Like False Money – book 1 (included in the trilogy Falling Into Crime)
The series opens with Annie Raymond, in desperate financial straits, arriving in Hull to take a temporary job with a private investigator. ‘I unexpectedly found the perfect setting for mystery stories when I placed this book in Holderness and on the banks of the Humber,' Penny says. ‘The landscape comes to play a key role in this and several later books.’
The opening scene from Like False Money
The film he shot the day before yesterday plays through
Terry’s head. A dull, malodorous corridor thick with stale dust. A locked door.
That awful close-up. Bile rushes the back of his throat. In the dark and the
panic, he must have caught the zoom control. His clenched fists drive
fingernails into palms. When he gets back he’ll edit that bit out.
Forget what it shows. Remember only that it’s worth big
bucks. Terry peers through the windows of the killer’s house, but it still lies
empty. He isn’t in control, can’t threaten someone he can’t find.
Read the full chapter on THIS LINK.
* * *
The Jawbone Gang – book 2 (included in the trilogy Falling Into Crime)
Annie Raymond has stayed in Hull but is getting seriously
itchy feet. The book opens on a scene between two shady characters who will
later ask Annie to work for them. Penny says, ‘This story explores the role
of a PI in the aftermath of a criminal case when the official work is over but
not everyone is satisfied that enough has been done. Later books in the series delve
deeper into the sometimes blurred line between private and official
investigation.’
The opening scene from The Jawbone Gang
Night-time mist lay over the vegetation at the sides of the
lane, blurring the contours where the fields melted into darkness.
Peering into a murky landscape that had largely swallowed
the light, the woman punctuated the silence with urgent whispers. ‘There, Ronnie. What did I tell you? Just look.
It’s her ... No, it’s him ... Is that a wheelbarrow...? What are they
doing, Ron...? Can you see...? Oh God!
Keep down. They’re coming this way.’
Read the full scene on THIS LINK.
* * *
The Doll Makers – book 3 – Winner of a CWA Crime Fiction Dagger (included in the trilogy Falling Into Crime)
In this novel, Annie, who left Hull for a prestigious job in London, is in big trouble. ‘I
love this book for winning its Dagger and opening doors for me,’ Penny says,
‘but I also loved exploring Scotland in its pages, and hope to return sometime
in another book.’
The opening scene from The Doll Makers
The words changed on the long drive north. Annie’s
determination did not.
In the Ladies at Leicester Forest East, where she stopped to
top up – coffee for her, water for the car – she pulled a comb through her hair
and practiced what she would say. Dad. I have bad news. It was the antithesis
of the old coming-home fantasy, where her short-cropped hair would be a little
longer, her five feet two inches would be clad in a smart business suit, and
she’d smile as her father said, ‘I always knew you had it in you, Annie’. She’d
failed his every expectation since she was eight years old, and now at
twenty-eight she was about to turn his life upside down.
Read the full chapter on THIS LINK.
The first three books are available as a trilogy, Falling Into Crime.
* * *
Where There’s Smoke – book 4
In Where There's Smoke, Annie unexpectedly comes face to face with an adversary from
her early career. ‘Feedback from a reader about Like False Money put this idea in my
head,’ Penny says, ‘but at the time I didn’t know how to write it. By book 4,
I’d figured it out.’
The opening scene from Where There’s Smoke
Waves slapped against the low sides of the boat, saltwater
splashing in the darkness, pinpricks on Vitoria’s skin. The night air cut
across her, emphasizing her sense of isolation, but she felt no fear, just an
exhilaration she held tight to herself. Too soon to celebrate.
Read the full chapter on THIS LINK.
* * *
Buried Deep – book 5
For the first time, one of Annie’s cases lands in the middle
of an official police investigation. ‘It was fascinating to
weave the reality of a police investigation into the PI’s world,’ Penny says. ‘It
led to big trouble for everyone.’
The opening scenes from Buried Deep
Billy inched the tractor forward feeling a flutter in his
chest as the giant offside wheel sank in the soft earth. Then it climbed,
righting itself, and he blew out a tiny sigh. Razor-sharp judgement kept these
beasts standing tall, and this close to the edge the minutest of errors would
spell catastrophe.
Read the first two chapters on THIS LINK.
* * *
Tiger Blood – book 6
Uniquely in the series, in Tiger Blood, Annie and her colleagues are minor
characters. The action moves to York and focuses on the police
team first introduced in Buried Deep. ‘I enjoyed the challenge of writing about
a police investigation in Buried Deep and took things a step further in this one,
making the police action the main event,’ Penny notes, but goes on to add,
‘After this, I returned to the world of private investigation.’
Check out Tiger Blood HERE.
* * *
Syrup Trap City – book 7
Annie returns both to a lead role and to Hull just as the
city is preparing for its 2017 City of Culture year. ‘The most problematic part
of this book to write,’ Penny says, ‘concerned Blade, a City of Culture art installation. I wrote about these problems in a postscript to the
book.’
Read the first chapter on THIS LINK.
* * *
Boxed In – book 8
A character who hasn’t been seen in a lead role since The
Doll Makers makes a comeback in this book, bringing a major push for change,
but there are choppy waters to navigate along the way. Talking about the book’s
setting, Penny notes, ‘It’s a difficult task to hide, lose, or steal a
giant shipping container, especially in a country like England, but although the crimes are fictional, the things
that happen to the shipping containers in this book are all based on fact.’
Check out Boxed In HERE.
* * *
Death By Column Inches
If you are a fan of something different in the crime genre, check out Death By Column Inches. This is an adult crime novel which follows the fortunes of a group of 11 year olds, in the early 1990s, who study a murder trial as part of a school project.
The book’s opening scenes can be read HERE.
* * *
Pre-teen Fantasy Series
Penny, writing as Melodie Trudeaux, has also written two books of a pre-teen fantasy series.
When asked if there are more to come, she says, ‘I was going to tell you that when I wrote the words “The
End” on the second book, I felt that the adventure was done and had nowhere else to
go. However, your question reminds me that I felt exactly the same after I finished the first book. It was about a year later that the sequel
came to me, so I guess the real answer is that I don’t know.’
The opening chapters are available to read on these links:
Learn more about Penny and her writing HERE.
