Murder, Mystery & Mayhem
Date Added: 20/10/2021
The Central Beds Crime Festival
In Conversation with Amanda Brittany
Friday 5 November at 7.45pm
Shefford Methodist Church Hall
One of the advantages of reading a crime book by a local author, is that you may come across familiar locations. In the case of Amanda Brittany, Her Last Lie has references to Hitchin, Letchworth and Stevenage, where you might meet a mysterious red-headed man.
A second advantage, is that there is the opportunity to hear her in discussion as part of Central Beds Crime Festival. Amanda will be at Shefford Methodist Church Hall, High Street, Shefford, on Friday 5th November at 7.45pm.
Tickets cost £5 or £3 for consessions and multiple event bookings. Ticket price includes entry to a prize draw for a book signed by the author and can be bought online here.
Amanda Brittany’s books are thrillers: tense, page turners, often with a sense of the past catching up on characters, unawares. She is a comparatively new writer, with her debut crime thriller, Her Last Lie, published as a digital first by HQ Digital (part of HarperCollins) in 2018.
Her Last Lie is a book full of twists. It is one of those books where you may get to the end and then immediately start re-reading, to work out where you missed the significant clues! Hint: watch out where the narrator changes.
Her second novel, Tell the Truth, is perhaps my favourite. This also has murderous twists, unexpected turns and high tension throughout, but in addition has a more developed main character, who is struggling to deal with her mother’s dementia. The dementia becomes a clever plot strategy for why she cannot find out about her past. The story can be summed up in the character’s musing:
“I often wondered if we are three different people in our lifetime. The child. The adult. And the person we become when we realise the mistakes we’ve made.”
Traces Of Her is arguably her closest book to a traditional murder mystery, except that the investigator might become the next murder victim.
Amanda Brittany has written two thrillers in collaboration with the writer Karen Clarke: The Perfect Nanny and The Secret Sister.
The Perfect Nanny is not recommended for anyone who gets upset by stories where bad things happen, or might happen to children!
Amanda Brittany’s latest book, The Island House was published in print on 14th October, and is available as ebook through our Libby app.
It has a Gothic setting in Whitby and starts with a similar premise to Traces of Her and Tell the truth, with a female character trying to discover secrets from her family's past.
You may reserve Amanda Brittany's books at no charge, to collect from your local library. Some are also available as ebooks and audiobooks, through Libby. Her books will also be on sale at the event. There will be the opportunity to ask her questions and hear about her books, writing and inspiration.
Murder, Mystery and Mayhem - author programme
We are pleased to be offering the opportunity to meet a great selection of crime authors at community venues across the county. So whether you enjoy a good psychological thriller, a classic whodunit or are keen to try something new we are sure you will find something to interest you.
Gytha Lodge & Rachael Blok: Mon 8 Nov 7pm at The Rufus Centre, Flitwick
Adam Croft: Tues 9 Nov 7pm at Methodist Church Hall, Ampthill
AB Morgan: Wed 10 Nov 7pm at Orchard Community Centre, Biggleswade
Peter Laws: Fri 12 Nov 7pm at Cranfield Village Hall, Cranfield
Cara Hunter: Sat 13 Nov 2pm at Priory View, Dunstable
Adam LeBor: Sat 13 Nov 6pm at Priory View, Dunstable
Tickets for all our author events are available online and cost £5 for a single event or £3 if you book for mulitple events. All tickets include entry to a prize draw to win a book signed by the author.