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Penny Grubb

Goodreads Author

Born

The United Kingdom

Website

http://www.pennygrubb.com

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PennyGrubb

Genre

Mystery & Thrillers, Professional & Technical

Member Since

August 2010

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Penny is a scientist and academic (Health Informatics), and was Chair of the Authors’ Licensing and Collecting Society , the largest writers’ organisation in the world, for six years to 2013.
A writer all her life, she penned her first story at age 4 and won her first writing competition at age 9. In 2004 she received an international award, the Crime Writers’ Association’s Debut Dagger.
She has worked in a variety of jobs, having been on the inside of pathology labs, operating theatres and medical schools across Europe.
Working full time with one job in London, the other in Hull, in her spare time Penny writes crime novels and occasional articles for newspapers and magazines.
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This is actually a comment rather than a question? In the 80's Sidney Sheldon kept me glued to a book deep into the night. I've just finished a 4th book of your many. I cannot even adequately tell you what a gripping, hold my breath page turner satisfying book you have once again accomplished. Thank you.

Penny Grubb Thank you, Vicki. I've only just found your comment. I'm not very competent with Goodreads. I'm so pleased you are enjoying the books, and thanks for …moreThank you, Vicki. I've only just found your comment. I'm not very competent with Goodreads. I'm so pleased you are enjoying the books, and thanks for taking the time to say so.(less)

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Where did you get the idea for your most recent book?

Penny Grubb edit at 12/12/16: Only now it occurs to me how quickly an answer like this goes out of date. My most recent book is now the next but two after the one…moreedit at 12/12/16: Only now it occurs to me how quickly an answer like this goes out of date. My most recent book is now the next but two after the one I listed, and that won't be top of the pile for long as the next one is underway. Hey ho. Currently it's police procedural, Tiger Blood - sort of second in series from Buried Deep which was the one that followed Where There's Smoke. Complicated business keeping up sometimes.

My most recent book that’s actually out there is Where There’s Smoke (due out in paperback soon). It’s a standalone whodunit, but it’s also the 4th in a series. The germ of the idea came when I wrote the 1st, Like False Money, but I had no confidence in my ability to write about it. There is one oblique reference in Like False Money where the main character, Annie, has a stray thought about one day going head to head with one of the sleazier secondary characters. It took 4 books to get there.

The idea for Like False Money grew out of an overheard conversation in a village shop. Two elderly men were talking about funds being raised to buy new gates for the church. Innocuous enough, but for some reason I began to imagine the older of the two going home one night, on his own, slightly nervy about the dark and the isolation; of his relief at getting safely inside. And then... cue sinister music... There’s almost nothing of that incident in the book itself but it’s possible to see the strand running through it once you know it’s there.

Back to the question, my most recent book as in the next one due out (I’m awaiting a publication date) grew from two distinct strands; one was from reading some psychological research into the way people’s minds can be twisted by trauma inflicted by others; the second was simple curiosity about what would happen if a private investigator blundered unwittingly into the middle of a police enquiry.

And my most recent book as in the one I’m in the middle of writing comes directly from a love of intricate puzzles. 10,000 words of back story gave me the foundation from which to start. The book begins in a place that shows almost none of the real story, just the frayed edges and fall-out from crimes that people have tried to hide – the bits and pieces from which real investigations have to start.

https://www.fantasticbookspublishing....
https://www.fantasticbookspublishing.... (less)

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Penny Grubb’s books

Average rating: 4.09 · 182 ratings · 69 reviews · 22 distinct works

	The Doll Makers (Annie Raymond, #2) 3.81 avg rating — 47 ratings — published 2010 — 6 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. 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
	Like False Money (Annie Raymond, #1) 4.25 avg rating — 32 ratings — published 2010 — 10 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. 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
	The Jawbone Gang (Annie Raymond, #3) 4.12 avg rating — 25 ratings — published 2011 — 4 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. 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
	Buried Deep 3.81 avg rating — 21 ratings — published 2014 — 4 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. 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
	Where There's Smoke (Annie Raymond, #4) 4.33 avg rating — 12 ratings — published 2012 — 7 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. 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
	Falling into Crime it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 5 ratings — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. 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
	The Writers' Toolkit by Penny Grubb (Goodreads Author), Danuta Reah 4.80 avg rating — 5 ratings — published 2012 — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. 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
	Software Maintenance: Concepts and Practice by Penny Grubb (Goodreads Author), Armstrong A. Takang 4.20 avg rating — 5 ratings — published 2003 — 6 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. 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
	Tiger Blood (DS Webber Mystery (Annie Raymond Mysteries Book 5) 3) by Penny Grubb (Goodreads Author), Heather Murphy (Illustrator) it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 2 ratings — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. 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
	Syrup Trap City (Annie Raymond Mysteries Book 6) by Penny Grubb (Goodreads Author), Gabi Grubb (Illustrator) it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 2 ratings — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. 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

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Penny Grubb's Blog

And The Band Played On…

When the spouse invited the 4-year-old to “help make cheese scones” I vowed to keep out of the way. I don’t go looking for trouble and am careful to stipulate activities that don’t involve running water, flour, and hot stoves. Cheese scones are on my no-fly list. I scurried upstairs to my office.A prolonged discordant crashing cacophony like the collapse of a bell tower had me flying back down,

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Published on November 21, 2025 03:00

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Series by Penny Grubb

Annie Raymond (4 books)
by

Penny Grubb (Goodreads Author)

4.05 avg rating — 116 ratings

Penny is Currently Reading

Penny Grubb is currently reading

Fizzy Days and Plastic Monkeys: From Crewe to Malibu

by Mark Millicent (Goodreads Author)

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Oct 28, 2025 08:49AM

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Penny Grubb wrote a new blog post And The Band Played On… When the spouse invited the 4-year-old to “help make cheese scones” I vowed to keep out of the way. I don’t go looking for trouble and am careful to s Read more of this blog post »
Nov 22, 2025 12:28AM · like
Penny Grubb is currently reading Fizzy Days and Plastic Monkeys: From Crewe to Malibu by Mark Millicent (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. 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
Oct 28, 2025 08:49AM · like
Penny Grubb has read Mostly Harmless (Elite: Dangerous #8) by Kate Russell	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. 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
Sep 26, 2024 05:20PM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Mostly Harmless by Kate Russell. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Mostly Harmless by Kate Russell <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Penny Grubb has read Margaret Forster: A Life in Books by Kathleen Jones (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. 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
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Penny Grubb has read Elite: And Here The Wheel by John Harper (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. 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
Sep 21, 2024 09:19AM · like
Penny Grubb liked Stuart Aken's review of Horse of the Same Colour (#2): "This children’s book is a follow-up to Horse of a Different Colour, and follows the adventures of Megan, Amy, and their fiends and enemies as they encounter more strange magic, ‘swaps’, and discover another foul scheme by the loathsome O’Neill. The s" Read more of this review »
Sep 10, 2024 12:04PM · see review
Penny Grubb liked Mark Henderson's review of Horse of the Same Colour (#2): "For me, perhaps the most impressive part of this engaging children’s story is the precision with which Melodie Trudeau has captured the fractured, internally-orientated speech patterns that characterise conversation among people of primary-school age" Read more of this review »
Sep 10, 2024 12:04PM · see review
Penny Grubb is now following Shell Cunliffe's reviews
May 22, 2024 12:32PM · like
Penny Grubb liked Linda Acaster's review of Death by Column Inches: "Take an inter-schools competition, a sink-estate, a group of eleven year olds from dysfunctional families… and a murder. This is no genteel Famous Five novel, neither is it a book aimed at children. Set in the early 1990s on the cusp of internet use," Read more of this review »
May 14, 2024 02:17PM · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Death by Column Inches by Penny Kot. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Death by Column Inches by Penny Kot <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">

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Quotes by Penny Grubb (?)

“One of the key things is learning which bits of life you don't need to take seriously. Usually far more than you expect.”
― Penny Grubb

tags: inspirational-success-failure

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Cozy Mysteries : Your Latest Cozy Splurge	930	1302	Nov 15, 2017 10:57AM

Penny’s Friend Comments

Comments (showing 1-6) post a comment »

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message 6: by Penny

Jan 05, 2013 08:15AM

Hi Zoe

Happy New Year to you too.

Yes, thanks, the writing's going OK. My 1st, Like False Money, got picked for the 12 Days of Kindle promo at 99p - not that I'll get to know numbers for ages, but I'm sure the price will be helping it along. Very good timing because the next 2 are due out as ebooks any day now and the 4th is now being advertised though not coming out till March. 2 different publishers but they seem to be working nicely together.

How's it going with you? Do you have a new one out? I confess to being so busy lately that I can barely keep up. I tend to be on everyone's last book but one as I struggle to keep up.

all the best
Penny

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message 5: by Zoë

Jan 04, 2013 03:12PM

Hi Penny

Thank you so much for Friending me. Lovely to catch up with you here and a very Happy New Year to you. How's the writing going?

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message 4: by Penny

May 23, 2012 07:29AM

Thanks for the info Derick. I'll look it out.

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message 3: by Derick

May 21, 2012 01:27AM

Thanks for the connection, Penny! You may like my 2012 debut,a hilarious Irish romcom called 'Dysfunctional Romance!' which has 17 five star reviews on Amazon and over 7,000 followers on Twitter already. see my blog for details:
www.derickhudson.blogspot.com
Kind regards,
Derick

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message 2: by Penny

Aug 29, 2010 09:00AM

Stuart wrote: "Penny, you should have an author's page on here, you know."

Thanks, I'm sure you're right. I will try and get that done in the next day or so. I've overdosed on social networking for today.

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message 1: by Stuart

Aug 29, 2010 06:43AM