Menu
Buy on Amazon UKBuy on Amazon US

The setting for DI Andy Horton Solent Murder Mystery THE COWES WEEK MURDERS

The inspiration for DI Andy Horton Solent Murder Mystery THE COWES WEEK MURDERS (first published as Death Surge), number ten in the series, came from the area where I live on the South Coast of England.  The Solent is DI Andy Horton's patch, Portsmouth, the surrounding harbours and the Isle of Wight.

All my crime novels are set against the backdrop of the sea. The sea is my brand or trademark if you prefer. I’m often walking the coastal paths looking for a good place to put a body! A fictional one that is. I can't pass a boatyard, beach or bay without thinking there must be a dead body or a skeleton there somewhere that will spark the idea for a new crime novel.

Three locations around the Solent and the harbours are featured in THE COWES WEEK MURDERS - Cowes on the Isle of Wight; the ancient fortifications of the tunnels at the Hilsea Lines, Portsmouth and Fort Gilkicker, Gosport.

Hilsea Lines, Portsmouth

Tunnel at Hilsea Lines, PortsmouthThe Hilsea Lines are a line of fortifications which were built to protect the northern approach to Portsmouth from attack in 1544. They were rebuilt in the 18th and 19th century when there was a renewed threat of a French invasion, which never happened. They belonged to the army, providing barracks, ammunition stores and a series of tunnels beneath the earth mounds, before becoming derelict and overgrown until designated a conservation area with now a series of nature trails around the moat and the creek which once made Portsmouth an island before the two road bridges and motorway were constructed.

Fort Gilkicker

Another location that is featured in THE COWES WEEK MURDERS is Fort Gilkicker, Gosport overlooking the Solent. It's an ancient monument that is to be developed into exclusive houses and apartments.

The fort had originally been built in 1871 to protect Portsmouth harbour and to defend the deep-water anchorage at Stokes Bay. It was abandoned by the military years ago and left to rot by the council; surrounded by a wire fence, out of bounds to the public but inside it are the derelict barracks and ammunition stores. The builders have yet to move in.



Overlooking Portsmouth Moat and Langstone Harbour from Hilsea LinesThe sea has always held a fascination for me and once the sea is in your blood it never leaves you. It seemed only natural for me to turn to it for inspiration for my crime novels. From the setting and (usually a body in the DI Andy Horton crime novels) springs the basic ideas for the plot which is further developed and fleshed out, along with the characters, as the novel progresses.

Click here to view the map of where all the DI Andy Horton crime novels are set.

There are currently sixteen in the Detective Inspector Andy Horton Solent Murder Mystery series with the brand new one, number seventeen, due to be published by Joffe Books in November 2023.

All my crime novels are available on AAmazon Kindle, Kindle Unlimited and Paperback.  Some are also available as audio books.

Happy reading.

Connect

About Pauline

Pauline Rowson lives on the South Coast of England and is the best selling author of many crime novels, published by Joffe Books. Her popular crime novels include the DI Andy Horton Solent Murder Mystery series, the Art Marvik mystery thrillers and the 1950s set Inspector Ryga mysteries. Subscribe to her newsletter for all the latest books news.

×
Back to Top