Dual timeline novel set around the world
Talking Location with G B Rubin – YORK
4th December 2025
TalkingLocationWith G B Rubin, author of Murder at Christmas: You Solve The Crime, where you – the reader – play the part of Dr Kinn Tenor, searching for clues in the city. A city that has seen its fair share of murders over the years!
Over to G B Rubin:
If you’re looking for a fab background for a beheading, you can’t do better than York. The Vikings had some of their best fights here; and who can say anything against the Wars of the Roses: three decades of first-rate murders and backstabbings?
It’s why I chose York as the setting for my new book, Murder At Christmas – You Solve The Crime, a choose-your-own-adventure-style murder mystery, in which the reader is the detective and gets to direct the storyline (‘if you want to question the maid, turn to page 55, or if you want to investigate the strange sounds coming from the woodshed, turn to page 117’ etc).
The book is written as a gift for anyone who loves 1930s-set mysteries – or York, for that matter, since my cast of suspicious characters spend the day in the city before jumping on a train to Harrogate. That train is soon snowbound, however, and a gruesome and seemingly impossible murder takes place during a Christmas magic show on board.
So far so good, but if you’re looking to bump someone off in York itself, I recommend one of the following locales.
The Shambles
If Dickens and a mediaeval butchers’ guild had a love child, it would be the Shambles (which literally means ‘butchery place’). The houses lean inwards so tightly you imagine them swapping gossip about tourists.
Just picture the chase scene: cobbles slippery with drizzle, your victim darting into a narrow passage as your footsteps echo off centuries-old wood. You disposing of the murder weapon in an alleyway while the hue and cry rises around you and grizzled reporters start filing their stories. But remember this is York. The ghosts were here first, and they’ll want to be included in your plans.
York Minster
The Minster is one of the most exquisite Gothic cathedrals in Europe, and naturally that makes it one of the best places to do someone in with operatic flair. Think of the soaring arches. The stained glass windows. The organ that could drown out anything short of a brass band in a typhoon.
Churches are target-rich environments for the artistic killer with an interest in architecture. A body discovered beneath the Great East Window? A secret hidden in the undercroft? A victim who, in true melodramatic fashion, flees up the central tower because they’ve clearly never seen a police procedural? Oh dear oh dear.
The City Walls
York’s city walls are wonderful for stretching the legs, admiring views, and spotting suspicious figures lurking behind crenellations. These two-mile stone walkways offer a natural route for both pursuit and escape. Maybe do it on motorbike for a spot of action too.
Clifford’s Tower
Perched dramatically above the city, Clifford’s Tower is essentially the brooding teenage poet of York’s landmarks: atmospheric, windswept, and fond of tragic backstory.
A clandestine meeting at twilight? You could pass it off as a tragic accident or a jilted lover throwing himself off the ramparts to prove his love. Just make sure you wear sensible shoes. Those steps are not here to play.
The Snickelways
York’s Snickelways – narrow, wriggling passages with names that sound like characters from children’s books – are irresistible for anyone with homicidal intent. Mad Alice Lane. Whip-Ma-Whop-Ma-Gate. Each one practically demands to be the setting of something mysterious, preferably involving a lantern and a muffled scream.
These twisted little routes allow first-class mysterious vanishing into the autumnal mist.
The River Ouse
Rivers in crime fiction often behave with melodramatic bravado: torrents, storms, swirling depths, all that. The Ouse, by contrast, tends to quietly rise, surprise everyone, nip into a pub along King’s Staith, and then politely recede.
But don’t let it fool you. With a wintry scene around, you could quite plausibly get your cousin drunk, then push him over the side of a small rowing boat because you’re rivals for your grandmother’s fortune. Or for any other reason, for that matter. Then you just have to appear in the local paper looking distraught and calling for greater understanding of water safety.
Betty’s
Murder is hungry business. Those axes don’t just swing themselves, you know. You need to build up some energy, take on carbs. So Betty’s tea room is the place to load up before knocking someone off their perch. Her famous Fat Rascal – a giant scone, if you like – will provide a decent energy boost while you’re disposing of the body in a shallow grave. Enjoy yourself!
Murder at Christmas: You Solve The Crime’ by G.B. Rubin is just published by Simon and Schuster at £16.99.
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