The inspiration behind one of the pivotal DI Andy Horton mysteries DEATH LIES BENEATH

DEATH LIES BENEATH is one of the pivotal novels in the Horton police procedural series because in it Andy Horton discovers something that gives him a lead in the mystery surrounding the disappearance of his mother when he was ten.  This sets him off on a tortuous 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. Also in DEATH LIES BENEATH Andy’s marriage to Catherine is set to be finally dissolved much to Andy’s sorrow.

Where Death Lies Beneath is set

There were two areas that helped inspire 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.

The former, Farlington Marshes, part of Hampshire and the Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust, is a coastal grazing marsh and lagoon which has several pools, and a broad stream providing feeding and roosting sites for waders and wildfowl.

Farlington Marshes, Portsmouth where DI Horton, Death Lies Beneath is set

The latter the sea off Tipner, called Tipner Lake, falls within the Portsmouth Harbour special protection area and moves to reclaim the land to provide extra space for the expansion of Portsmouth were rejected in the early 1990s on environmental grounds. But the area around the Tipner quayside has been cleared in preparation for expansion and a proposed new marina, which at the time of writing has not happened.

So what links the two?

Well ex con Daryl Woodley is found dead in the remote location of Farlington Marshes and the body of a woman dressed in black is found during a boat salvage operation to clear a World War II munitions barge from the seabed off Tipner. If I tell you more I will spoil it for you.

Horton is tasked to investigate both murders and it’s believed there could be a link between them in the form of a big time crook, currently serving time in prison, Marty Stapleton. That brings Agent Harriet Eames over from Europol, seconded to work with Horton to help solve the crimes. For those of you who have read the Inspector Andy Horton novels the name Eames will ring some bells with you. Harriet Eames is the daughter of Lord Richard Eames, a man, Horton later discovers is involved with Jennifer Horton’s disappearance. I’ll say no more.

Meanwhile Horton has to find metal thieves, Daryl Woodley’s killer and the murderer of the woman in black who might very well be the same person. Aided by Agent Harriet Eames and working with Detective Superintendent Uckfield of the Major Crime Team Horton employs his usual instinctive approach, combined with a grim determination and a disregard for procedure to get to the truth.

"A fast paced excellent mystery, with an interesting diverse set of characters, and an intriguing hook at the end that has me eagerly awaiting the next installment in this series.Highly recommended." Mystery People

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

DI Andy Horton mystery A KILLING COAST re-released, now on Kindle at new price, check out the preview

DEATH IN THE COVE in audio book set 1950 England introducing Inspector Ryga

Very excited to hear an extract from the #audiobook of my new 1950 set #mystery DEATH IN THE COVE @the_cwa https://t.co/yYOLSgCFYP

— PaulineRowson (@PaulineRowson) September 18, 2019

Countdown to publication of Pauline Rowson's 1950 historical crime mystery DEATH IN THE COVE

Only eight days now to the publication of my first historical mystery, DEATH IN THE COVE, set in 1950 England, a country still struggling after six years of war in the grip of austerity and rationing.

DEATH IN THE COVE introduces Inspector Alun Ryga, recently promoted at Scotland Yard, a former Merchant Navy seaman and German prisoner-of-war  who is sent to the Island of Portland in Dorset to solve an unusual and baffling case.

DEATH IN THE COVE is published in paperback, e book, on Kindle and Kobo and as an audio book on 26 September 2019.  It is available to pre-order.

"Ryga studied the face of the dead man with interest. Death no longer had the power to shock him. He’d seen too much of it. That didn’t mean he didn’t feel sorrow, pity, anger or despair, or sometimes all four emotions and in such a swift succession that they became one. This time he felt none of these, only professional curiosity.”

When the body of a man dressed in a pinstriped suit is discovered by war photographer, Eva Paisley, in a secluded bay on Portland Island, Dorset, Inspector Alun Ryga of Scotland Yard is despatched to investigate.  Recently promoted, the thoughtful, observant Ryga, is on his first solo investigation outside of London, and is keen to prove his worth. Ignoring the warnings of the local police inspector, and the Dorset Chief Constable, that his trust in Eva Paisley is misjudged, Ryga quickly realises that her observations could provide the breakthrough he needs in a complex murder investigation and the answer to the haunting circumstances that have sent the man in the pinstriped suit to his death.

DEATH IN THE COVE is published in paperback, ebook, Amazon Kindle, Kobo.

Also published as an audiobook by B7 Media and narrated by Jonathan Rhodes

Download the audio book.

Four DI Andy Horton mystery crime novels re-released on Kindle and Kobo

Four of my Inspector Andy Horton mystery crime novels, A KILLING COAST (7), DEATH LIES BENEATH (8), UNDERCURRENT (9) and DEATH SURGE (10) have all been re-released on Amazon Kindle and on Kobo. They are also available in paperback and as unabridged audio books.

There are fourteen in the DI Andy Horton series with DEAD PASSAGE, (14), having been published in paperback and as an e book in October 2018.

Some DI Andy Horton Mysteries

 The Inspector Andy Horton crime series is set against the atmospheric backdrop of the sea in the Solent area of England in Portsmouth and the Isle of Wight.

They have been hailed in UK, USA and Commonwealth as "exemplary," "multi-layered" and "cleverly plotted" with reviewer, Booklist, claiming that Andy Horton is an "especially good series hero, a likeable fellow with plenty of street smarts and the requisite personal baggage"

DI Andy Horton is a man very much defined by a tormented past spent primarily in care when his mother disappeared when he was ten. He is an instinctive copper rather than an intellectual one, tough and resilient, but deeply empathetic.  His greatest strength is his ability to put himself in a victim’s shoes, to imagine events from their perspective (even the moments up to their death), making leaps of deduction few would be able to. And he’s most often right.

The DI Andy Horton novels in order are:

Tide of Death
Deadly Waters
The Suffocating Sea
Dead Man's Wharf
Blood on the Sand
Footsteps on the Sore
A Killing Coast
Death Lies Beneath
Undercurrent
Death Surge
Shroud of Evil
Fatal Catch
Lethal Waves
Dead Passage

All my books are available to buy  on line and through bookshops, on Amazon Kindle and Kobo,, in paperback and some are also available as audio books.

In addition, the can be borrowed from libraries in the UK, Commonwealth and  the USA.

Gripping new crime novels

The next Case Files, the FREE Crime Readers’ Association newsletter, will soon be here! Gripping new crime from Pauline Rowson, Faith Marin, and David Hodges — plus author interviews, peeks behind the scenes, and more! Don’t miss it: subscribe for FREE at https://t.co/wUPvBZbkun pic.twitter.com/GHJUayMEqu

— The CWA (@the_cwa) September 10, 2019

Writing a novel - crime author Pauine Rowson on creating and developing characters

Friday 13th and DI Andy Horton isn't having much luck in Footsteps on the Shore

DI Andy Horton Mystery Undercurrent "Another solid procedural, with a little kick of spy stuff for the adventurous." Kirkus.

DI Andy Horton Mystery DEATH SURGE now re-released on Kindle at new price - read an extract

A telephone call from a frantic Sergeant Cantelli to say that his nephew is missing cuts short DI Horton’s sailing trip to France What began as the hunt for a missing man becomes the search for a ruthless killer...

'A crisply written, cleverly plotted procedural with a nice twist.' Booklist USA

Dead Passage, number 14, in the DI Andy Horton series, gripping, multi-layered

Coming soon the audio book of my new 1950 set mystery DEATH IN THE COVE

England 1950, a country still struggling to come to terms with peace in the grip of austerity and rationing.

Check out the Inspector Andy Horton Mysteries

My Inspector Andy Horton mystery crime novels, A KILLING COAST (7) DEATH LIES BENEATH (8), UNDERCURRENT (9) and DEATH SURGE (10) have all been re-released on Amazon Kindle and on Kobo. They are also  available in paperback and as unabridged audio books.

There are fourteen in the DI Andy Horton series with DEAD PASSAGE, (14), having been published in paperback and as an ebook in October 2018.

The Inspector Andy Horton crime series is set against the atmospheric backdrop of the sea in the Solent area of England in Portsmouth and the Isle of Wight.  The mystery novels have been hailed in UK, USA and Commonwealth as "exemplary," "multi-layered" and "cleverly plotted" with reviewer, Booklist, claiming that Andy Horton is an "especially good series hero, a likeable fellow with plenty of street smarts and the requisite personal baggage"

The DI Andy Horton novels in order:

Tide of Death
Deadly Waters
The Suffocating Sea
Dead Man's Wharf
Blood on the Sand
Footsteps on the Shore
A Killing Coast
Death Lies Beneath
Undercurrent
Death Surge
Shroud of Evil
Fatal Catch
Lethal Waves
Dead Passage


All my books are available to buy  on line and through bookshops, on Amazon Kindle and Kobo,, in paperback and some are also available as audio books.

In addition, the can be borrowed from libraries in the UK, Commonwealth and  the USA.