Off on tour! Well, a virtual one. And it’s a double one shared with renowned historical fiction writer, Helen Hollick!
So far, so normal… Or is it?
The backstory
You know me as the author of the Roma Nova thrillers featuring heroines Carina and Aurelia in four books each. Basically, what if an Ancient Roman society had survived into the 20th and 21st centuries? Of course, the twist was that now women ran it. But all the stories had very firm Roman roots. Although thrillers, they were in the historical fiction genre, specifically the sub-genre alternative history.
So publishing Double Identity on 7 January, a contemporary thriller in the ‘real world’ (whatever that is in a work of fiction!) was a departure.
Little did I know that Helen was plotting a similar departure.
She confessed that she’d decided to have a change from her Saxon, Conquest and pirate fiction and write a murder mystery novella. She’d also wanted to write something where she could use her more than a decade of experience working as a library assistant. The two ideas gelled together and materialised as a ‘cosy mystery’ (more Midsomer Murders rather than Morse). A Mirror Murder was published 13 January.
What’s A Mirror Murder about?
Eighteen-year-old library assistant Jan Christopher’s life is to change on a rainy Friday evening in July 1971, when her legal guardian and uncle, DCI Toby Christopher, gives her a lift home after work. Driving the car, is her uncle’s new Detective Constable, Laurie Walker – and it is love at first sight for the young couple.
But romance is soon to take a back seat when a baby boy is taken from his pram, a naked man is scaring young ladies in nearby Epping Forest, and an elderly lady is found, brutally murdered…
Are the events related? How will they affect the staff and public of the local library where Jan works – and will a blossoming romance survive a police investigation into murder?
A couple of lovely reviews also give a good idea of what the story is about:
“A delightful read about an unexpected murder in North East London. Told from the viewpoint of a young library assistant, the author draws on her own experience to weave an intriguing tale” Richard Ashen (South Chingford Community Library)
“Lots of nostalgic, well-researched, detail about life in the 1970s, which readers of a certain age will lap up; plus some wonderful, and occasionally hilarious, ‘behind the counter’ scenes of working in a public library, which any previous or present-day library assistant will recognise!” Reader Review
What’s Double Identity about?
Deeply in love, a chic Parisian lifestyle before her. Now she’s facing prison for murder.
It’s three days since Mel des Pittones threw in her job as an intelligence analyst with the French special forces to marry financial trader Gérard Rohlbert. But her dream turns to nightmare when she wakes to find him dead in bed beside her.
Her horror deepens when she’s accused of his murder. Met Police detective Jeff McCracken wants to pin Gérard’s death on her. Mel must track down the real killer, even if that means being forced to work with the obnoxious McCracken.
But as she unpicks her fiancé’s past, she discovers his shocking secret life. To get to the truth, she has to go undercover and finds almost everybody around her is hiding a second self. Mel can trust nobody. Can she uncover the real killer before they stop her?
We’d love you to join us on our tour!
We’ll be explaining a lot more about our new books – and why and how we both turned to crime without losing the plot!
And any Tweets (#DoubleMirrorTour) or sharing of posts on Facebook would be most welcome!
FEBRUARY 2021
2nd Tony Riches with Alison https://tonyriches.blogspot.com
3rd Tony Riches with Helen https://tonyriches.blogspot.com
4th Clare Flynn with both of us https://clareflynn.co.uk/blog
5th Derek Birks with both of us https://dodgingarrows.wordpress.com
6th Graham Brack with Helen https://grahambrackauthor.com/blog/
7th Elizabeth St John with both of us http://www.elizabethjstjohn.com/
8th Lucienne Boyce with both of us https://francesca-scriblerus.blogspot.com/
9th Anna Belfrage with Alison https://www.annabelfrage.com/my-blog/
10th Pam Lecky with both of us https://pamlecky.com/blog/
11th Jacqui Brown with Alison Morton – Review http://www.frenchvillagediaries.com
11th Kathryn Gauci will feature both of us in her newsletter
……… (Sign up for it here: https://www.kathryngauci.com/about-the-author/ )
12th Jo Barton with both of us http://jaffareadstoo.blogspot.fr
13th A A Abbott reviewing Double Identity https://aaabbott.co.uk/blog/
14th Cryssa Bazos with both of us https://cryssabazos.com/
15th Chris Longmuir with both of us https://www.chrislongmuir.co.uk
16th Anna Belfrage with Helen https://www.annabelfrage.com/my-blog/
17th A A Abbott with Helen https://aaabbott.co.uk/blog/
18th Jacqui Brown with Alison Morton – ‘From the writing desk’ http://www.frenchvillagediaries.com
Alison Morton is the author of Roma Nova thrillers – INCEPTIO, CARINA (novella), PERFIDITAS, SUCCESSIO, AURELIA, NEXUS (novella), INSURRECTIO and RETALIO, and ROMA NOVA EXTRA, a collection of short stories. Audiobooks are available for four of the series.
Download ‘Welcome to Alison Morton’s Thriller Worlds’, a FREE eBook, as a thank you gift when you sign up to Alison’s monthly email newsletter. You’ll also be among the first to know about news and book progress before everybody else, and take part in giveaways.
[…] Well-written and fast-paced, “Double Identity” is an absorbing read and a perfect piece of escapism during the pandemic. It’s currently on a blog tour, so you can find out more about it here. […]
[…] pure c-incidence, at more-or-less the same time Alison Morton and I both decided to have a go at a different genre. Alison to write a thriller that was more […]