Thriller writer, archaeologist and traveller
It's been a couple of rollercoaster months in the crime-writing world. First we had the Sykehouse Festival, quickly followed by the launch of Crime Reading Month in York. My contribution to the latter was to join a panel at Murder in the Rhubarb Triangle in Wakefield. Next it was off north for Shetland Noir. This... Continue Reading →
Tax Havens: How Islands Have Reinvented Themselves For Millenia I had the pleasure of being interviewed by podcaster Ollie Guillou for his series 'What We Did Before'. It was an hour of off-the cuff conversation about the last 10,000 years of Guernsey's history and how the tides of history have washed by the islands. Edited... Continue Reading →
Britain's most northerly crime writing event took place for the third time in Lerwick this June. Organised by Shetland-based author Marsali Taylor and 'Shetland' author Ann Cleeves it ran under the auspices of Shetland Arts. Two dozen items over three days of programming is too much to cover, but here are some highlights. Stewart Bain... Continue Reading →
People occasionally ask 'what's the most exciting thing you've ever discovered? I used to have to think back a decade or two, but no longer. It was last month, May 2026. This year's dig is over and I'm home, fully scrubbed clean, with bruises and scrapes fading. My friends and I have been digging on... Continue Reading →
#sykehousefilmfest2026
Writing a book is hugely enjoyable, but a with anything worthwhile is also an immense challenge. I'm very close to the end of work on what's turned into a labour of love and the final stages require both patience and attention to detail. Our team of archaeological volunteers has worked on the island of Alderney... Continue Reading →
A plaque sits on the Moon, attached to the descent stage of the Lunar Excursion Module Eagle. It reads "Here men from the planet Earth first set foot upon the Moon July 1969, AD. We came in peace for all mankind." I was nine years old when Apollo 11 landed, utterly inspired that night by... Continue Reading →
November is not a great time to travel, with most places being in transition between seasons. I figured Belize should be coming to the end of its rainy season when I set off on a two week trip, starting on 23 November (an auspicious date for anyone paying attention). Didn't quite get it right but... Continue Reading →
Long time, no blog, as the year has ended in a flurry of travelling. Just like most of 2025, in fact. I spent around 120 nights away from home, splitting the year more or less into equal thirds of writing, archaeology and travel. January was mostly spent recovering from the flu, but following the successful... Continue Reading →
Death in the Dales returned for a second year, ably organised by Jean Briggs and Sedbergh Book Town. Tucked away beneath the brooding Howgills and heavy grey skies, Sedbergh hosted a weekend of talks and thoughful entertainment with crime at its heart. Jean Briggs introduced the opening conversation between Martin Edwards and M W Craven.... Continue Reading →
Archaeological digs often feature in novels, or are portrayed on films or documentaries such as Digging for Britain. But if you imagine your own job portrayed in a seven minute TV slot, or serving as part of the backdrop of fiction you'll realise how much more there must be to the real experience of volunteering... Continue Reading →
Many people were surprised when I made last minute decision to go a cruise this January, not least myself. I'm unhappy on boats, dislike crowds, avoid organised fun and hate tipping culture. Winter had been tough, though, and I just didn't have the energy for a fortnight on dirt roads with an Explore trip. Almost... Continue Reading →
AI answers are now appearing on Google searches. I don't trust them, wonder where they get their data from and always dive in and look for references myself. As an experiment I went into 'IAsk AI' with the following question: 'Who is Jason Monaghan?' It was pleasing that it identified me as the subject of... Continue Reading →
The day Blackshirt Rebellion was launched, I had the pleasure of being interviewed by crime blogger Donna Morfett. We ranged far and wide from my origin story to the Jeffrey Flint novels, then on to the Blackshirts. Then as interviews do we went off down side alleys to talk crime writing in general. The whole... Continue Reading →
For some, fascism is not extreme enough It's 1937 and Britain is being led by a fascist government, but Leader's grip on power is challenged by socialist unrest on the streets, by foreign agents and by those with even darker visions for Britain. Hugh and Sissy have become trapped in their roles working within the... Continue Reading →
A best-selling author advised me that an alternative history thriller was always going to be a hard sell. History has a framework of established facts which authors of historical fiction adhere to as closely as practical for the purpose of their plots. However, all historical fiction is alternative history to some extent. Other than facts... Continue Reading →
I paused before writing this week’s blog. Six miles away from where I type there are running battles between the police and a rioting mob. It’s the latest in a series of peaceful protests mixed with rioting that have run through England’s streets during this hot week in July. For the most part the unrest... Continue Reading →
It was a pleasure to be invited to the UK Crime Book Club Live event in Leeds this weekend. The convention was a consistently jolly affair, with plenty of laughs considering the grim topics under discussion. In thirty years of writing I've only spoken on five panels, so it was a double pleasure to be... Continue Reading →
It's quiet...too quiet. Yes this blog has been silent for the last month because I've been away from home and didn't want any of the cat burglars or nervous insurance underwriters who follow it to know. On the first of May, Dig Alderney's team of volunteers started to excavate a large Roman building. We'd explored... Continue Reading →
Flint is back – and with extra content. Lume Books have re-issued the e-book box set of the five Jeffrey Flint archaeology mysteries with new covers, but that’s not all. One feature of my historical thrillers that readers have said they enjoy is the author’s note at the end, so notes have now been added... Continue Reading →
The time has come to launch a newsletter. It will be roughly monthly depending where I am in the world, what I'm writing and whether I'm digging. The title is inspired by Edgar Allen Poe, reflecting that I'll be posting pieces on my whole range of books from historical thrillers to archaeology mysteries plus the... Continue Reading →
A feel-good story in the news is that a guitar stolen from Paul McCartney in an opportunist theft in the 1970s has been returned. When I heard the news I thought “Hofner”, as in conversation with the artist Peter le Vasseur he mentioned including a Hofner in his painting Echoes of Liverpool. The painting came... Continue Reading →
I was contacted by news presenter Kamran Arshad who was interested in how I combined my life as an archaeologist with that of a writer, and how one influenced the other. The full 24 Minute interview is here, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EtmXSFK99TA&t=209s
2023 began with me catching covid again, unfashionably late. Once recovered, January was absorbed by helping clear the family home, so little writing, travelling or archaeology at all! It was minus two the day we filled the skip. By February I managed to get out and about again, hiking over Malham Cove in a balmy... Continue Reading →
Most articles about British fascists in the 1930s mention antisemitism sooner rather than later, and often it’s the only focus of the story. When writing the Room Z series, it is an issue I had to confront straight away. Although there is a light touch to some of Hugh Clifton’s adventures and he throws himself... Continue Reading →
It's publication day for Blackshirt Conspiracy, the second in my series of alternative history thrillers set in a Britain under the shadow of fascism. Cheerful stuff eh? Well, I'll raise a glass to it! Writing a novel is immense fun, but is an incredible amount of work once the research, drafting, editing, re-editing and proofing... Continue Reading →
A British prince falls in love with a divorced American commoner and scandal rocks the establishment. Wouldn’t happen these days, would it? The Abdication Crisis took place in the autumn of 1936 and the relationship between King Edward VIII and his American mistress Wallis Simpson has been portrayed frequently in fiction as a love story,... Continue Reading →
October 4th marks the anniversary of the Battle of Cable Street, one of the most infamous pieces of public disorder in inter-war Britain. For years afterwards, right up to modern times, socialists trumpeted that it was the day British fascism was defeated by the workers, but this is little more than romantic myth. This day... Continue Reading →
For the most part, our fictional heroes are working for the good guys, even if the twists and turns of the plot throw some doubt onto how ‘good’ our masters really are. However, I have been inspired by a thread of books where the hero is working for the bad guys, at least ostensibly, or... Continue Reading →
As part of the launch of the Agents of Room Z series, I enjoyed a transatlantic chat with Verena Main Rose as part of her Hystery Chronicles; Sunday Tea with V podcast series. Among other accomplishments, Verena is a major force behind Malice Domestic. The podcast can be downloaded here: https://tinyurl.com/Twith-V-podcast We talk about how... Continue Reading →
It was hard to believe the coincidence. I wanted an obscure, slightly silly but real English name for a character in Blackshirt Conspiracy. Much was my surprise when I bought a copy of Dorothy L. Sayer’s The Nine Tailors in a second-hand bookshop this weekend, and noticed she had made the same choice 90 years... Continue Reading →
Shetland Noir was a hoot; three full days of panels, seminars and interviews capped by a party, a ceilidh and a quiz. It was only the second time the event had been staged, the most northerly of British crime writing festivals. The venue was the Mareel arts centre, slap on the waterfront at Lerwick where... Continue Reading →
If you aspire to be a published writer yet find the path to becoming a novelist a tricky one, it is worth considering that there is much more non-fiction published than fiction. Manuals, educational books, guidebooks, popular science, hobbies, lifestyle, business and craft books fill the shelves of the bookshops. Narrative history, travel books, biographies... Continue Reading →
Blackshirt Masquerade is historical fiction, so required a fair amount of research before it could be plotted, and then top-up research whilst drafts were in progress. It is set in 1935 when Hugh Clifton is persuaded by MI5 to infiltrate Sir Oswald Mosley's British Union of Fascists. Much of the action and intrigue takes place... Continue Reading →
‘Department Z? That sounds very mysterious.’ ‘Intelligence section,’ Parker said. ‘We identify threats and hunt down traitors.’ ‘Traitors? And what happens to them?’ Although Blackshirt Masquerade is fiction, Department Z really existed. The British Union of Fascists was established in late 1932 by Sir Oswald Mosley and grew rapidly in both support and ambition over... Continue Reading →
Blackshirt Masquerade is the first of a series of novels set in 1930s Britain under the shadow of fascism. Perhaps this is not the right time to read about dark episodes in our past, but perhaps this might be exactly the right time to re-learn the lesson of the chaos and suffering that a man... Continue Reading →
Twenty-five short mysteries by members of the Crime Writer's Association lie in wait in the new anthology Music of the Night edited by Martin Edwards. As the title suggests each story has a musical theme, spanning different genres and settings. It is a great privilege to appear in such a starry line-up of authors. The... Continue Reading →
I love a good epic – and some epics aren’t that good but I’ll watch them anyway. Ancient Rome has long been the inspiration for big-budget movies and television series. I say ‘inspiration’ because scriptwriters have no qualms over dodging hard historical fact to scurry down alleyways of their own. The costume department is often... Continue Reading →
So begins an epigram by Robert Loius Stephenson, which goes on to lament that he may as well have copied the entire work. Choosing a title for your lovingly crafted book can be a problem. You make a list, cross out alternatives one by one, ask your friends, your partner and your agent – and... Continue Reading →
I write mysteries, not police procedurals. Jeffrey Flint, the amateur sleuth of my first series, is an archaeologist so as a writer I must address the challenge of keeping the police out of my plots. If there is an unusual murder in modern Britain it is headline news and the full might of the regional... Continue Reading →
I have that English love of Greece. Coming from chilly Yorkshire, the idea of bathing in the sea, then spending a warm summer evening eating moussaka washed down with cheap retsina is simply magical. Especially now, when the highlight of my month had been driving two miles through the slush to the local garage to... Continue Reading →
The world is not as it should be, it is not the world we want to see, and it is not the world we used to know. Over the past sixty years, concern over Green issues have moved from the hippie fringe to become mainstream. While scientists and campaigners look forward to a better future,... Continue Reading →
This week should have seen the publication of my latest book, ‘Occupation to Liberation’. It would have been launched at the Guernsey Literary Festival, now sadly cancelled, and the launch was one of the 75 events to celebrate 75 years of freedom organised by Visit Guernsey. Although the UK is celebrating VE day this week... Continue Reading →
My latest project is a thriller series set against the rise of fascism in the 1930s. My last novel was Glint of Light on Broken Glass which all in all took three years to research and write, with one of those years being absorbed by getting the detail of 1913-1919 correct. I was helped by... Continue Reading →
Whilst working on a new thriller, and editing the one I 'finished' earlier, I have a new project to keep me out of mischief. I'm teaming up with artist Peter Le Vasseur to produce a book on his life and work. In particular the book will feature Peter's later works with ecological and conservation themes.... Continue Reading →
I'm currently working on both a heavyweight archaeology textbook and a new archaeology mystery series, so it felt like an apt moment to look back at my own career. This involved some crawling around the loft looking for old photographs from the age before digital photography. The earliest dig photographs include my laying in my... Continue Reading →
February is a grim month, so it was a logical idea to spend a fortnight on a cruise ship, using the long days to develop a new novel. Much to my surprise I'd enjoyed my first solo cruise so gave it another go. Marella Cruises were familiar and economic, and I carefully chose the dates... Continue Reading →