My debut historical crime novel about the murder at 13 Park Lane will be published by Bloodhound Books

I am beyond thrilled

Just a short post to update you on this project. My novel 13 Park Lane about Marguerite Diblanc and her murder of Madame Riel has been accepted by Bloodhound Books, who will publish it on 28 October 2024.

Marguerite Diblanc: the perpetrator

As you may know the novel is based on a real case, in which Belgian cook Marguerite Diblanc murdered her employer in the kitchen of 13 Park Lane on the morning of Sunday 7 April 1872.

I have fictionalised strands of the story but one thing I did not make up is the fact that George Bingham, the 3rd Earl of Lucan was caught up in the murder.

Julie Riel: French actress living in London

At the time of the trial, the gossip was that the victim of the crime, 46-year-old French widow Marie Caroline Besson Riel, was his mistress. That was probably something Lucan himself tried to push — in order to hide the fact that it was her 25-year-old actress daughter Julie who was the object of his attentions. He was 72 at the time (and had another much younger mistress who bore him 4 children).

Lucan is not the focus on the book, which spans the forests of the Gaume in Belgium to the Siege of Paris and the Commune to London’s West End. But he is an eye-catching part of it. Also I loved researching his evidence at the Old Bailey trial - he is so squirming.

The victim: mysterious widow Madame Riel

I am delighted that Bloodhound Books has given me this opportunity to share this amazing story with you. It is difficult to concentrate but I am hard at work on the next project, which is a 19th-century crime mystery set in gritty Lambeth on the south side of the Thames.

Oh, and finally, I will change the title of this blog to reflect my new directions — I haven’t thought up a suitable new name yet, so any ideas gratefully received.

And finally finally here is my author page at Bloodhound.