My supernaturally tinged mystery thriller novel, A Thorn in Winter, features several locations in and around southwest England, where I live. Most are in the South Hams area, between Plymouth and Dartmouth. The bulk of the novel is set in the fictional town of Modbridge, which lies somewhere between the two. However, here are the real locations that appear in the story, including the inspiration for Modbridge.

Plymouth

During the first act of the novel, with a couple of minor detours (one to Bristol in the second chapter, for instance), the story takes place in Plymouth. The protagonist, Leila Wilmond, is an administrator for the Plymouth City Council who lives in the Chaddlewood estate in Plympton. This is a real estate. Other areas in Plymouth are visited during the opening act, but I generally steer clear of major tourist landmarks.

Totnes

A lovely little town famous for being a bit on the arty side, Leila’s mother lives here. Leila stays with her for a while in act two, but none of her investigations takes place in Totnes. Perhaps one day I’ll write something that features Totnes in a bit more detail, instead of merely a scene in which Leila takes a reflective walk along the riverside.

Modbury aka “Modbridge”

Most of the dramatic meat occurs in the fictional counterpart of this sleepy little South Hams town. In reality, “Modbridge” is based on Modbury. A main road runs through it, down a hill with shops on either side, exactly as in the novel. I often pass through Modbury on my way to the seaside in the summer (typically to visit places like Bigbury-on-Sea, my favourite local beach, which, incidentally, is next to Burgh Island, which directly inspired Agatha Christie’s Hercule Poirot mysteries Evil Under the Sun and And Then There Were None).

Dartmouth

To track down a key suspect in the decades-old unsolved murder case that Leila starts to reinvestigate, she heads to Dartmouth. This town doesn’t play a huge part in the overall narrative, but it’s so beautiful that I couldn’t resist setting part of the story there. It’s next to the River Dart estuary. During the annual regatta, there are sometimes Red Arrow displays, fireworks, fairgrounds, and all sorts of other fun activities. But enough of me sounding like the southwest tourist board.

In addition to the above, other areas of southwest England are visited or are otherwise part of the narrative, including a small village called Strete, near Dartmouth (also a real place), as well as Dartmoor. Living in the southwest has provided a treasure trove of inspiring locations for my novels. Whilst writing A Thorn in Winter, it greatly helped to know the places where it was set.

Paperbacks and ebooks of A Thorn in Winter are now available. You can order from Amazon here, directly from my publisher, Ring of Culture, here, from Waterstones here, from Blackwells here, and from various other outlets.

My new supernaturally tinged mystery thriller novel, A Thorn in Winter, is out now. I’m thrilled to share this story with you at last. Here’s an introduction to its narrative, themes, and ideas (avoiding ruinous spoilers).

My protagonist, council worker Leila Wilmond, is bored and restless. She recently married freelance graphic designer Patrick, but she’s not particularly happy. Her ill-advised, impulsive affair with local TV news presenter Oliver Robinson indicates as much, though Leila is somewhat in denial. With the affair in her rear-view mirror, she is determined to move on and make a proper go of the marriage. Unfortunately, Joel Odell, her husband’s best friend, has been blackmailing her over the affair. Or he was, until Joel’s sudden death that Leila hears about on page one of the novel.

Naturally, Patrick is dismayed about the death of his best friend. But he doesn’t know about Joel’s blackmail schemes. Leila hopes that with Joel now deceased, Patrick need never know. However, matters are complicated on three fronts. Firstly, Leila is experiencing vivid and violent recurring nightmares that she struggles to dismiss as mere dreams. Are they premonitions? Is she seeing a past event? If so, why is she seeing it?

Secondly, Leila discovers an uncanny link between the blackmail and an unsolved murder case three decades earlier. The fact that the victim looked disturbingly like Leila merely adds to her unease. Thirdly, a tarot card reading a witch performs for Leila proves both accurate and alarming to the point that she is forced to put scepticism aside and consider whether there might just be something to it. This leads to an investigative rabbit hole down which Leila disappears, with perilous, potentially lethal consequences.

Given that I’ve written horror novels, some people have asked how scary this one is. The answer is, not particularly. The difference between horror suspense and thriller suspense is that one is primarily interested in frightening the reader, whereas the other is more interested in keeping them on the edge of their seat, turning the pages to find out what happens next. A Thorn in Winter belongs firmly to the latter tradition, though there are, admittedly, a couple of horror-ish moments later in the book.

This novel also follows quite a bit of the “Simon Dillon bingo” formula that could be applied to my horror and thriller novels. Tenacious but imperilled (and deeply flawed) heroine? Check. Significant trauma in her past? Check. Huge central mystery? Check. Possible supernatural shenanigans? Check. Romantic subplot? Check. Characters with an imperial ton of secrets? Check. A vein of dark humour? Check. Creepy labyrinthine settings? Check. Big twist ending? Check.

To be clear: There’s a significant difference between “predictable” and “formulaic”. Within the genre parameters I set for myself, there are many, many potential variations. The key is to be ahead of the reader and give them what they want, but not the way they expect. I believe I have succeeded in keeping A Thorn in Winter unpredictable, based on early reactions.

As for the themes covered in the novel, before mentioning these, I should reiterate that I don’t believe in self-consciously inserting any “message” into a novel. I believe it is far better simply to write an entertaining story with no conscious agenda. Indeed, I have a pathological need to entertain. There is no better feeling than knowing someone was so absorbed in your novel that they lost a night’s sleep over it or (as I was once told) that they missed their railway station stop because they were so intensely gripped.

All that said, what I’ve found is that if I don’t consciously insert any “message” but only try to entertain, what is important to me ends up inherent in the text in any case, often to much more compelling dramatic effect rather than sounding preachy. For instance, A Thorn in Winter raises subjects such as the potential consequences of being a bully, and the seismic ripple effect of adultery. The reader will have their own beliefs on both subjects. However, if my thoughts on these matters also linger around the margins, the reader can take or leave them as they please, without feeling as though I’m wagging a sanctimonious finger.

Paperbacks and ebooks of A Thorn in Winter are now available. You can order from Amazon here, directly from my publisher, Ring of Culture, here, from Waterstones here, from Blackwells here, and from various other outlets.

You are warmly invited to join me for the official launch party for my supernaturally tinged mystery novel A Thorn in Winter, live on Substack, 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.