The Dark Lake

Author: Sarah Bailey Publisher/Year: Allen & Unwin 2017   Synopsis A beautiful young teacher has been murdered, her body found in the lake, strewn with red roses. Local policewoman Detective Sergeant Gemma Woodstock pushes to be assigned to the case, concealing the fact that she knew the murdered woman in high school years before. But …

Read more

The gritty, realistic and persistent story idea

Sarah Bailey: When the premise of The Dark Lake first popped into my mind, I swiftly pushed it away. It was April 2015 and I was around 25,000 words into another manuscript, a story that I was really passionate about. 25,000 words was the closest I had gotten to a finished book and I was incredibly …

Read more

Murder Takes a Holiday

During the pandemic lockdown, overseas travel is out of the question and we’re lucky to take a walk in the local park even whilst observing social distancing. One of crime fiction’s many virtues is that it allows us to travel to exotic locations from the safety and comfort of the couch or bed. Sisters in …

Read more

How to Write a Crime Novel

Carolyn Morwood: Dig Two Graves (Hybrid Publishers) is my sixth published novel and in learning how to write a novel, I’ve tried various approaches, from strict planning to improvising and everywhere in-between. While both ends of the planning-improvising spectrum have their strengths, neither are foolproof. With planning, I was too boxed in. With improvising, I …

Read more