Making the most of a wonderful setting….

I was featured in an article a month or so ago in the Belfast Telegraph. I’m Belfast born, and the reporter asked me to talk about my books and why I had chosen to set them in Northern Ireland, a country beset by The Troubles. Was it because I had a history there and was familiar with the landscape, or did I want to feature those famous Troubles as a background for my books?

Yes and no.
I’m not the person to write in depth about The Troubles. I lived through part of them and that was enough for me. It soured my teenage years with fear and anger, restricted my life and saw a beautiful city bombed and shattered. It maimed and killed countless people. No, I did not want to feature that history in my books. I’ll leave that to the historians and perhaps people who can explain and justify violence for any reason. And that continues now, all over the world, does it not?
If you get a moment please have a look at my article, it can be found here…

https://tinyurl.com/bdep6z74

At work…

I write police procedurals. I love to read them, love the careful examination of clues, that moment when the detective gets it, sees the vital piece of the puzzle, solves the crime. I like a bit of light relief too, not all gloom and doom. And I do enjoy a great setting, usually dark and desolate—a little gloomy. The perfect place for a crime. I know that place, the province of Ulster.

But they have crimes too. So, I chose to set my books there, in that great little country, with wonderful characters, funny and kind and fiercely intelligent. Did you know that at least seventeen American Presidents are descended from the North of Ireland? It’s on Wikipedia.
I have two books now in my Belfast Murder Series featuring Detective Sergeant Ryan McBride. While obviously they contain the themes of murder and violence, most of that is off the page. I also try to add depth of character and a fair dose of humor to my stories. And there’s that wonderful setting of course… rain and wind and grey skies.

Book One: A Nice Place to Die.

The body of a young woman is found by a river outside Belfast and Detective Sergeant Ryan McBride makes a heart-wrenching discovery at the scene, a discovery he chooses to hide even though it could cost him the investigation – and his career.
The victim was a loner but well liked. Why would someone want to harm her? And is her murder connected to a rapist who’s stalking the local pubs? As Ryan untangles a web of deception and lies, his suspects die one by one, leading him to a dangerous family secret and a murderer who will stop at nothing to keep it.
And still, he harbors his secret…

Book Two: Blood Relations

Belfast, Northern Ireland: early spring 2017. Retired Chief Inspector Patrick Mullan is found brutally murdered in his bed. Detective Sergeant Ryan McBride and his partner Detective Sergeant Billy Lamont are called to his desolate country home to investigate. In their inquiry, they discover a man whose career with the Police Service of Northern Ireland was overshadowed by violence and corruption. Is the killer someone from Mullan’s past, or his present?
And who hated the man enough to kill him twice?
Ryan and Billy once again face a complex investigation with wit and intelligence, all set in Belfast and the richly atmospheric countryside around it.

Glens of Antrim

For more info, please visit my website.
https://www.jwoollcott.com

This is my last post and I hope you enjoyed it.
And if you’re a writer, keep writing, if you’re a reader keep reading… life is short.