Closing the case file on 2023
Closing the case file on 2023
A launch on Substack, a scoop and what's ahead…
Thought I’d make this a light post.
It’s a holiday week with serious year-end vibes, so I just wanted to say thanks to those who have interacted with me via Persons Unknown in its fledgling months.
I launched this Substack in May as a platform to write about non-fiction crime, meet people with similar interests and hopefully engage with a few readers of my books.
I have gradually adjusted the kind of post I am doing, having found at first that writing major articles on big subjects every week was too big a task.
I’m still finding my way. Substack is a large platform with a lot of brilliant tools and guides, so it does take time to get it right for your individual style and interests.
After 54 years, a new development
The post from 2023 that gave me the most satisfaction came from my being contacted by an 83-year-old former Metropolitan Police laboratory staff member. Anthony Phillips contacted me because of the book I’d written on the Hammersmith Nude Murders of the early 1960s in London.
He told me he had worked on the case and had never spoken to anybody about his extraordinary experience during and after this huge manhunt, which failed to snare a serial killer of young women.
This was something of a scoop for Persons Unknown in its early months. I’m wondering whether there can possibly be further revelations in 2024.
Apart from that, I will continue to write about extraordinary cases, interview experts, and highlight the best new non-fiction crime writing, podcasts and TV dramas.
Crime Beat and the CWA conference
First up, I’m doing an interview with the Crime Beat radio show next Friday. I’ll be chatting to presenter Ron Chepesiuk about my 2023 book The Real Ted Hastings.
The book looks at the real-life corruption cases that feature in the stories on the hit BBC TV drama Line of Duty. Apparently, Ron is a fan of the series so it should be interesting to talk to him (I have been interviewed about the book by people who’ve never seen the show!).
I’m also delighted to be getting word about The Real Ted Hastings in north America.
In addition, I’m looking forward to the Crime Writers’ Association conference in Brighton in April. I’ll be on a panel talking about research strategies for writers of crime fiction and non-fiction.
In the meantime, I have a book proposal with a publisher for a book about a wartime series of crimes. Fingers crossed it gets the green light as I think it will have some some previously unseen and interesting material in it.
Finally, here’s to a more peaceful, less corrupt, chilled out New Year.
See you in…
