Eagle-eyed readers of this blog may have seen that I've listed Maureen Carter's
Bad Press as my current read and recently her previous book
Hard Time. This is not just because I had a review copy of
Bad Press but also because
Maureen is giving a talk at Mere Green Library at 11am on Wednesday (a few spaces left if anyone wants to come btw). I had the pleasure of attending a talk by Maureen at my crime reading group when her debut book,
Working Girls was first published in 2001. A slight hiatus ensued but since joining
Creme de la Crime publishers in 2005, she has produced a book a year,
Bad Press being the fifth. Her series stars the feisty, gobby DS Bev Morriss. Her bibliography and links to reviews of her books (written by esteemed reviewer Sharon Wheeler) can be found
here. (I'm enjoying these books enormously as well!)
Maureen joins a select band of authors who set their books in the 'perceived to be' unfashionable/unsaleable-market setting of Birmingham. As far as I know the only crime authors to set a series in Birmingham are:
Valerie Kershaw who wrote a five book series featuring a radio presenter (published between 1993 and 2000)
Judith Cutler who wrote two series set in Birmingham, published between 1998 and 2003, one with an amateur sleuth and another with a policewoman. (She is probably the best well known of the local crime writers, based on my library experience).
Plimmer and Long - an ex-cop and ex-con who co-wrote a two book series between 2000 and 2001.
and
Chris Collett who began a series in 2004 featuring policeman Tom Mariner which stands at four books so far, with a fifth due next year. (Tom Mariner has many female fans in my reading group!)
If anyone knows of any more series set in Birmingham (looking at you Martin E :-)) then do please pop them in the comments.
