"I Hear of Sherlock Everywhere...."

My enthusiasm for Sherlock Holmes dates back to when I was very young and first encountered the great man in the shape of Douglas Wilmer, on TV, and Basil Rathbone, on film. Strangely enough, though, this past twelve months has seen me involved in more Sherlock-related activity than ever before. I'm absolutely delighted by response to The New Mysteries of Sherlock Holmes,from readers. In addition, I've enjoyed writing an essay about Conan Doyle's short stories, giving an after dinner speech to the Sherlock Holmes Soceity, and starting work on a story about Professor Moriarty for a forthcoming anthology.

I've also written an introduction for a new collection of the 'best' Sherlock stories for Arcturus. It includes a wide selection from the short stories, together with The Hound of the Baskervilles. The book is beautifully presented in a slipcase and will be available later this year. I've just received my copy, and it looks very good on the shelf.

Now, I've been told of a good cause that has a Sherlockian theme. I don't often mention charity events on this blog, but I want to make a special exception today, given that research into brain-related conditions is so very important. I have (and had) too many friends who have suffered from these conditions over the years. And the event really does sound like fun, as this extract from the press release suggests

"Sherlock fever has gripped Yorkshire as a charity’s campaign to break the World Record for the most people dressed as Sherlock Holmes has gone viral.
Sherlock Holmes, one of the most popular consulting detectives of all time, is on the case to help raise money for the Yorkshire Brain Research Centre at the Leeds Teaching Hospitals.
The Guinness World Record attempt promises to host the biggest Sherlock party ever. It takes place on 31st August 2014 in Temple Newsam, Leeds from 12 noon. Entry fee is £15 and every participant will receive a Deerstalker hat, pipe and magnifying glass.
 The event features a big stage featuring comedy, music, dance and theatre. There will be food, fun rides and and a few surprises along the way."

Yesterday's Papers Once More

This week sees the publication of Yesterday's Papers, my fourth Harry Devlin novel, as an Arcturus Crime Classic, not quite twenty years after its first appearance. Unusually, the book has been published by three different publishers as a mass market paperback over the years (there is also an ebook version with a wonderful intro by Peter Lovesey, as well as a paperback print on demand version.) Originally the publisher was Bantam. Later, when I moved publishers to Hodder, they reprinted the earlier titles including this one. It's also, in a way, a "cold case" story that anticipates elements of my Lake District Mysteries.

I'm especially gratified because this is a book for which I've always had a soft spot. If pushed, I'd say it's probably my personal favourite among the Devlin titles. I'm not one of those authors who disowns his earlier books, or feels unduly embarrassed about them - even though I'm the first to admit that I'd write them differently (in some respects) if I were writing them today. I must say that it's rare for me to re-read my earlier work, though I do have to do so occasionally (for instance, when checking proofs of new versions or checking facts for an article.) But the early books provide, in some ways, a snapshot of ideas and issues that were interesting me or concerning me at the time I wrote them. That's true of most novels, of course, and it's one of the reasons I find it so fascinating to investigate books of the past. They cast a light on the times when they were written, even if the author didn't intend to do so.

The story of my career as a writer is illustrated (or so I might think in darker moments0 by the story of Yesterday's Papers. I felt it was the most successful book I'd written to date, with lots of twists and quite a bit of humour, as well as a glance at the era of the Mersey Sound in Liverpool during the Sixties. Bantam had tried to promote me by pricing the books very competitively. But it didn't result in mega-sales, and a complication was that I had a separate hardback publisher, Piatkus. Yesterday's Papers, however, earned numerous glowing reviews in Britain and elsewhere, and was even one of only a couple or so of crime novels featured in The Sunday Times Paperbacks of the Year. I dreamed that this would boost sales - only to be told that Bantam had already decided not to publish me any more. A shame, because they are a top publisher, and I had a really nice editor, Francesca Liversidge. But these things happen in a writer's career, and one of the most corrosive emotions is self-pity. Frustrating as the writing life can be, it's also a great life. You have to get on and make the most of it. And before long, as I say, another good publisher, Hodder, and an excellent editor, Kate Lyall Grant, came along..

Against this background, the revival of Yesterday's Papers is really rather a Christmas treat for me. I still think the plot-lines are among the best I've managed to come up with. And I'm hoping that a new group of readers will enjoy discovering Harry Devlin, and will be entertained by a story that reaches back to a time when the songs of Liverpool were being sung the world over.

Forgotten Book - The Norwich Victims

I've mentioned The Norwich Victims, by Francis Beeding, several times in previous blog posts. It's timely to feature the novel as today's Forgotten Book, since Arcturus have now brought out a mass market paperback edition. I'm very glad to see this - not least because a while ago, I encouraged their very pleasant and enthusiastic crime editor to take a look at both this book and Henry Wade's Lonely Magdalen. I'm delighted to say that Arcturus subsequently decided to bring these two excellent stories back for a new generation of readers to enjoy.

Having read the book before, I knew the ingenious plot twist that makes The Norwich Victims so special, but I found that this did not spoil my enjoyment. Rather, I had the chance to admire the skill with which Beeding (a pen-name for two writing friends) skated over rather thin ice. I also felt that the smooth and highly readable writing style has stood the test of time. The same cannot be said of all detective novels of a similar vintage.This story first appeared in 1931, and the duo's few detective stories are very good indeed. I haven't yet tried their spy thrillers.

Two separate storylines gradually merge. John Throgmorton is a dodgy stockbroker who lives with a pretty younger woman called Hermione. Into their clutches fall a woman who has a winning ticket in a French lotery of very great value. And Throgmorton decides to kill her for it, so that Hermione can impersonate her and grab the money. Meanwhile, at the school where the victim worked, a young woman, the niece of the school's owner, Robert Hedlam, has fallen for George Martin, a clean-cut cop who is put in charge of the murder case.

There are plenty of plot complications, and the pace is excellent from start to finish. Really, this book is a model of its kind. I accept that the culprit's psychology is not explored fully, and if the story were being rewritten today, this gap would need to be filled. But in the whole scheme of things,it doesn't matter much. The Norwich Victims is a very clever and entertaining book and a worthy addition to the list of Arcturus Crime Classics.

The return of All the Lonely People

It’s now over 20 years since Harry Devlin made his debut, when my first book, All the Lonely People, was originally published. It was a marvellous experience for me, becoming a published novelist at long last, and not surprisingly I have very fond memories, not only of the book but of that whole period in my life.

The book was published in paperback by Bantam, a division of Transworld. When the Devlin series was acquired a few years later by Hodder, a new paperback edition was produced. Sadly, though, this edition has been out of print for quite a while.

This is a common problem for authors – unless they are best-sellers. One’s early books are no longer available in current editions, so it's hard for readers to track down those books. However, I am very happy to say that All the Lonely People will next year enjoy its third incarnation in a paperback edition.

This is because those enterprising publishers Arcturus have decided to include the book in their Crime Classics series. Given that other authors featured include Anthony Berkeley, whom I admire so much, and the likes of Francis Durbridge and Ethel Lina (The Lady Vanishes) White, I am flattered, as well as delighted. I’m fortunate indeed to have a book which has been paperbacked by three different publishers, and All the Lonely People has certainly been a very lucky book for me.

Forgotten Book - Blueprint for Murder

My choice for today's Forgotten Book is another entry in the impressive new series of classic crime novels published by Arcturus. This one is called Blueprint for Murder, and the author is Roger Bax. If the name of Roger Bax is unfamiliar to you, you might be familiar with the work of Andrew Garve. Both were among the pseudonyms used by the journalist and prolific author Paul Winterton, but it is as Garve that he carved out a considerable reputation.

I had never previously read any of the books he wrote as Roger Bax, but even if I had not known the identity of the author before reading the book, I might have guessed it because of the focus on small boat sailing – clearly this was one of Winterton's great passions.

The book changes character in its last quarter. It starts out as an "inverted" crime novel, tracing how a man made ruthless by his wartime experiences sets out to kill a wealthy benefactor, contriving an ingenious alibi so as to escape justice. But his plan has some rather obvious flaws, and after it falls apart, but the book is in the form of an adventure thriller as he tries to flee across the Channel.

The book is set in the immediate post-war period, and the horrors of the concentration camp that so corrupted the villain are conveyed tersely but well. This is a readable and entertaining story, and although the outcome is only foreseeable, I enjoyed it from start to finish. Had it not been reissued, I'm sure I would never come across it, and Arcturus are to be congratulated for publishing a novel that, although hardly well-known, deserves a new lease of life as a lively period piece.

Forgotten Book - Death Walks in Eastrepps

It is always a real cause for celebration when the forgotten books of the past are resurrected in new print versions (or as e-books, come to that). Assuming, of course, that they are not books that deserve to be forgotten! In my opinion, Death Walks In Eastrepps most definitely deserves to be remembered. In fact, one critic described it as one of the 10 greatest detective novels of all time. This may be a bit over the top, but nevertheless, it certainly qualifies as a classic.

In a post on this blog almost four years ago, I talked about the book in the context of a discussion on interesting motives for murder, and the motive is certainly distinctive and memorable. But the book as a whole is a lively and entertaining read, and since it is 80 years since its original publication, the time was certainly ripe for its resurrection.

I'm very glad to say, therefore, that a brand-new, attractively produced edition has now become available in an interesting series of Crime Classics from Arcturus Publishing. I'll have more to say about Arcturus in the future, because I do think that their enterprise deserves both praise and encouragement.

Death Walks in Eastrepps is an early example of the serial killer story. In fact, I'd be very interested to hear about any Golden Age detective novels about serial killers that pre-date it – Agatha Christie and Philip MacDonald ventured into this territory a little later, but did anyone get there sooner?

Of course, the story has its unlikely (you might say, exceptionally improbable) aspects. But the atmosphere of the seaside resort terrified by the work of the mysterious multiple murderer is nicely done, and the narrative pace is kept up pretty well.

The author was Francis Beeding, the pseudonym for two writers, Hilary St George Saunders and John Palmer. They wrote a couple of excellent classic detective novels after this one, but later became better known for thrillers. Again, I'd be glad to hear from anyone who has sampled some of their other work.