1107 ratings | 357 reviews | avg rating:4.86

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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

10 posts
P. Thompson's Blog

A Stone Bridge, a Quiet Reach, and a Secret That Will Not Stay Buried

Towpath Secrets, the fourth Lucy Harford Narrowboat Mystery, moors up this July. Lucy Harford has spent the better part of two years on the water now, and she has learned to read a place before she has driven in the second pin. Barrow Reach looks, on that first evening, like everything she came to the […]

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Published on June 16, 2026 06:05

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Combine Editions
P. Thompson’s books

Average rating: 4.19 · 43 ratings · 30 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) 4.33 avg rating — 3 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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Series by P. Thompson

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

4.19 avg rating — 43 ratings

P. is Currently Reading

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The Salt House

by Sharon Calleja (Goodreads Author)

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Jun 12, 2026 10:31AM

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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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Genesis Flood Revisited

by Andrew A. Snelling

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Nov 19, 2025 11:24AM

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P.’s Recent Updates

P. Thompson wrote a new blog post A Stone Bridge, a Quiet Reach, and a Secret That Will Not Stay Buried Towpath Secrets, the fourth Lucy Harford Narrowboat Mystery, moors up this July. Lucy Harford has spent the better part of two years on the water now, Read more of this blog post »
6 hours, 35 min ago · like
P. is currently reading The Salt House by Sharon Calleja (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
Jun 12, 2026 10:31AM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of The Salt House by Sharon Calleja. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — The Salt House by Sharon Calleja <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
P. rated a book really liked it A Share in Death (Duncan Kincaid & Gemma James, #1) by Deborah Crombie (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
Atmospheric I enjoyed the book - a police procedural that isn't a police procedural. Kincaid is on holiday and he encounters and responds to the murders largely in his off duty mode with the help of on-duty Gemma. The time-share setting makes an atmo ...more
Jun 11, 2026 06:09AM · like · see review
P. rated a book really liked it 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
Layered plot There were some elements of the book I was less keen on: the telegraphing of some things that would develop later and also being told things by the narrator voice rather than finding out through the characters. These however did not stop ...more
May 31, 2026 01:04PM · 2 likes · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Lethal Leith Hill by Helen Taylor. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Lethal Leith Hill by Helen Taylor <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
P. is currently reading A Share in Death (Duncan Kincaid & Gemma James, #1) by Deborah Crombie (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
May 31, 2026 01:02PM · like
P. rated a book really liked it 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
Layered plot There were some elements of the book I was less keen on: the telegraphing of some things that would develop later and also being told things by the narrator voice rather than finding out through the characters. These however did not stop ...more
May 31, 2026 01:01PM · 2 likes · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Lethal Leith Hill by Helen Taylor. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Lethal Leith Hill by Helen Taylor <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
P. rated a book really liked it 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
Atmospheric Reading this earlier work of Ann Cleeves was interesting and enjoyable. It helped me see how her craft has developed and it also gave me as a reader a wonderful atmospheric setting - marshland and twitchers. I liked her description of the ...more
May 25, 2026 02:00AM · 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 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
May 24, 2026 01:45PM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Lethal Leith Hill by Helen Taylor. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Lethal Leith Hill by Helen Taylor <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
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