Join us as we celebrate Independent Bookshop Week and our 40th year in business with a fabulous crime-writers event!
A star-studded evening with best-selling cosy crime writer REVEREND RICHARD COLES and master thriller-writer ELLY GRIFFITHS in conversation, chaired by fellow crime-writer WILLAM SHAW.
The Reverend Richard Coles will be celebrating the release of Murder at the Monastery, the 3rd book in his best-selling Canon Clement Mystery series, published on 6th June. Murder at the Monastery sees Canon Daniel Clement taking respite at the monastery where he was a novice, only for a suspicious death to occur… As dark secrets unfold, can Daniel solve the mystery at the monastery without the help of Detective Sergeant Neil Vanloo?
Elly Griffiths will be celebrating the release of The Man in Black & Other Stories, a collection of short stories featuring all her best-loved characters including Dr Ruth Galloway, Harry Nelson, Max Mephisto, Detective Harbinder Kaur alongside ghost stories and cosy mysteries; tales of psychological suspense and poignant vignettes of love and loss.
The discussion will be ably chaired by fellow thriller writer William Shaw, whose latest book The Wild Swimmers will be on sale on the night.
All tickets include a copy of either Murder at the Monastery or The Man in Black (please choose which book when booking tickets). Further books and all authors’ previous titles will be available to purchase & to be signed by the authors on the night.
Tickets can be purchased in person from the bookshop, by telephone on 01903 812062, or online here and via the button below (a small booking fee applies to online bookings)
ABOUT REVEREND RICHARD COLES
Richard Coles is a writer, broadcaster and an Anglican priest. He co-presented Saturday Live on BBC Radio 4 for eleven years and appears, from time to time, on QI, Have I Got News For You, and Would I Lie To You? He has won Christmas Masterchef, Celebrity Mastermind twice, and captained Leeds to victory in Christmas University Challenge in 2019. A contestant on Strictly Come Dancing in 2017, he scored a lamentably low mark for a Paso Doble. He writes regularly for the Sunday Times, and is the author of half a dozen books, including a bestselling autobiography, Fathomless Riches, and the bereavement bestseller The Madness of Grief, after the death of his partner, Rev David Coles. Murder Before Evensong and A Death in the Parish, the first two books in the Canon Clement Mystery series, were both instant number 1 Sunday Times bestsellers.
ABOUT ELLY GRIFFITHS
Elly Griffiths is the bestselling author of the Dr Ruth Galloway Mysteries and the Brighton Mysteries. She has won the CWA Dagger in the Library, has been shortlisted five times for the Theakston’s Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year, and longlisted for the CWA Gold Dagger for The Lantern Men. Her new series featuring Detective Harbinder Kaur began with The Stranger Diaries, which was a Richard and Judy book club pick and won the Edgar Award for Best Novel in the USA. It was followed by The Postscript Murders, shortlisted for the CWA Gold Dagger and Bleeding Heart Yard. Elly has two grown-up children and lives near Brighton with her archaeologist husband.
ABOUT OUR CHAIR WILLIAM SHAW
William Shaw has been shortlisted for the CWA Historical Dagger, longlisted for the Theakstons Crime Novel of the Year and nominated for a Barry Award. A regular at festivals, he organises panel talks and CWA events across the south east. His books include the acclaimed Breen & Tozer crime series set in sixties London, the newest series featuring DS Alexandra Cupidi, and the standalone bestseller The Birdwatcher. He worked as a journalist for over twenty years and lived in Brighton until a recent move to Ireland!
We are delighted that our favourite thriller writer, Elly Griffiths, will join us live on Zoom, to discuss The Locked Room – the 14th novel in her bestselling ‘Ruth Galloway’ series. Proceedings will be ably managed by fellow crime writer, William Shaw.
Wednesday 9th February, 7.30pm, Online via Zoom.
Tickets are £5, and ticket-holders are entitled to £5 off a SIGNED copy of The Locked Room – please pop in or call the bookshop to arrange your signed (and name-dedicated, if you wish!) copy. Ticket holders will receive an email with the Zoom link after booking. Click HERE to book! Or the button below!
The Locked Room sees Ruth and her daughter return to their Norfolk cottage, only for COVID to strike. While Ruth struggles with home schooling, she and her daughter strike up a friendship with the new next door neighbour, Zoe. Meanwhile, Nelson is investigating a series of mysterious deaths, women who may, or may not have died by suicide. An archaeological discovery unearthed during the investigation leads Nelson to Ruth’s door – breaking curfew – where Nelson finds Ruth chatting to her neighbour …a woman Nelson recalls from a long ago case….
Elly will chat to fellow crime-writer William Shaw about her thrilling new novel ‘Night Hawks’ in a live online Zoom event. Elly Griffiths is a firm local favourite with readers here in Steyning, as she is based in Brighton, although ‘Night Hawks’ is set amongst the windswept landscapes of North Norfolk. It is Elly’s 13th novel featuring lovable forensic archaeologist Dr Ruth Galloway. We can’t wait to hear more about Elly’s inspiration for this story, which is rich in twisty intrigue, and layered with folk-myths and ancient superstitions. A group of metal detectorists called The Night Hawks stumble upon a body while searching for buried treasures on a Norfolk beach….A double murder-suicide on an isolated farm… The body of a giant dog excavated in the farm grounds… Strange rumours of a spectral hound…What is the connection, and why do Ruth and DCI Nelson find all their avenues of enquiry lead them back to Black Dog Farm?
Tickets are £5, your booking entitles you to £5 off your copy of ‘Night Hawks’ (RRP £20, our price £17, price with event ticket £12!) Call us to reserve and pay for your copy, mention you are a ticket holder to get your discount! Or order the book via our website here (mention you are a ticket holder in the ORDER NOTES to claim your £5 off) Lockdown permitting, we hope we will have signed copies!
An Evening with Elly Griffiths, Wednesday 26th February at 7.30pm, at the Gluck Studio.
We are thrilled that Elly Griffiths has kindly agreed to talk to us about her new novel The Lantern Men – the 12th installment in her hugely popular Ruth Galloway series.
The Lantern Men sees our favorite forensic archaelogist Ruth Galloway, who has a new job, home and partner, and is no longer working for North Norfolk police, lured back to the Fens by by convicted murderer Ivor March. Ivor has offered the police a deal – he will reveal the location of 4 more bodies – but only if Ruth does the digging. The bodies are buried near a village bordering the fens, said to be haunted by the Lantern Men, mysterious figures holding lights that lure travellers to their deaths. Is Ivor March himself a lantern man, luring Ruth back to Norfolk? What is his plan, and why is she so crucial to it? And are the killings really over?
We can’t wait to find out more about the background to this chilling story!
Tickets are £8, ticket price includes wine & nibbles, and entitle the ticket bearer to money off a signed hardback copy of The Lantern Men.
To book, either pop into the shop, call us on 01903 812062, or book online here:
A fitting literary celebration for the week of All Hallow’s Eve – it’s time to dive into the dark side with Elly Griffiths!
We are delighted to welcome Elly Griffiths (aka Domenica de Rosa) back to Steyning, to introduce her bewitching, terrifying new standalone novel. ‘The Stranger Diaries’ is a contemporary Gothic thriller, described by Louise Penny as “Goose-bump spooky, smart, and haunting. At once a re-imagining of, and a homage to, the great Gothic thrillers of the past.” Elly will tell us more about the book, her inspiration, and her fascination with the great Victorian Gothic novels.
Clare Cassidy is no stranger to tales of murder, as a literature teacher specialising in the Gothic writer R.M. Holland. Then Clare’s life and work collide tragically when one of her colleagues is found dead, a line from an R.M. Holland story by her body.
The investigating police detective is convinced the writer’s works somehow hold the key to the case. Not knowing who to trust, and afraid that the killer is someone she knows, Clare confides her darkest suspicions and fears about the case to her journal. Then one day she notices some other writing in the diary. Writing that isn’t hers…
Elly Griffiths was born in London. She worked in publishing before becoming a full-time writer. Her bestselling series of Dr Ruth Galloway novels, featuring a forensic archaeologist, are set in Norfolk. The series has won the CWA Dagger in the Library, and has been shortlisted three times for the Theakston’s Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year. Her other popular series, the Stephens and Mephisto stories, is based in 1950s Brighton. She also writes romantic fiction under her real name of Domenica de Rosa.
Ticket price is £15 to include a copy of ‘The Stranger Diaries’ (£12 for Steyning Bookshop book group members), wine, and nibbles.
