Today on Poppy’s blog tour for The Crystal Crypt we are stopping of at Jaffareadstoo. She says:

“Beautifully written, with both a sense of fun, and pathos, the glorious city of Oxford comes to life and thanks to the cleverly designed map, I was able to, quite literally, follow in Poppy’s footsteps as she moves through the city on her hired bicycle. […] Poppy Denby is, by far, my favourite amateur sleuth, and I look forward to meeting her again soon.”

I must confess, the map is my favourite part of the book. It took me ages to source just the right one and to plot Poppy’s adventures on it. But it helped me visualise where Poppy was going from the very beginning.

Poppy Denby’s next adventure, The Crystal Crypt, will be released in November. Today, in collaboration with Love Reading, we reveal its cover! And here it is…

Reporter sleuth Poppy Denby is asked to investigate the mysterious death of an up-and-coming female scientist in an Oxford laboratory known as the Crystal Crypt. The official verdict is that Dr June Leighton died in a tragic accident, but Dr Leighton’s lab assistant believes it was murder. However, when Poppy discovers that the colleague has spent time in a mental institution and has an unresolved murder in her own past, Poppy wonders if she is being misled. But then, another female academic is attacked, and Poppy herself becomes a target. This is the sixth book in the Poppy Denby Investigates series.

Click here to pre-order you copy now!

This week I’m a special guest on Keith Newman’s Northern Culture Show on Radio Northumberland. You can catch me and Keith talking about my Poppy Denby books and doing a brief tour of locations of the latest book set in Newcastle and Northumberland. The show will be aired 1pm tomorrow, 2pm on Saturday and 4pm on Sunday. Tune in via their website, the TuneIn app or ask Alexa to find it for you. www.radionorthumberland.com

Last night I had the privilege of having a consultation with the incomparable Dr Noir (the founder of Newcastle Noir) talking about my Poppy Denby books, and in particular, The Art Fiasco, set at the Laing Art Gallery in Newcastle. The conversation ranged from my great grandfather’s murder, the importance of women’s voices in my books, to where to find loos on 1920s cruise ships. And all over a lovely glass of champers! Here’s a direct link to the video with Dr Noir ..

Poppy Denby, the 1920’s most flapulous reporter sleuth, has a new adventure coming out in October. And here, ladies and gentlemen, is the cover! The Art Fiasco is available to pre-order now. If you haven’t read the first four books in the series (available in paperback, ebook and audiobook) then there’s still time to catch up. Click here to put in our order.

Today is a very exciting day for me, it’s the launch of the Poppy Denby audio books! Hurrah! If you are looking for something to wile away a long journey on holiday or lounging by a pool, then why not download one now? (They are also available in audio and MP3 cds). Narrated by the fabulous Helen Keeley and published by Lamplight Audiobooks,

I am thrilled to hear Poppy and her friends brought to life. I hope you will be too. Please note, the first three books, The Jazz Files, The Kill Fee and The Death Beat are available now. The Cairo Brief will be released next month. Download your books here.

Last week I held a 1920s-themed launch party for the release of the third book in my Poppy Denby Investigates series, The Death Beat. Intrepid reporter sleuth Poppy and her friends would have felt right at home at Blackwell’s Bookshop in Newcastle, with live jazz and wine freely flowing. Although snow threatened to scupper the launch – with the band getting stuck somewhere en route – the party got off to a delayed but warm start. Former ITV journalist Mychaela Stephenson interviewed me about the latest book set in New York and then the guests were treated to a reading set in a speakeasy, where Poppy and her friends flout Prohibition. Thanks to everyone who braved the weather and helped make it such a fun evening.

Drum rolls and trumpet blasts please … The Death Beat, book three in the Poppy Denby Investigates series, is being released today, simultaneously, in the UK and the USA! Poppy and Rollo travel to New York and find out that it’s murder in Manhattan. To order your book click here.

For all Poppy Denby fans in North America, The Kill Fee, the second adventure of our intrepid female reporter sleuth, is now available in book shops on your side of the pond. Enjoy! It’s available on Amazon and high street bookshops.

“What have we got for below the fold?” Asked Rollo.
A voice piped up: “Wimbledon. That Frenchy won again. The one with the short skirt. And Daniel’s got a luv-er-ly pic.”
On cue Daniel walked to the front of the room and presented a picture of Suzanne Lenglen to Rollo who in turn showed it to the room. It was met by wolf whistles. No one bothered apologizing to Poppy.
From The Jazz Files.

Our heroine’s first day at work on The Daily Globe was on 4 July 1920, the day after the Wimbledon Finals. The men’s singles were won by Bill Tilden who defeated Australian Gerald Patterson (2–6, 6–3, 6–2, 6–4), and was the first American to ever win the title. Tilden also became the first player to reach 10 finals at a single Grand Slam event. His record stood until 2015, when Roger Federer reached his tenth Wimbledon final. Tilden’s personal life, however, was mired in tragedy and his closet homosexuality (illegal at the time) led to scandal and turmoil, including rumoured liaisons with ball boys.

The women’s singles were won, again, by ‘the Frenchy in the short skirt’ Suzanne Lenglen, considered by many the greatest French sports woman of all time. Lenglen won every year between 1919 and 1925, apart from 1924 when she had to withdraw in the quarter finals with whooping cough. She was a fashion icon and paved the way for women to wear shorter, looser fitting clothing on court, causing a scandal at the time. She was also renowned for smoking cheroots and drinking brandy between sets. Despite this dubious diet, she won an incredible 241 titles, with a 98% winning record over her entire career. She partied as hard as she played, and, in The Jazz Files, she makes a cameo appearance at Oscars Jazz Club the same evening Charlie Chaplin arrives. She died of leukemia on 4 July 1938, after going blind. She was only 39.

For more on Wimbledon in the 1920s visit the official Wimbledon archive.