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P. Thompson

Goodreads Author

Born

Ireland

Website

https://pthompsonmysteries.com/

Genre

Mystery, Crime, Fiction

Member Since

October 2016

URL

https://www.goodreads.com/pol65

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I came to cozy mystery writing through years of listening, in work that placed me alongside people during the most difficult moments of their lives — sitting with grief, navigating conflict, witnessing the complicated ways communities hold together and fall apart. That experience taught me something that shapes every book I write: people are rarely simple, motives are rarely clean, and the most interesting truths are usually the ones nobody is saying aloud.

I created Lucy Harford because I wanted to write mysteries where the puzzle is satisfying and the people caught up in it feel real. Lucy is a former police constable who left the force after a career-ending injury and now lives aboard her narrowboat The Curious Cat, painting watercolours I came to cozy mystery writing through years of listening, in work that placed me alongside people during the most difficult moments of their lives — sitting with grief, navigating conflict, witnessing the complicated ways communities hold together and fall apart. That experience taught me something that shapes every book I write: people are rarely simple, motives are rarely clean, and the most interesting truths are usually the ones nobody is saying aloud.

I created Lucy Harford because I wanted to write mysteries where the puzzle is satisfying and the people caught up in it feel real. Lucy is a former police constable who left the force after a career-ending injury and now lives aboard her narrowboat The Curious Cat, painting watercolours and travelling England’s canal network. She didn’t plan on solving murders. But she has an artist’s eye for detail, a detective’s instinct for the things people would rather keep hidden, and a sense of justice that won’t let her walk away. Her companion Sir Meows-a-Lot — a formerly stray ginger cat with impeccable timing and questionable respect for boundaries — makes sure life aboard is never entirely peaceful.

I’ve walked England’s canal towpaths, cycled the lanes and villages, and I know the landscapes and communities Lucy travels through — the beauty, the quiet tensions, the way a place can look idyllic from the towpath and turn out to be holding its breath. My writing draws on that firsthand knowledge, and on an understanding of village and small-town life that comes from being embedded in it for a long time.

These are mysteries for readers who want more than a puzzle. The crimes are solved through observation, intelligence, and genuine understanding of people. The communities Lucy passes through are warm and complicated in equal measure. And the stories ask questions that stay with you — about how we remake ourselves after loss, what we owe each other, and what happens when the secrets a community has been keeping finally surface.

When I’m not writing, I’m most likely on a country lane or towpath somewhere, discovering the places that will become Lucy’s next destination. At home, a calico cat provides editorial oversight of varying quality. ...more

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P. Thompson's Blog

Theatre Secrets is here

Theatre Secrets — the third Lucy Harford Narrowboat Mystery — is now available from Amazon here in ebook and paperback. A Victorian playhouse. An amateur dramatic company. A painter who sees more than she’s meant to. When former police constable turned narrowboat painter Lucy Harford moors The Curious Cat in the canal basin at Stavewell — accompanied, […]

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Published on April 23, 2026 01:28

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Combine Editions
P. Thompson’s books

Average rating: 4.17 · 41 ratings · 29 reviews · 3 distinct works • Similar authors

	Scarecrow Secrets (Lucy Harford, #1) 4.18 avg rating — 28 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
	Hidden Secrets (Lucy Harford, #2) 4.17 avg rating — 12 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
	Theatre Secrets (Lucy Harford, #3) really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 1 rating — 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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Series by P. Thompson

Lucy Harford (3 books)
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P. Thompson (Goodreads Author)

4.17 avg rating — 41 ratings

P. is Currently Reading

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A Bird in the Hand (George & Molly Palmer-Jones, #1)

by Ann Cleeves (Goodreads Author)

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5 hours, 49 min ago

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Lethal Leith Hill (DI Matthew Goodwin Detective Series Book 4)

by Helen Taylor (Goodreads Author)

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5 hours, 56 min ago

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Neville Goddard: The Complete Reader

by Neville Goddard

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Apr 18, 2026 03:56AM

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P. is currently reading A Bird in the Hand (George & Molly Palmer-Jones, #1) by Ann Cleeves (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
5 hours, 49 min ago · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of A Bird in the Hand by Ann Cleeves. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — A Bird in the Hand by Ann Cleeves <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
P. is currently reading Lethal Leith Hill (DI Matthew Goodwin Detective Series Book 4) by Helen Taylor (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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P. rated a book really liked it A Deadly Discovery (The Woolf & Bell Mysteries #1) by Ciar Byrne	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
Murder mystery in Lewes An interesting murder mystery set around the medieval ruins of Lewes offering a whodunit with lots of characters and possibilities. The only thing I found a little jarring was that everyone involved seemed very tolerant and inc ...more
May 17, 2026 01:08PM · 1 like · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of A Deadly Discovery by Ciar Byrne. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — A Deadly Discovery by Ciar Byrne <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
P. rated a book really liked it A Murder of Crows (Nell Ward, #1) by Sarah Yarwood-Lovett	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
Interesting leading character I liked Dr Nell as the leading character and how her professional life both drew her into and then helped with the situation she found herself in. I found that some aspects of her personal life were, I felt, a bit too te ...more
May 02, 2026 06:52AM · 1 like · like · see review
P. rated a book really liked it Close Call: A Historical Cozy Murder Mystery in an English Village (A Golden Age Telephone Gossips Mystery Book 1) by Isabella Bassett (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
Boil the kettle and open the book A enjoyable cozy to settle down with on a wet afternoon. It takes the Big House setting and offers a look back into a vanished world of people who could spend their lives dining with their neighbours or having Egyptol ...more
May 02, 2026 06:46AM · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Close Call by Isabella Bassett. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Close Call by Isabella Bassett <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
P. is currently reading Close Call: A Historical Cozy Murder Mystery in an English Village (A Golden Age Telephone Gossips Mystery Book 1) by Isabella Bassett (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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P. rated a book really liked it How We Came To Be Here: A novella triple by Sarah Burchett-Cook	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
Interesting blending and reworking I really enjoyed this collection. It’s a light-hearted look at a vampire, a sasquatch, and a witch sharing their life stories over a few drinks in a pub. What makes it work is how "human" the characters feel; they ar ...more
Apr 29, 2026 09:28PM · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of How We Came To Be Here by Sarah Burchett-Cook. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — How We Came To Be Here by Sarah Burchett-Cook <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
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Thoughtful and noapproachable. Operation Forgotten Spire is an interesting dystopian read. The worldbuilding is easily the best part; instead of long explanations, you get details like retinal scans, government partner lists, and neighbours who "disap ...more
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