You are warmly invited to join me for the official launch party for my supernaturally tinged mystery novel A Thorn in Winter, live on my Substack page, on Tuesday 13th October 8pm UK time. I will be interviewed by Vitor Vicente from Ring of Culture and will respond to your live questions and comments.

In the meantime, to whet your appetite for the novel, here’s a brief introduction to the main characters.

Leila Wilmond: A young woman in her late twenties who works as an administrator for Plymouth City Council. She’s a bit bored with life, restless in her marriage, and has had a brief affair with local TV news presenter, Oliver Robinson. This has led to her being blackmailed. But Leila faces far greater dangers once a link between the blackmail and an unsolved decades-old murder emerges. Leila investigates and, in the course of the story, faces not only great peril but a reckoning with her past misdeeds.

Kelly Thorn: The victim of the aforementioned unsolved murder thirty years previously. Kelly is an enigmatic character, about whom Leila hears conflicting accounts. Depending on who she talks to, she hears Kelly was a Christian and a churchgoer, or a member of a coven, and a witch. Some say she was kind and caring, but others say she was a cruel sexual deviant. As Leila tries to get to the truth, she uncovers several alarming parallels between herself and the victim. Is Kelly’s killer still out there, and has he now targeted Leila?

Bernard Edwards: The detective in charge of the original investigation into Kelly Thorn’s murder. It’s a case that’s haunted him for decades, due to its high profile in the press and the fact that he sees it as a major professional failure. Now retired, Bernard is terminally ill at home when Leila turns up on his doorstep, wanting to investigate the case he could not solve.

David Edwards: Bernard’s son David is a scientist who has taken time off work to look after his father in his final hours. He’s initially less than thrilled with Leila’s appearance, not wanting his father to be dragged back into the case that obsessed and frustrated him whilst he’s dying. However, Bernard encourages Leila, and David gradually warms to her. Eventually, he assists her as events become more dangerous.

Patrick Wilmond: Leila’s husband, to whom she has been married for a short time. He’s a graphic designer and artist who is devastated when his best friend, Joel Odell, is accidentally killed. But he doesn’t know his best friend had been blackmailing Leila over her affair with Oliver Robinson. Patrick also has a violent temper, as Leila discovers during Joel’s funeral.

Lydia Odell: Joel’s legal assistant sister, and someone who was also being blackmailed, as Leila discovers during his funeral.

Oliver Robinson: A local TV news reporter, with whom Leila had an affair. For her, it was a fling, but he got a lot more emotionally involved.

Amy Robbins: Leila’s chaotic, arty best friend from her school days.

Ingrid Mead: Another former fellow pupil from Leila’s school days.

Calista Marwood: Novelty food and drink shop owner, tarot card reader, and the head of a local coven.

Frank Thorn: Kelly’s antiques dealer father, and a former suspect in the Kelly Thorn murder investigation.

Keith Bragg: A fishing shop owner and a former suspect in the Kelly Thorn murder investigation. He had a brief affair with her.

Larry Howcliffe: A retired MP and a former suspect in the Kelly Thorn murder. He also had an affair with her.

Other characters, many of them suspects, turn up later in the story. However, the above dramatis personae should provide a good grasp of who’s who in the first half of the novel.

Paperbacks and ebooks of A Thorn in Winter are now available directly from my publisher, Ring of Culture. Additional retail outlets will follow soon, but for now, you can order the novel here.