Verity Bright is back!

A wam welcome back to Verity Bright and their wonderful new book, A Recipe For Murder. You can get your copy HERE

Cream cakes, cucumber sandwiches, apple tarts and… poison? Lady Swift is trying to plan the menu for her wedding, until murder strikes in kitchens across the village! Lady Eleanor Swift’s marriage to dashing Chief Inspector Hugh Seldon is just days away. There’s a lot to organise from the dress to the catering, including, of course, the all-important wedding cake. But Eleanor is heartbroken when their chef, apple-cheeked Annie Tibetts, dies of poisoning. And as the doctor confirms her death wasn’t an accident, accusations fly around the whole community. With more of the village struck down by the poison, Eleanor must unmask a killer who seems intent on spreading chaos amongst her nearest and dearest. Everyone is accusing their neighbour… and Eleanor is in a pickle as the seating plans for the wedding fall apart. But she soon has bigger fish to fry when the source of the poison is traced to a trusted establishment in town. Eleanor is certain they are being framed and that sabotage is afoot… And when a sample of poisoned wedding cake is delivered anonymously to Hugh working at his station miles away in Oxford, Eleanor realises that while she has been planning for the future, her past has been catching up with her. Eleanor must race across the countryside to save her love from certain death. Can Eleanor find the proof in the pudding and save Hugh in time? And will the poisoner finally get their just desserts?

Release day for The Secret Detective Agency!

Release day at last for the first book in the Secret Detective Agency series. Book 2, The Seaside Murders is out at the end of next month. So, if you like Agatha Christie type twisty plots, world war 2 settings and quirky characters then this is the book for you. Includes added catitude with Marmaduke the one eyed ginger cat.

Meet Miss Jane Treen – the coffee-drinking cat lover dressed head to toe in tweed, who just happens to be a secret super sleuth! London, 1941: Miss Jane Treen is at her desk, strong black coffee in hand and fluffy ginger cat by her side, when her top-secret government work is interrupted by an urgent call to Devon. A woman has been found dead in a lake in a place where she shouldn’t have been. Jane needs to gather the clues and find the killer before someone else from the agency gets hurt… Shy and handsome code-breaker Arthur Cilento is bewildered by the arrival of the efficient Miss Treen and her cat Marmaduke. She bursts into his life unexpectedly, forcing him out of his comfort zone. The reluctant colleagues huddle near the warmth of a crackling fire in Arthur's country home, working to piece together the murderous puzzle at hand. In the sleepy Devon village, someone is hiding something: but is it the busybody vicar and his sister, the dutiful housekeeper and her secretive son, the stern librarian, or someone else altogether? And who were the people with the woman in the lake on the day she died? No sooner have Arthur and Jane have drawn up a list of suspects, than a parcel reveals a clue that sends them in hot pursuit of a coded diary stashed in a village church. But as the heavy wooden door slams behind them and a key turns in the lock, one thing is sure: they need to unravel the truth and crack this code before the killer decides their number is up… But if they can catch the culprit in time, might this unusual pair become the finest crime-solving partnership since Holmes and Watson hung up their hats…? If you love twisty crime novels, top-secret intrigue and the very best of Golden Age mysteries, then you will adore Helena Dixon’s totally gripping cozy novel, perfect for fans of Agatha Christie, T E Kinsey and Verity Bright! You can get your copy HERE Tomorrow I have a big launch party planned here in Devon and I'll pop some pics up afterwards!

London Book Fair

This week is London Book Fair, a massive trade gathering for publishers and overseas buyers. I cannot begin to tell you how thrilled I was when my agent sent me this pic of the Hachette stand. (Bookouture, my publisher are part of Hachette)For years my dream has been to see a book of mine on a big poster in a railway station or on the Underground. I used to joke that was when I would know I had made it. Getting this pic today made me cry good tears. It's been a dream for so long and London Book Fair is such a huge thing. To have my title selected for this kind of attention is incredible. When I signed my last contract I never even got a mention in the Bookseller - the book trade magazine. It was a six book contract for Miss Underhay and then a 3 book contract for The Secret Detectives so you know you would have thought... So this is just fantastic

Not long now till it's released and you can read it for yourself on March 27th!!!!!

Guest Blogger - Elizabeth Bailey

A warm welcome to my friend Elizabeth Bailey here to tell us more about the inspiration behind her latest book, The Killing Cave.

Corpses follow Lady Fan wherever she goes… 1799, England A family holiday to the seaside takes a dramatic turn when Lady Ottilia Fanshawe’s young son Luke accidentally stumbles on a body in a cave. Lady Fan and her husband Francis quickly rush to the scene and find the corpse bound and blindfolded with a bullet hole in his head. It appears the man was executed, and with smugglers well-known to operate in the area, the local sergeant suggests it was a quarrel amongst the reprobates. But Ottilia is not so sure. The crime scene seemed staged, and the dead man too well dressed to be a common criminal. There is nothing else for it. The Fanshawes must extend their stay on the Norfolk coast to allow Lady Fan to take the lead. But with her health compromised, four young children to care for and a grumbling mother-in-law in tow, can Lady Fan summon up enough strength to unravel this mystery? Or will this be the case that finally forces her into retirement? This sounds fabulous so I asked Elizabeth to tell me the inspiration behind her book. Ottilia, my heroine sleuth, was originally meant to star in a grand historical series based around an heirloom fan. She existed as notes in my ideas book. I envisaged her then as a shy, retiring type of woman - an image that rapidly faded under the onslaught of the bold crime-fighting Ottilia who emerged. My brother, also a writer, suggested the series might work as crime. Frankly, as an avid reader, I didn't think I could write in the genre. I mean, you need clues, and clever plotting, twists and all that. I dismissed the idea, but it niggled for years. I mentioned it to my friends at a Romantic Writers' event. Their arm-twisting did the trick. With trepidation, I began to write. By fluke or good fortune, the story rolled off my fingers onto the keyboard, probably due to Ottilia refusing to play second fiddle and demanding her place on centre stage. When characters take charge, writers have very little say in the matter. You can buy your copy HERE Thus Lady Fan was born, along with an entourage of familiar characters which has grown with the series. Not least, Lord Francis Fanshawe, her champion and husband, whom she meets in the first book, The Gilded Shroud. More about Elizabeth: After a career on the stage, Elizabeth found her true metier in writing novels. They lived in her bottom drawer for years until she found success with Mills & Boon's historical romance line. 18 stories later she turned to crime with The Lady Fan Mystery series. It had instant success which crashed after two books. Elizabeth returned to romance, but persisted with the mysteries and eventually found a new publisher in Sapere Books. The Killing Cave is the eleventh book and Lady Fan is still going strong.

Murder on the Cornish Coast out today!

Whoop, whoop! Release day for Murder on the Cornish Coast! BUY HERE if you haven't yet got your copy. Five star reviews on Net Galley which is brilliant and already waving a best seller flag in Australia!

News!

Wow! February is turning into a very busy month. On a personal front it was my birthday and then, just yeserday my second grandson arrived. Ezra Reuben 6lb 1oz making Isaac William a big brother! Book 20 in the Miss Underhay series now has a title, Murder at the English Manor, and I've had a sneak peek at the cover. It looks lovely and bright! The cover reveal for book 2 in the Secret Detective Agency series also took place yesterday!

You can preorder your copy HERE With Murder on the Cornish Coast out on Feb 20th, The Secret Detective Agency out March 27h and The Seadside Murders out April 30th Murder at the English Manor will be out May 23rd!!! Phew!!!!!!!!!

February!

Well, here we are in February. I hope this finds you all safe, well and snug. Signs of spring are popping up here in my corner of Devon. A few crocus and daffodils, primroses and snowdrops open in the lanes. All signs that Spring is on the way. That means new books! Murder on the Cornish Coast is out on February 20th! Preorder and of course the release of the first of the Secret Detective Agency books is also drawing nearer. Out on March 27th! I've had a sneak peek at book 2 in the new series, Murder at the Seaside and it looks fab with Marmaduke the cat gracing the cover once more. You can preorder book 1 HERE Since February is my birthday month and I have my second grandson due any day now I am very excited for the next few weeks. There will be a special giveaway to celebrate the launch of the Secret Detective Agency series so watch this space!