I thought it might be a good idea to let you know a little more about the Sleuthing Club and why I chose to write about it.
Everyone loves a mystery!
Like many others, I’ve always loved Golden Age crime fiction; Agatha Christie, Ngaio Marsh – far too many to mention – and I’ve always loved reading. So one day, I decided to combine the two things and create a murder mystery reading book club! Because I am completely obsessed with the 1950s as well, I decided to set the Sleuthing Club then.
It’s all about people!
Once I’d decided on the idea, I knew I needed to populate it with people. Charity came first, as the most unlikely of sleuths. A vicar’s daughter bound by parish duties, it was the perfect excuse to play with the idea of a young lady who wanted to break the mould of gender expectations in the post-war era. And so she does!
Then came the other characters. Of course, I needed a rakishly charming love interest but to give him some depth he needed some war wounds too. Maybe those you can’t see. And of course, there had to be an inspector to come along and officially solve the crime. Inspector James Lawrence is probably one of my most favourite characters. He’s got more visible war wounds (scaring on his hands and face) but is also unflappable and stoic. A great counterpoint to Henry, our rakishly charming love interest.
As for the rest of the village, well they kind of popped up as I was writing! I love writing eccentric characters and these guys certainly fit the bill.
Secrets, secrets, secrets!
Next time, I’ll tell you a bit more about the village and the secrets its hiding!
Photo by Abyan Athif on Unsplash