A lively, informative, and humorous overview of the development of the fictional world of murder, mayhem, and mystery.

Crime writers David Stuart Davies & Matthew Booth present a lively, informative, and humorous overview of the development of the fictional world of murder, mayhem, and mystery, and the authors who shaped this fascinating genre, from the creation of Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes through to the arrival of Ann Cleeves’ Vera.

Biographies

Matthew Booth is a lifelong aficionado and expert on Sherlock Holmes, having written several books and short stories about the famous detective, including Sherlock Holmes and the Giant’s Hand and The Further Exploits of Sherlock Holmes. He was a contributor to a Sherlock Holmes radio series, produced by Jim French Productions in America.

He is the author of the Everett Carr mysteries, published by Level Best Books. The first, A Talent for Murder, is a traditional Golden-Age whodunit with a contemporary twist. The sequel, The Dangers of this Night, is out now, and a third novel, A Killing Among the Dead, is due for publication in 2024.

Matthew has appeared on numerous crime and historical fiction discussion panels and various YouTube channels. He has provided presentations on Sherlock Holmes, Agatha Christie, crime fiction and supernatural fiction, film noir, and the facts and theories concerning the crimes of Jack the Ripper. Matthew is a member of the Crime Writers’ Association and is the Editor of its monthly magazine, Red Herrings. He lives with his wife in Manchester, England.

David Stuart Davies is an author, playwright and editor. He has written nine Sherlock Holmes novels (the latest, Sherlock Holmes – Revenge from the Grave), and Starring Sherlock Holmes, which details the film career of the famous sleuth. He has also created detective series set variously in London during World War II, New York in the 1930s and 1980s Yorkshire. His non-fiction work Bending the Willow: Jeremy Brett as Sherlock Holmes is regarded as the definitive work on the subject.

Currently, he is the general contributing editor for Wordsworth Editions Mystery & Supernatural series. He is member of the Crime Writers Association, an invested Baker Street Irregular, and a member of The Detection Club. He has given talks and dramatic presentations on crime fiction and his collections of ghost stories at various literary festivals, libraries, and conferences as well on the Queen Mary II

His first Rupert Wilde Mystery, The Dead of Winter, was published by Level Best Books in 2022. The second novel in the series, The Murder Club Murders arrives in the summer of 2023.