Dead East: May 2026
News and features from the Anglian Crime Authors Collective.
Welcome to the latest Dead East newsletter: news and exclusive content from crime authors based in East Anglia, in the UK.
In this issue:
Crime News from East Anglia — Dead East News and Events — Interview: Ruth Dugdall — Crime Fiction News and Events — Writer’s Corner: Nick Guthrie — Tricks of Memory by Julia Stone — Reviews — New Releases by Other Hands — More from Dead East — And finally…
Crime News from East Anglia
The Expert Witness shortlisted for the Noose Award
Dead East author Julia Stone is thrilled to be shortlisted for The Noose Award for Best Crime/Thriller novel 2026 for her third psychological suspense The Expert Witness. The winner will be announced at the Sykehouse Film and Writers Festival Gala Awards on 17th May 2026. Watch this space!
New Releases:
Fire on the Norfolk Broads by Heather Peck
The third DCI Geldard novel to be reissued by Joffe Books was published on 27th April.
Winner of the Firebird Book Award 2022.
Detective Greg Geldard is wolfing down a quick sandwich lunch at his desk when he gets the call. There’s been a devastating explosion at the local Science Park. Multiple casualties. Seven people dead. Sixteen unaccounted for.
Professor Lai, Head of Chemistry, is one of the missing. She’s thought to have been killed in the explosion. But then the Forensics come back. The body that’s been found isn’t hers.
Someone was deliberately left to die in the blaze.
[Fire on the Norfolk Broads can be bought online at Amazon and other booksellers.]
Buried on the Norfolk Broads by Heather Peck
Book 4 in the DCI Geldard series, Buried on the Norfolk Broads, is published on 18th May.
With his ex-wife receiving threatening phone calls, loose ends still flapping from his last big case and a ritual burial found in an archaeological dig, the last thing Greg Geldard needs is an East Coast flood and a cliff fall that reveals — what exactly?
Ritual burials are rare. Finding them — rarer still. When three turn up, Greg Geldard knows he has a problem.
[Buried on the Norfolk Broads can be pre-ordered at Amazon and other booksellers.]
Charlie Flowers Four-book Reissue
The first four books in Charlie Flowers’ Rogue Hunter thriller series have been republished in a single volume by Lume Books. Over 1,000 pages of relentless action. Four explosive thrillers. One unstoppable hero.
Former al-Qaeda operative turned covert counter-terrorism agent, Rizwan Sabir, dives into a dangerous world of high-stakes missions, deadly enemies and deadly secrets. From the backstreets of London to the war-torn deserts of Somalia, Riz and his team face relentless challenges — from rogue cops to explosive confrontations and shadowy extremists. Every mission pushes them to their limits, and the cost of failure is unimaginable.
‘Absolutely rocks. Every line reeks with the raw authenticity of a writer who knows first-hand what the hell he’s talking about.’ Tom Cain, bestselling author of the Sam Carver thrillers
[Rogue Hunter Thrillers Books 1-4 can be bought online at Amazon and other booksellers.]
Look Death In The Face by Martin Sterling
Two cities.
Manchester and New York.
Facing the same deadly threat.
Two cops.
British and American.
Forming a very special relationship.
A woman is murdered in a Manchester graveyard. There’s no motive. No mercy. No obvious suspect. For DI Kate Stiles, the case should be local. One brutal death. One difficult victim. One investigation that begins and ends in a city she knows too well. Instead, it’s part of something far bigger.
From Norfolk-based Martin Sterling, former Coronation Street writer and author of We Create Monsters.
[Look Death In The Face is available from Amazon and most other booksellers.]
Getting Away with Murder by Russell Wate
When celebrated British violinist Arthur Barrington is found dead in his Vienna hotel room, the Austrian police are left scrambling. Was it an accident? Did he somehow take his own life? Or did someone kill him?
With Arthur being a British citizen, and not much to go on, the Austrian police call in the help of DCI Sandy McFarlane from the Foreign Office, to help them investigate this young man’s death. As Sandy digs deeper, the investigation takes a dark turn, leading him not only through the streets of Vienna but also back to his home turf, and the quaint country lanes of Stamford, England.
Will he be able to patch together this twisted case? Or will this be the one that finally stumps the infamous detective?
Former UK Investigator Russell Wate delivers a fond farewell to Sandy and his colleagues in this authentic and intricate final instalment of the DCI McFarlane series.
[Getting Away with Murder was published on 28th April, and is available from Amazon and most other booksellers.]
Dead East News and Events
Great Dunmow BookFest, Saturday 13th June
As part of the Essex Book Festival, the entire town of Great Dunmow is turning itself into a bookshop for the day! Shops throughout the town will be partnering with authors to include window displays and bookselling space. There will be readings, opportunities to meet and chat with the authors, and a range of other activities. As part of this, Dead East members Julia Stone, Keith Brooke, Michelle Kidd, PN Johnson and Robert Chandler will be taking part as a group, sharing shop space. Other authors taking part include science-fiction author Peter F Hamilton, fantasy author Anna Smith Spark, psychological suspense author AJ Campbell, and thriller author Samantha Lee Howe.
Dead East Author Appearances
Julia Stone and others will be appearing at the Anglian Authors Book fair on Sunday 31st May, 10-3pm, at Sudbury Arts Centre, CO10 2EA. Free entry and local parking. Readings and discussions and a chance to meet authors and buy books. Genres include crime and suspense, historical, fantasy and speculative, poetry, ‘how to’, children’s and YA.
Michelle Kidd will be appearing at Eye in Suffolk with all her books on Sunday 21st June as part of the Foreword Festival. Michelle will also be giving a talk to the Hadleigh book club (private event).
Heather Peck is giving a talk at Fakenham Library on 17th June.
Gary Powell and Theo Harris are presenting an author event — When Gary Met Harry — at Sheringham Masonic Centre, 36 Cromer Rd, Sheringham from 7pm to 9pm on Friday 29th May.
CWA East Anglian Chapter lunch
Members of the Crime Writers’ Association’s East Anglian Chapter got together in Ipswich for a lunchtime catch-up at the end of April. Pictured around the table, from front left: Ivor Eisenstadt, Phil Johnson, Maureen Austin, Sarah Doig, Sue Saunders, Timothy Williams, Iain Andrews, Nick Guthrie, Gary Powell, Julia Stone and Rosie Sandler.
Interview: Ruth Dugdall
You have two books out this month, reissues of the first two Cate Austin Casefiles novels. How did you get your break into crime writing?
I won the CWA Debut Dagger in 2005, with an early draft of The Woman Before Me, and that really change the direction of my life.
I was a full-time probation officer at the time, and as a result of the Dagger I was signed by a literary agent and encouraged to step into writing as a career. Looking back, this was a brave and foolhardy move, and not necessarily one I would advocate! But I also had two children under five and I was juggling, so something had to give. I resigned from probation and have been writing ever since.
In the two decades since, my writing career has been a roller coaster ride, of accolades and rejections, with many hair-raising twists.
Some of my highlights have been working as a Royal Literary Fellow, and also getting my PhD in Creative Writing. But I’ve learned that success is about sticking with it, and that resilience is crucial.
Your background as a probation officer comes through strongly in your work. I’d imagine that most people who work in a field that can be so intense and impactful would try to get away from it outside work, but you write about it - how do you separate the real from the fictional?
What a great question! It really gets to the heart of why I write.
Firstly, I went ‘to the page’, to try and resolve some of the challenges I’d faced in the workplace. My first Cate Austin novels are especially aligned with my probation experiences, and writing them was almost an act of therapy and certainly cathartic.
Now, I’d say my primary goal is to shine a light on the probation service, who are the unsung heroes of the criminal justice system. It’s so rare to see them in crime fiction, and I want to reveal a little of the fantastic and challenging work they do.
Is there any concern that you might be typecast as ‘the probation officer novelist’, or do you embrace that as an under-explored field?
I would welcome that — if I can help raise the profile of the probation world then I’m happy.
Maybe someone reading a Cate Austin novel will consider probation as a career and I’d be so delighted — I loved being a probation officer, and I still miss it.
You’re currently working on a PhD in Crime Fiction (according to your website). How does that connect with your fiction writing and your professional experience as a probation officer.
I passed my Viva last month and graduate in July!
It’s been a really rewarding experience, to think reflectively about my writing, and what it contributes to crime fiction. You won’t be surprised to know that my thesis was on the role of probation.
You have four novels being released this month — tell us about them.
The first four Cate Austin novels are released this month. The first time we meet Cate is in The Woman Before Me, when she arrives in prison to write a parole report on Rose Wilks, who is a convicted child-killer. Cate, as a single mum, is especially triggered by the case and has to make a sound judgment call when she’d receiving conflicting information.
It’s shining a light on the parole process, from inside the system.
What are you working on now? What can we expect to see from you in the next year or two?
Book 5, Mother Missing, is out in September and I’m currently working on Cate’s sixth outing, which will be published next year.
I have ideas for two more novels after that, which I’m already researching — I like to delve into darker stories, and I love research. It’s pure joy.
[Author photo: @adrianpope.]
Ruth can be found online at ruthdugdall.com
The Woman Before Me is published on 21st May, along with three more novels in the Cate Austin series, and pre-orders are available from Amazon and most other booksellers.
Crime Fiction News and Events
Crime fiction festivals coming up:
13 May 2026 Noir at the Bar, Sunderland
29-30 May 2026 Heart of Stone Crime Writing Festival, Stonehaven
11-14 June 2026 Shetland Noir
13-14 June 2026 Slaughter in Southwold: Southwold Library Crime Writers Festival
18-20 June 2026 Capital Crime, London
23-26 July 2026 Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival, Harrogate
Crime Awards
’Tis the season for awards… In addition to the Noose Award mentioned at the start of this newsletter, the following awards have published shortlists and winners.
Crime Writers’ Association
The longlists for this Crime Writers’ Association Dagger awards have been announced in thirteen categories, including awards for best crime novel, whodunnit, first crime novel, psychological thrillers, short stories and more. The winners will be announced on 28th May.Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year
The longlist has been announced for the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year, featuring 18 novels published in 2025. The winner will be announced at the opening ceremony of the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival, on Thursday 23 July 2026.The Edgar Allan Poe Awards
On 29th April the Mystery Writers of America announced the winners for the 2026 Edgar Allan Poe Awards, honouring the best in mystery fiction, nonfiction and television published or produced in 2025. Winners included The Big Empty by Robert Crais for Best Novel, The Backwater by Vikki Wakefield for Best Paperback Original, and “Julius Katz Draws a Straight Flush” by Dave Zeltserman for Best Short Story.The Anthony Awards
Winners in categories including Hardcover Novel, Paperback/E-Book/Audiobook Original, Short Story and more, will be announced at a ceremony at Bouchercon in Calgary, on Saturday 24th October.The Fingerprint Awards
Shortlisted titles for the Fingerprint Awards have been announced in various categories, with winners to be announced at London’s Capital Crime Festival on 18th June.The Derringer Awards
On 1st May, the Short Mystery Fiction Society announced winners of the Derringer Awards for various categories of short mystery fiction. Full details at the SMFS blog.
Writer’s Corner: Nick Guthrie
I really am spoilt. I live with my wife Debbie, and Arlo the cat, in a beautiful 17th-Century thatched cottage in the depths of the Suffolk countryside, a decent walk from the beautiful village of Orford, and surrounded by nature reserves. We have deer, hares and badgers wandering through the garden, and we watch marsh harriers and barn owls over the neighbouring fields. It really is idyllic.
For the first few months, I found it hard to settle down to write here — there were so many distractions! I’ve hit my stride now, and a typical writing day is a careful balance between all the regular jobs you need to do when you live somewhere like this, and sitting at my desk with a view out through an ornate arched window across the neighbouring meadows.
Today I’ve been working on the second DI Bolam novel, bursts of writing punctuated by pauses when I reach for my binoculars to watch hares boxing in the meadow or a red kite swooping over the garden.
I get a lot of my best ideas when I’m out walking, so perhaps that’s what I’ll do later. Or I might just sit in the garden and watch the sun set over the fields.
[The first DI Bolam novel, The Custodian, is published by No Exit Press in November 2026, and is available for pre-order from Bookshop.org, Amazon and most other booksellers.]
Tricks of Memory by Julia Stone
Our brains like things to make sense and will ‘helpfully’ interpret and fill in the gaps using prior experience and information gleaned from all the senses. This allows us to understand the partial words in the accompanying photo, to see a white triangle on the image even though it has an incomplete outline. To make sense of the world, the brain looks for patterns and makes assumptions. Without this talent it would be hard to operate in the world.
But this ability to fill in gaps can have an impact on our memories. Not everyone interprets a shared experience in the same way. We each interpret events in line with our self-perception, beliefs, past experience, culture, etc. This can lead to our brains misinterpreting what we heard or saw: filling gaps, imagining things that didn’t happen, or overlooking aspects if they don’t fit with expectations. When we form a memory, recall an event, or recount it to others, we edit and add in order to create a cohesive narrative. We like to tell ourselves (and others) a story that makes sense.
Think you can trust your own memories? Think again!
Julia Stone’s latest psychological suspense novel, The Expert Witness, tackles the theme of memory. The story delves into the mind and experiences of an expert in memory, as she tries to atone for an event in her past. The Expert Witness is available at all good booksellers. For more snippets on memory and psychology sign up to Julia’s readers club at www.juliastonewriter.com.
Reviews
The Woman Before Me by Ruth Dugdall
This is the story of Rose Wilks, an obsessive babysitter trapped in a family tragedy and blamed for the death of the child she cares for. The novel opens in first person, present tense that occasionally becomes second person, addressing the story to a listener, Rose’s partner Jason. The effect is to make everything immediately intimate and intense, and the reader is sucked into the protagonist’s terror and confusion from the outset. All along, this mode of storytelling leaves open the possibility that we have a very unreliable narrator. And if the police don’t believe her, why should we?
After a few chapters we switch to Cate Austin, a probation officer on her first day working in a prison. Her first case is Rose, who is halfway through an eight stretch with a parole hearing in five weeks. As Cate gets sucked into the mystery of what actually happened, the viewpoint switches between Rose’s diary entries and occasionally other characters, creating an intricate mosaic of a novel. The effect is a very clever build-up of the story both from the viewpoint of someone too close to be objective and someone desperately trying to build an objective understanding. It’s not all about artful storytelling, though; none of this would work if the characters weren’t compelling and richly portrayed, and the setting thoroughly convincing.
It’s only May but this is already a very strong contender for my book of the year.
(review by Nick Guthrie)
For more excellent crime reviews, see Barry Forshaw’s Financial Times reviews and Maxim Jakubowski’s To the Max reviews, both courtesy of Crime Time.
New Releases by Other Hands
Five by Ilona Bannister — “Five passengers. Five minutes until the next train… five minutes until someone dies.”
An Accidental Death by Peter Grainger — “An experienced detective’s unorthodox methods land him in troubled waters…”
The Girl in the Attic by John Nicholl — “Olivia thought she knew darkness. Now, as the door clangs shuts behind her — with her captor’s promise ringing in her ears that she’s ‘his’ forever — she realises that nowhere before has been as dark as her attic cell.”
The Pretenders by Agatha Zaza — “Three couples. Two exes. One day of reckoning.”
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And finally…
“People don’t read books to get to the middle. They read to get to the end.” —Mickey Spillane