Just like buses, good writers seem to come all at once. At least that is how it feels at Hobeck at present. Not that we are complaining at all. We feel privileged to be in the position we are in – we now have five great writers with lots to say to the world.
This week’s new author announcement is Alison Morgan. Alison came late one afternoon in the summer during lockdown with a ping of the inbox. She had written a crime novel, Show No Pity, and wondered whether Hobeck might be interested. We read it. We loved it. We were interested, very.
Show No Pity is the first in a series of novels featuring husband-and-wife private investigators Peddyr and Connie Quirk. They are, as you’d expect, quirky. In Show No Pity their first major case is to help recently divorced Gabby Dixon uncover who’s responsible for declaring her dead and stealing all her money, identity and assets. Is there more to the story than a matter of stolen identity? What would you do if you found yourself suddenly ‘dead’? What will Peddyr and Connie uncover as they try to find out ‘why’? The truth, it turns out, is a lot more sinister than Gabby originally thought.
Adrian and I fell in love with the Quirks immediately as we read the manuscript for this book. We think our readers will love this ‘it could happen to you’ crime novel and will fall for its stars as we have.
From a writing shack in deepest, darkest North Bedfordshire Alison Morgan produces her compelling crime fiction. An ex-mental health nurse, she lives in a small village with her husband, The Bearded Wonder, and their dog Sadie Waggy-tail (no cats this time). In 2016, when her heart developed an electrical fault, Alison was forced to slow down and eventually stop altogether from dragging herself to work as a clinical manager in a specialist psychosis service. She realised that something had to change. Playing to her strengths, while she waited for treatment at the wonderful Papworth Hospital, she was supposed to be writing clinical guidelines for student nurses. But she didn’t. Instead, she set herself a new challenge. She would write a book. It was to be a work of fiction. This decision saved her life.
Crime is her chosen genre for which she blames her father’s bedtime stories when she was a small child. The Big Bad Wolf was big and bad. Hansel and Gretel were in mortal danger at the hands of a cannibalistic witch. Little Red Riding Hood shouldn’t have been in the dark forest alone. But as she listened, wide eyed, as Peter Rabbit ventured into Mr McGregor’s garden, there was no escape for Alison. The thrill of the suspense had her hooked.
Since her debut novel A Justifiable Madness which published in 2017 to glowing reviews, Alison has gone on to produce five more novels under her penname of A B Morgan. There is no stopping her now. She is a writer first and foremost.
Adrian and I were immediately won over by Alison’s refreshing writing style, her quirky and intelligent sense of humour which leaps through every page, her detailed people observation skills as seen in her colourful characters and her ability to keep the reader galloping along with her as the story unfolds.
We feel Alison will be a huge asset to the Hobeck writing team and we can’t wait to introduce you to Peddyr and Connie.
Alison has also written a novella, Old Dogs, Old Tricks, featuring Peddyr and Connie in their first ever case which we will be offering for free to Hobeck subscribers very soon.
More information about Alison and her work can be found on her website.