The Jazz Files – Fiona Veitch Smith

Murder Monday with Miss Jane

Fiona — Fri, 15 May 2020 10:45:44 +0000

I’m not sure how I missed this when it came out two years ago, but the lovely Miss Jane featured the first two books in the Poppy Denby investigates series in her Mystery Monday video review. Lovely to hear that Poppy has another fan.

Poppy Denby in surround sound!

Fiona — Thu, 25 Jul 2019 10:40:15 +0000

Today is a very exciting day for me, it’s the launch of the Poppy Denby audio books! Hurrah! If you are looking for something to wile away a long journey on holiday or lounging by a pool, then why not download one now? (They are also available in audio and MP3 cds). Narrated by the fabulous Helen Keeley and published by Lamplight Audiobooks,

I am thrilled to hear Poppy and her friends brought to life. I hope you will be too. Please note, the first three books, The Jazz Files, The Kill Fee and The Death Beat are available now. The Cairo Brief will be released next month. Download your books here.

Travelling 1920s style

Fiona — Wed, 27 Sep 2017 09:44:53 +0000

I’ve just updated the Poppy Denby website with information on, and fabulous original photos of,the various trains, boats and automobiles Poppy and her friends use in London, Paris and New York. For readers who have already read the books, you can now see if your imagination matches up to reality. For those who haven’t, don’t worry, there are no plot spoilers as to whodunnit. Although book 3 is not quite out yet, I have included information on that too as a little taster. http://www.poppydenby.com/transport/

New Year review of The Kill Fee

Fiona — Tue, 03 Jan 2017 12:46:29 +0000

Happy New Year to you all! It’s been a lovely start to the year receiving my copy of Northern Insight magazine with a review of The Kill Fee on p139. They say “Steeped in flapper girls, scandal and jazz age glitterati, The Kill Fee is a potent mix of history, mystery and sharp observation. A great thriller for the festive period and every bit as good as the author’s initial offering, The Jazz Files.”

The Crime Writers’ Awards Dinner

Fiona — Mon, 17 Oct 2016 09:36:00 +0000

This week I am back at my desk after a whirlwind week in London where I went to attend a gala awards dinner, hosted by the Crime Writers’ Association. The Jazz Files did not win the CWA Endeavour Historical Dagger award. It was pipped at the post by the very worthy Stasi Child by David Young. But what a fantastic night we had! A gang from my publishers’ Lion Hudson were there to cheer Poppy along and my husband, Rodney, came down from Newcastle with me. Here are some pics from the night. The one with my eyes closed is me waiting to hear the result …

Illustrious company. The Jazz Files alongside fellow nominees AJ Wright’s Striking Murder (wonderful book) and David Young’s Stasi Child (a worthy winner).

Me and editor Jessica Tinker in our flapulous 1920s gear. Photo courtesy of the very lovely Amy Boucher Pye from the Woman Alive Book Club who was also there to cheer us on.

And the winner is … not me!

Pride in the pride. Me with Lion Fiction editors Tony Collins who first commissioned the Poppy Denby series, and current editor the flapulous Jessica Tinker

Me and fellow Lioness Elizabeth Flynn, author of the D.I. Costello crime series.

Flappers, fops and murder

Fiona — Wed, 31 Aug 2016 09:10:57 +0000

Anyone in the Newcastle area on Monday 26 September, between 5 – 6.30pm (you can come straight from work), I am giving a talk at the central library on writing historical crime fiction in the jazz age. The event is free and there will be tea and biscuits. This is aimed at the general public and writers and readers of historical crime fiction.

(Please note this is not the launch party of The Kill Fee – I will be sending out invitations to that later!)

For more information and to book your free ticket click here.

CWA Historical Dagger shortlist

Fiona — Fri, 29 Jul 2016 11:24:13 +0000

I am delighted to hear that The Jazz Files is on the short list for this year’s Crime Writers’ Association Endeavour Historical Dagger award. The Daggers are sort of the Baftas of British crime writing. The winner will be announced at a swanky dinner in London on 11 October. In the meantime Poppy Denby and I are toasting each other with pink champagne and wondering what to wear!

This is what the judging panel said about the book:

“This first entry in a new series featuring a female journalist in 1920s London is, like its heroine, buoyant and stylish but with a core of steel. Poppy Denby arrives in London from the north of England determined to make it as a journalist and gets her chance when she has to finish a murdered reporter’s investigation into the death of a suffragette. The Roaring Twenties are beautifully evoked.” – the CWA judging panel http://thecwa.co.uk/the-jazz-files/

If you haven’t already read The Jazz Files, why not remedy that now? The sequel, The Kill Fee, will be coming out on 16 September. You can click on the book covers on the right hand side of this page to buy them. Cheers!

The Kill Fee available to pre-order

Fiona — Fri, 15 Jul 2016 09:40:15 +0000

If you loved reading about Poppy and her friends in The Jazz Files you will be delighted that book 2 in the series, The Kill Fee, is now available for pre-order. It will be published in September (UK) and November (USA).

“Do you know who that is, Poppy?” asked Delilah
“I do indeed.”
“So what does it feel like to be in the arms of an assassin?”

Poppy Denby’s star is on the rise. Now the Arts and Entertainment Editor at The Daily Globe, she covers a glamorous exhibition of Russian Art at the Crystal Palace. During the exhibition a shot rings out, leaving an injured guard and an empty pedestal in the place of the largest Fabergé Egg in the collection. The egg itself is valuable, but more so are the secrets contained within – secrets that could destroy the royal families of Europe.

Suspects are aplenty and Poppy, her editor Rollo, and the other staff of the Globe are delighted to be once again in the middle of a sensational story. When they are offered a ‘kill fee’ to drop the story, they know they are onto something explosive. But soon the investigation takes a dark turn when someone connected to the exhibition is murdered and an employee of the newspaper becomes a suspect. The race is on to find the egg before the killer strikes again…

Pre-order your copy here!

Crime Writers Association Dagger Nomination

Fiona — Sat, 21 May 2016 11:25:11 +0000

I am over the moon to hear that my debut historical crime novel, The Jazz Files, has been longlisted for the CWA Endeavour Historical Crime book of the year. I’m one of 10 nominees. Totally unexpected. I’m humbled and delighted

Click here to see all ten nominees

Fiona’s guide to the skinny classics

Fiona — Tue, 12 Apr 2016 09:17:47 +0000

I had such fun a few weeks ago meeting up with an old friend, author and lifestyle blogger Gillian D’Achada at Alnwick Castle in Northumberland. Gill and I were once part of a writers’ circle in Kalk Bay, South Africa in the late 1990s and early naughties that eventually became a writers’ line when only she and I remained. Gill I think was the first person to encourage me to become a full-time author and I am forever grateful for her support. Over the years she and I have stayed in touch and I was privileged to edit her award-winning youth novel, Sharkey’s Son for Tafelberg Press. Here I am talking to her about how reading classic literature doesn’t have to be hard work – and how some classics have influenced my own writing of The Jazz Files.

PS Yes I’m aware I made a mistake on Homer’s dates. He lived and wrote in the late 8th Century BC, not 4th Century. Forgive me darlings!