Pauline Rowson's Blog, page 30

Researching police procedure and crime scenes for crime novels

I'm often asked how I research my crime novels and in particular the police procedure and crime scene investigation
side of things. I'm not married to a police officer or a former police
officer (although I am married to a former fire-fighter) so I don't have
inside knowledge except when it comes to fires, burnt bodies and
serious traffic and other incidents which fire fighters attend, and
these can all be incorporated into a crime novel, which indeed I have
done.



So where do I get the police procedural information from and how can writers obtain this kind of information?




Read more about researching police procedure

What is the first Inspector Andy Horton crime novel?

I'm often asked which is the first in the Inspector Andy Horton series of
police procedural crime novels of which there are currently thirteen. 
Well here it is. Tide of Death is the first in the DI Andy Horton series. In each DI Andy Horton police procedural crime novel (there are now 13 in the series) there is a new murder mystery for the flawed and rugged Portsmouth detective to investigate but there is also the drama of his unfolding personal life and his quest to discover the truth behind his mother's disappearance (Jennifer Horton) thirty years ago.









Read more about the order of the DI Andy Horton crime novels, where they are set and what makes Andy Horton tick.

Writing a crime novel - mastering viewpoint

Viewpoint is one of the most difficult aspects for new writers to grasp, and sometimes even established writers struggle with this. Whose story it is i.e. from whose viewpoint are you telling the story? You might think it is fairly obvious that it is the protagonist’s story but is it his (or hers) alone, or do you need to switch to telling the story from another character’s viewpoint i.e. is it single viewpoint or multiple viewpoint?

Then there is the question of whether it will be written in the first person or the third person? How do you make that decision?




Read more about mastering viewpoint

A ticket to Ryde for Inspector Andy Horton in Lethal Waves

Train
fans and those who travel from the mainland of Portsmouth (Andy
Horton's CID patch) to the Isle of Wight five miles across the Solent,
and vice versa, will recognize this unusual train line, Island Line, operated by South West Trains. It is an unusual train line, single track with only two crossing points and is made up of former
London underground train carriages. 



In Lethal Waves, Andy Horton has crossed the Solent on the Wightlink Fast Cat ferry to
follow up a hunch connected with the murder of a vagrant found under a
houseboat on the shores of Portsmouth close to the marina where he
lives on his small yacht.




Read more about DI Andy Horton Lethal Waves and see the photographs

Did you know? Fascinating Forensic Facts

During
my research for my crime novels I uncover some fascinating forensic
facts. Here are some on bullet wounds unearthed while I was writing the
Inspector Andy Horton police procedural crime novel, Lethal Waves,
number 13 in the Horton series, now published as an ebook, on Amazon
Kindle and on Kobo and in hardcover in the UK, USA and Commonwealth.




Read about Bullet wounds

A new murder investigation for Inspector Andy Horton in Lethal Waves

See what's in store for Inspector Andy Horton in his thirteenth murder mystery investigation on the south coast of England.



Watch the video book trailer of Lethal Waves and see how Horton is embroiled in a new murder case that needs all his skills and intuition to solve. A complex case uncovering dark secrets that have led to such lethal waves of destruction.



Now published as an ebook, on Amazon Kindle and Kobo and in hardcover in the UK and the USA.






Watch the video of Lethal Waves, a DI Andy Horton Mystery

What's on in June 2017 - Lethal Waves published as an ebook, research and writing

June
sees the publication of the e book version of the latest in the Inspector Andy Horton series, number 13, Lethal Waves.  From 1 June it is available on Amazon Kindle and on Kobo.  It is also published in hardcover in the USA on 1 June 2017. It was published in hardcover in the UK on the 28 February 2017.  Aside from this June is a relatively quiet month in terms of giving talks and radio
interviews so it's time to catch up on some writing and undertake some
research for my new crime novels.

 




Read more

Listen to the unabridged audio book of DI Andy Horton, Footsteps on the Shore

Footsteps on the Shore, the sixth in the Inspector Andy Horton police procedural crime series. 'Deserves mention in the same breath as works in the upper echelon of American procedurals (those by Ed McBain or Joseph Wambaugh for example) and their British counterparts, including the work of Peter Robinson and John Harvey.' Booklist, Starred Review.




Listen to an extract from the unabridged audio book of Footsteps on the Shore (DI Andy Horton) narrated by Gordon Griffin

Video - The writing process - revisions, copy edit and proofs

This
short video clip was taken at a talk I gave to readers at Bishops
Waltham Library. Here I am answering a question from the audience and
talking about my crime novels, the writing process, revisions,
copy-edits and proofs.









Watch the video - the writing process - revisions, copy-edits and proofs

On location in Footsteps on the Shore, an Inspector Andy Horton crime novel

Footsteps on the Shoreis the sixth in the Inspector Andy Horton police procedural series. It is available in paperback and as an ebook on Amazon Kindle and Kobo. In this crime novel the rugged and flawed, Harley Davidson riding, sailing detective Andy Horton is once again drawn into a complex murder case. Assisted by Sergeant Barney Cantelli, often thwarted by his boss DCI Lorraine Bliss, and working with the head of the major crime team, the coarse and blunt Detective Superintendent Uckfield, Horton is, as usual, under pressure to get results.




Read more and see the photographs of the locations featured in Footsteps on the Shore.