Debbie Howells Top 5 Crime Novels

Today's guest blog is by Debbie Howells as part of her The Beauty and The End Blog Tour. She lives in West Sussex with her family. Having worked as cabin crew and a flying instructor, she spent years running a very successful wedding flower business, whilst also writing and self-publishing three novels. The Bones of You was her first novel published by Pan Macmillan.   Her latest novel is The Beauty and The End.

Rosamund Lupton – Afterwards is her second novel and one of my all-time favourites, not just for the characters and the story, which is heartbreaking, but for the writing.  Her writing is beautiful.

Clare Mackintosh – I Let You Go.  This is another beautifully written book, with a twist I hadn’t seen coming.  The landscape is vivid, the characters so real.  It’s a disturbing read that stayed with me. 

Agatha Christie – Sparkling Cyanide.  Agatha Christie’s novels were the first crime novels I read, Sparkling Cyanide the very first. I’d race through, needing to find out who the murderer was, before starting on her next book.

Daphne du Maurier – Rebecca.  So beautifully written.  Manderley is unforgettable, as is the naivety of the second Mrs de Winter and the hostility of Mrs Danvers.   A timeless classic.

Frederick Forsyth – The Day of the Jackal.  I first read my Dad’s copy of this as a teenager, and it was like nothing I’d ever read before.  The plot, the suspense, had me rushing to the library to find more of the same.   

The Beauty of The End by Debbie Howells is published by Pan, priced £7.99

April is on life-support and the only murder suspect. Noah is a reclusive ex-lawyer attempting to ignore his sadness and write crime novels. April is also the love of Noah’s life and, though he has never recovered from her rejection, he returns to their hometown to prove April’s innocence. Meanwhile, Ella has her own secrets, but no one will listen to her. She is the same age that April was when Noah first met her, and what Ella knows is key to finding the murderer.  Following the story of April and Noah’s tragic and flawed relationship and Ella’s determination to uncover the truth.

You can find more information about Debbie Howells on her website. You can also follow her on Twitter @debbie__howells.