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

This article is taken from my interview with Soundings, publishers of my crime audio books.
How did you come up with Andy Horton and Art Marvik, are they based on real people? Who would you have play them on TV?



I like heroes. I make no apology for that and being married to a former Royal Air Force veteran and fire fighter I had plenty of material to choose from.  Andy Horton is a combination of many men I have met during my adult life primarily those who I have met through my husband’s career as a fire fighter, fit, fearless, caring and with a strong sense of duty to the public. Andy Horton has all these qualities and along with being tough and resilient he is also deeply empathetic.


His empathy enables him 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. But it also makes him vulnerable. He carries a lot of personal baggage as man…

"The Harley Davidson-riding, boat-dwelling Horton is a fascinating man to get to know, and his thoughtful approach to detection is a pleasure to read." Publishers Weekly.

DEAD PASSAGE, number 14 in the Inspector Andy Horton crime series set against the backdrop of the sea on the South Coast of England is now available in paperback, as an ebook and on Amazon Kindle.

Watch the book trailer to see what's in store for the rugged ad flawed detective in DEAD PASSAGE





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

Fancy being transported back to 1940 and solving a dastardly crime in the vein of Agatha Christie's, Miss Marple or Poirot? Well now's your chance? MURDER AT THE PELICAN CLUB is to be performed by the Winterbourne Players, Bristol, England from 22 to 24 November 2018. This brand new detective play, Murder At The Pelican Club, is an exciting 1940s murder mystery in the vein of the classic crime thrillers of the 20th century, an Agatha Christie style detective drama that has audiences guessing ‘who done it.’ 
Tickets now on sale




About Murder at the Pelican Club 
November 1940. Denmark and Norway have been invaded and the blitz has been raging in London since 7 September 1940. Men up to the age of 27 have been called up, which means that the old and gruff Inspector Doyle is still on the job. Maisie Duncan and Tillie Trotman have volunteered to do their bit for the war effort. Maisie because she was stuck in a boring office job and wanted excitement, and Tillie because she thoug…

DEAD PASSAGE is number fourteen in the DI Andy Horton series of crime novels and like the others in the series it is set on Horton’s CID patch, Portsmouth and the Isle of Wight. As many of my readers know it is locations that often inspire me and one of the locations, Rat Island in Portsmouth, is featured in an earlier blog.  Here's another location that tickled the little grey cells and is the focus of DI Andy Horton's investigation into the mysterious death of a local politician twelve years ago.



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.
On the scene with DI Andy Horton in DEAD PASSAGE
One of the locations that inspired me for the Inspector Andy Horton crime novel, DEAD PASSAGE, number 14 in the series, is a very interesting and ancient monument in the vibrant waterside city of Portsmouth (England) wher…

The  worldwide mass market mystery edition of  DI Andy Horton crime novel FATAL CATCH Catch, number twelve in the series, is now available for sale. It was first published by Harlequin on 1 September 2018 when it was made exclusively available to Harlequin Book Club members but it is now on general sale.
Fatal Catch is the twelfth in the Inspector Andy Horton police procedural crime series of which there are currently fourteen, with  the latest, Dead Passage, published  on the 18 October 2018. The DI Andy Horton mysteries are set against the atmospheric backdrop of the sea in the Solent area of England in Portsmouth and the Isle of Wight and have been critically acclaimed both in the UK and in America.

Hailed as "exemplary," "multi-layered" and "cleverly plotted" DI Andy Horton has been described as an "especially good series hero, a likeable fellow with plenty of street smarts and the requisite personal baggage" by US reviewer Booklist.

Detectiv…

A talk and the performance of my 1940's set murder mystery play, MURDER AT THE PELICAN CLUB is on the cards for November along with the sale of DI Andy Horton crime novel DEAD PASSAGE, number fourteen and the latest in the series, in paperback and as an ebook. In addition, FATAL CATCH, number twelve in the DI Andy Horton series is also now on sale in mass market paperback in the USA and Canada.
Talks On the 21st of November I will be entertaining members of Eastleigh U3A with a talk on the secrets of successful crime writing and showing how I plot and research my crime novels and how I create the characters.
Murder at the Pelican Club to be performed 22-24 November 2018

My 1940 set murder mystery play, MURDER AT THE PELICAN CLUB is to be performed by the Winterbourne Players, Bristol, England from 22 to 24 November 2018.  This brand new detective play, Murder At The Pelican Club, is an exciting 1940s murder mystery in the vein of the classic crime thrillers of the 20th century,…

I was delighted to be asked to entertain members of  the Mid Hants and Wilts Townswomen's Guild on 25 October with tales of my fictional sleuths, the enigmatic DI Andy Horton who features in fourteen novels and undercover investigator, former Royal Marine Commando, Art Marvik who currently appears in three mystery thriller novels.


I talked about the locations along the south coast of England that have inspired me and how they have provided me with the ideas for my multi-layered, marine-set crime novels, of which there are now nineteen. And I spoke about how I develop these ideas into fast-paced plots, that's the tricky bit!


I also explained and demonstrated how I create my characters. Hailed in the UK, USA and Commonwealth as the "Best of British crime fiction," "A good read for mystery lovers," "gripping, compelling and full of twists and turns," my crime novels have been translated into many languages and are available in paperback, as an ebook…

Dead Passage number 14 in the DI Andy Horton marine set series now published in paperback, as an ebook and on Amazon Kindle.

"Andy Horton is an especially good series hero, a likeable fellow with plenty of street smarts and the requisite personal baggage… Procedural fans who haven’t already read Rowson should be encouraged to do so in the strongest possible terms." Booklist USA

 "A detective novel in the tradition of Rankin and Harvey." Mystery People Magazine 
Watch the book trailer for DEAD PASSAGE 



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

DEAD PASSAGE is number fourteen in the DI Andy Horton series of crime novels and like the others it is set on Horton’s CID patch, Portsmouth and the Isle of Wight. As many of my readers know it is locations that often inspire me but with this crime novel while three locations inspired me the idea for DEAD PASSAGE also occurred to me while I was travelling on the Wightlink ferry, the St Clare, from Portsmouth to the Isle of Wight one day. More about that in a later blog.

First locations. Below is the first of the three locations which inspired me but before that though here is a taster of what's in store for DI Andy Horton in DEAD PASSAGE Detective Inspector Andy Horton receives a mysterious telephone call from Adele Goldsby, the daughter of a dead Portsmouth politician, with an urgent request to meet her 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 hoa…

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. "A detective novel in the tradition of Rankin and Harvey." Mystery People Magazine.






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

Fancy being transported back to 1940 and solving a dastardly crime in the vein of Agatha Christie's, Miss Marple or Poirot well now's your chance? MURDER AT THE PELICAN CLUB is to be performed by the Winterbourne Players, Bristol, England from 22 to 24 November 2018.

This brand new detective play, Murder At The Pelican Club, is an exciting 1940s murder mystery in the vein of the classic crime thrillers of the 20th century, an Agatha Christie style detective drama that has audiences guessing ‘who done it.’ Written in a serious vein but with a touch of humour, the play takes place in the Pelican Nightclub and Restaurant in November 1940.

The Winterbourne Players is an amateur dramatics group, based in Winterbourne, Bristol. They present two productions a year, one in May and a second in November.  In MURDER AT THE PELICAN CLUB on the 22nd, 23rd and 24th November they will be transporting the audience back to 1940 where they will be asked to transform themselves into a Poirot o…

25 October 2018 Mid Hants & Wilts Federation of Townswomens Guilds Pauline Rowson will be guest speaker at the Mid Hants & Wilts Federation of Townswomens Guild's autumn event, talking about her crime novels. Tickets £2.50 to include refreshments. Crossfield Hall, Romsey, Hants. SO51 8GL. All welcome.

21 November 2018 Eastleigh U3A Pauline will be talking about The Secrets of Successful Crime Writing to members of  Eastleigh U3A.

22-24 November  2018
Murder at the Pelican Club by Pauline Rowson to be performed by the Winterbourne Players, Bristol at Winterbourne Community Centre





Crime author Pauline Rowson's 1940 set murder mystery play, MURDER AT THE PELICAN CLUB is to be performed by the Winterbourne Players, Bristol, England from 22 to 24 November 2018.
This brand new detective play, Murder At The Pelican Club, is an exciting 1940s murder mystery in the vein of the classic crime thrillers of the 20th century, an Agatha Christie style detective drama that has audience…

Yes, the latest Detective Inspector Andy Horton police procedural crime novel, DEAD PASSAGE, number 14 in the series is now published in paperback, as an e book and on Amazon Kindle.

Once again the flawed and rugged Inspector Andy Horton embarks on a complex and gripping investigation aided by the sanguine and cheerful Sergeant Barney Cantelli, the glutinous lumbering Detective Constable Walters and plagued by their nit-picking boss, DCI Lorraine Bliss.

The Portsmouth CID team is called upon to assist the Major Crime Team as murder is uncovered, under the charge of the rather coarse Detective Superintendent Steve Uckfield and his officers - the oafish DI Dennings; research and organizational wizard, Sergeant Trueman; and fast-track graduate DC Jake Marsden.


Detective Inspector Andy Horton receives a mysterious telephone call from Adele Goldsby, the daughter of a dead Portsmouth politician, with an urgent request to meet her on the Isle of Wight ferry because she has something to revea…