Purely my own favourites... Number One West Wales, 1850. When an old tree root is dug up, the remains of a young woman are found. Harry Probert-Lloyd, a young barrister forced home from London by encroaching blindness, has been dreading this discovery. He knows exactly whose bones they are. Working with his clerk, John Davies, Harry is … [Read more...] about Great Historical Crime Novels Set in Wales
Victorian Crime
Settings and interesting trivia arising from the author's twelfth novel, Blood Among the Threads, set in Wrexham during the town's "anno mirabilis", 1876.
1876, Wrexham’s “Year of Wonder”
There have been many memorable years in Wrexham's history.1463, and the great fire which destroyed so much of the town and the original church; 1643, another fire and Cromwell's troops occupy the town; 1715, and the terrible anti-Dissenter Sacheverell riots; 1857, and the town receives its borough charter; 1864, and Wrexham AFC formed. But then … [Read more...] about 1876, Wrexham’s “Year of Wonder”
It’s Here – Blood Among the Threads
Wrexham, 1876. Meet Alfred Neobard Palmer, an unlikely hero. “It was a death which had brought him here. Death by snake venom, of all things.” Palmer – and his more courageous sweetheart, young Ettie Francis. A series of accidental deaths which increasingly seem – well, more than simply accidental. Deaths luring Palmer and Ettie, slowly but surely, … [Read more...] about It’s Here – Blood Among the Threads
George W.M. Reynolds – Forgotten Rival to Charles Dickens
In 1876, most people would have been familiar with George W.M. Reynolds and I couldn't help including him in a couple of chapters in Blood Among The Threads. But I originally ran into George Reynolds about ten years ago. I was writing the first of my Spanish Civil War novels, The Assassin’s Mark, and I needed to find an appropriate real-life … [Read more...] about George W.M. Reynolds – Forgotten Rival to Charles Dickens