Meet Inspector Ryga in these 1950s set mysteries

It's the 1950s and Britain is struggling to come to terms with peace, in the grip of austerity and rationing. Scotland Yard has a Murder Squad and its officers are often sent out with only a moment's notice to assist in investigations around the country. One of them is Detective Inspector Alun Ryga, his specialism is assisting in coastal based crime.

Ryga is ex Merchant Navy and a former German prisoner-of-war. His ship was seized by a German Raider in 1941 as a result of which he was incarcerated for the rest of the war in MILAG, (Marine Internierten Lager). Here he had to learn how to cope with the uncertainty, fear and deprivations of forced incarceration with no option but to wait, hope and pray that the war would soon be over and the Nazis would be defeated. 

His experience has made him observant, analytical and reflective. It has also given him insights into his fellow man. He’s witnessed compassion, cruelty, cowardice and heroism, mental breakdown and despair. He’s made a promise to himself that whatever happens after the war he’ll keep an open mind and never judge.

The war also unexpectedly resulted in opening up a new career for Ryga. Encouraged by a fellow prisoner, George Simmonds, to study, Ryga with the help of his mentor, is able to make the transition from the Merchant Navy to the Thames River Police. Before DEATH IN THE COVE (1) Ryga has been involved in two highly successful criminal investigations at the Port of London and as a result has been catapulted into the Metropolitan Police and then into CID in Scotland Yard. His experience at sea, and as a prisoner-of-war, have made him unique in his approach to solving coastal based crimes.

And how did I come up with name?  Ryga (rhymes with Tiger) started off as Inspector Rees because he has a welsh background although he had left Wales when he was 15 to follow in the footsteps of his late father by joining the Merchant Navy.  Ryga is actually Latvia’s capital on the Baltic Sea but that had no influence on my choice of the name.

It wasn’t until I had got well into Eva Paisley’s character (a former war photographer who teems up with Ryga in his investigations) that I discovered from her lips ‘Rees’ didn’t sound right. Eva rarely calls him by his first name. I tried Regan but that kept making me think of the British TV programme The Sweeney with Regan in it (the marvellous actor, John Thaw) and my character was the opposite to him so I played around with it, dropped the ‘n’ got Rega then changed the ‘e’ to ‘y’ and got Ryga. It sounded good coming from  the mouths of the other characters, Eva Paisley in particular.  I liked it and it stuck.

The Inspector Ryga novels are set against the backdrop of the sea.  The first takes Ryga to the stunning rugged coast of the Royal Island of Portland in Dorset; the second to the murky November mists of Newhaven in East Sussex; the third to the small fishing port of Brixham on a cold wet January in 1951 and number four to be published in July 2023 to the vast expanse of Dungeness on the Kent coast.

I hope you enjoy stepping back in time with Inspector Ryga. sharing his investigations with him.

"Inspector Ryga is an engaging lead character, shaped by his war-time experiences to be a sensitive, astute detective. The interesting setting of post-war Britain is soaked in atmosphere and I loved the complex, twisting plot. Historical crime-writing at its very best." Amazon