Susan Moody and Stephen Murray

You might think that, over the course of rather more than 1600 blog posts, I'd have discussed at great  length all of the crime writers whom I know and like, and probably I should have done. But I haven't, and a conversation at Windermere reminded me of this. So I thought that I'd start filling in some of the gaps, with particular reference to authors whose stories I've included in anthologies that I've edited over the years. .And I'm beginning with two people who share the same initials but whose literary styles are quite different.

I first came across Susan Moody as a writer when I bought a paperback copy of her first book, Penny Black in the mid 80s. At that time, I was casting around for ideas for a crime series of my own, and assessing what else was happening in the market. Suffice to say that I was impressed with the witty and zestful writing. Fast forward a few years, and I met Susan in person, at about the time when she was starting a new series, featuring Cassie Swann, a bridge expert. I can't play bridge (I'm afraid that I once went to evening classes to learn, and found the tutor incomprehensible), but even so the books struck me as successful.

I was impressed by the versatility Susan displayed in a number of short stories which appeared in high profile anthologies edited by the likes of Tim Heald, and Liza Cody and Michael Z. Lewin. She even turned the long-running 'Gold Blend' TV commercials into a novel, and literary versatility doesn't get much more striking than that!  With this in mind, when I was asked to put together an anthology for the CWA, Susan Moody was one of the first people I approached to contribute. The resulting story, 'Moving On', with its viewpoint shifts, certainly lived up to expectations, and helped to make Perfectly Criminal a book I was proud to have edited. In recent years, Susan has been less prolific, but she came up with another notable story for Guilty Consciences, my most recent anthology, 'Deck the Halls with Poison, Ivy'.

Stephen Murrary is a contemporary of mine, but he achieved publication as a novelist rather more quickly, and was already well-established by the time I met him. His series of books featuring Alec Stainton, a quiet but likeable cop, achieved considerable distinction, and Stephen too contributed to a couple of early Northern Blood anthologies. The Stainton series came to an end, but when he supplied another good short story, 'Landfall', to Crime on the Move, I thought it was a sign that Stephen's crime novels would be hitting the bookshelves again before long. It hasn't happened yet, but I live in hope.

Sally Spedding and Cold Remains

Although this blog has been running for more than four years, I have to put my hands up and admit that I haven't got round to mentioning all the interesting books, past and present, and writers that I've come across. Not by a long chalk.

One writer I don't think I've covered is Sally Spedding, who first came to my attention a number of years back through her short stories (via the CWA anthology - compiling which gives me the chance to be the first reader of some terrific work). I was glad to include her story "The Anniversary" in Crime on the Move, an anthology I edited back in 2005.

Sally is also an experienced novelist, and I recall enjoying Wringland, which first came out about a decade ago. She's not a conventional whodunit writer, though. There is a Gothic tinge to some of her work and I find her writing quite distinctive. She comes from Wales, and is very familiar with France - two countries which feature recurrently in her work.

Her latest, Cold Remains, has just been published by Sparkling Books. It's a supernatural thriller set in old lead mine working in rural Carmarthenshire. Intriguingly, a course for writers features in the book - but this story is quite different from Ann Cleeves' The Glass Room, which included a similar course. If you like something a bit unusual in comparison to a typical detective fare, you might find Sally's work a very welcome discovery.

Reginald Hill and Short Stories

I mentioned recently that Reg Hill is a fine writer of short stories, and if you are a short story fan who is unfamiliar with them, you have a treat in store. Pascoe’s Ghost is a good collection, and it features one story, ‘The Rio de Janiero Paper’, that I think is truly wonderful. When I came to edit a CWA anthology called Crime in the City, I asked Reg for permission to include it, and I was delighted that he agreed. A very different, but also excellent, story called 'A Shameful Eating' later featured in Crime on the Move.

He has, over the years, contributed a number of brand new stories to anthologies that I’ve edited. It’s a rare treat to be the first person to read something from the pen of an internationally best-selling author, and Reg’s submissions never falter in quality. Another superb story, ‘On the Psychiatrist’s Couch’, featured in Whydunit?, and it deservedly won the CWA Short Story Dagger.

‘Game of Dog’ was a new story that he contributed to the CWA’s Golden Jubilee anthology, Mysterious Pleasures. Again, a great piece of work that I’m sure will be enjoyed not only by Hill fans but by anyone who relishes stylish and intelligent crime writing.

And now, for the forthcoming anthology Original Sins, Reg has contributed a longish story called ‘Where do the Naughty People Go?’ It’s characteristically gripping, and like so much of his work, the humour on the surface complements, rather than conflicts with, the darker elements of the story. I’ve received a large number of enjoyable submissions for this book, but I have little doubt that, when the anthology is finally published, Reg’s story will be regarded as one of the highlights. It's another reminder that he is a true master of the genre.

Christine Poulson

The Crime Writers’ Association has announced that Christine Poulson is to succeed Rebecca Tope as its membership secretary – so, if you are a published crime writer, in the UK (or overseas – there are many members from different parts of the world), and you would like to join this very friendly and worthwhile organisation Chrissie is the person to contact.

I got to know Chrissie quite a few years ago as a fellow member of the Northern Chapter of the CWA. Born in Yorkshire and now living in Derbyshire, she is an academic who wears her considerable learning lightly. She has, among other things, published a book on Arthurian legend in British Art.

She and I shared a platform last August, giving successive papers at the very convivial St Hilda’s College Crime Fiction week-end, and her contribution was really fascinating. It was intriguing that we’d picked some similar examples from the genre to make our points on the theme of the conference.

In addition to her other accomplishments, Christine Poulson is also a talented author, and she deserves to be better known. I had the pleasure of including her enjoyable story ‘The Lammergeier Vulture’ in a CWA anthology, Crime on the Move, that I edited a while back. When it comes to novels, she has enjoyed success with a series featuring a Cambridge academic, Cassandra James. I have on my over-loaded bookshelves two of the books in the series, and I’m looking forward very much to reading them. There is a link to Chrissie’s blog on the blogroll, and I can recommend it. Her posts are always thoughtful and full of interest.

Forgotten Book - Death and Transfiguration

One of the reasons that Patti Abbott’s series of Forgotten Books appeals to me is that it offers a chance not only to come up with ‘hidden gems’ of the genre, but also, quite often, with authors who have slipped off the radar but who do not deserve such a fate.

In that list, I’d include Stephen Murray, creator of DCI Alec Stainton, and author of, by my count, seven crime novels, of which the last to be published was Death and Transfiguration, which appeared in 1994. I’d hazard a guess that most readers of this blog are not familiar with Murray’s name, but when I started out in crime writing, he was already becoming established as one of the youngest and most promising writers whose work came out under the legendary imprint of Collins Crime Club. He is much the same age as me, but struck me as likely to be more of a high flier, and he’d taken the courageous step of giving up his day job as a surveyor to write full-time. I was never brave enough to do the same and give up the law, but I got to know Stephen and his family (the Muirray surname was a pseudonym), and we met quite often at events organised by the northern chapter of the Crime Writers’ Association.

All the Murray books are solid, literate, readable mysteries, and Stainton is a likeable fellow, if not someone to set the pulse racing too fast. Death and Transfiguration was, I felt at the time, Murray’s best book, not least because DS Liz Pink played a prominent role, and she was a character of great potential.

In this book, a philanderer called Crossland goes missing, having abandoned his car on Stainton’s turf. Meanwhile, a serial killer called the Carver is wreaking havoc. Suspicions grow that Crossland and the Carver are one and the same.

Regrettably, this was the last crime novel that Stephen Murray had published. The Crime Club imprint disappeared, and he seems to have found it difficult to stay in the game. I included a very good short story he wrote, ‘Landfall’, in a CWA anthology called Crime on the Move, in the hope this would attract publishers to his writing, but so far it doesn’t seem to have happened.

A pity. He is a good writer, and his books, in particular Death and Transfiguration, should not be forgotten. Fifteen years ago, he kindly inscribed my copy of the book ‘To another rising star’. I still hope that Stephen’s star will rise again in the crime firmament.