Delighted to see that Poppy Denby has been named as one of the Magnificent Seven Amateur Female Detectives in Shots Magazine! Poppy will be tickled pink that she’s in there with Miss Marple. She doesn’t know who the others are (Agatha Raisin, Margery & Thyme, Vera Stanhope, Jessica Fletcher, Delilah Metcalfe and Abby Knight) as they are after her time, but she was thrilled to learn about them! Thank you Antony Johnston author of the delightful Dogsitter Detective series and SHOTS Magazine http://shotsmag.co.uk/feature_view.aspx?FEATURE_ID=531
The Picture House Murders available for pre-order now!
The Picture House Murders, the first in the brand new Miss Clara Vale Mysteries, is available to pre-order now! Coming out in ebook, audiobook and print on demand on 29 August 2023. Published by Embla Books, and imprint of Bonnier Books UK.
1929: Miss Clara Vale is a woman ahead of her time. Rather than attending Oxford to bag an eligible aristocrat (as her mother, Lady Vale, so desperately hoped), she threw herself into a degree in chemistry, with aspirations to become a scientist in her own right. But the world isn’t ready for Clara. Unable to land a job in science because she’s a woman, she is stuck behind the desk at a dingy London library. Until her estranged Uncle dies suddenly, leaving her his private detective agency in Newcastle upon Tyne, and laboratory, in his will.
Clara couldn’t become a detective, could she?
The decision is made for her when one of her uncle’s old clients comes to her for help with a case surrounding the local picture house and invites Clara to see the latest show, before they discuss the details. But during the film, a fire suddenly engulfs the picture house, with tragic consequences.
It seems at first an accident, but Clara soon begins to question if it was in fact a carefully orchestrated murder. She’s suddenly in the middle of a deadly mystery and will discover her scientific skills make her a sleuth to be reckoned with… Can she catch the killer before they strike again?
Set in the Golden Age of cinema when talkies were just taking over from silent films.
From the author of the Poppy Denby Investigates books.
Announcing the Miss Clara Vale Mysteries – my new series with Embla Books
Well this is an auspicious day. Not only is it my birthday and I’m going to see the Mousetrap this evening as my present, but my new series with Embla Books (an imprint of Bonnier Books UK) has been announced in The Bookseller! The Miss Clara Vale Mysteries, about a lady science graduate who inherits a detective agency in Newcastle upon Tyne, will be released this September. There are three under contract, so far, the first is ‘The Picture House Murders’, set in the summer of 1929. So fans of Poppy Denby (and hopefully many more new fans) prepare yourselves for more mysterious Golden Age delights!
Newcastle in the 1920s – a novelist’s research
Friends in the Newcastle area, I am giving a talk (with visuals) at Jesmond Library on Thursday 16th, on ‘Newcastle in the 1920s – a novelist’s research’. I will be talking about how I researched the locations for The Art Fiasco, book 5 in the Poppy Denby series, set in Newcastle, about a murder at the Laing Art Gallery. As this book came out during lockdown I was unable to do all the local events I had planned for it. I do hope you can join me. £3 donation to the library. And a chance to buy signed copies or just to say hello!
http://jesmondlibrary.org/event/fiona-veitch-smith/
Reporter Sleuths & Crime Fiction online event
Join me in conversation with Warwickshire Libraries, Newcastle Libraries and the British Library on Tuesday, 8 March at 7.30pm
From the event website:
Warwickshire Libraries, in partnership with Newcastle Libraries and the British Library are thrilled to be hosting a virtual ‘in conversation’ with crime author, Fiona Veitch Smith.
We will be talking to Fiona, author of the Poppy Denby Investigates series, about her inspiration in creating the 1920s reporter sleuth and how she has drawn on her own experience working as a journalist and lecturer in journalism.
Fiona will also be sharing her knowledge of some of the formidable women journalists of the early 20th century.
This event is part of the Breaking the News exhibition, a partnership between the British Library, the Living Knowledge Network and public libraries throughout the country, launching in late February.
Warwickshire Libraries and Newcastle Libraries are both part of The Living Knowledge Network and will be hosting a display of exhibition panels in their libraries from the end of February.
You can view an archive of previously screened events at living-knowledge-network.co.uk
Tickets are FREE but you need to register here.
Fiona Veitch Smith was shortlisted for the CWA Historical Dagger for her book The Jazz Files.
The Crystal Crypt blog tour continues … and they all love the map!
Today on Poppy’s blog tour for The Crystal Crypt we are stopping of at Jaffareadstoo. She says:
“Beautifully written, with both a sense of fun, and pathos, the glorious city of Oxford comes to life and thanks to the cleverly designed map, I was able to, quite literally, follow in Poppy’s footsteps as she moves through the city on her hired bicycle. […] Poppy Denby is, by far, my favourite amateur sleuth, and I look forward to meeting her again soon.”
I must confess, the map is my favourite part of the book. It took me ages to source just the right one and to plot Poppy’s adventures on it. But it helped me visualise where Poppy was going from the very beginning.