#Interview by Lou with Writer and Actor Ollie Maddigan on his award winning play, The Olive Boy showing in January 2026 @O.maddigan @Theoliveboyshow @swkplay #RonnieAncona #TheOliveBoy #Theatre #Play #WhatsOnTheatre #OllieMaddigan

Interview with Ollie Maddigan on theatre play,
The Olive Boy

Interview by Louise Cannon

Showing at Southwark Playhouse Borough in January 2026, Olive Boy is award winning (Offie Award) and has previously had successful runs at both Camden and Edinburgh Fringe Festivals. I have had the great opportunity to interview Ollie Maddigan about his play, Olive Boy, performed and written about him, with timely voiceovers performed by impressionist/comedian/actress, Ronnie Ancona. We delve into losing his mum at 15, counselling, making sense of the world and more… I thank Ollie for his courage, willingness and honesty in answering my questions on such a sensitive topic as I recognise it’s one thing to perform it, but quite another to be interviewed about it.
Here’s a bit about the play and then there’s the interview and details of how you can see the play.

“When Ollie was fifteen, his mum died, and he was the one who found her. The Olive Boy explores his attempt to make sense of life at a time when everything was falling apart, yet he was expected to carry on as normal. It looks at what it means to grow up with that kind of loss, especially as a teenage boy navigating school, friends, first relationships and the pressure to keep quiet about how you’re actually feeling.

A therapist’s recorded voice, played by Ronni Ancona, runs through the piece, reflecting the distance he felt in counselling at the time and the wider silence around boys expressing grief and all the emotions that come with it.”

Firstly, congratulations on having The Olive Boy transfer from Camden Fringe to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, where it sold out and winning an Offie Award to having a dedicated London season. What does that feel like and how does this inspire you to keep going?

Simply put, it feels great. You never imagine, when you’re first creating a show, that it could grow to this level, so I feel completely privileged. Watching The Olive Boy move from a tiny Camden Fringe run to Edinburgh, to a national tour, to an Offie Award, and now to a London season has genuinely been one of the highlights of my career. It’s been overwhelming in the best way. In terms of what inspires me to keep going, I think you know instinctively when something has reached its end and when it hasn’t. For a long time, I felt there was still more to do with this show and more people it could reach. That said, the run at Southwark might be the final chapter for The Olive Boy and if it is, it feels like the right place to end it.

Secondly, sorry to hear about the loss of your mum at such a tender age.

The Olive Boy is about exploring a 15-year-old Ollie finding mum dead and trying to make sense of the world. What impact did that have on you at 15 years old and the adult you now?

Losing my mum at 15 changed everything. At that age you don’t really have the emotional language to understand something so sudden, so you just try to keep moving and hope you’ll catch up with yourself later. It forced me to grow up quickly, but it also left a lot of confusion that I didn’t unpack until adulthood. As an adult, I can see how much that moment shaped my humour, my outlook, and the way I connect with people. The show has been a way of finally giving that younger version of myself some space to be heard, and in doing so, it has allowed me to understand the adult I became.

What did it feel like looking back to when you were 15 years old and what did you gain from this as that younger you tried to make sense of a world without mum physically in it anymore?

Looking back at myself at 15, I mostly feel a mixture of compassion and frustration. I can see how hard I was trying to make sense of something that didn’t make any sense. When you lose a parent that young, you’re suddenly pushed into a world that feels far too adult, but you’re still very much a child trying to keep up. What I gained from revisiting that younger version of me was perspective. I realised how much he was carrying without the tools to process it, and how he used humour and distraction to survive it. Writing the show allowed me to acknowledge that, rather than judge it. In a way, it gave that younger me the space and understanding he never had at the time.

Therapy is still a bit taboo for some people, but it was more so for boys at a certain time, and a bit for even girls at a certain time too, but what was it like for you to attend counselling? You talk about reflecting the distance you felt, what effect did that have and would you ever consider counselling or recommend it to people now therapy is slowly opening up to wider ranges of people?

Counselling was a complicated experience for me at that age. It wasn’t something boys really talked about, and I remember feeling quite distanced from it, almost like I was watching myself go through the motions rather than actually opening up. I didn’t have the vocabulary to express what I was feeling, so it felt easier to stay on the surface.

That distance definitely stayed with me for a long time. It meant a lot of emotions got stored rather than processed, and I’m only now, as an adult, realising how much that shaped me.

Would I consider counselling now or recommend it? Absolutely. I think the stigma is slowly shifting, and people are starting to see therapy for what it really is: a space to understand yourself better. I wish I’d had the tools back then to make the most of it, but I can recognise now how valuable it can be, especially for young people who are trying to navigate grief or upheaval.

After your mum died, there was a pressure felt to keep quiet about your emotions. What was living up to that pressure like?

There was definitely a pressure to keep quiet about what I was feeling after my mum died, and living up to that was exhausting in ways I didn’t understand at the time. When you’re young, you think staying silent is the same as staying strong, so you push everything down and hope it will sort itself out.

Looking back, that pressure created a kind of emotional numbness. I became very good at performing “being fine,” even when I wasn’t. It took years to recognise how much energy went into holding everything in, and how isolating that can be. The show has helped me confront that silence and acknowledge the cost of it.

When trying to make sense of this world you were living in without your mum, what conclusions did you come to between then and now?

When I was 15, I didn’t come to many real conclusions at all. I think that’s the point: you try to make sense of a world that suddenly doesn’t make sense anymore, and most of what you land on is survival rather than understanding. At the time, my conclusion was simply to keep going, keep my head down, and hope things would eventually feel normal again.

Looking back now, the adult version of me can see that there is no neat conclusion to losing someone so central. What you find instead is acceptance. You learn that grief doesn’t disappear; it just changes shape as you grow. You learn that you can carry loss and still build a life around it. And you realise that the world without my mum physically in it is still a world she shaped through the memories, the humour, the resilience, and the perspective she left behind.

Ronnie Ancona plays your counsellor in a recording. What was that like to have her on-board and be on stage yourself, knowing it was just her voice that carried through?

I mean, come on — it’s Ronni Ancona. Who better to play a character called “The Voice” than someone famous for her vocal impressions?

For me as a performer, it was a strange but exciting dynamic. You’re on stage responding to someone who isn’t physically there, but because it’s Ronnie, the performance feels alive. Her delivery is so precise and nuanced that it gives you something real to play off. It elevated the scenes and added a layer to the show that audiences always respond to.

How did you inject humour into what feels heartfelt and such a personal play?

Teenage boys are funny. No matter what they’re going through, they’re crude, ridiculous, and absolutely convinced they know everything. I wanted to show that when you’re grieving as a teenager, you don’t suddenly stop being a teenager. You can be dealing with the biggest loss of your life and still be just as focused on trying to get past the child-blocker on the computer.

That contrast felt important to capture – the messy, contradictory reality of being fifteen and grieving, but still undeniably a teenage boy.

What do you get personally from telling your story on stage in-front of a live audience?

There’s something grounding about standing in front of a room full of people and saying, “This happened, and it shaped me,” and feeling them meet you with empathy rather than judgement. It’s not about reliving the past; it’s about making sense of it in real time. When audiences laugh at the stupid teenage moments or fall silent during the heavier ones, it reminds me that grief is universal, and that there’s value in being open about it.

What do you hope the audience will get out of your show, Olive Boy?

What I hope audiences take away from The Olive Boy is a sense of recognition. Whether they’ve experienced grief themselves or not, I want them to connect with the idea that growing up is messy, complicated, and never as straightforward as you expect it to be. If people leave feeling seen, or feeling like their own story makes a bit more sense, then the show has done its job. Above all, I want people to feel that, even in difficult chapters, there can still be humour, connection, and a way forward.

Where can people follow you/your play?

O.maddigan on Instagram for me and Theoliveboyshow on Instagram for the show!

The Olive Boy will be performing at Southwark Playhouse from 14 January to 31 January 2026. Tickets and information: https://southwarkplayhouse.co.uk/productions/the-olive-boy/

#Interview with Writer/Performer Leigh Douglas on Political Satire Stage Show – Receptionist of the United States (ROTUS) @leighdouglascomedy @ParkTheatre #Theatre #Stage #Satire #ReceptionistOfTheUnitedStates

Interview with Leigh Douglas
Receptionist of the United States
(ROTUS)

Interview by Louise Cannon

20th January – 7th February 2026 at Park Theatre, London

After a successful run at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, today, I present an interview I did with writer/performer Leigh Douglas on her political satire, Receptionist of the United States, set to be staged at Park Theatre, Finsbury Park, London in February 2026. (ticket link after the interview). We talk about American politics, the conservative women behind those corridors of power, the internal journeys in those corridors, the contradictions, her views on Donald Trump and more…

Receptionist of the United States is said to be “A sharp, satirical and very funny look at the conservative women behind America’s corridors of power, ROTUS follows Chastity Quirke, a White House receptionist and staunch Republican as her blind faith in the system begins to crack and she’s forced to reckon with the consequences of her own complicity.”

Thank you very much for your time, let’s begin…

What or who inspired you to become a comedian and do political satire?

Coming from Ireland, there’s an explicit link in 20th century Irish history between art (theatre especially) and politics. My granddad lived through a lot of that history, born in 1929. He grew up with several relatives who signed with a mark as they couldn’t read or write. My granddad himself was self-educated from the age of 12 onwards and was one of the most well-read and funniest people I’ve ever known. He went on to write for the stage as well as radio, and he instilled in our whole family that literacy is power. My granddad and I were very close, and until he passed away in 2024, he would often be one of the first to read a new piece of my work. He didn’t pull punches with his criticism, even when I was a child. There is no doubt much of my love of the theatre came from him. I was at the Edinburgh Fringe doing a split-bill with my fellow comedian, Sophie Garrad, when I got the call to say he had gone into hospital. He told me not to come home; the show must go on. In terms of stand-up and comedy, I was raised on the likes of French and Saunders, Kathy Griffin, and Smack the Pony. In university, I studied Brecht and discovered The Thick of It. I knew I wanted to make work that brought together a feminine sensibility but tackled politics.

You take a funny look at the conservative women behind America’s corridors of power: what fascinates you most about them?

I’m not above aesthetics and there’s no denying that the aesthetic of American conservative women is compelling and aspirational. If you’re in any way drawn to glamour, there’s something about powerful American conservative women that will always be compelling. This is no accident. A huge part of their calculus is to fulfill some kind of patriarchal fantasy of what a woman should be. Then there’s the delicious hypocrisy of their stated goals and views, dripping in self-righteous moral superiority and privilege. It’s camp. Their gender performance is almost as studied as a drag queen persona. As a lesbian who spends quite a bit of my time stomping around London in Doc Martens, it’s enormous fun to drag up as one of these women.

Receptionist Of The United States (ROTUS) is about Chastity Quirke, who is a White House receptionist who is fiercely loyal to the Republican side and its President in a “blind” manner, who then reluctantly becomes self-aware. How do you think that feels, and how important do you feel it is to show how paths of sheer certainty can still change.

When we give up on hope for humanity, we might as well give up and go home. Everyone comes from a context, and no matter what their political beliefs might be and no matter how misinformed they are, everyone has a reason for believing what they do which is grounded in something true to the reality of their lived experience. In writing Chastity, I wanted to come to understand what circumstances might create a woman with diametrically opposed political views to my own. I could then game out where those views might lead her, not to mention what it might take for the bubble to burst for her. If Chastity Quirke is an anti-feminist Scrooge, what three ghosts might come to visit her? If the spread of right-wing fascism is going to be stopped, we have to hope that some of the foot soldiers are redeemable under the right set of circumstances. Otherwise, we’re writing off half the population forever.

How did you go about working out where the internal journey begins and how it ends?

The interesting thing in writing about complicity, culpability and political criminality is that no one in Chastity Quirke’s world is going to say exactly what they mean. Those who say the quiet part out loud will be weeded out as disloyal or set up as the fall guy. Chastity, as someone who thrives in this world, is reading between the lines all the time to work out where she stands, what exactly is being asked of her, and what chess move she should anticipate next. She begins with absolute certainty that she knows what move everyone else will make next. Her internal journey begins the first time someone makes a move she doesn’t see coming. As the show progresses and Chastity loses control, she is surprised more and more frequently by the actions of others. Her internal journey ends when the rules she’s been playing by are thrown out the window by the most powerful players and she realises she never had any control at all.

The play is partly inspired by real people. How did you research those people for the play to ensure you got their part of the story right in how they are portrayed?

Of course I went to traditional primary sources like Cassidy Hutchinson’s memoir, Enough. The way she wrote about her time in the Trump White House and her ultimate decision to testify to the January 6th investigation was the initial inspiration for much of the show. However, I then also scrolled all the way back in time on Karoline Leavitt’s Instagram to see how she was presenting herself online years before she was ever White House Press Secretary. I listened to right-wing podcasts like Sincerely American to make sure that Chastity’s vernacular and mode of expression was authentic. I also drew inspiration from the way conservative influencers present on social media and in reality TV. There is an indisputable link between the glamorization of conservative lifestyles in shows like Secret Lives of Mormon Wives, social media accounts like Ballerina Farm, and the presentation of conservative women working in the White House. It’s all promoting the same conservative values and politics.

Where do you stand on politics and President Donald Trump?

Safe to say, I think Donald Trump is a menace and I find the state of what’s happening in the United States currently demoralising, frightening and dangerous. I wrote ROTUS in January 2025 as he was being inaugurated for his second term as a way of processing my grief. The Democrats have their own problems, of course, but, in my view, they’re a right sight more compassionate, capable and compelling than the alternative we’re living through now. I was working as a barmaid in a North London pub when Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez was first elected to Congress; if she ever runs for president, she’d get my vote. To me, she’s always represented the working woman living under capitalism. I’d also love to cast a vote for Jasmine Crocket or Pete Buttigieg.

What do you feel the pressures, contradictions and moral consequences faced by young women operating within hard-line conservative politics are, and how do you use this in your show?

The contradiction at play for young women operating in conservative politics is that Republicans are the party of Christian fundamentalism. The rhetoric of the hard right is that a woman’s greatest priority should always be her role as a wife and mother. Therefore, if you’re an ambitious young woman in right-wing spaces, you have to go husband hunting in a manner befitting a Jane Austen novel in order to remain in line and on message. You have to tell other young women that having a career is a distraction, whilst you yourself pursue a demanding career. Balancing your career and having a family cannot be perceived to be a struggle. You have to portray yourself as superwoman, effortlessly fulfilling both roles perfectly. If you admit to struggling or just not wanting a family, you’ve failed as a woman.

ROTUS was highly successful at the Edinburgh Fringe, what did that feel like and what are you looking forward to most at Park Theatre?

It was incredibly meaningful to me that Chastity and the show connected with people. It was exhilarating to feel like a piece that I’d written, partly as a way of processing my own grief at seeing Kamala Harris lose the 2024 presidential election, was also an outlet for audiences. In Ireland, we have wakes when someone dies that are often some of the most riotous, most brilliant parties you’ll ever go to. Something about the experience of doing ROTUS at Edinburgh felt cathartic in a similar way.

Where can people follow you on social media?

@leighdouglascomedy

ROTUS: Receptionist of the United States is at Park Theatre from 20^th January – 7^th February 2026. Tickets available HERE.

#Review by Lou of The Cat Share by Angela Jariwala @TeamBATC @BookMinxSJV #TheCatShare #Cats #RomanticFiction

The Cat Share
By Angela Jariwala

The Cat Share is a beautifully joyful book that’s perfect if you like cats and romance to warm the heart. It gives me great pleasure to celebrate such a beautiful book, if not a bit bittersweet as sadly it was published posthumously.
On Christmas Day 2021 Angela Jariwala sadly passed away, just months before it was published. The novel is dedicated to Angela herself and the publisher, Simon & Schuster has her family’s permission to publish it this December. Check out the blurb and my review below to find out more about this uplifting book.

Blurb

Sometimes it’s a simple as meeting the boy next door.

Jenni lives alone with her cat Oscar – yes, she’s single but, after breaking up with her boyfriend, she’s more than content to be living alone. Sometimes she worries she might be playing things too safe, but she’s had enough of taking risks.

Ben is a firefighter and, if he’s honest, he’s finding life hard. The arrival of a small tabby cat, who Ben decides to call Fred, helps him feel less isolated. But then, one day, Ben decides to take a chance. Wanting to reassure Fred’s owner he’s not stealing their cat, he attaches a note to the cat’s collar.

As the two neighbours start corresponding via the cat, their notes to each other reveal the truths they are hiding from even their closest friends, and themselves.

The Cat Share is a warm and joyous romantic comedy about two strangers in love with one very greedy cat, inspired by a true story, for fans of The Flat Share, You’ve Got Mail and Rescue Me.

Review

The Cat Share holds an original and sweet concept, to attach notes to the collar of a cat. It is also lovely that it, in some part or another is inspired by a true story. My own cat would have it torn or lost! It’s beautifully written about how two people come together and it just warms the heart.

Ben is a great, slightly conflicted character to read about. At work as a firefighter, he’s pretty brave, but in his personal life at home, he’s struggling a bit and is quite lonely. He also has a challenging relationship with his father to deal with. Ben is quite easy to warm to.

Jenni is settling into a quieter, single life and a new routine, since she’s broken up with her boyfriend.

Jenni and Ben weren’t looking for love, but Oscar the cat had other plans and what ensues is humorous, endearing, deeply moving and emotional. It sweeps you along and keeps you there until the end.
This is one cat share where no one would mind that he shares himself with another household.

For warmth, a special cat and unfolding relationship, this book, like cats, isn’t just for Christmas, but it would make for a great present or a treat for yourself.

#Review of Austenella by Janey Jones @janeylit #Austenella #RomanticFiction #JaneAusten #ContemporaryFiction

Austenella
By Janey Jones

Review by Louise Cannon

At the 250th anniversary of Jane Austen, what better year to reacquaint yourselves with her books and get acquainted with those authors whom she has inspired. This latest creation, Austenella, is also inspired by her writing. Janey Jones, many of you may know as Janey Louise Jones from her days of writing Princess Poppy books. Having now hung up her tiara, she now writes books for adults like The Edinburgh Seven and books about her character, Lucy Lovecake.
Thanks to Janey Jones, I have a copy of Austenella for review, which you’ll see after the blurb. I will add here, that the sharp-intake of breath I often take when such books are put my way, was found to be not required as it was genuinely a very well-though out, concept and one that feels respectful to Jane Austen.
As you float down, you’ll find the cover, blurb and my full review.

Blurb

‘Made in Chelsea meets Pride & Prejudice’
Country house capers – an escapist modern fairy-tale with Jane Austen main character energy. Austenella hen weekends? Book now to avoid disappointment!
Daisy Delaney (pen-name Lucy Lovecake) buys a run-down stately home in Perthshire for Austen-themed hen weekends. She devises a reality TV show ‘AUSTENELLA’ to fund the elaborate conversion. Local characters are recruited for the show: the influencer, the actress, the Brigadier, the disinherited step-mother, the wallflower. Romantic chaos ensues. TikTok is crazy for the show!
And of course, there’s a local Mr Darcy. Jonny Abernethy. Who had to sell his big house. To a girl.
Will ‘Mr Darcy’ accept that ‘Lucy Lovecake’ now owns his stately home? The patriarchal property power just shifted! Jane would be proud.
A whirl of a book about what Lizzie Bennet describes as ‘the inconsistency of all human characters.’ And the ‘little dependence that can be placed on sense!’

Review

Austenella is a rather surprising and fun take, inspired by Jane Austen’s creations.

Daisy Delaney, who some of you may have read about before in other Lucy Lovecake books, is back and this time she’s devising a tv show and a Perthshire stately home. The Regency/Georgian period hen weekends are entertaining, and are very much Jane Austen themed.

The characters are interesting as there is a Mr Darcy, but the positive is, it isn’t a re-writing of her novels set in modern day, it very much feels original, with the universal themes Austen also used when she wrote, but with a modern twist. Respectfully, there appears to be plenty of nods to Jane Austen and her desires for women. It feels like a novel she may have liked and to have seen how far things have moved on.

Like Jane Austen’s writing, Austenella, is very well-observed of human life and it’s all there to see, including its quirks.

For an entertaining modern read about strong women and fun, Austenella is one I recommend to continue your celebrations of Jane Austen’s anniversary, perhaps even alongside or sandwiched with some of Jane Austen’s books.

#Review of Dead Festive By Peter Buckman @peterwordofmouthbooks @RandomTTours #PumpernickleMysteries #DeadFestive #Christmas #BlogTour

Dead Festive
By Peter Buckman

Review by Louise Cannon

Dead Festive is a book to get cosy with this Christmas season, well almost cosy with the cute dog, except there is a body count!
I’m on the Random T. Tours blog tour reviewing Dead Festive, A Pumpernickle Mystery today. Check out the blurb and my review below…

Blurb

“Everyone needs a Marion and Leo in their life. They are warm, kind, reassuring and funny.”
Patrick Neale
——
Murder, mince pies, and mayhem—a family Christmas takes a deadly turn.

For veteran lawyer Leo, Christmas Day is going according to plan. His vegetarian Wellington has been well received; his beloved partner Marion has finally introduced him to her dress-wearing brother Harold, who seems very happy with his partner Julian; Leo’s granddaughter Jazz is behaving impeccably; and his oldest friend Dennis, the doyen of crime journalists, is being kept under control by his wife Susan, helped by large quantities of wine. Even Leo’s dog Pumpernickel joins in the fun.

Until Julian, a reluctant player of charades, lies down to enact his last word, and fails to get up again. Suddenly, the festive mood turns dark. Was it a heart attack, something he ate, or could it be murder?

As they wait for the police to turn up, the tension isn’t eased by the arrival of Leo’s sister Becky with her husband and moody son. Family rows erupt and secrets jostle to the surface.

Why did the victim hide away a box of champagne truffles?

Who was really meant to receive Harold’s glittering bracelet?

Was Pumpernickel right in detecting the presence of poison?

Answers are provided in this romp of a story featuring all the main characters of Peter Buckman’s romantic cosy crime series The Pumpernickel Mysteries. This novella is a tale of love, greed, death, devotion, and brandy butter.

Review

Christmas seems normal as the festivities and joyous fun begins. There’s food, traditional family games and more… There are also the rows that families have at this time of year. The one problem is that those tensions don’t stay contained. They explode into a death that leaves so many questions unanswered over the course of a few hours. That is until the police show up and as you immerse yourself into this novella, you’ll also be guessing what happened to Julian.

Dead Festive is a cosy Christmas read with both a good festive atmosphere and an air of mystery and a cute dog called Pumpernickle.

For an extra book for a stocking or a treat for yourself, this is a great entertaining short, but perfectly formed Christmas book to take time out with and relax.

#Review by Lou of The Fracture by Morgan Cry @GoJaBrown @RandomTTours #CrimeFiction #Thriller #TheFracture

The Fracture
By Morgan Cry

Review by Louise Cannon

This Fracture is the second book in the Blake Glover series, but the first I have read and reviewed in this series. For a new series, it’s definitely worth spending time with this former police constable, now taxi driver.

Blurb

Ex-police officer Blake Glover’s past threatens to catch up with him and destroy his small town life in this second instalment of the Blake Glover Crime series by Bloody Scotland co-founder Gordon Brown writing as Morgan Cry.

‘The Cost is a decidedly moreish thriller that will leave you hankering for just one more chapter’ Ian Rankin

Ex-police constable and now taxi driver Blake Glover thought retiring to his hometown of Fraserburgh would be calm – until, while attending a local funeral service, he notices something disturbing: did the sturdy expensive coffin split as it was lowered into the grave? How could this be possible? Is there a cruel scheme taking place?

As if this wasn’t enough, one of Blake’s customers from the night before has gone missing and Blake is the last person to have seen him alive.

To make matters even worse, Blake is contacted by his old colleague-turned-nemesis, Mitch Campbell – now imprisoned in Glasgow’s HMP Barlinnie. Mitch is threatening to frame Blake unless he agrees to a dangerous request.

Torn between helping friends, confronting a past enemy and uncovering dark deeds, Blake is dragged into a toxic world of small-town tragedy and big-city drama. As he tries to untangle the truth, he underestimates just how deadly things will become . . .

An intricately plotted, twisty and clever Tartan noir thriller by Scottish crime writer Morgan Cry – perfect for fans of IAN RANKIN, VAL McDERMID, DENISE MINA and WILLIAM McILVANNEY!

Review

Fractures appear in Fraserburgh, Scotland in this fast-paced, on the edge of your seat thriller.

Former or present police often have a moment of their past catching up with them, but the story that surrounds this happening to Blake Glover feels original for how this comes from his life in Glasgow.

Former police constable, Blake Glover took on a rather different job, as a taxi driver at ailing company, Doddy’s Taxis that needs life support injected into it to survive.
He soon discovers some dark things happening with one of his customer’s, but what’s really going on? It’s far from the quiet life Blake was hoping for.

There’s something not right about a funeral coffin and how it is lowered that becomes very mysterious, so much so that it keeps those pages turning.

The Fracture has great characterisations, intriguing relational observations and built tension that leaves you wanting more of this series.

About the Author

Gordon Brown, also writing as Morgan Cry, has twelve crime and thriller books published to date, along with a novella and a number of short stories.

Gordon is a founding director of Bloody Scotland, Scotland’s International Crime Writing Festival and runs a strategic planning consultancy. He lives in Scotland (and when Brexit rules allow, Spain) and is married with two children – who have long since flown the nest.

In a former life Gordon delivered pizzas in Toronto, sold non-alcoholic beer in the Middle East, launched a creativity training business, floated a high tech company on the London Stock Exchange, compered the main stage at a two-day music festival and was once booed by 49,000 people while on the pitch at a major football Cup Final.