58 ratings | 13 reviews | avg rating:4.48

M.P. Peacock’s Followers (29)

M.P.’s Bookshelves

to-read (97)
currently-reading (0)
read (63)
crime (3)
fiction (2)
historical-fiction (3)
mystery (4)
psychological (1)
russia (1)
trans-siberian (1)
See all bookshelves »

M.P.’s Friends (179)

Judy

2,225 books | 154 friends

Elizabeth Williams

1,556 books | 88 friends

Jaclyn

3,484 books | 314 friends

Katie B

8,321 books | 3,694 friends

Carol

3,498 books | 33 friends

Erin

1,377 books | 940 friends

James

1,264 books | 1,167 friends

Natalie

7,903 books | 129 friends

More friends…

M.P. Peacock

Goodreads Author

Born

in London

Website

https://mppeacock.co.uk

Twitter

Murderotsof

Genre

Mystery, Historical Fiction, Crime

Member Since

August 2016

edit data

M P Peacock is the nom de plume for the brother and sister writing team, Paul Youlten and Maddy Coelho. They live in East Sussex and write in the cafe at the local Kino cinema in Rye. Their first novel, Murder on the Strike of Five, is a historical murder mystery, set at the start of the Russian Revolution in 1917. The story follows a young Russian Countess and her maid as they flee from Moscow on the Trans-Siberian train to Vladivostok. When murder strikes, all the first-class passengers come under suspicion and it soon becomes clear that each one of them had a motive to kill, as well as the means and the opportunity.
Readers who enjoy a classic whodunnit in the style of Agatha Christie, Dorothy L Sayers or Josephine Tey will enjoy reading ...more

Learn more
Ask the Author

To ask M.P. Peacock questions, please sign up.

Popular Answered Questions

I inspire to become a writer. I've been pretty frustrated with my writing, comparing myself to other writers and looking at the way they write with such fascinating characters, great descriptive language, and realistic dialogue. I've been reading Murder On the Strike Of Five and I love the descriptive language you provide and the way you describe the characters. I wish I could do that. How can I be a better writer?

M.P. Peacock We love creating characters and because two of us write together we spend a lot of time talking about them as though they were real people. We also pi…moreWe love creating characters and because two of us write together we spend a lot of time talking about them as though they were real people. We also picked some actors who we thought would suit the roles so that we could be sure we were imagining them in the same way as each other. Find pictures of people who might look like some of your characters and write notes on what their personalities are like. Put them together in a scene and invent a conversation between them which moves the story onwards. Read it out loud to find out whether the dialogue sounds natural and realistic. Don't give up - practice makes perfect and the more you do the better you'll get.
We are so happy that you are reading Murder on the Strike of Five and enjoying it - Thank you!(less)

flag

1 like · like
2 comments

Working together must be fun! I've never done a collaborative project, so I'm curious to know how that works. Do you write separate scenes or chapters, and then edit each other's work? Your book sounds really fun, by the way, and I'm going to be ordering it soon. I enjoyed the sample I read on Kindle.

M.P. Peacock Hi Nupur - yes, collaborative writing is really fun. My brother and I have been working together for 18 months and not fallen out yet! We started by b…moreHi Nupur - yes, collaborative writing is really fun. My brother and I have been working together for 18 months and not fallen out yet! We started by brainstorming the story outline extensively and jointly planning about 40 chapters with a brief paragraph about what took place in each chapter. Then we wrote separate chapters, mostly alternating, until we finished the first draft. Next we swapped and edited each other's chapters. Finally we got some external advice from friends - especially Paul's Russian friends and jointly worked on a third draft. The great thing about working as a team is that you don't find excuses to put off writing: it becomes an obligation to someone else in a positive way - if I don't do my share of writing, then I'm preventing my brother from completing a book.
We hope you enjoy reading Murder on the Strike of Five - we've been really pleased with the feedback from Goodreads and Amazon readers so far.(less)

flag

like
Comment

See all 3 answers from M.P. Peacock…

Combine Editions
M.P. Peacock’s books

Average rating: 3.73 · 26 ratings · 5 reviews · 1 distinct work

Murder on the Strike of Five

3.73 avg rating — 26 ratings — 2 editions

Rate this book

Clear rating

1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

* Note: these are all the books on Goodreads for this author. To add more, click here.

rss
M.P.’s Recent Updates

M.P. Peacock and 4 other people liked Tom Veale's review of Anti-Story: An Anthology of Experimental Fiction: "I picked this book up after seeing it listed in DFW’s library and realising that many of the authors included have been praised by Wallace (and others...) in his interviews and non-fiction. That’s not the only reason I picked this anthology up becaus" Read more of this review »
Jan 18, 2024 02:46AM · see review

M.P. Peacock and 4 other people liked Tom Veale's review of Anti-Story: An Anthology of Experimental Fiction:

"I picked this book up after seeing it listed in DFW’s library and realising that many of the authors included have been praised by Wallace (and others...) in his interviews and non-fiction.

That’s not the only reason I picked this anthology up becaus" Read more of this review »

Jan 18, 2024 02:46AM · see review

More of M.P.'s books…

Topics Mentioning This Author

topics	posts	views	last activity
UK Amazon Kindle ...: Introduce Yourselves here	2348	1151	Sep 08, 2025 04:07AM

M.P.’s Quotes

“The house only isn't enough, you see. It has to have
the setting. That's just as important. It's like a ruby or an emerald. A beautiful stone is only a beautiful stone. It doesn't lead you anywhere further. It doesn't mean anything, it has no form or significance until it has its setting. And the setting has to have a beautiful jewel to be worthy of it. I take the setting, you see, out of the landscape, where it exists only in its own right. It has no meaning until there is my house sitting proudly like a jewel within its grasp.”
― Agatha Christie, Endless Night

4 likes

“Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful.”
― William Morris

tags: interior-decorators

295 likes

“Isn't it nice to think that tomorrow is a new day with no mistakes in it yet?”
― L.M. Montgomery

tags: beginnings, fresh-start, inspirational, mistake, mistakes, new-day, start-over, tomorrow

9129 likes

“You can lead a horse to water but only very rarely can you drown him and get away with it.”
― Sue Perry, C.R.I.M.E. Science

tags: humor

5 likes

recent posts
M.P.’s Groups

Indie-Crime Writers' Club — 17 members — last activity Feb 14, 2018 07:00AM
A very selective and somewhat shadowy group of crime writers who have self-published on Amazon, CreateSpace, IngramSpark, Smashwords (or similar).

UK Amazon Kindle Forum — 6619 members — last activity 7 hours, 55 min ago
Where every hour is happy hour.

Agatha Christie Lovers — 3984 members — last activity 4 hours, 0 min ago
We are reading her books from the first one published to the last one published each month. However, do not let that stop you from reading them out of ...more

Reading the Detectives — 2249 members — last activity 57 minutes ago
Our group reads vintage British mysteries from the Golden Age and beyond. In 2025 our challenge is Christie's Detectives: Poirot vs Marple. We are rea ...more

The Mystery, Crime, and Thriller Group — 31488 members — last activity 1 hour, 26 min ago
“It was a dark and stormy night. Lightning flashed and thunder rolled across the sky. Rain spattered a mysterious, hooded stranger who peered over the ...more

Kindle British Mystery Book Club — 1207 members — last activity Jul 21, 2025 10:47PM
This is a book club for people who love British Mysteries both modern and classic. You do not have to own a Kindle. We have a monthly reads and these ...more

World Mysteries and Thrillers — 2155 members — last activity Sep 30, 2025 11:21AM
The place to be if you love mysteries with an 'international' flavor. Diverse authors, here: Jo Nesbo, Carmen Amato, Henry Chang, Arnaldur Indri ...more

Crime Detective Mystery Thriller Group — 2825 members — last activity 18 hours, 22 min ago
This is a book club/group for ALL books about crime, mysteries, and thrillers. From romantic suspense, to pulp fiction, to cozy mysteries, british det ...more

Goodreads Authors/Readers — 55064 members — last activity 1 hour, 21 min ago
This group is dedicated to connecting readers with Goodreads authors. It is divided by genres, and includes folders for writing resources, book websit ...more

Indie Author Collaboration — 85 members — last activity Apr 13, 2021 04:51AM
A place for authors (and aspiring authors) to promote their work, share advice and tips, request feedback, and discuss topics relating to writing, pub ...more

More of M.P.’s groups…

M.P.’s Friend Comments

Comments (showing 1-1) post a comment »

date

newest »

message 1: by Kathy

Oct 19, 2016 06:18AM

Thanks for the friend request M.P. Look forward to discussing some great books. I must check yours out - it looks fascinating!

Bohenna isn't a real place - it's a product of my imagination - but it was inspired by a real village in an area I know quite well.

reply | flag