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, comes from locations where I live on the South Coast of England in the Solent area. This 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.
Two locations around the sea and the harbours are featured in THE COWES WEEK MURDERS - the tunnels at the Hilsea Lines, in Portsmouth and Fort Gilkicker, Gosport overlooking the Solent.
Hilsea Lines, Portsmouth
The 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.
DI Andy Horton at the top of the Hilsea Lines looking down across the moat and to Langstone Harbour.Fort Gilkicker
Another location that is featured in THE COWES WEEK MURDERS is Fort Gilkicker, Gosport overlooking the Solent, 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. The 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.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ I've found my next favorite mystery writer. Fast action, great plot and a twist at the end. Who could ask for more?" Amazon
"A crisply written, cleverly plotted procedural with a nice twist, Rowson’s latest also continues the intriguing saga of Andy’s search for the mother who disappeared in mysterious circumstances when he was a child." Booklist.
THE COWES WEEK MURDERS is available on Kindle and in paperback
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POSTED BY: PAULINE ROWSON
JULY 11TH, 2022 @ 6:27:08 BST
JULY 11TH, 2022 @ 6:27:08 BST
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