Stav Sherez’s The Intrusions

I was delighted to receive an invitation to iconic British Publisher Faber and Faber’s Spring Literary Party.

I find the range of publications from Faber to be eclectic, with a focus on good writing, including poetry, music, film criticism and the unusual. I am fortunate to have known Publicist Sophia Portas and Publisher Angus Cargill, for some time; and they kindly keep me up to date on my reading, as Faber’s Crime Thriller List must never be underestimated.

A few years ago, I was sent a remarkable novel entitled A Dark Redemption by Music Journalist Stav Sherez. I was hypnotised by this very dark tale, which I reviewed excitedly here

We were delighted to see that his third in this police procedural series is even more remarkable, as Shots Magazine reviewer Les Hurst reported -

Carrigan and Miller are detectives in the Metropolitan Police, nominally part of a team, but each suffering their own demons and frequently having to work independently. In Carrigans’s case he is carrying the extra weight from an earlier case, described in the previous ELEVEN DAYS, in which he used some extra-judicial investigations in order to discover the truth; for which an unattractive superior is hounding him now using the cover of an internal complaint. This persecution looks as if it will raise its head again very soon, and in a much worse way.

What are the “intrusions” of the title? In one immediate sense it is the girl who bursts into the police station saying that her friend has been kidnapped. Miller begins to investigate the grotty clubs and back alleys of London where the girls went in search of a good time. When a dead body is discovered, drained of blood, but on a floor absent of blood - Carrigan becomes involved. When the two detectives realise that the missing girl and the murder victim are one and the same they realise they have a case of horrifying complexity, and previous victims.

Read More Here

So it was most generous of Faber and Faber to send me an invitation to their Spring Literary Party, held in The Crypt at Clerkenwell. Though not a Crime / Thriller Event per se; it was good to meet up with Stav Sherez and the wonderful NJ Cooper aka Daphne Wright [who is perhaps better known as Natasha Cooper, from her days as Chair for The Crime Writers Association before the Millennium].

The event was very well attended, and robustly organised, with an array of canapes and a well-stocked bar. The party allowed the guests to mingle with the Faber & Faber Editorial and Promotional Teams during the evening; and there were readings and talks, all hoisted in The Crypt on the Green, Clerkenwell, East London.

We have recorded some of the highlights for our readers below

We were welcomed to the event, which included Sebastian Barry reading a short passage from his Costa Book Awarded ‘DAYS WITHOUT END’, which is a wonderful novel, and which the BBC dramatized. Barry received this news last week, and is the only novelist to have won this prestigious literary award twice.

Then Stav Sherez took to the stage to introduce his latest work, the prescient and unsettling dark thriller ‘THE INTRUSIONS’

Kate Hamer spoke about her follow up to the bestseller The Girl in the Red Coat, and read a passage from her follow-up ‘The Doll Funeral’

After several other readings, Hanif Kureishi closed the proceedings with an extract from ‘The Nothing’.

So after more mingling, it was time to thank the Faber Team, and emerge back into the London Night, with a book bag, and memories of a most enjoyable literary gathering from one of Great Britain’s most iconic publishing houses.

Incidentally Stav Sherez kindly supplied Shots an intriguing essay about the linkage of Music and Serial Killers, and can be accessed here

Follow Stav on Twitter @stavsherez and remember Shots Bookstore have discounted copies of THE INTRUSIONS available here 

And if you haven’t discovered the dark imagination of this former music journalist’s Carrigan and Miller London based Police Procedural series, why not head to the beginning, A Dark Redemption [out in PB] as is the second installment Eleven Days – and then buckle-up for The Intrusions.

CWA Dagger Awards and the Specsavers Crime Thriller Awards

The results of the CWA Dagger Awards and the Specsavers Crime Thriller Awards are out!

Congratulations to all the winners and nominees.

 

The CWA Gold Dagger – sponsored by Constable & Robinson

The Rage by Gene Kerrigan (Harvill Secker)

The other nominees were –

The Flight by MR Hall

Bereft by Chris Womersley 

Vengeance in Mind by NJ Cooper

© Midaspr

The John Creasey New Blood Dagger – sponsored by Goldsboro Books

A Land More Kind than Home by Wiley Cash (Bantam)

The other nominees were -

Heart-Shaped Bruise by Tanya Byrne

What Dies in Summer by Tom Wright

Good People by Ewart Hutton

© Midaspr

The Ian Fleming Steel Dagger – sponsored by Ian Fleming Publications

A Foreign Country by Charles Cumming (HarperCollins) 

The other nominees were –

Dare Me by Megan Abbott

The Fear Index by Robert Harris

Reamde by Neal Stephenson

The Specsaver’s Bestseller Dagger 2012:

      Kathy Reichs

©Ali Karim

The Film Dagger

      Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (Studio Canal)

The TV Dagger

      Sherlock: Series 2 (Hartswood Films/BBC1)

The International TV Dagger

 The Bridge (Danmarks Radio, Sveriges Television/BBC4)

The Best Actress Dagger

      Claire Danes for Homeland (Teakwood Lane Productions, Showtime Productions, Cherry Pie Productions, Keshet Media Group, Fox 21/Channel 4)

The Best Actor Dagger

      Benedict Cumberbatch for Sherlock (Hartswood Films/BBC1)

The Best Supporting Actress Dagger
Kelly Macdonald for Boardwalk Empire (HBO/Sky Atlantic)

The Best Supporting Actor Dagger

      Martin Freeman for Sherlock (Hartswood Films/BBC1)

Best Detective Duo: 

      Lewis - DI Robbie Lewis & DS James Hathaway

The press notice is below –

The Specsavers Crime Thriller Awards 2012

Winners revealed

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

London, Thursday 18^th October, 2012—Cactus TV and ITV3, in partnership with the Crime Writers’ Association (CWA), are pleased to announce the winners of the Specsavers Crime Thriller Awards 2012, a showcase of the UK’s most wanted crime fiction and drama, hosted by Bradley Walsh. 

A host of famous faces from TV, Film and Publishing which included Benedict Cumberbatch, Martin Freeman, Rupert Penry-Jones and Steven Berkoff gathered on the black carpet for a gala awards ceremony celebrating the very best offences of the year at London’s Grosvenor House Hotel. The awards ceremony, now in its fourth year, formed a crescendo to ITV 3’s six week season of crime and drama programming including a specially commissioned documentary series called Crime Connections, featuring crime writers, actors, producers and directors.

Winners on the night were:

<    Specsaver’s Bestseller Dagger 2012: Kathy Reichs

<    CWA Gold Dagger for Best Crime Novel of the Year sponsored by Constable and Robinson: Gene Kerrigan, The Rage

      CWA Ian Fleming Steel Dagger for Best Thriller, sponsored by Ian Fleming Publications: Charles Cumming, A Foreign Country

      CWA John Creasey New Blood Dagger, sponsored by Goldsboro Books: Wiley Cash, A Land More Kind than Home

Gene Kerrigan’s The Rage won the CWA Gold Dagger. His suspense driven storm of violence set in the backstreets of Dublin proved unbeatable, an immense accolade given the literary oomph of his co-nominees: MR Hall’s The Flight, Chris Womersley’s Bereft and Vengeance in Mind by NJ Cooper, previously Chair of the Crime Writers’ Association.

Gene Kerrigan commented: "I'm aware of the writers who have previously received the Gold Dagger and I'm honoured to have my name on the same page."

The CWA Ian Fleming Steel Dagger for Best Thriller was taken home by Charles Cumming for A Foreign Country. Despite being regarded as one of the best of the new generation of British spy writers, A Foreign Country was by no means assured of success, pitted as it was against some monumental thrillers: Megan Abbott’s Dare Me, which revealed the bitter power rivalries of a cheerleading squad, Robert Harris’s much lauded The Fear Index andNeal Stephenson’s Reamde which portrays the world of hacking.

Charles Cumming said "For spy writers, the Steel Dagger is our Booker prize, so I'm thrilled to have won such a prestigious award. Some great writers have picked up the Steel Dagger, including Henry Porter, Dan Fesperman and Tom Rob Smith. I'm honoured to have joined their ranks."

The CWA John Creasey New Blood Dagger was awarded to Wiley Cash, named the best new crime author of the year for A Land More Kind than Home.Cash toughed it out against serious competition from Tanya Byrne’s Heart-Shaped Bruise, Tom Wright’s What Dies in Summer and Ewart Hutton’s Good People to win the title for his tale of the smarting underbelly of religious fanaticism of his Deep South youth.

Wiley Cash said "As an American writer, it's a shock and a real honor to win an award in a genre with such a proud British tradition."

The Bestseller Dagger was awarded to Kathy Reichs. All five shortlisted authors were also inaugurated into the Crime Thriller Hall of Fame alongside such all-time greats as Colin Dexter, Agatha Christie and Arthur Conan Doyle.

Kathy Reichs said “Given the extraordinary company in which I find myself nominated for this award, I can't express how shocked and delighted I am.  This is truly an unexpected honor.”

Amanda Ross, creator and executive producer of the Awards, said: “This has been a fantastic year for the genre, and it was great to see so many star authors and actors at the event.”

The cream of acting talent is also recognised at the Specsavers Crime Thriller Awards with categories for Best UK and International Crime Series, Best Actor, Best Actress in a Crime series and Best Film. The British public also voted for their favourite detective duo by phone vote. Winners are as follows:

Best Detective Duo: 

      Lewis - DI Robbie Lewis & DS James Hathaway

The Film Dagger

      Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (Studio Canal)

The TV Dagger

      Sherlock: Series 2 (Hartswood Films/BBC1)

The International TV Dagger

      The Bridge (Danmarks Radio, Sveriges Television/BBC4)

The Best Actress Dagger

      Claire Danes for Homeland (Teakwood Lane Productions, Showtime Productions, Cherry Pie Productions, Keshet Media Group, Fox 21/Channel 4)

The Best Actor Dagger

      Benedict Cumberbatch for Sherlock (Hartswood Films/BBC1)

The Best Supporting Actress Dagger

      Kelly Macdonald for Boardwalk Empire (HBO/Sky Atlantic)

The Best Supporting Actor Dagger

      Martin Freeman for Sherlock (Hartswood Films/BBC1)

####

The Winners of the Specsavers Crime Thriller Awards 2012 are as follows:

The CWA Gold Dagger – sponsored by Constable & Robinson

      The Rage by Gene Kerrigan (Harvill Secker)

The John Creasey New Blood Dagger – sponsored by Goldsboro Books

      A Land More Kind than Home by Wiley Cash (Bantam)

The Ian Fleming Steel Dagger – sponsored by Ian Fleming Publications

      A Foreign Country by Charles Cumming (HarperCollins)

The Specsaver’s Bestseller Dagger 2012:

       Kathy Reichs

The Film Dagger

      Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (Studio Canal)

The TV Dagger

      Sherlock: Series 2 (Hartswood Films/BBC1)

The International TV Dagger

      The Bridge (Danmarks Radio, Sveriges Television/BBC4)

The Best Actress Dagger

      Claire Danes for Homeland (Teakwood Lane Productions, Showtime Productions, Cherry Pie Productions, Keshet Media Group, Fox 21/Channel 4)

The Best Actor Dagger

      Benedict Cumberbatch for Sherlock (Hartswood Films/BBC1)

The Best Supporting Actress Dagger

      Kelly Macdonald for Boardwalk Empire (HBO/Sky Atlantic)

The Best Supporting Actor Dagger

      Martin Freeman for Sherlock (Hartswood Films/BBC1)

NOTES TO EDITORS:

Media enquiries:

Please contact Eleanor Riches at Midas Public Relations on 02073617860 or Eleanor.riches@midaspr.co.uk  

Pictures of the awards can be supplied upon request.

Specsavers Crime Thriller Awards

The Specsavers Crime Thriller Awards 2012 took place on Thursday, 18^th October at London’s Grosvenor House Hotel and will be televised on ITV3 on the 23^rd October. The 2012 Awards are the fifth annual produced by Cactus TV for ITV3, and the fourth annual sponsored by Specsavers and in conjunction with the Crime Writers' Association.

The vote for the Specsavers Bestseller Dagger is promoted by Agile Marketing and is not endorsed, controlled or associated with ITV or ITV3.

                                                                                                                                                                               

Specsavers

Specsavers was founded by Doug and Dame Mary Perkins in 1984 and is now the largest privately owned opticians in the world. The couple still run the company, along with their three children. Their eldest son John is joint managing director. Specsavers has almost 1,600 stores throughout the UK, Ireland, the Netherlands, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Denmark, Spain and Australia. Specsavers was voted Britain’s most trusted brand of opticians for the eleventh year running by Reader’s Digest in 2012. More information can be found at: www.specsavers.co.uk.

Cactus TV

Cactus TV is an independent production company run by husband and wife team Simon and Amanda Ross. The company have produced over 3000 hours of television. Cactus formatted the Book Awards and brought them to television for the first time in 2004. They devised and ran the Richard & Judy Book Club which grew into 8 successful series of The Specsavers TV Book Club, the longest running ad-funded deal in the TV industry. Cactus’ other productions include Saturday Kitchen for BBC1, Hairy Bikers Food Tour of Britain for BBC2, The Roux Scholarship and The Roux Legacy, Rachel Allen, Galaxy British Book Awards and 8 years of the Richard & Judy show live from Cactus studios.

ITV3

ITV3 is the UK’s second most popular digital channel and its focus on character driven narrative and drama helps the channel attract an upmarket audience. ITV3 is available on Freeview (channel 10), Freesat (115), Sky Digital (119) and Virgin Media (116).

Crime Writers’ Association

The Crime Writers’ Association has a membership of over 500 writers of fiction and non-fiction. Its main aims are to promote the crime genre and to support professional writers. The CWA has been

providing social and professional support for its members for more than half a century, as well as administering the prestigious Dagger Awards. The Daggers name and Crossed Daggers logo are

registered Trade Marks of the Crime Writers’ Association, and are used under licence. For further information on the CWA: www.thecwa.co.uk or contact info@thecwa.co.uk.

Agile Marketing

Agile Marketing is a publishing-specialist promotions & project management agency. They project manage the Crime Thriller Awards in the book trade, liaising with publishers and retailers to ensure the campaign to raise the profile of Crime Fiction is maximised in store and amongst readers. They also manage the supporting website: www.crimethrillerawards.com

  

Eleanor Riches
Midas Public Relations

10-14 Old Court Place, London W8 4PL
T: 020 7361 7876
midaspr.co.uk | twitter.com/midaspr

2012 CWA Dagger Shortlist and Specsavers Awards are announced

The Specsavers Crime Thriller Awards Shortlists 2012 has been announced.  The winners of 12 Awards will be announced at The Specsavers Crime Thriller Awards on Thursday 18 October at the Grosvenor House Hotel.

The awards include –

 The CWA Gold Dagger for the Best Crime Novel of the Year,

The CWA Steel Dagger for the Best Thriller of the Year,

The CWA John Creasey (New Blood) Dagger for the Best New Crime Writer of the Year,

The Specsavers Bestseller Dagger and Film and TV-based Daggers.

The CWA Gold Dagger (sponsored by Constable and Robinson)

Vengeance in Mind by N.J. Cooper (Simon and Schuster)

The Flight by M.R. Hall (Mantle)

The Rage by Gene Kerrigan (Harvill Secker)

Bereft by Chris Womersley (Quercus)

The CWA John Creasey (New Blood) Dagger (sponsored by Goldsboro Books)

Heart-Shaped Bruise by Tanya Byrne (Headline)

Land More Kind than Home by Wiley Cash (Bantam)

Good People by Ewart Hutton (Blue Door)

What Dies in Summer by Tom Wright (Canongate)

The CWA Ian Fleming Steel Dagger – sponsored by Ian Fleming Publications

Dare Me by Megan Abbott (Picador)

A Foreign Country by Charles Cumming (HarperCollins)

The Fear Index by Robert Harris (Hutchinson)

Reamde by Neal Stephenson (Atlantic Books)

The Specsavers Awards are as follows -

The Specsavers Bestseller Dagger which is by public vote.

This award honours the success of authors throughout their careers, and is chosen by the reading public.  Readers can register their vote for their favourite bestselling author online here.  The winner will be presented with the Bestseller Dagger at the awards ceremony on the 18 October, after all the votes are counted on 12 October.  The nominees are –

Ann Cleeves

Anthony Horowitz

Stuart MacBride

Jo Nesbø

Kathy Reichs

Specsavers TV and Film Daggers:

The Film Dagger

Drive (Icon)

The Dark Knight Rises (Warner Bros)

The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo (Sony)

The Guard (Optimum)

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (Studio Canal)

The TV Dagger

Appropriate Adult (ITV Studios/ITV1)

Line of Duty (BBC/BBC2)

Sherlock: Series 2 (Hartswood Films/BBC1)

Wallander (Left Bank Pictures, Yellow Bird/BBC1)

Whitechapel: Series 3 (Carnival/ITV1)

The International TV Dagger

Boardwalk Empire: Season 2 (HBO/Sky Atlantic)

Dexter: Season 6 (Showtime Networks, John Goldwyn Productions, TheColleton Company, ClydePhillips Productions/FX)

Homeland (Teakwood Lane Productions, Showtime Productions, Cherry Pie Productions, Keshet Media Group, Fox 21/Channel 4)

The Bridge (Danmarks Radio, Sveriges Television/BBC4)

The Killing II: Forbrydelsen (Arrow Films/BBC4)

The Best Actress Dagger

Brenda Blethyn for Vera (ITV Studios/ITV1)

Claire Danes for Homeland (Teakwood Lane Productions, Showtime Productions, Cherry Pie Productions, Keshet Media Group, Fox 21/Channel 4)

Sofie Gråbøl for The Killing II (Arrow Films/BBC4)

Sofia Helin for The Bridge (Danmarks Radio, Sveriges Television/BBC4)

Maxine Peake for Silk (BBC/BBC1)

The Best Actor Dagger

Kenneth Branagh for Wallander (Left Bank Pictures,Yellow Bird/BBC1)

Steve Buscemi for Boardwalk Empire (HBO/Sky Atlantic)

Benedict Cumberbatch for Sherlock (Hartswood Films/BBC1)

Damien Lewis for Homeland (Teakwood Lane Productions, Showtime Productions, Cherry Pie Productions, Keshet Media Group, Fox 21/Channel 4)

Dominic West for Appropriate Adult (ITV Studios/ITV1

  

The Best Supporting Actress Dagger

Frances Barber for Silk (BBC/BBC1)

Kelly Macdonald for Boardwalk Empire (HBO/Sky Atlantic)

Archie Panjabi for The Good Wife (Scott Free Productions, King Size Productions, Small Wishes, CBS Productions/More 4)

Sarah Smart for Wallander (Left Bank Pictures, Yellow Bird/BBC1)

Una Stubbs for Sherlock (Hartswood Films/BBC1)

The Best Supporting Actor Dagger

Alun Armstrong for Garrow’s Law (Shed Media/BBC1)

Alan Cumming for The Good Wife (Scott Free Productions, King Size Productions, Small Wishes, CBS Productions/More 4)

Phil Davis for Silk & Whitechapel (Silk: BBC/BBC1)(Whitechapel: Carnival/ITV1)

Laurence Fox for Lewis (ITV Studios/ITV1)

Martin Freeman for Sherlock (Hartswood Films/BBC1)

‘Best Detective Duo’ by Public Vote

The British public will also have the chance to vote for their favourite detective duo by phone vote. The phone lines open at 12:00pm on 7 September 2012.

The shortlist is as follows:

DCI Banks – DCI Alan Banks & DS Annie Cabbot – Call 090 16 16 14 01

Above Suspicion – DC Anna Travis & DCS James Langton – Call 090 16 16 14 02

Scott and Bailey- DC Jane Scott & DC Rachel Bailey – Call 090 16 16 14 03

Lewis – DI Robbie Lewis & DS James Hathaway – Call 090 16 16 14 04

Whitechapel – DI Joseph Chandler & DS Ray Miles – Call 090 16 16 14 05

Vera – DCI Vera Stanhope & DS Joe Ashworth – Call 090 16 16 14 06

‘Stop You’re Killing Me’ – Humour in Crime Fiction

The annual Mystery and Crime weekend is due to take place St Hilda’s College from 17^th to 19^th August 2012.  Now in its 19^th year, the theme this year is Stop You’re Killing Me – Humour in Crime Fiction.

As per usual, the conference offers the speakers the opportunity to explore a chosen theme.  Some of the authors due to give papers include – Alan Bradley, Simon Brett, Ann Cleeves, Natasha Cooper, Barry Forshaw, Gillian Linscott, Val McDermid, Marcia Talley, Chris Ewan and LC Tyler.  Kate Ellis is one of the after diner speakers whilst Peter Lovesey will be giving the Conference Lecture on the Sunday morning.  Andrew Taylor will chair the conference.

Organised by author KateCharles who is a former chairman of the Crime Writers Association and the Barbara Pym Society and Eileen Roberts former Director of Alumnae Relations at St Hilda’s College and now project consultant to St Hilda’s Development & Alumnae Office.  This year Kate Charles and Eileen Roberts will also be honoured with the George N Dove Award for contributions to the study of crime fiction. 

Like last year.  I shall hopefully be blogging about the conference.  My blog posts about last year’s conference can be found here and here.  I shall also be tweeting using the hashtag #StHilda’s2012.  Look out for what may be some rather infrequent tweets.

St Hilda's Crime & Mystery Weekend - Anatomy of Justice

(Val McDermid & Ayo Onatade - Picture © Marcia Talley)

I thought that I was going to have the opportunity to blog about the conference over this weekend but alas not. It is a testament to how much fun I was having over the weekend that I did not manage to do any blogging.

If you have never managed to attend St Hilda’s Crime and Mystery Conference then you have missed a treat. Unlike Crimefest or Harrogate St Hilda’s is a lot more academic. The weekend is always based around a theme that is chosen and agreed by the organisers at the end of each previous conference. This year the theme of the conference was Anatomy of Justice and the papers that were presented all used this as the main background to their talk.

As an attendee you know that St Hilda’s has started when everyone gathers on the lawn overlooking the River Cherwell for a champagne reception early on Friday evening. It is not only a chance for everyone to meet up before the conference starts in earnest on the Saturday morning but it is also a chance to renew friendships, see which of the stalwarts are back again and generally catch up amongst the spires of Merton and Magdalen College. The drinks reception is always followed by the first of the two conference dinners and by tradition those that are giving a paper on the Saturday get to sit at the top table. Thus I found myself on the top table alongside Kate Charles, Val McDermid, Cath Staincliffe, Triona Adams, Natasha (NJ) Cooper who was Chair of the conference this year, Frances Fyfield and Ann Granger. Both Val McDermid and Triona Adams are former students of St Hilda’s. In fact Val is now a Fellow of the college as well. After the dinner there is always a conference dinner speaker. This year it was Triona Adams who spoke about remembering the late Sarah Caudwell with whom she was a great friend. Sarah Caudwell had in fact been a speaker at the very first conference back in 1994. After dinner everybody wandered down to the Senior Common Room (SCR) and spent the rest of the evening just talking and catching up with one another. This was enlivened by the added fact that Eileen Roberts the co-organiser kindly added to the jollity of the occasion by supplying wine.

The conference well and truly started on Saturday morning after breakfast. One of the things that I like about St Hilda’s is the fact that you all stay together on the College grounds. It is very reminiscent of being back in boarding school but it is such good fun that one does not worry too much at the basic facilities. Some people may but I certainly do not. It always adds to the fun. The first papers that were given were by Val McDermid and myself. My paper was entitled Life along the Judicial Corridor whilst Val’s paper was entitled Making the Law work for you: an author’s guide. I don’t normally talk about my day job and this was one of the few times that I spoke about working with senior members of the judiciary for the last 12 years. Val spoke eloquently about how making the law work for authors. What generally tends to happen is that after two papers are given then the speakers answer questions from the audience.

After a brief break for tea and coffee the second round of papers were given. This time Frances Fyfield spoke about Peculiar Trials and after listening to a radio programme that she had done on BBC World Service about animals going on trial for offences that they had committed she also spoke about why this happened. Cath Staincliffe who gave a heartfelt, thought provoking and moving paper about assisted dying and the way in which it is dealt with by the law, followed Frances Fyfield. A lively discussion took place afterwards and this included P D James who was attending the conference for part of the day who commented on the difficulties surrounding assisted dying.

After lunch the first two papers that were given were by Jane Finnis who spoke about Laws and Sausages: Justice in the Roman Empire and Ann Granger who spoke about Newgate Prison and whether or not it was a symbol of its times? Following a brief break again for tea Andrew Taylor and Martin Edwards were the next two to give the final papers of the day. Andrew spoke about Willkie Collins and the women in his life. Andrew Taylor’s talk was most interesting as he highlighted the rather strange relationship that Willkie Collins with the two main women in his life and the way in which he managed to balance the two together. When he died he even split his possessions equally between the two families. Martin’s talk was about British lawyers who are also authors. Martin himself falls into this group along with Rankin Davies, Dexter Dias and the late Cyril Hare. He also discussed Tragedy at Law, which is the book that Cyril Hare is best known for. It was interesting listening to both Andrew Taylor and Martin Edwards as they answered questions afterwards. They make a very good double team.

(Martin Edwards & Andrew Taylor - Picture © Ayo Onatade)

You always pick up snippets of interesting information whilst you are at St Hilda’s and this year was no exception. Did you know that the late Michael Gilbert was once Raymond Chandler’s legal advisor? I didn’t!

After the final papers on Saturday there is always a signing session for all the authors that are present. This takes place in the SCR and it is always and opportunity for attendees to get their books signed by authors that are present whether or not that author is actually giving a paper. It is also an opportunity for photographs to be taken and conversations to take place between attendees and the authors in a much more relaxed atmosphere.

The after dinner speech on the Saturday evening is always given by the conference Chair and this year NJ Cooper gave a speech on recalling Trish Maguire. What has now become a tradition; Mystery Women hosted a drinks reception in the SCR. Those of you that know me are aware of the fact that I have no qualms in staying up late at these things. However, I was remarkably restrained and found myself back in my room just after 12:00am on Friday and Saturday.

Sunday is always slightly different and after breakfast there is the opportunity to do whatever you like. Whether it be go to Church, punt or just relax. This year I made the most of the opportunity and wandered up the Cowley Road with my friend and fantasy author Juliet McKenna to have a relaxing morning catching up with her and would you believe to do so work as well!

(Bernard Knight - Picture © Ayo Onatade)

The talks began mid-morning with a fascinating Conference Lecture by the Conference Guest of Honour Professor Bernard Knight CBE. His lecture was on The Coroner: Medieval Relic or useful institution? In essence it was a history of the work of the Coroner. He explained that Coroners only came into being around 1194 partly due to Richard the Lionheart. Their job was varied and multifaceted but always had a financial backdrop. It was not until 1282 that Coroners were established in Wales. Bernard Knight’s talk covered a wide broad spectrum of the work of the Coroner from its original beginnings to the present day. He touched on some of the more unusual aspects of the early work of a Coroner, which included the fact that they used to have to attend all hangings. Only a Coroner could declare someone an outlaw if they did not turn up to court after three chances. They were appointed by the King to do anything. He also pointed out that police programmes often got the role of the Coroner wrong. As he explained, they could call for a Doctor but a post-mortem could not be done without the permission of a Coroner. Rather sadly this is not the impression that is given on police programmes.

Professor Knight is a former Home Office Pathologist who has dealt with some rather high-profile cases. He is also the author of the Crowner John Mysteries a series of 12^th Century historical mysteries featuring Sir John de Wolfe Coroner of the Verge. So far there are 14 books in the series. He is also the author of the Dr Richard Pryor series, which is set in 1955 Wales.

(Penny Evans - Picture © Ayo Onatade)

After lunch the final session of the day started. Penny Evans spoke on the topic of provocation and how it is dealt with by the law under the title Wicked Mr Boyce and the slow burn: A talk about why it is better to kill your husband when he’s awake… As she pointed out, women are most certainly given a rough deal when provocation is raised as a defence in court compared to men. The final paper of the day was given by Keith Miles (aka Edward Marston) who spoke wittily and extremely funnily about the character Rumpole of the Bailey. It was a fitting end to the conference.

One cannot thank Eileen Roberts and Kate Charles enough for organising such a wonderful conference. Furthermore having a wonderful Chair adds to the lustre and NJ Cooper was absolutely wonderful. She is so good at putting people at ease and she does it with such charm and style.

So what about next year?

The dates have already been agreed and the theme chosen. Next year St Hilda’s Crime and Mystery Conference will take place between 17^th and 19^th August 2012 and the theme is Stop You’re Killing Me: Humour in Crime Fiction. So note the date and I look forward to seeing many of you there!