Ex-Northampton Chronicle & Echo journo commits ‘cosy’ crime
Cosy crime is flavour of the month with readers right now – and a former Chron journalist is hoping his new contribution to the genre will book a slot at the top of the bestseller charts.
Michael Davies, who started his newspaper career in the 1980s as a trainee on the Chron, has penned three novels under the name M. R. G. Davies to launch a series of murder mysteries about a bookshop’s reading group.
Set in the fictional town of Norcester – which might ring familiar bells with readers in his home town of Northampton – Murder by the Book will be released later this month by publishers One More Chapter, a division of HarperCollins. A Game of Murder, which is set in a snowbound country house, follows in March, with the third book, From Murder With Love, published later in the year.
Murder by the Book features the four members of The Quaint Bookshop reading group as they use the skills they’ve learned from reading detective fiction in an attempt to solve the murder of their very own bookshop manager in the face of impenetrable clues, hostility from the local constabulary and a huge cast of suspects.
A Game of Murder takes the quartet to Abbots Chantry, a remote country house, where a mysterious death begins to take on elements of a certain board game, while From Murder With Love drops the intrepid group into the world of secrets, spies and international espionage.
Davies said: “It’s such a thrill bringing this diverse bunch of book-lovers together then throwing the kitchen sink at them. I hope readers will love Professor Stone, would-be novelist Lauren Sherwood, struggling actor Harrison Fforde and escaping housewife Bella Bourton just as much as I’ve enjoyed writing them.”
After leaving the Chron, Davies enjoyed a 20-year career on newspapers all over the country, including editing the Oxford Mail, before jumping ship to write fiction. Since then he has won awards for his plays – including one staged at the Royal & Derngate – written Netflix chart-topping non-fiction TV and had short stories and poetry commissioned and published alongside his journalism.
A trilogy of previous novels featuring the hero Bill Kemp – described by bestselling author Jeffrey Deaver as “part James Bond, part Philip Marlowe and all hero” – was published by HarperCollins between 2019 and 2024.
Murder by the Book is released on ebook and audiobook on January 23, with the paperback following on January 29. A Game of Murder ebook and audiobooks are out on March 6, with the paperback scheduled for March 12. All editions are available for pre-order now.
Four- and five-star reviews for Murder by the Book have been pouring in, with readers calling it “the perfect cosy murder mystery”, “an irresistibly fun read” and “an absolute joy”.
Davies added: “The cosy crime genre is a bit of a departure for me, having previously written period thrillers and stage comedies, but it’s fantastic to see the reception that Murder by the Book is getting already, and it’ll be great to watch the progress of the reading group across the next couple of books.”
To hear more about Michael Davies and his writing, listen in to BBC Northampton on the morning of Thursday, February 26, when he will be interviewed by Bernie Keith.
Murder by the Book can be ordered at Waterstones, Amazon, TG Jones and all good bookshops. To sign up to Michael’s regular newsletter, visit www.mrgdavies.com or follow ‘Michael Davies Author’ on Facebook and Instagram.