Q and A with crime author Pauline Rowson

Pauline Rowson answers questions from Joffe Books on the publication of THE CHIDHAM CREEK MURDERS, number 18 in the DI Andy Horton Solent Murder Mystery series.

Could you briefly introduce yourself?

I love creating fast-paced, twisting crime novels, set against the backdrop of the sea. I live on an island on the south coast of England and when not writing, which isn't often, I can be found walking coastal locations looking for a good place to put a body - fictional that is.  

What kind of thrillers do you love?

British Crime Classics of the Golden Age of Crime are my favourites, set between the 1930s and the beginning of the 1950s. Sprinkled with a large dose of George Simenon's Maigret novels and a couple of classic American authors namely Hilda Lawrence, Raymond Chandler and Mary Roberts Rinehart.

What are you currently reading?

I'm re-reading Calamity in Kent by John Rowland set in 1950.

Describe your series in three words.

 As a reviewer sums up: Cleverly-plotted, enjoyable, multiple-intrigues

Who would you pick to play the main characters from your series?

No idea. My readers might have suggestions, all welcome. Otherwise I'll leave it up to a good casting director to find the right actors

What’s the most interesting thing you had to research for this series?

The forensic research is always fascinating. I love all aspects of it but if pushed I'd say blood spatter and blood pattern analysis is the most interesting. It can tell a great deal about the method of murder, where a victim was struck, if he/she has been moved, and can leave an incriminating trail that can lead to nailing the criminal.  

 Meet Detective Inspector Andy Horton

Andy Horton is fit with a strong sense of justice. He lives on board his yacht in Southsea Marina and rides a Harley-Davidson.

He never wears a suit or tie — unless it’s to go to court. He’s an instinctive copper and a man of contrasts, which often lands him in trouble with his bosses.

A secretive celebrant. A multimillionaire heir. A staged murder.

The house smells of death. Not rotting flesh, but a mustiness that wraps itself around Detective Andy Horton as he enters. He makes his way to the living room and rapidly takes in the scene.

Juliette Croft, a professional celebrant, is dead in her living room, sprawled on an orange velvet sofa with empty bottles of champagne and medicine neatly arranged on the coffee table beside her.

Horton is immediately suspicious — it’s all too neat and tidy. The champagne glasses are dry, and there’s no smell of alcohol on the body.

When Horton tries to notify Juliette’s next of kin, he discovers the sole beneficiary of her will is one Rodney Pierce, a multimillionaire businessman.

But Rodney says he’s never heard of Juliette, and it’s not like he needs the money.

Then another body is discovered on the shores of Chidham Creek and the case takes a shocking turn . . .

Available on Amazon Kindle, Kindle Unlimited and in paperback