Detective Superintendent Jack Hawksworth has returned in Fiona McIntosh’s latest police procedural, Blood Pact. In this novel, Jack is charged with heading a counter-terrorism team investigating a series of domestic events. At the same time he is also drawn into a parallel investigation of murders triggered by a single blood transfusion.
Fiona McIntosh doesn’t share the belief that a novel is “just fiction” and is renowned for her commitment to authenticity and research as readers of her...
Writing by the Water
The highlight for me was attending Fiona McIntosh’s workshop and her keynote address. Both were fantastic, as were the other panels and discussions. While there were many great takeaways from the weekend, here are my top five from the workshop:
1. Time waits for no writer
Words...
When I grabbed The Palazzo, Kayte Nunn’s crime novel, from the shelves I was imagining a Palazzo in Venice. But no—it’s set in the Italian Alps. Despite this, it doesn’t disappoint. It has all the atmosphere you’d expect in a renovated palazzo, complete with vineyard and Marco, a Michelin-starred chef and its owner. Ever present is the tension of a ‘locked-room’ mystery made famous by Agatha Christie.
The action revolves around Vivi, who, after the death of her husband, chooses to celebrate...
I love a destination thriller, and The Surf House, set in Marrakesh and along Morocco’s windswept coastline, seemed to tick all the right boxes. The isolated surf house, set on a rugged and often dangerous section of the coast forms the ideal backdrop for a group of characters who all appear to be hiding something.
The main character, model Bea, throws in her modelling career and, while exploring her new-found freedom in the alleyways of Marrakesh, is robbed of her passport and bag. When she...
New Website
Hang on tight—for what could be a bit of a wild ride. My website is set for a glow up when I migrate to a new platform. I’m hoping the transition will be smooth, but if not, it will be up and running as soon as possible. My URL www.annetteleigh.com will remain the same.
New Covers
I’ve received the covers for my two novellas coming out soon. The Raging Fire is the prequel to my two novels in the Bayswater Series—so, if you’ve ever wondered how Andie and Mac met, this one is for you....
Imagine my excitement when I picked up The White Crow, the new crime novel by Michael Robotham, and discovered he’d opened with a quote from one of my favourite authors, F. Scott Fitzgerald:
‘…in a real dark night of the soul it is always three o’clock in the morning.’
And for the main character, Philomena McCarthy, that’s exactly what it feels like—for the entire novel.
And why wouldn’t it? She has a promising career with the Metropolitan Police in London, a father who heads a crime family...
