Crimefest - and a magic moment...

Crimefest at Bristol, always so enjoyable, was especially memorable for me this year,as I was awarded the inaugural CWA Margery Allingham short story prize for my story "Acknowledgments". Moments of this kind don't come along very often in a writer's life - well, not in my writing life, anyway - and are something to cherish. The announcement was made by Julia Jones, Allingham's biographer, whom I'd had the pleasure of meeting for the first time the previous day. She kept the secret very well - I had no idea whatsoever that my name would be read out. Thanks to Ali Karim, as ever, for the photo above, as well as these, taken at a party to celebrate Severn House's 40 years of publishing. There's me with Jake Kerridge, the crime critic from The Daily Telegraph, a group shot, and Ali's daughter Sophia, Susan Moody, Felix Francis (son of Dick), me, bookseller Richard Reynolds, and Mike Stotter of Shots.

In the lead-up to the prize giving, I'd been absorbed by a wonderfully witty one-man show by Simon Brett, this year's CWA Diamond Dagger winner. On the subject of short stories, I was also delighted that the stories John Harvey and Cath Staincliffe contributed to Deadly Pleasures have been shortlisted for the CWA Dagger, to be announced at the end of June.

On Thursday, I again moderated the Forgotten Authors panel. Martin Walker, Jessica Mann, Stephen Booth and Christine Poulson shared their enthusiasm for, and knowledge of, a terrific range of writers, including Bruce Graeme, Mavis Doriel Hay, Dilwyn Rees and Harry Kemelman. With such a group, moderating was easy - the only challenge, as usual, was that the time whizzed by all too quickly, There is always so much more that we would like to say about our chosen authors.

On Saturday Kate Ellis moderated a panel about archaeology and history in which I took part, along with Tom Harper, and two writers I was meeting for the first time, Luca Veste, whose first novel has made a big hit, and Elly Griffiths, one of the most successful detectuve novelists to have emerged in recent years.Kate had never moderated before, but she did a fine job, and she later took part in the Mastermind, coming second only to Paul Johnston, who has won the quiz previously. I was given a lift to and from Bristol with Kate and her husband Roger and as always they were great company.

So too were many writers and readers with whom I enjoyed spending time over the week-end. One particular pleasure is catching up with fellow writers whom I haven't seen for a few years. This time, that list included Hilary Bonner, a former CWA chair who hasn't been working in the crime field for about a decade - it's great to see her back - Linda Regan and her husband, the actor Brian Murphy, Rob Gittins and Mick Herron, who was last year's CWA Gold Dagger winner. Mick reminded me that the last time we met, I won the CWA Short Story Dagger,so with that track record, I hope to run into him more often in future! There were also various interesting conversations about some good things to come. These include a guest blog by Susan Moody and, I hope, a couple of other talented writers,, a Golden Age project mooted by Mike Linane, a new CWA venture, and a possible new direction for the CWA anthology amongst other things.

The feelgood atmosphere of a convention like this is always the result of a vast amount of hard work by a small group of volunteers. Adrian, Donna, Myles, Liz and their team do a remarkable job. They must be absolutely exhausted now, but at least they have the satisfaction of knowing the whole event was another real success. And believe me, I'll remember it with pleasure for a long, long time.

Crimefest 2010

I returned yesterday afternoon from a thoroughly enjoyable trip to Bristol, and I think everyone shared the view that Crimefest 2010 was a highly successful event. Congratulations are due to the hard-working team of volunteers who make sure that things go so smoothly, a tricky task accomplished with good humour and efficiency.

The superb weather was an added bonus and I took the opportunity to have a look round some parts of Bristol within walking distance. It's a rather appealing city, and one that, surprisingly, has not been featured too often in crime fiction.

Right from the outset I also had the chance to catch up with a number of old friends - within minutes of arrival, I found myself in the company of first Ruth Dudley Edwards, Linda Regan and Brian Murphy, and then Ali Karim, Maxim Jakubowski and Neil White. And the social aspects of the convention continued throughout the week-end, right down to the journey home with Kate Ellis, who kindly presented me with a copy of her latest book, The Flesh Tailor, about which more at a future date..

On Friday evening, a pub meal at The Green House, conveniently located opposite the convention hotel, was followed by a quiz set by Peter Guttridge. Our team, the Monkey Coalition, ran out winners despite struggling with various questions, especially about film. It was a very convivial occasion, and my colleagues were Rik and Carol Shepherd, Karen Meek, Ann Cleeves and Cath Staincliffe. Our prizes were a choice of books, cds and dvds, and I’m hoping that audio versions of books by Peter Robinson and Lee Child will improve my commutes in the weeks to come.

Dead Like Her

Linda Regan’s first novel, Behind You!, published by Crème de la Crime a couple of years back, struck me as an enjoyable debut. It introduced two likeable cops, Paul Banham and Alison Grainger, with a relationship developing between them, and made good use of the author’s experience as an actor. She has appeared in a wide range of roles and her husband is Brian Murphy is himself well-known for his acting, perhaps most famously as George Roper, originally in 'Man About the House' and later in 'George and Mildred'.

Some time afterwards, I got to meet Linda and Brian, and so it was good - and a relief! - to find that Passion Killers, Linda’s next novel, didn’t display the failings often associated with second books. Now she has published her third book about Banham and Grainger, Dead Like Her.

The story opens with a striking and memorable image – Marilyn Monroe lookalike Sadie Morgan falls victim to a brutal murderer. She works as a staff nurse at a hospital, but earns almost as much for three spots a week, impersonating Marilyn at a club called Doubles. Meanwhile, Banham and Grainger, both newly promoted, have begun an affair – but how long will it last?

The body count soon mounts, but the private lives of the investigating cops are of equal interest to the reader. Linda, who herself played Marilyn some years ago in a touring production, and the launch of the book was timed to coincide with the anniversary of Marilyn's birth. Linda writes with increasing assurance a modern equivalent of the books that used to appear under the imprint of Collins Crime Club, or in the distinctive yellow jackets of Gollancz. Those great brands, have, sadly, disappeared forever, but Crème de la Crime does a good job of identifying other modern authors of talent such as Maureen Carter and Adrian Magson. Long may they flourish.