Author: Fiona

Poppy Denby #5: Murder at the Art Gallery out now!

It’s 1924. Poppy Denby, Fleet Street journalist, is hoping for a few weeks off, visiting her family in Newcastle upon Tyne. She’s reluctantly roped into filling in for the publicist of a renowned artist who, inconveniently, is then murdered on Poppy’s watch – at the Laing Art Gallery. ‘Murder at the Art Gallery’, #5 in the Poppy Denby Investigates series, is out now! https://loom.ly/gdhqLcY

(This was formerly published as The Art Fiasco by Lion Fiction. The audiobook by WF Howes is still under that name.)

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Newcastle Noir 10th anniversary!

Tom Mead, Fiona Veitch Smith & Antony Johnston at Newcastle Noir 2025.

As an author I travel to a lot of festivals and events in far-flung places. So it’s always a treat to have a crime festival right on my doorstep! And not just any festival, but one of the best in the country. I was delighted this year to appear on the Cosy Crime & Golden Age panel at Newcastle Noir’s 10th anniversary at Newcastle City Library. With me were Golden Age mystery novelist Tom Mead (the Spector Locked-Room Mysteries) and contemporary cosy writer Antony Johnston (the Dogsitter Detective). We were interviewed by the fabulous Kitty Murphy, who writes the Dublin Drag Mysteries. Thanks to the incredible Jacky Collins (aka Dr Noir) for running the whole show, warmly and professionally. May there be many more!

Kitty Murphy, Fiona Veitch Smith, Tom Mead & Antony Johnston.
Partners in Crime. Jacky Collins (bottom left), Antony Johnston, Fiona Veitch Smith, Kitty Murphy and Tom Mead.
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Four Poppy books for Christmas!

Since the first Poppy Denby book, The Jazz Files, was re-released under the new title A Front-Page Murder, I have been delighted by the reception the books have received from fans old and new.
My wish was to give these wonderful stories new life and for them to reach a new audience. Here’s a sample:

“Now this is what I call a page turner! This is one of the best books I’ve read for a long time. Loved Poppy Denby.”

A new Poppy fan

Quick on the heels of A Front-Page Murder, the new titles have been released one a month. So far there are three out, the fourth will be out in December – and a further two in January and February! So why not gift yourself (or a loved one) the first four Poppy books for Christmas? Click here to order.

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A new publisher for Poppy Denby – and a fresh new look!

I am delighted to announce that the Poppy Denby Investigates books are going to be re-published with new titles and covers by Embla Books (an imprint of Bonnier Books UK).

The first in the series, formerly The Jazz Files, is now called A Front-Page Murder and is available now! Order your copy here.

The next books will be released one a month for the next five months. They are:

Murder at the Old Vic Theatre  (formerly The Kill Fee) – October 2024

Murder on Lexington Avenue (formerly The Death Beat) – November 2024

Murder at Winterton Hall (formerly The Cairo Brief) – December 2024

Murder at the Art Gallery (formerly The Art Fiasco) – January 2025

Murder of an Oxford Scientist (formerly The Crystal Crypt) – February 2025

Please note: the audio version of each is currently only available under the old name. 

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Murderous Inspirations – with Cambridge University Library & the CWA

FREE ONLINE EVENT! Murderous Inspirations: Crime Novels that Inspire Crime Writers will take place on 4 June from 7-8pm. An online session co-hosted by Cambridge University Library and The Crime Writers’ Association. Crime writers Fiona Veitch Smith, Abir Mukherjee and Nadine Matheson will discuss seminal crime novels Murder Must Advertise, Gorky Park and Prime Suspect. We’ll be kept in line by the king of crime critics Barry Forshaw.

I’ll be going in to bat for Murder Must Advertise (a cricket reference for those who’ve read the book!) and talking about how Dorothy L. Sayers has influenced my own writing.

FREE tickets are available now – via https://linktr.ee/cambridgeuniversitylibrary

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