Crème de la Crime

It was with real pleasure that I received a parcel recently containing four brand-new books. They are published by Severn House, a good firm I have mentioned before (and one of the reasons they are good is that they publish the CWA anthology!) But there is something a little different about these books – they appear under the imprint of Creme De La Crime.

Formerly a separate business, Crème De La Crime was acquired some months ago by Severn House, and the branding makes me hazard a guess that this represents an attempt to emulate the success of the late lamented Collins Crime Club. If this is so, I think it is a good idea, since there are plenty of readers who miss the guarantee of reliability that the Crime Club used to represent.

The imprint has got off to a very good start. One of the authors is Kate Ellis, whom I have often mentioned here. Kissing the Demons is her third book featuring Joe Plantagenet, and it is good to see that series continuing. Mind you, Kate's productivity does put me to shame.

I'm also delighted to see that Tim Heald has brought back Simon Bognor, in Death in the Opening Chapter. Bognor appeared in a story that Tim contributed to Original Sins, and I am glad that he has now been resurrected in a full-length novel. Maureen Carter, a lively and talented writer from Birmingham, starts a new series with A Question of Despair, while Roz Southey has produced her fifth historical mystery, The Ladder Dancer. I wish all four authors, and their enterprising publishers, every success in this new venture.

Roz Southey and Chris Nickson

The long-term health of the crime fiction genre depends on a number of things, including the willingness of publishers to bring out the work of new writers – and to keep publishing capable writers for more than a couple of novels. All too often, there is a tendency for new or newish writers to be picked up on, say, a two-book deal and then dumped thereafter if the figures don’t look good. I understand the economic reasons for this, but short-term thinking has major downsides in most businesses, and I doubt if publishing is an exception. Authors need to be supported over a number of years if they are to develop the confidence to make the most of their talent.

A good example of a small publisher which nurtures new, or relatively little-known, writers is Crème de la Crime. Their books are paperback originals, and thanks to the good judgment of Lynne Patrick, who runs the company, they have introduced a number of very talented writers to an appreciative readership.

Two of their recent novels sound interesting. Roz Southey has just produced her fourth book , Swords and Song, which carries praise from that accomplished writer Sarah Rayne. Southey is a musicologist and historian, based in the North East of England, and her interests inform her historical mysteries. In this one, her musician detective Charlie Patterson finds that a young woman he knows has been murdered and he becomes (as series detectives are wont to do) drawn into the mystery.

The Broken Token by Chris Nickson is another historical mystery, this time a debut. A map of the historic ‘town’ of Leeds, where the action takes place, is helpfully provided. I do like maps in books. Here, Richard Nottingham, Constable of Leeds, discovers a murdered man and woman. He knew both victims – the woman was a former housemaid of his – and so, as with Southey’s book, he has a personal stake in solving the mystery.

The idea of a detective having such a personal stake in the investigation is a very familiar one – I used it in my own first novel, All the Lonely People, in which Harry Devlin’s wife is killed – but it’s effective nevertheless. I look forward to reading these books.