Delicious chills and un-sensible shoes

A delicious review of The Cairo Brief from the CWA’s delightful Dea Parkin, writing for Promoting Crime Fiction

“Atmosphere is as important as the slick plot and engaging story in this novel and it added hugely to my enjoyment. The misty gardens at Winterton Hall, the British Museum and surrounding streets in snow, all underpinned by that first spooky scene in the newly discovered tomb provoke delicious chills and put the reader very firmly in Poppy’s un-sensible shoes. A delight from start to a rewarding finish.”
– Dea Parkin, Secretary of the Crime Writers’ Association.

Read the full review here.

If you have read The Cairo Brief, please consider voting for it for the People’s Book Prize where it has been shortlisted for the best winter read of 2018/19. You can vote here.

18/01/2019 0

Cairo Brief Blog Tour

This week Poppy and I are zooting around the internet on a blog tour for our latest book, The Cairo Brief. Do drop by if you have some time. Yesterday on Love Books I was talking about how my characters present themselves to me in ‘creative visions’. And today I’m talking about seances on Claire Musters’ blog, as well as the murky world of antiquity theft with Shelley Fallows. All sounds a bit dodgy, doesn’t it? 😉 For links to those articles plus the rest of the tour, see the list below.

27/11/2018 0

Cairo Brief is pick of the week!

What a lovely surprise to hear that The Cairo Brief is one of the Love Reading’s editors picks of the week. And what a fabulous review!

“An entirely charming, fascinating murder mystery set in the Golden Age Twenties. The Cairo Brief is the fourth in the simply fabulous ‘Poppy Denby Investigates’ series. Poppy is invited to attend a country house for the auction of an Egyptian mask… murder, curses and general skulduggery await her keen investigative skills. While this could potentially be read as a standalone, I do recommend starting at the beginning of the series with the wonderful The Jazz Files which was shortlisted for the Crime Writers Association Endeavour Historical Dagger Award. Fictional characters mingle quite beautifully with historical figures such as Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Howard Carter and Emmeline Pankhurst. I adore Poppy, she’s intelligent, progressive, and knows her own mind. Fiona Veitch Smith’s descriptive detailing is just gorgeous, the dresses sparkle, the cars zip (or putter) along, and historical facts pepper and blend in with the storyline. Just perfect if you love to visit a bygone era, The Cairo Brief is a teasingly delicious and wonderfully readable mystery.”

LIZ ROBINSON

To read other reviews of The Cairo Brief on Love Reading click here.

22/11/2018 0

The Cairo Brief book launch

All and sundry, sundry and all (at least those who live within commuting distance of Newcastle upon Tyne) are invited to celebrate the launch of the fourth Poppy Denby book, The Cairo Brief, on Saturday 20th October, 4.15pm, Jesmond Library. I do hope to see some of you there!

16/10/2018 0

The Cairo Brief released today!

Happy publication day to Poppy on her latest adventure, The Cairo Brief. As of today it is available at all good bookshops in the UK and through online stores. It will be released in the USA in the new year. This is book 4 in the series and it already has some fabulous reviews!

“Poppy Denby is on top form solving the mystery surrounding the ancient Egyptian mask of Queen Nefertiti. Highly recommended!”
Dolores Gordon-Smith, author of the Jack Haldean murder mysteries.

“Fiona Veitch Smith, where have you been all my life? Poppy Denby is delightful, the plot rocks, and the 1920s era is perfectly evoked. British mystery fans, you want to read this. You really, really do.” Cassandra Chan, author of the Bethancourt & Gibbons mysteries.

“Thoroughly enjoyable mystery. Murders, sinister figures, a cursed Egyptian mask… and a séance! All the ingredients for another superlative Poppy Denby investigation.”
A.J. Wright, author of the Lancashire Detective series.

Get your hands on a copy here!

21/09/2018 0

The Cairo Brief

Drum rolls and trumpet toots … ladies and gentlemen, I present to you the new Poppy Denby! The Cairo Brief, fourth in the series, will be published 21 September. If you haven’t read the first three books yet, I suggest you get started! They are great holiday reads (if I may say so myself).

Poppy Denby is on top form solving the mystery surrounding the ancient Egyptian mask of Queen Nefertiti. Highly recommended!

Dolores Gordon-Smith, author of the Jack Haldean murder mysteries

Intrepid Poppy Denby visits a country estate not unlike Downton Abbey in this caper. It’s great fun following Fiona’s crew of early 20th-century reporters as they seek scoops and solve murders on the side

Deb Richardson-Moore, author of The Cantaloupe Thief, The Cover Story and Death of a Jester

Thoroughly enjoyable mystery. Murders, sinister figures, a cursed Egyptian mask…and a seance! All the ingredients for another superlative Poppy Denby investigation.

A. J. Wright, award-winning author of the Lancashire Detective Series.

Fiona Veitch Smith, where have you been all my life? Poppy Denby is delightful, the plot rocks, and the 1920s era is perfectly evoked. British mystery fans, you want to read this. You really, really do.

Cassandra Chan, Author of the Bethancourt & Gibbons mysteries

20/07/2018 1

Tag: The Cairo Brief