Author Archives: thornemoore

NEW BOOK: warming up for COLD IN THE EARTH

I have a new book! It will be officially published on 7th November, a chilly time of year, which is okay because it’s called Cold In The Earth. My last crime novel, Bethulia, featured a young detective constable called Rosanna Quillan, and she plays a central part in this new book too, but I wouldn’tContinue reading “NEW BOOK: warming up for COLD IN THE EARTH”

Oh for a snapshot of the past.

I do wish that throughout my childhood, teens and early adult years, I and my family had viewed cameras as a means of documenting everyday life, instead of taking endless snaps of cute kids or holiday views. My mother did take a lot of photos of us, and she valued them all, filling endless albumsContinue reading “Oh for a snapshot of the past.”

New Title, New Cover, Same Tale.

First there was A Time For Silence, my domestic noir novel set in the present day and in the North Pembrokeshire of the 1930s and 40s. Who killed John Owen and why was no one caught? A moody blue cover with a photo of a cottage very near me. Then there was The Covenant, anContinue reading “New Title, New Cover, Same Tale.”

NEW BOOK: Consequential Short Stories

I’ve always been a reader, the longer the book the better. I like disappearing into vast tomes or, better still, series. If I’d been asked, as a child, if I’d like a collection of short stories, my answer would have been an emphatic no. It would never have occurred to me to read something thatContinue reading “NEW BOOK: Consequential Short Stories”

Policing the Historical Facts and Fictions. III

We had thief catchers, and Bow Street Runners. Then, finally, in 1829, Bobbies, or Peelers, came along, when Sir Robert Peel established the Metropolitan Police Service with Commissioners, Superintendents, Inspectors, Sergeants and 895 Constables.  If you are writing crime fiction, even for TV, it’s important to get the ranks right. How did Christopher Foyle manageContinue reading “Policing the Historical Facts and Fictions. III”

Policing the Historical Facts and Fictions. II

Kings made laws and they wanted to see them enforced by more than wishful thinking. Someone had to do it. In England, the Normans preserved the Saxon role of Shire Reeve, or Sheriff, an appointed protector of the King’s interests in every county, with soldiers at his command. They could be hard-hearted extortionists, like RobinContinue reading “Policing the Historical Facts and Fictions. II”