Book news and writing tips from Pauline Rowson - one of Britain's most exciting crime writers

DEATH LIES BENEATH is the eighth in the Detective Inspector Andy Horton series of police procedural mysteries. It is set in June, so I thought it appropriate to feature it here on my blog this month. Like most of my crime novels it is inspired by locations in the area where I live and where the novels are set, Portsmouth and the Isle of Wight. It is also inspired by topical crimes. In this case, metal thefts, fraud, salvage operations and more.

If you've not read Death Lies Beneath then here's a taster. Read page one of Death Lies Beneath below.

It is available in paperback, as an e book, on Amazon Kindle and on Kobo and also as an unabridged audio book narrated by Gordon Griffin.



DEATH LIES BENEATH

When ex con, Daryl Woodley is found dead on the marshes bordering Langstone Harbour the Intelligence Directorate believe his murder is linked to big time crook Marty Stapleton currently serving time in prison. DI Horton is not so sure. He attends Woodley’s funeral in the hope it will…

Want to get the latest up-to-date news of Detective Inspector Andy Horton as he battles to solve complex crimes on the south coast of England while wrestling with his own personal problems, and the search for the truth behind his mother's disappearance over thirty years ago?

Or perhaps you'd like to know when former Royal Marine Commando, Art Marvik is on a new mission to solve a mystery for the National Intelligence Marine Squad.

Then there's news about a brand new forthcoming crime novel set in a Britain still reeling from five long years of war.

Also news about my forthcoming talks, photographs and writes ups of my previous talks and interviews, plus articles on writing and the life and times of an author....

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Where to buyPauline Rowson's books at The Book Depository (free worldwide delivery) Pauline Rowson's books USAPauline Rowson's books UK From your local bookshop
Also availabl…

DEATH LIES BENEATH is a multi-layered Detective Inspector Andy Horton crime novel, number eight in the series.

There are two locations that inspired me for the setting of DEATH LIES BENEATH, one was the marshes on the northern boundary of the city of Portsmouth, facing on to Langstone Harbour, Farlington Marshes. The other was the area of Tipner, or more specifically the sea bordering this north western boundary of Portsmouth, which filters into Portsmouth Harbour.

Here is a selection of photographs of the setting for DEATH LIES BENEATH.




 Ex con Daryl Woodley is found dead in a remote location of Farlington Marshes. Farlington Marshes is part of Hampshire and the Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust. It is a coastal grazing marsh and lagoon which has several pools, and a broad stream providing feeding and roosting sites for waders and wildfowl.

 The marshes were reclaimed from the harbour in 1771. During World War 2 it was used as a starfish site acting as a decoy for Portsea Island. The …

How did you learn to write a novel? Did you attend any creative writing courses? What makes a successful author?  These are questions that I am often asked and while there are no hard and fast answers there are some things that contribute to becoming a successful author.

Writing courses and seminars can be both instructional and motivational. The lecturers (often authors themselves) can pass on some useful tips and can assist with the technicalities of constructing characters and plot.  They can give advice on how to write dialogue and pass on the tricks of the trade as well as provide guidance on publishing. Often such talks can be inspirational and motivational.  For me, while I didn't attend any creative writing courses I did go to seminars given by authors, which I found helpful.

The only way to 'learn how to write' is to write, and also to read.  Reading helps you to understand what shapes novels.
The key to successful writing is very much a process of trial and err…

I'm delighted to announce that the flawed and rugged Detective Inspector Andy Horton is embarking on a new murder mystery in October 2018. Yes, the latest in the DI Andy Horton series of police procedural crime novels DEAD PASSAGE is being published in paperback and as an ebook on 18 October.

Here is a taste of what is to come for the enigmatic Inspector Andy Horton.

A mysterious telephone call sends Horton on a complex and twisted investigation into the death of a local politician twelve years ago and uncovers a trail of lies, secrets and revenge with roots deep in the past.

Inspector Andy Horton receives a mysterious telephone call from Adele Goldsby, the daughter of a dead Portsmouth politician, with an urgent request to meet him on the Isle of Wight ferry because she has something to reveal about her father’s death twelve years ago. When she doesn’t show, Horton is at first inclined to think it was a hoax until more information comes to light. As he unofficially looks into the c…

DEATH LIES BENEATH is a multi-layered Detective Inspector Andy Horton crime novel, number eight in the series.  Like most of my novels it is inspired by locations in the area where I live and where the novels are set, Portsmouth and the Isle of Wight. It is also inspired by topical crimes.  In this case, metal thefts, fraud, boat salvage operations and more.

In addition it is one of the pivotal novels in the Horton police procedural series because in it Andy Horton discover a massive lead in the mystery surrounding the disappearance of his mother when he was ten, which is to set him off on a journey to find the truth about what really happened to her after she walked out of their council flat in a tower block in inner city Portsmouth one foggy November day in 1978 never to be seen again. And in DEATH LIES BENEATH Andy’s marriage to Catherine is set to be finally dissolved much to Andy’s sorrow.

But back to locations… There were two areas that helped inspire me for the setting of DEATH…

The Inspector Andy Horton crime novel, DEATH LIES BENEATH is set during the month of June so I'll be featuring various articles about this crime novel.

DEATH LIES BENEATH is the eighth in the series of currently 13, soon to be 14 with the publication of DEAD PASSAGE in October 2018.

When ex con, Daryl Woodley is found dead on the marshes bordering Langstone Harbour the Intelligence Directorate believe his murder is linked to big time crook Marty Stapleton currently serving time in prison. DI Horton is not so sure. He attends Woodley’s funeral in the hope it will give them a lead in an investigation that has drawn a blank at every turn. It does but not in the way he or anyone expected. A body is found on a rotting boat being salvaged in Portsmouth Harbour throws Horton into a complex and frustrating investigation. As the tension mounts to solve the case, Horton receives a chilling message; time, it seems, is also running out for him personally…

DEATH LIES BENEATH is available in p…

Where to buy
Pauline Rowson's books at The Book Depository (free worldwide delivery) Pauline Rowson's books USAPauline Rowson's books UK From your local bookshop

Also available as an ebook and on Amazon Kindle, Kobo and for loan from UK,
USA, Irish and Commonwealth libraries

I'm delighted to announce that the latest in the Detective Inspector Andy Horton police procedural crime series is to be published on 18 October 2018.

DEAD PASSAGE, number fourteen in the series set against the backdrop of the sea on the South Coast of England, is to be published simultaneously in paperback and as an ebook.  It will be available for sale Worldwide as well as for loan in libraries in the UK, USA, Commonwealth and in some European libraries. 

Set against the visually strong, unique, vibrant, diverse and atmospheric backdrop of the sea of Portsmouth and the Isle of Wight, the Detective Inspector Andy Horton police procedural crime series has been hailed as "exemplary," "multi-layered" "cleverly plotted" and "full of twists and turns"with an "especially good series hero, a likeable fellow with plenty of street smarts and the requisite personal baggage."

In addition to the  fourteen crime novels featuring th…

Inspector Andy Horton has been described as 'an especially good series hero, a likeable fellow with plenty of street smarts and the requisite personal baggage - an abrasive supervisor (DCI Lorraine Bliss) and an antagonistic soon to be ex wife.' Booklist (USA) Footsteps on the Shore.

Heroes in crime novels are often ordinary people with their own set of problems and the key to producing a successful crime novel is not necessarily that the hero saves the world, aka James Bond, but that he also learns something about himself along the way.  Putting ordinary people in extraordinary circumstances builds tension and readers tend to support characters in which they recognise certain traits they have themselves.

For me it is also important to write the stories I like to read, which is crime and thriller novels which have good strong characters and an intriguing and often complex plot that stimulates 'the little grey cells'.  I don't do gratuitous violence and I don't w…

Where to buy
Pauline Rowson's books at The Book Depository (free worldwide delivery) Pauline Rowson's books USAPauline Rowson's books UK From your local bookshop

Also available as an ebook and on Amazon Kindle, Kobo and for loan from UK,
USA, Irish and Commonwealth libraries

"A compelling protagonist and mounting suspense make the book hard to put down." Publishers Weekly

Watch the video






Where to buy
Pauline Rowson's books at The Book Depository (free worldwide delivery) Pauline Rowson's books USAPauline Rowson's books UK From your local bookshop

Also available as an ebook and on Amazon Kindle, Kobo and for loan from UK,
USA, Irish and Commonwealth libraries

Inventive, exciting, gripping, full of thrilling twists and turns. The Inspector Andy Horton novels take you to the deepest, darkest corners of human behaviour but ultimately lead you into the light. Watch the book trailers for the crime novels featuring the rugged and flawed Inspector Andy Horton by Pauline Rowson.






Where to buyPauline Rowson's books at The Book Depository (free worldwide delivery) Pauline Rowson's books USAPauline Rowson's books UK From your local bookshop

Also available as an ebook and on Amazon Kindle, Kobo and for loan from UK,
USA, Irish and Commonwealth libraries