Author Beverley Jones chats WALES and the new Gŵyl CRIME CYMRU Festival

24th March 2021

An introduction to Gŵyl CRIME CYMRU Festival coming April 29 – May 2 2021 in Aberystwyth (fully online in its inaugural year)

Location, Location, Location?

When you think of Wales, what’s the first thing that springs to mind? Could it be rugby? Sheep-strewn hillsides? Choirs? Beautiful beaches? Tom Jones?

If your first thoughts aren’t murder, mystery, mayhem, secrets and lies (of the crime fiction variety, that is) then you’re not alone.  With crime fiction the biggest selling genre in Britain, and more Welsh crime writers than ever, why does so much Welsh crime fiction still seem to be flying under the radar, compared to its counterparts in Scotland, Ireland and even Scandinavia, with their Noirish detective tales and haunting rural mysteries?

Bev’s dog in the beautiful Welsh countryside

It can’t be because of Wales’ lack of brooding locations.

Each of my seven novels is partly inspired by growing up in the post-industrial South Wales valleys, then by my years working as a journalist and police press officer. I put this insight into ‘true crime’ and the murkier side of human nature straight onto the pages. But also, my husband and I love hiking the stupendously beautiful (often menacing) hills and seashores of our homeland, most recently with our high-energy wire fox terrier, Erin.

Even with an excitable, barky ball of fluff and teeth at my side, there are so many places that hum with sinister energy and possibility here, little spots among the weather-worn panoramas of the Brecon Beacons, for example, that spark ideas, suggest stories, secrets and subterfuge.

Dangerous Terrain

With my novel Halfway, about a group of women who find themselves stranded by a snowstorm at an almost deserted inn, inspiration came from a wintry drive through the old droving heartland, to the market town of Llandovery. At the bottom of a narrow, tree-strung valley was a sign that said ‘Halfway’, close to a faded lady of a boarded-up chapel and a frost-furred war memorial – nothing else. I was fascinated by the idea of a place that exists to let you know you’re between two other more important destinations, and it’s just as far to go back as to go on. It made me think of a turning point, perhaps a choice and also, what a grimly picturesque spot for a murder! So, I invented a pub in the hollow and set a murderer on the road towards it.

Want Ddu Beacons

After the same fashion, the endless skies of the Gower seashore, where we follow tumbly paths to hidden coves, and Erin digs sand pits for Britain, became the inspiration for Where She Went, my only novel with a contemporary supernatural twist. There’s always something sinister lurking just yards away from the rolling bays and stunning sunsets, especially when jealousy and ambition are involved. What if one of those things was a very annoyed TV reporter, determined to solve the mystery of her own disappearance?

Join the Usual Suspects (and meet some new ones).

I’m not alone in finding inspiration on my doorstep. The collective of writers called Crime Cymru, of which I’m a member, features Welsh authors who write everything from psychological thrillers and police procedurals to historical fiction and ghostly crime mysteries. Many are set in Wales, others further afield, but we all think Welsh crime has something special and unique to offer, and it’s time we started telling everyone about it.

That’s why, in 2020 Crime Cymru is launching Wales’ first international crime festival. The Gŵyl CRIME CYMRU Festival, kicking off in Aberystwyth in 2021 (April 29 – May 2) featuring many Welsh authors, alongside household names and international bestsellers.

© AMP Digital – Aberystwyth

Until then, we are bringing armchair detectives an early opportunity to enjoy a Wales’- based crime festival, Virtual CRIME CYMRU Digidol, from April 26 to May 3, 2021, fully online and absolutely free.

Guests already include the bestselling author of the Jack Reacher novels Lee Child, Clare Mackintosh, bestselling author of I Let You Go and I See You, Abir Mukherjee, author of the award-winning British Raj-era historical novels featuring Wyndham and Banerjee, and the hugely popular Elly Griffiths, author of the Ruth Galloway series of mysteries.   

It’s a great time to discover some new authors and see what Wales has to offer crime fans. Who knows, you might even be able to plan a visit soon. Just watch your step – there are dark deeds around every corner!

To book your free festival tickets, sign up for updates at www.GwylCrimeCymruFestival.co.uk or come and find me @bevjoneswriting and the Crime Cymru authors @CrimeCymru @gwylcrimecymrufestival on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

And just to get you in the mood for a virtual trip to Wales, we have selected top titles to take you there!

Halfway by B E Jones (Llandeilo/Cardiganshire)

If everyone is lying, who can you trust?

The Halfway Inn is closed to customers, side-lined by a bypass and hidden deep in inhospitable countryside. One winter’s night, two women end up knocking on the door, seeking refuge as a blizzard takes hold.

But why is the landlord less than pleased to see them? And what is his elderly father trying so hard to tell them?

At the local police station PC Lissa Lloyd is holding the fort while the rest of her team share in the rare excitement of a brutal murder at an isolated farmhouse. A dangerous fugitive is on the run – but how can Lissa make a name for herself if she’s stuck at her desk? When a call comes in saying the local district nurse is missing, she jumps at the chance to investigate her disappearance.

The strangers at Halfway wait out the storm, but soon realise they might have been safer on the road. It seems not all the travellers will make it home for Christmas . . .

None so Blind by Alis Hawkins (19^th Century Teifi Valley, Carmarthenshire/Ceredigion border)

West Wales, 1850.
When an old tree root is dug up, the remains of a young woman are found. Harry Probert-Lloyd, a young barrister forced home from London by encroaching blindness, has been dreading this discovery.

He knows exactly whose bones they are.

Working with his clerk, John Davies, Harry is determined to expose the guilty, but the investigation turns up more questions than answers.

The search for the truth will prove costly. Will Harry and John be the ones to pay the highest price?

A Shadow on the Lens by Sam Hurcom (1940s set – Dinas Powys, South Wales)

1904. Thomas Bexley, one of the first forensic photographers, is called to the sleepy and remote Welsh village of Dinas Powys, several miles down the coast from the thriving port of Cardiff. A young girl by the name of Betsan Tilny has been found murdered in the woodland – her body bound and horribly burnt. But the crime scene appears to have been staged, and worse still: the locals are reluctant to help.

As the strange case unfolds, Thomas senses a growing presence watching him, and try as he may, the villagers seem intent on keeping their secret. Then one night, in the grip of a fever, he develops the photographic plates from the crime scene in a makeshift darkroom in the cellar of his lodgings. There, he finds a face dimly visible in the photographs; a face hovering around the body of the dead girl – the face of Betsan Tilny.

Brass in Pocket by Stephen Puleston (North Wales)

North Wales: It is the middle of the night …The road is deserted …A killer is waiting … Two traffic officers are killed on an isolated mountain pass in North Wales. Inspector Drake is called to the scene and quickly discovers a message left by the killer – traffic cones in the shape of a No 4. The killer starts sending the Wales Police Service lyrics from famous rock songs. Are they messages or is there some hidden meaning in them? Does it all mean more killings are likely? When a politician is killed Drake has his answer. And then the killer sends more song lyrics. Now Drake has to face the possibility of more deaths but with numbers dominating the case Drake has to face his own rituals and obsessions. Finally when the killer threatens Drake and his family he faces his greatest challenge in finding the killer before he strikes again.

Anglesey Blue by Dylan H Jones (Anglesey)

MURDER. BETRAYAL. REVENGE.

It’s not the homecoming Detective Inspector Tudor Manx was expecting, but solving the case is just the start of his problems.

Recently transferred from the London Met to the North Wales Constabulary, Detective Inspector Tudor Manx has come to the Isle of Anglesey hoping for a quiet life.

But his hopes are dashed when a brutally mutilated body is found crucified to the bow of a fishing boat sending shockwaves through the peaceful community.

Manx’s faces pressure to solve the case quickly equipped with an inexperienced team.

Is the body a message or a premonition of more murders to come?

Adding to his mounting problems, Manx’s troubled past returns to haunt him. Manx left the island after the disappearance of his younger sister, Miriam; a cold case that still remains unsolved.

Can Manx solve the case before the body count rises?

How will he cope when he is forced to choose between his family and his duty as a police officer?

This is the first book in the thrilling new DI Tudor Manx series.

A Knot of Sparrows by Cheryl Rees-Price (South Wales Valleys)

Welsh detective Winter Meadows takes on a new murder case

There were a lot of things you could call Stacey Evans. And many of them would be true. And unprintable. But did she deserve to be murdered?

DI Winter Meadows has no doubt of the answer when he takes on the case. The crime was violent. The victim helpless. But the motives are many, and the only clue is a strange word left on Stacey’s body.

DI Meadows struggles to pierce the secrecy surrounding the teenager’s busy love life. Was the killer one of her pursuers acting out of jealousy? Maybe someone’s wife seeking revenge?

But as each suspect is excluded from the enquiry, and other markings turn up, Meadows is convinced that something more sinister is afoot.

When another body is found, a veil of silence descends like a fog upon Gaer Fawr. What more will it take for the village to give up its secrets?

BEVERLEY JONES

Beverley Jones (B E Jones) is a former journalist and police press officer. She was born in a small village in the valleys of South Wales who worked as a print journalist with Trinity Mirror newspapers, before becoming a broadcast journalist with BBC Wales Today.

She also worked as a press officer and media manager for South Wales Police, participating in criminal investigations, security operations, counter terrorism and emergency planning. She channels these experiences of true crime into her dark, psychological thrillers.

Her most recent novels, Where She Went, Halfway and Wilderness are published by Little Brown. Wilderness has recently been optioned by Firebird Pictures for development into a six-part TV series. Her latest novel, The Beach House, is due out in June and is available for pre-order now.

You can follow Bev on Twitter and Instagram @bevjoneswriting

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