Rafe McGregor

I’ve only met Rafe McGregor briefly, but he seems to me to be one of the more interesting new figures to arrive on the crime scene. What strikes me above all is his appreciation and understanding of the traditional aspects of the genre – he’s a great enthusiast for Sherlock Holmes, for instance, and for a while his ezine Cobwebby Bottles covered Sherlockian topics in a very pleasing way.

Rafe is also a prolific blogger, and he reviews crime fiction from time to time – for example, for that very extensive online resource Tangled Web UK But now, I’m delighted to say, he is about to establish himself as a novelist.

I’m very pleased to have received a copy of his debut novel, The Architect of Murder, published by Robert Hale. Hale is a long-established company, traditionally associated with the library market, and in recent years they have quietly brought out some fascinating books. Examples include the final novels and a number of story collections by the late Michael Gilbert – the print run of The Mathematics of Murder was, however, not enough to meet demand, so copies are famously rare and expensive. I’ve never even seen it.

Gilbert was a big name in his day, but it’s good to know that Hale are prepared to bring out the work of new writers such as Rafe. His novel is set at a fascinating time in British history, in the run-up to the coronation of King Edward VII, and I look forward to reading it.