Pannelists for Lyme Crime festival

LYME CRIME PANELLISTS 2023

Leye Adenle, author of The Amaka crime thriller series, won the Prix Marianne in 2016 for his debut novel, Easy Motion Tourist (Cassava Republic Press, 2016). His short story, The Assassination, from the anthology, Sunshine Noir, was a finalist for the 2017 CWA Short Story Dagger award.
Leye’s second novel in the Amaka series, When Trouble Sleeps was published in 2018 (Cassava Republic Press) and shortlisted for the 2019 CrimeFest edunnit award. Un Finished Business, the third book in the series, came out in 2022.
You can follow him on Twitter @LeyeAdenle.

Amen Alonge was born in Lagos and moved to London as a teenager. He took a Master’s Degree at Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh, then worked as an engineer. He went on to take a screenwriting course at London Film Academy and, for a while, ran the family business, a sports media company that owned the global licensing rights for the Nigerian Football League. He changed careers since and is currently training to become a solicitor. Amen lives in London with his wife and their son.
You can follow him on Twitter and Instagram @amenalonge

SJ Bennett was born in Yorkshire and travelled the world as an army child. She had a varied career before her first novel was published when she was 42, since when her books have won the RNA Romantic Novel of the Year, been optioned for TV, and been translated into over 20 languages. She now writes crime fiction featuring the Queen as a secret detective.
Sophia was once asked to interview for the role of Assistant Private Secretary to the Queen and still considers it the job that got away. She lives in London, where she can often be found haunting its palaces, museums, galleries and libraries. You can find her on Instagram @sophiabennett_writer and on Twitter @sophiabennett and her website, sjbennettbooks.com.

Rachael Blok is the author of the DCI Jansen crime series, set in St Albans. Her novels include Under The Ice, The Scorched Earth, Into The Fire and The Fall.
She lives near London with her family.
You can find her on Twitter @MsRachaelBlok, on Instagram @r__blok and at www.rachaelblok.com

Neil Broadfoot worked as a journalist for 15 years before moving into communications. He is the author of eight books across two series, one set in Edinburgh, featuring journalist Doug McGregor and cop Susie Drummond, and his current one in Stirling, focused on protection specialist Connor Fraser. The first book in each series, Falling Fast and No Man's Land respectively, was longlisted for the McIlvanney Prize for Scottish Crime Novel of the Year.
You can find him on Twitter @NlBro and on Instagram @neilbro1.

Jane Casey was born and brought up in Dublin, and studied English at Jesus College, Oxford. A former editor, she has written twelve novels for adults and three for teenagers. Her books have been international bestsellers and the Maeve Kerrigan series has won many awards. The Killing Kind was a Richard and Judy Book Club pick in 2021 and is currently being filmed for television.
You can find her on Twitter @janecaeyauthor

Fiona Cummins is an award-winning former journalist and a graduate of the Faber Academy Writing A Novel course. Rattle, her debut, was the subject of a huge
international auction and has been translated into several languages. Rattle and Fiona's follow up, The Collector, have been optioned for TV adaptation by Tiger Aspect, the producers of Peaky Blinders, and When I Was Ten by Palma Pictures (The Crown). Fiona’s 2022 novel, Into the Dark, introduced readers to Detective Saul Anguish, and was published to critical acclaim. Her 2023 novel, All Of Us Are Broken, sees Saul Anguish returns.
You can find her on Twitter @fionaanncummins and on Instagram @fionacumminsauthor
Photo credit: Simon Burke

Katerina Diamond burst onto the crime scene with her debut The Teacher, which became a Sunday Times bestseller and a number one Kindle bestseller. It was longlisted for the CWA John Creasey Debut Dagger Award and the Hotel Chocolat Award for ‘darkest moment’. The Teacher was followed by sequels The Secret, The Angel, The Promise, Truth or Die, Woman in the Water and Trick or Treat, all of which featured detectives Adrian Miles and Imogen Grey. The Heatwave, published in 2020, is her first standalone thriller.
You can find her on Twitter @TheVenomousPen.

Derek Farrell is the author of six Danny Bird Mysteries, including most recently Death at Dukes Halt. The books have been described as 'twisty, Gripping' and 'tight, intricately plotted, full of razor-sharp one-liners and evocative prose', and have earned him the nickname 'Agatha Twisty'.
He’s married and lives in West Sussex with his husband and what some people describe as 'way too many books'.
You can find on Twitter @DerekIFarrell and on Instagram @derekifarrell

A former civil servant with the highest security clearance bar one, Ava Glass has seen just enough of the inner workings of espionage to ensure that she will always be fascinated by spies. Dubbed 'a worthy heir to the James Bond mantle' by James Patterson and published by Penguin, Ava Glass's feisty female-led spy debut The Chase is James Bond for the 21st century - fast, furious and totally addictive, Based on Glass’s first-hand experience of working in counter terrorism in the wake of the 7/7 Bombings, The Chase is an Amazon Book of the Month, and is currently under option to be made into a TV series by the team behind The Night Manager.

Jason Goodwin is the bestselling author of The Janissary Tree, which won the coveted Edgar Award for Best Novel in 2007 and has been translated into more than 40 languages. The first in a series of novels featuring Yashim, the Istanbul investigator, it was followed bySnake Stone, The Bellini Card, An Evil Eye and The Baklava Club. The series inspired Yashim Cooks Istanbul: Culinary Adventures in the Ottoman Kitchen, an illustrated cookbook shortlisted for the Guild of Food Writer’s First Book Award. A columnist and historian, Jason studied Byzantine history at Cambridge. He lives with his wife and their four children in Dorset.
You can find him on Twitter @jsn_goodwin and at www.jasongoodwin.info

Sarah Hilary’s debut, Someone Else's Skin, won the Theakstons Crime Novel of the Year and was a World Book Night selection, a Richard & Judy Book Club pick, and a Silver Falchion and Macavity Award finalist in the US. Her first standalone, Fragile, was published in 2021. Mick Herron called it ‘a dark river of a book’ while Erin Kelly said, ‘Timeless, tense and tender, Fragile will worm its way deep into your heart.’ Her new book, Black Thorn, will be published in July 2023.
You can find her at www.sarahhilary.com, on Twitter @Sarah__Hilary and on Instagram @Sarah_hilary999.
Photo credit: Matthew Andrews

Having always been fascinated with the dark and macabre, Sam Holland studied psychology at university then spent the next few years working in HR, before quitting for a full-time career in writing. A self-confessed serial killer nerd, her debut novel, The Echo Man, shocked and enthralled readers and reviewers alike with its sinister depiction of a serial killer copying notorious real-life murderers of the past. The Twenty is her second novel.
You can find her on Twitter and Instagram at @samhollandbooks

Ed James writes crime fiction novels, mainly the DI Fenchurch series set on the gritty streets of East London. His Police Scotland books feature multiple detectives investigating crimes in Edinburgh and further afield. Formerly an IT project manager, Ed began writing on planes, trains and automobiles to fill his weekly commute from Edinburgh to London. He now writes full-time and lives in the Scottish Borders, where his new DI Rob Marshall series is set.
You can find him at www.edjames.co.uk, on Twitter @edjamesauthor and on Facebook.

Lisa Jewell was born in London in 1968. Her first novel, Ralph’s Party, was published in 1999. It was the best-selling debut novel of the year. Since then she has published another nineteen novels, most lately a number of dark psychological thrillers, including The Girls and Then She Was Gone (both of which were Richard & Judy Book Club picks). Lisa is a top 10 New York Times and number one Sunday Times author who has been published worldwide in over twenty-five languages. She lives in north London.
You can find her at www.lisa-jewell.co.uk, or on Twitter @lisajewelluk.

Jack Jewers is a filmmaker and writer, passionate about history. His career has been spent telling stories in all media, and his body of work includes film, TV, and digital media. His films have been shown at dozens of international film festivals, including Cannes, New York, Marseille, Dublin, and London’s FrightFest, garnering multiple accolades, including an award from the Royal Television Society and a nomination for Best Short Film by BAFTA Wales. His first novel, The Lost Diary of Samuel Pepys, featured in the Sunday Times Best Historical Fiction 2022 and was The Independent’s Book of the Month.
You can find him at www.jackjewers.com and on Twitter @jackjewers.
Photo credit: Jamie Drew

Until March 2022 Her Honour Wendy Joseph QC was a judge at the Old Bailey, sitting on criminal cases, trying mainly allegations of murder and other homicide. She read English and Law at Cambridge, was called to the Bar by Gray’s Inn in 1975, became a QC in 1998 and sat as a full-time judge from 2007 to 2022. When she moved to the Old Bailey in 2012 she was the only woman amongst sixteen judges, and only the third woman ever to hold a permanent position there. She was also a Diversity and Community Relations Judge, working to promote understanding between the judiciary and many different sectors of our community, particularly those from less privileged and minority groups. She mentors young people, from a variety of backgrounds, who hope for a career in law and has a special interest in helping women. Unlawful Killings is her first book.
Photo credit: Louise Rose

Erin Kelly was born in London and grew up in Essex. Her debut, The Poison Tree, was adapted by ITV for television, became a Richard & Judy bestseller and was longlisted for the CWA John Creasy Award. She's since published eight more psychological thrillers, including We Know/You Know and He Said/She Said, both of which were also Richard and Judy picks. Her books have sold over a million copies and been translated into 25 languages. Her ninth book, The Skeleton Key, is a thriller about bones, buried treasure and a daughter haunted by her father's legacy. You can find her on Twitter @mserinkelly and on Instagram @erinjelly. Photo credit: John Godwin

Vaseem Khan is the author of two award-winning crime series set in India, the Baby Ganesh Agency series set in modern Mumbai, and the Malabar House historical crime novels set in 1950s Bombay. His first book, The Unexpected Inheritance of Inspector Chopra, was selected by the Sunday Times as one of the 40 best crime novels published 2015-2020, and is translated into 17 languages. In 2021, Midnight at Malabar House won the Crime Writers Association Historical Dagger, the world’s premier award for historical crime fiction. The book was also shortlisted for the Theakston's Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year. When he isn't writing, he works at the Department of Security and Crime Science at University College London. Vaseem was born in England, but spent a decade working in India. You can find him at www.vaseemkhan.com

Olivia Kiernan is an Irish writer living in the UK. She was born and raised in County Meath, near the famed heritage town of Kells and holds an MA in Creative Writing awarded by the University of Sussex.
The End of Us is Olivia’s first standalone after her acclaimed Frankie Sheehan Series. The Dublin-set crime thriller novels comprise Play Dead For Me, The Killer In Me, If Looks Could Kill and most recently The Murder Box. The series has recently been optioned for TV, with Victoria Smurfit, star of ITV’s Trial & Retribution, to play Sheehan.
You can find her on Twitter @LivKiernan and on Instagram @olivia_kiernan_author

Susie Lyne writes as S.E. Lynes and is the author of psychological suspense novels such as Amazon #1 best seller, The Housewarming and Scottish noir, Valentina. Her ninth novel, Her Sister's Secret is set in the Isle of Purbeck and The Ex, published in 2022, is set in Lyme Regis. Her latest novel, The Summer Holiday, came out in May this year.
A former BBC Producer, she has lived in France, Spain, Scotland and Italy and is now settled in Greater London. After completing her MA, S E Lynes taught creative writing at Richmond Adult Community College for ten years. She now combines writing, mentoring and lecturing in Richmond Borough.
You can find her on Twitter @SELynesAuthor and on Instagram @selynesauthor.

Alec Marsh is a journalist and author of the Drabble and Harris historical thriller series set in the late 1930s. The first in the series, Rule Britannia, was published in 2019 and described by Ian Rankin as ‘a rollicking good read’. This was followed by Enemy of the Raj in 2020, and Ghost of the West in 2021. Alec is currently working on the fourth in the series. He lives in Essex with his family. You can find him on Twitter @AlecMarsh or Instagram @marsh_alec or his website, www.alecmarsh.co.uk.
Photo credit: David Harrison

Nadine Matheson was born and lives in London. She began her working life at the BBC and is now a Criminal Solicitor. In 2016, she won the City University Crime Writing Competition and completed the Creative Writing (Crime/Thriller Novels) MA at City University of London with Distinction in 2018.
Her debut crime novel, the bestselling, The Jigsaw Man has been translated into 15 languages. Her second novel featuring DI Henley and the Serial Crime Unit, The Binding Room, was published in July 2022.
You can find her on Twitter @nadinematheson

Greg Mosse’s first career was in theatre as actor, director & writer. He has lived and worked in Paris, New York, Los Angeles and Madrid. Having worked as an interpreter at a variety of international institutions, in 2015 Greg returned to theatre. Since then, he has written and produced 25 plays and musicals. He took advantage of 2020’s lockdown to fulfil a long-term ambition to write a thriller. The result is his powerful debut, The Coming Darkness.
You can find him at www.gregmosse.com
Photo credit: Jasmine Aurora

Alex North’s first novel, The Whisper Man, was a Sunday Times, New York Times and international bestseller, a Richard and Judy pick, and is currently being adapted for film. It was followed by The Shadow Friend. His most recent thriller is The Half Burnt House. Alex is the pseudonym for an award-winning crime novelist, and he lives in Leeds with his wife and son.
You can find him on Twitter @writer_north and on Instagram @writernorth.

Ayo Onatade is an award-winning freelance crime fiction critic/commentator, moderator and blogger. She has written a number of articles on different aspects of crime fiction and has also given papers on the subject as well moderating panels as various crime fiction events. She is the current Chair of the HWA (Historical Writers Association) Debut Crown
and also currently one of the judges for the Ian Fleming Steel Dagger, the Ngaio Marsh Award and the Bloody Scotland McIlvanney Prize. She is an Associate Member and a Committee Member of the Crime Writers Association of Great Britain (CWA). She is also an Advisory Committee Board Member for Capital Crime. She has an eclectic taste in crime fiction, which runs the gamut from historical crime ﬁction to hardboiled and short
stories. Her research interests include historical fiction especially crime fiction and crime fiction literary criticism. She can be found blogging at Shotsmag Confidential and Tweets @shotsblog.

Tina Orr Munro's debut crime novel, Breakneck Point, was published last year by HQ Stories. Set in North Devon, it is the first in a series that follows Crime Scene Investigator Ally Dymond as she hunts a killer on her side of the crime scene tape. Breakneck Point draws on Tina's own experience as a former Scenes of Crime Officer. Slaughterhouse Farm, the second in the series, is published in May 2023.
You can find her on Twitter @TinaOrrMunro.

William Ryan is the author of six novels, including the Moscow Noir series set in 1930s Russia, The Constant Soldier and A House of Ghosts. His books have been shortlisted for numerous awards, including the Irish Fiction Award, the Theakstons Crime Novel of the Year and the Crime Writer Association’s Steel, Historical and New Blood Daggers. His latest novel, The Winter Guest, is set in the Irish War of Independence and was described by Ann Cleeves as 'a stunning book, beautifully written'.
You can find him on Twitter @WilliamRyan_

Holly Seddon is the international bestselling author of Try Not To Breathe, Don't Close Your Eyes, Love Will Tear Us Apart, The Hit List and The Woman On The Bridge. The Short Straw will be published in July 2023.
After growing up on the Devon/Dorset border, obsessed with music and books, Holly worked in London as a journalist and editor. She now lives in Kent with her family and writes full time. Alongside fellow author Gillian McAllister, Holly co-hosts the popular Honest Authors Podcast. You can find her on Twitter @hollyseddon, Instagram and Facebook @hollyseddonauthor.

C.L. Taylor is an award-winning Sunday Times bestselling author. Her psychological thrillers have sold over a million copies in the UK alone, been translated into over twenty languages, and optioned for television. Her 2019 novel, Sleep, was a Richard and Judy pick. C.L. Taylor lives in Bristol with her partner and son. Her most recent book is The Guilty Couple.
You can find her on Twitter @callytaylor and on Instagram @cltaylorauthor.

Rachel Ward was born in Surrey and now lives in Bath with her husband and two dogs. She has two grown-up children. She worked in local government for years before writing full-time. Her debut YA thriller, Numbers, won many regional awards in the UK and Europe, was released in twenty-six countries and is currently optioned for film. She has written two psychological thrillers for HQ Digital, Safe With You, and one to be announced shortly. Her cosy crime series, The Supermarket Mysteries, published by Joffe, (formerly the Ant and Bea Mysteries, Sandstone Press) is set in and around a supermarket in a small English town and combines contemporary themes with an engaging cast of characters. The Missing Checkout Girl hit the top 10 in the cosy mystery chart.
You can find her on Twitter @RachelWardbooks and on Instagram @rachelwardart.

Holly Watt's fourth novel, The End of The Game, comes out in May 2023. Her debut thriller, To the Lions, was awarded the CWA Ian Fleming Steel Dagger in 2019. The Dead Line was published in April 2020 and was a Times and FT book of the year. Book three in the series, The Hunt and the Kill, was published in 2022. Holly previously worked as an investigative journalist at the Sunday Times, Guardian and Telegraph, where she was a key member of the MPs' Expenses team. She has reported from all over the world, including Libya and Afghanistan, which has involved everything from flying in Air Force One to joining the Royal Marines as they pursued Somali pirates around the Indian Ocean. You can find her on Twitter @holly_watt.