OnLymeCrime

This weekend I should have been in Lyme Regis for the inaugural Lyme Crime festival. Sadly, COVID-19 put paid to that, but unlike most similar events, the estimable Paddy Magrane and his team decided that the show must go on (virtually).

I think it worked really well. Of course there's no substitute for being physically present at a festival, but the panels ran really smoothly over Zoom, and it was great that people were able to tune in from all over.

I was part of two events (one for What She Saw Last Night with Susi Holliday, one for Hunted with Tony Kent), and you can watch them both here.

I guess that's one advantage over live in person festivals - anyone in the world can 'attend' a panel, months after it's happened.

First up on Thursday, an encore version of the Train Noir tour Susi and I embarked on last Autumn. We talked about our train-themed mysteries and why night trains are so popular in crime fiction.


Then on Saturday morning, Tony Kent and I discussed our new action thrillers, and talked about the mechanics of a thriller in Setting the Pace. This one was live, so we were getting questions from the viewing audience, which worked pretty well.



There are over a dozen panels available to watch again at the Lyme Crime YouTube page, so head over there, subscribe, and experience a book festival from the comfort of your living room.

Lyme Crime - see me twice!

Rather greedily, I'm going to be appearing at OnLyme Crime twice - once as Mason Cross, once as Alex Knight.

First up, I'm doing the TRAIN NOIR panel with SJI Holliday. We did a Train Noir tour in the Autumn for What She Saw Last Night and Susi's brilliant thriller Violet and it was so much fun, so I'm looking forward to the (virtual) reunion.

Then, on Saturday morning, I'm teaming up with Tony Kent for SETTING THE PACE, which should be a lot of fun too. He'll be talking about Power Play, which I read this year and absolutely loved. It's also the first-ever event for Alex Knight and for Hunted.

As you would expect, this is a virtual festival, and details of how to book your free ticket will be available soon, check out the Lyme Crime Facebook page for more details and the rest of the lineup.

Thursday 25th June, 6pm

Train Noir

SJ Holliday and Mason Cross discuss their most recent novels, both of which are set on trains, talking about the journeys that inspired them and how this particular form of travel lends atmosphere, momentum and claustrophobia to a thriller.

Saturday 27th June, 11am

Setting the Pace

When a book becomes a rollercoaster. Thriller authors Alex Knight and Tony Kent reveal the secrets to writing a page-turner.

What She Saw Last Night - 99p Kindle deal

Happy New Year!

What She Saw Last Night is on sale today in UK ebook for 99p. If you haven't read it yet, pick it up now! If you have, please tell a friend.

As usual, the Kindle price is being matched by Kobo, Google and iTunes.

"Delivered with the kind of writerly acumen we have come to expect from Cross." - Financial Times

"If you like your thrillers fast-paced, with lots of surprises along the way, this is definitely for you." - Heat

"Gripping Stuff" - Daily Mail

    "A chase thriller that begins as a locked-room puzzle" - Morning Star

"A truly original thriller, reminiscent of Hitchcock and Christie." - Woman's Way

Buy What She Saw Last Night here

The Gigantic Blog Tour

As you may have noticed if you follow me on Twitter or Facebook, all this month, I've been fortunate to have a deluge of book blogger reviews around the paperback release of What She Saw Last Night. My tour was put together by a couple of experts: Alex Layt from Orion and Tracey Fenton of compulsivereaders.com  Big thanks to them and the (literal) dozens of bloggers below.

I've been blown away by both the number of reviews and how good the general consensus is. Here's what they said (click through for full reviews)...

MoMo Book Diary

"Loved every minute of this book and highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys a good suspense thriller – but maybe not for anyone who travels on the sleeper…"

A Knight's Reads

"The fast paced chase up and down the country kept me glued to the pages right to the very end."

Love the Smell of a Book

"A story that had me hooked from the first few pages and kept me hooked throughout."

Joy Kluver

"This was my first M.J. Cross read – it won’t be my last."

Suze Reviews

"A character driven thriller, with a hugely believable and relatable protagonist and strong supporting players"

Bookish Blogging

"I read this in one day, desperate to finish it, and genuinely almost missed my train stop!"

Jan's Book Buzz

"There’s danger, twists, secrets and lies and our two intrepid investigators need to overcome the odds to get to the bottom of a mystery that has them baffled. All of it makes for a thrilling, page-turning read."

Shalini's Books & Reviews

"I loved it. A fantastic rip-roaring thriller of a read."

Liz Loves Books

"Creatively clever to keep you turning the pages this is definitely one of those “just one more chapter before bed” books that ultimately finds you finishing it bleary eyed in the early hours. With everything I look for in my crime fiction right here I can’t do anything except highly recommend it."

The Bookwormery

"The tension builds making this a real nail biter of a thriller. Brilliant."

Roachie's Reviews

"What She Saw Last Night is a fantastically fast-paced thriller, which really doesn’t slow down until the bitter end."

Steph's Book Blog

"A great standalone introduction to Mason Cross."

Rachel Read It

"The plot is as claustrophobic and air tight as the tiny ‘room’ (read cupboard!) aboard the Caledonian sleeper that Jenny is travelling on and the plot is as taut as the tightrope Jenny balances on as she assesses her own sanity and the truth of what she saw with her own eyes."

Mac Reviews Books

"Mason has created a fantastic story, stifling settings and memorable characters. I can’t wait to read more."

West's Words

"What She Saw Last Night is pure escapism which you’ll eagerly consume in a maximum of two sittings."

GNTxReads

"I found myself racing through the final pages. Afterwards I was left feeling exhausted from such a brilliant psychological thriller, and needed a warm cup of tea to calm down!"

Alex J Book Reviews

"Cross paces this perfectly, culminating in a fast adrenaline filled cracker of a finale."

Stacy is Reading

"What She Saw Last Night is a fly by the seat of your pants thriller with enough twists and turns en route to satisfy any Train Noir fan out there."

Nicki's Book Blog

"Loved this. One to enjoy and envelop you."

Books from Dusk till Dawn

"There are some really hairy moments within these pages from an author who definitely knows how to shock and throw his readers off-balance."

One More Word

"The pacing of the book was great – it was filled with short snappy chapters, changes in POVs and the plot was littered with little cliff-hangers. "

RamblingMads

"The plot whizzes along, the writing is tight and carries you along with it, just like a train."

What Do I Read Now?

"This is a great read and even greater the twists that crop up throughout."

Karen Reads and Recommends

"a fabulous page turner that is gripping, unpredictable and has a real dark side"

My Chestnut Reading Tree

"An entertaining suspense thriller with a gripping storyline"

Lost in the Land of Books

"It’s an emotional read that has you hooked from start to finish, it keeps you on your toes and every so often your a bit thrown because it becomes so unpredictable. "

Bookish Jottings

"What She Saw Light redefines compulsively readable thrillers and this is one nerve-twisting and heart-pounding page-turner that is impossible to put down and difficult to forget."

Kelly's Book Space

"I was hooked right from the start and with all the twists and turns the story took I was very reluctant to put the book down, I just wanted to know what would happen next."

Night Time Reads

"Not only did this make me late for work but because I was running late my son got a detention for being late to school."

Baker's Not So Secret Blog

"I was gripped from start to finish and couldn’t read this fast enough."

Book After Book

"I loved the plot, I loved the protagonist and her determination in finding out the truth, no matter the cost, I loved the setting and the dark atmosphere. What She Saw Last Night is a compulsive and thrilling story full of twists and shocking surprises and kept me glued to the pages until the very end."

MyBookishBlogspot

"The isolation of the Highlands played its part wonderfully as the novel wound itself up into a thrilling ending that had me sat on the edge of my seat."

Varietats

"If you are searching for a mystery with some Agatha Christie plot and a little girl missing, this is the book you’ll have to read right now."

Hair Past a Freckle

"Gripping, emotional and devastating; this is a superbly crafted thriller and it gives me enormous pleasure to wholeheartedly recommend it.”

Hooked From Page One

"This is a really suspenseful read right the way through that kept me turning the pages. And then MJ Cross hits you with twist after twist, one scene, in particular, left me reeling. What She Saw Last Night is compulsive and hugely engaging."

Over the Rainbow

"Fast paced and hugely addictive"

Cal Turner Reviews

"With strong and likeable characters, a story that keeps you guessing and an atmospheric setting that draws you in from the very start, What She Saw Last Night is a psychological thriller that I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend. Loved it!"

***

If that's convinced you to give the book a try, you can get it now from the usual places like Waterstones, Amazon and Hive - or go here for a full list of retailers and formats.

What She Saw Last Night - UK paperback out now

It's paperback day in the UK! What She Saw Last Night is out in paperback now from all good bookshops, as well as ebook and audio.

If you like it, I'd love it if you would write a short review on Amazon or Goodreads (on the other hand, if you hate it, I'm okay with you not doing that).

It's had some great reviews from readers, bloggers and the press. Scroll down to find out more, and you can buy from the links below.

UK paperback
Waterstones
Amazon
WHSmith
Hive
Big Cartel (signed copies)

UK ebook
Kindle
Kobo
Google Play
iBook

UK audio

Audible

A secret that could kill her.

A truth no one believes...

Jenny Bowen is going home. Boarding the Caledonian Sleeper, all she wants to do is forget about her upcoming divorce and relax on the ten-hour journey through the night.

In her search for her cabin, Jenny helps a panicked woman with a young girl she assumes to be her daughter. Then she finds her compartment and falls straight to sleep.

Waking in the night, Jenny discovers the woman dead in her cabin ... but there's no sign of the little girl. The train company have no record of a child being booked on the train, and CCTV shows the dead woman boarding alone.

The police don't believe Jenny, and soon she tries to put the incident out of her head and tells herself that everyone else is right: she must have imagined the little girl.

But deep down, she knows that isn't the truth.

***

"If you like your thrillers fast-paced, with lots of surprises along the way, this is
definitely for you." - Heat

"A chase thriller that begins as a locked-room puzzle" - Morning Star

"A truly original thriller, reminiscent of Hitchcock and Christie. " - Woman's Way 

"A taut, emotional thriller that rolls along at speed before derailing you several times - this is gut-punchingly good." - SJI Holliday 

"A killer premise combined with page-turning, pulse-pounding suspense - this brilliant psychological thriller is a real must read!" - Stephanie Marland 

"A pacy, high-octane thriller with shades of John Buchan and Alfred Hitchcock and a brilliant premise." - Paddy Magrane 

What She Saw Last Night - blog tour and reviews

Excitingly, I have a blog tour for the first time, ahead of UK paperback publication of What She Saw Last Night on Thursday. It's a mammoth tour with over 40 blogs involved, coordinated by the indefatigable Tracy Fenton of compulsivereaders.com 

The first batch are already up, and I'll be sharing as they're posted. It's fantastic to see so many passionate book bloggers enjoying the book and telling people about it.

There's been a flurry of press reviews too, including...

Heat, who I'm pleased caught the Lady Vanishes influence...

Woman's Way, who called it "A truly original thriller, reminiscent of Hitchcock and Christie." Which I'll definitely take.

The Crack, who said "the author keeps a cracking pace up and this tall tale more or less on the tracks."

...and finally the Morning Star, where Mat Coward accurately calls it "a chase thriller that begins as a locked-room puzzle", and puts me in flattering company with Jessica Eames, Jenny Blackhurst, and The Boss himself:

 

What She Saw Last Night is out in paperback in the UK this Thursday, but to be honest it'll most likely turn up tomorrow if you order it right now.

What She Saw Last Night - paperback tour

What She Saw Last Night is published in paperback in the UK later this month (either on the 26th or 28th, depending on whether you believe Amazon or Waterstones).

To celebrate, I'm doing three Train Noir events with Susi Holliday, of which more here, and two solo library events for Book Week Scotland.

18 November - Aberdeen (with SJI Holliday)

Central Library, 6pm

19 November - Glasgow

Dennistoun Library, 6:30pm

21 November - Kilbirnie

Kilbirnie Library, 6:30pm

22 November - Oban (with SJI Holliday)

Waterstones Oban, 7pm

25 November - Edinburgh (with SJI Holliday)

Waterstones Princes Street, 6:30pm

As far as I'm aware, all of these are free but ticketed, so get in touch with the venue for more details. Hope to see you on the trail!

What She Saw Last Night is available in ebook and audio now, and UK paperback from November 2019: click here to buy

Train Noir tour

Delighted to be doing three events next month with the amazing SJI Holliday!

I think her latest book Violet is her best yet. It opens with two strangers meeting on the Trans-Siberian Express. Since my new book What She Saw Last Night also prominently features an iconic train, we thought it would be a great idea to join forces for a tour.

Here's where we'll be:

18 November - Aberdeen

Central Library, 6pm

22 November - Oban

Waterstones Oban, 7pm

25 November - Edinburgh

Waterstones Princes Street, 6:30pm

I believe tickets are free for all events - contact the venue for more details if you're planning to come along.

Why I wrote What She Saw Last Night

What She Saw Last Night is published in paperback in the UK on 26 November. To whet your appetite, here's a piece I wrote for the Suze Reviews blog earlier this year.

Why I Wrote What She Saw Last Night

I’ve always loved reading and watching thrillers set on trains – from The 39 Steps, Murder on the Orient Express, From Russia With Love, right up to Girl on the Train, there’s something very appealing about a train-set mystery.

I had already dipped my toe in the Train Mystery subgenre with The Time to Kill, part of which takes place aboard the Empire Builder train from Seattle to Chicago, but when I read an article about the planned launch of the new Caledonian Sleeper train, I got the idea for a standalone mystery that opens aboard the train. It opens with a woman discovering a dead body, and realising a young child she saw last night is missing… except that all the evidence says there never was a child.

The Caledonian Sleeper is one of only two sleeper services in the UK, and it connects one of the world’s biggest cities to the sparsely populated and rural Scottish Highlands. We think of Britain as pretty small in comparison to America or mainland Europe, but if you go north and south, there’s a lot of ground to cover. I was sure somebody would have had the idea to set a book on this particular sleeper train before me, but was pleasantly surprised that it didn’t seem to have been done.

That juxtaposition between the bustle of London and the wide open spaces of the Highlands was a big appeal for me. I love both areas. I’m definitely a city guy at heart, so I’m always at home in London, but sometimes it’s nice to be the only person for miles around. The sheer scale of the Highlands, the beauty of the landscape, gives you such a fantastic canvas. It’s similar to why I write about America, that sense of enormous space and isolation.

I had always wanted to travel on a night train, and the book gave me a great excuse to take the trip a few times for research. The people at Caledonian Sleeper were really helpful, answering all of my obscure questions and even giving me a tour of one of the trains.

The old sleeper carriages that they’re phasing out date from the 1980s, which means there’s no wifi, no air conditioning, and very importantly, no onboard CCTV cameras. And, of course, the other bonus for a crime writer is when you get far enough north, you lose phone signal too.

I really enjoyed starting with a completely blank slate on this book, and particularly getting to create an entirely new hero. Jenny, the protagonist of What She Saw Last Night, is an interesting character, because she’s not an action hero, nor is she an unbalanced, unreliable narrator. She’s a normal person flung into an extraordinary situation, and has to come up with a way to deal with it.

ebook

Kindle

Kobo

Google Play

iBooks

Audio

Audible

Paperback (preorder)
Waterstones
Amazon
WHSmith
Hive

A secret that could kill her.

A truth no one believes...

Jenny Bowen is going home. Boarding the Caledonian Sleeper, all she wants to do is forget about her upcoming divorce and relax on the ten-hour journey through the night.

In her search for her cabin, Jenny helps a panicked woman with a young girl she assumes to be her daughter. Then she finds her compartment and falls straight to sleep.

Waking in the night, Jenny discovers the woman dead in her cabin ... but there's no sign of the little girl. The train company have no record of a child being booked on the train, and CCTV shows the dead woman boarding alone.

The police don't believe Jenny, and soon she tries to put the incident out of her head and tells herself that everyone else is right: she must have imagined the little girl.

But deep down, she knows that isn't the truth.

Buy What She Saw Last Night here 

Audiobook special offer

I love audiobooks - I listen while running, doing housework, on trains, basically anytime I can put in my earbuds. It's a great way to reclaim time.

So of course I'm really pleased that my own books are all available in audio, and the latest, What She Saw Last Night is on special this week in the Kobo sale.

It's narrated by the fantastic Carolyn Bonnyman, and UK listeners can get it for only £6.99 this weekend (usually £19.99).

Enjoy!

Review round up

Some great blog reviews of the new one...

What She Saw Last Night is "a character driven thriller, with a hugely believable and relatable protagonist and strong supporting players. And unusual and cracking story line. An absolute winner" -  Suze Reviews

"Expertly plotted and perfectly paced What She Saw Last Night will have you racing full steam ahead all the way through!" - Chapter in my Life

"Great tension, plenty of twists and turns" - Independent Book Reviews

"Mixes old school glamour with a modern day mystery" - The Book Trail


Amazon and Goodreads reviews are pretty good too (well, except the one guy who's bafflingly upset that I wrote a book with a female protagonist).

If you read the book and liked it, I'd really appreciate if you could post a short review - it's lovely to read and really makes a difference.

If you haven't read it yet, what are you waiting for? Get it right here...

UK trade paperback (large format)
Waterstones
Amazon
WHSmith
Hive
Big Cartel (signed copies)

UK ebook
Kindle
Kobo
Google Play
iBook

UK audio
Audible

See you at Crimefest?

It's that time of year again, time to head south to sunny Bristol for the annual Crimefest weekend.

If you want to see me (and other, more interesting people), here's where I'll be...

The Plot Thickens: Where DO You Get Your Ideas? | Friday, 13:40 – 14:30

J.P. Delaney

Clare Empson

Laura Shepherd-Robinson

M.B. Vincent

Participating Moderator: Mason Cross

Missing: Characters Who Aren’t There Anymore | Saturday, 12:50 – 13:40

Mason Cross

M.J. Ford

Cara Hunter

S.W. Williams

Participating Moderator: Steve Mosby

The full programme is available here, and as always there's lots of great stuff on.

I've been doing a lot of events for What She Saw Last Night (photos soon) and it seems to be going down pretty well so far. If you haven't got it yet, it's available at the fine establishments below.

If you've already read it and enjoyed it, posting a quick review is always appreciated and is a big help!

Trade paperback (large format)

Waterstones

Amazon 

WHSmith

Hive

Big Cartel (signed copies)

ebook

Kindle

Kobo

Google Play

iBooks

Audio

Audible

Jenny Bowen is going home. Boarding the Caledonian Sleeper, all she wants to do is forget about her upcoming divorce and relax on the ten-hour journey through the night.

In her search for her cabin, Jenny helps a panicked woman with a young girl she assumes to be her daughter. Then she finds her compartment and falls straight to sleep.

Waking in the night, Jenny discovers the woman dead in her cabin ... but there's no sign of the little girl. The train company have no record of a child being booked on the train, and CCTV shows the dead woman boarding alone.

The police don't believe Jenny, and soon she tries to put the incident out of her head and tells herself that everyone else is right: she must have imagined the little girl.

But deep down, she knows that isn't the truth...

Buy What She Saw Last Night here

What She Saw Last Night is published today in the UK!

What She Saw Last Night, my first ever standalone thriller after five books in the Carter Blake series, is published in the UK today.

The book opens aboard the Caledonian Sleeper train from London to the Scottish Highlands. It begins with a dead body, a missing child, and a mystery...

You can buy it now in trade paperback, ebook and audio - links to all the usual outlets are right here:

Trade paperback (large format)

Waterstones

Amazon 

WHSmith

Hive

Big Cartel (signed copies)

ebook

Kindle

Kobo

Google Play

iBooks

Audio

Audible

I hope you like it. If you do, please consider leaving a short review. These days, customer reviews are more and more important in deciding what books are promoted, which get supermarket slots etc, so every one helps! 

Where's the best place to leave a review? The honest answer is Amazon - personally, I'm happy with whatever way you want to get my books: Waterstones, an independent store, the library, second hand shops, but if you're looking for the place where reviews have most traction, that's the one.

So without further ado, here's everything else you need to know about the book...

A secret that could kill her.

A truth no one believes...

Jenny Bowen is going home. Boarding the Caledonian Sleeper, all she wants to do is forget about her upcoming divorce and relax on the ten-hour journey through the night.

In her search for her cabin, Jenny helps a panicked woman with a young girl she assumes to be her daughter. Then she finds her compartment and falls straight to sleep.

Waking in the night, Jenny discovers the woman dead in her cabin ... but there's no sign of the little girl. The train company have no record of a child being booked on the train, and CCTV shows the dead woman boarding alone.

The police don't believe Jenny, and soon she tries to put the incident out of her head and tells herself that everyone else is right: she must have imagined the little girl.

But deep down, she knows that isn't the truth.

Buy What She Saw Last Night here 

Facebook giveaway

What She Saw Last Night is published in the UK and some other teritories in just four days!

To celebrate, I'm running a giveaway over at my Facebook author page - all you need to do is share the post featuring the picture below to be in with a chance of winning:

• A signed copy of What She Saw Last Night
• A genuine Caledonian Sleeper sleep kit, containing ear plugs, eye mask and soap
• A bar of Scottish tablet
• a bunny

(He's called Bye Bunny, and he plays a small but crucial role in the novel).

The winner will be picked on Thursday. 

Meantime, if you'd like to pre-order the book, you can do so at all the usual places. Use this link to see if it's available in your neck of the woods, or get it in the UK in these places:

UK trade paperback (large format)
Waterstones
Amazon
WHSmith
Hive
Big Cartel (signed copies)

UK ebook
Kindle
Kobo
Google Play
iBook

UK audio
Audible

What She Saw Last Night tour

If you'd like to see me talk about the new book, here's where I'll be over the next couple of months. Most events are free, and I've linked to ticketing pages or Facebook events where possible.

Looking forward to seeing what people think of my first standalone, so if you're in the neighbourhood for any of these, come and say hello!


April

Monday 15 April | Inverness
Waterstones Inverness, 5pm

Thursday 18 April | Glasgow (official launch)
Waterstones Sauchiehall Street, 7pm

Tuesday 23 April | Hamilton 
World Book Night Event: Banqueting Hall, Almada Street, Hamilton, 6:30pm

Wednesday 24 April | Dundee (with Tony Kent)
Dundee Central Library, 6:30pm

Thursday 25 April | Glasgow (with Tony Kent and Neil Broadfoot)
Waterstones Sauchiehall Street, 7pm

Tuesday 30 April | Lanark
Lanark Library, 6:30pm

May

Tuesday 7 May | Strathaven
Strathaven Library, 2pm

Tuesday 7 May | Saltcoats
Saltcoats Library, 6:30pm

Saturday 11 May | Bristol
Crimefest, 12:50pm

Monday 20 May | HalfwayHalfway Library, 11:30am

Tuesday 21 May | Larkhall
Larkhall Library, 2:15pm

Thursday 23 May | Airdrie
Airdrie Library, 7pm

Saturday 25 May | Durham
Waterstones Durham Crime Book Club, 10am

Tuesday 28 May | East Kilbride
St Leonards Library, 6:30pm


If you're at a library in Scotland (or are in touch with one), let them know I'm on the Scottish Book Trust's Live Literature database, which is a great programme to help with funding for author visits to libraries.

What She Saw Last Night - Waterstones Launch

7pm, Thursday 18 April 2019

Waterstones Sauchiehall Street, Glasgow

It's that time of year again!

Delighted to say I've got tartan noir bestseller Craig Robertson to do the Q&A at the official launch of What She Saw Last Night, which is going to be held in Waterstones Sauchiehall Street. The last time we did this, I was launching The Samaritan in 2015, and he flummoxed me with a surprise pop quiz. I'm confident he'll have something equally unpleasant in store this time.

Tickets are free, but please register for them here if you're coming.

This is my first standalone thriller, which means it's the first book not to star Carter Blake. If you want to find out a bit more about it, read on...


A secret that could kill her.

A truth no one believes...

Jenny Bowen is going home. Boarding the Caledonian Sleeper, all she wants to do is forget about her upcoming divorce and relax on the ten-hour journey through the night.

In her search for her cabin, Jenny helps a panicked woman with a young girl she assumes to be her daughter. Then she finds her compartment and falls straight to sleep.

Waking in the night, Jenny discovers the woman dead in her cabin ... but there's no sign of the little girl. The train company have no record of a child being booked on the train, and CCTV shows the dead woman boarding alone.

The police don't believe Jenny, and soon she tries to put the incident out of her head and tells herself that everyone else is right: she must have imagined the little girl.

But deep down, she knows that isn't the truth.

Trade paperback (large format)

Waterstones

Amazon 

WHSmith

Hive

ebook

Kindle

Kobo

Google Play

iBooks

Audio

Audible

What She Saw Last Night - cover

It's cover reveal time once again!

I'm really happy with this one - they've gone with a really strong image and I like the way it looks and feels a little different from the Carter Blake books. 

What She Saw Last Night is published in the UK on April 18, 2019, and you can find out more about the story here.

Available to preorder from the usual places:

Trade paperback (large format)

Waterstones

Amazon 

ebook

Kindle

Kobo

Google

iBooks

Readers outside the UK can click here to see if it's available to preorder in your area yet.

Next year's book: What She Saw Last Night

And now for something completely different.

Okay, not that different. It seems like yesterday when my first book was being published, and all of a sudden it's 2018 and my sixth book is going to be published next year. It's still a thriller, but it's set in the UK. And for the first time, it doesn't star Carter Blake.

I was quite keen to write a standalone book this time around, and lucky for me, my publisher thought this was a good idea too. I've come up with a few story ideas over the past few years that I liked, but weren't quite the right fit for Blake, and this was one of them.

It starts with a normal person, in a normal situation, and then something abnormal happens.

Jenny Bowen is your standard thirtysomething workaholic Londoner. Always busy, always rushing around, not taking time to notice the time pass, until her personal life takes a couple of major hits. First, her marriage breaks down. Second, her father dies unexpectedly.

Her dad's house is in the Scottish Highlands, where Jenny spent part of her teenage years, so she's heading north to take care of the usual duties that follow the death of a parent.

She decides life is moving a little too fast for her, so it might be healthy to decompress, take the long way home. She's always been curious about the sleeper train that runs overnight from London to Scotland, and decides to book a berth on a whim.

She boards at the last minute. As she's finding her way to her room, she sees a harassed-looking woman with a young child in tow: a little girl, maybe seven or eight years old. She's carrying a grey stuffed rabbit.

Jenny awakens the next morning. The train has stopped between stations, and the sky is beginning to lighten.

She ventures out of her room and stumbles on the body of the woman she saw the previous evening. It looks like an overdose. She finds a guard, they take her to the staff quarters and offer her water, try to calm her nerves. All of a sudden she remembers the little girl, realising she's an orphan now. Is she okay? Somebody is with her, right?

The guard looks back at her, confused.

"What little girl?"

~~~

It was a fun experience writing something a little different from the previous books, and getting to play with a new protagonist and a whole new cast of characters.

I particularly enjoyed getting to travel on and do a lot of research about the Caledonian Sleeper, which I'll be blogging about soon. One of the coolest things was that I serendipitiously picked the exact right time to set a book on board the train.

Next year, they're going to be introducing luxurious new 21st century carriages, but right now, the sleeper uses the oldest rolling stock in Britain, dating from the early 1980s. That's great for building atmosphere, of course, but as a mystery writer, it means the technology is a little behind the times: no air conditioning, no wifi, and most importantly, no CCTV cameras.

I'm hoping to have a cover to show you soon, and members of my Readers Club will get the first peek, so if you're not already signed up, go do it.

Because it's a departure from the Blake books, we're going with a slightly different branding. I'll be M.J. Cross on the cover of this book, for starters. What does the J stand for? I'm open to suggestions, but I'm currently leaning toward 'Jedbediah'.

What She Saw Last Night is published in the UK on 18 April 2019, and you can preorder it now:

Trade paperback (large format)

Waterstones

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ebook

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