, we will reprise the ‘Forgotten Authors’ panel that proved popular last year. Those involved include Caro Ramsay, Michael Stanley, Caroline Todd and Suzette Hill.

Shortly after that, I’ll be involved again with the Mastermind quiz. All in all, it should really be a fun week-end and I do hope to see some of you there