Today I’m thrilled to be on the blog tour for Blood Rites and to be bringing you an exclusive guest post from the author himself! Blood Rites is available now in paperback and ebook here.
Thank you to Abby Fairbrother & Urbane Publications for being so understanding and flexible when due to the stress of moving and no internet I was unable to post my review of Blood Rites. I will be posting my review as soon as possible one internet is installed in my new house.
Book Blurb:
Blood Rites is the latest gripping DI Paul Snow thriller from renowned crime writer David Stuart Davies. 1980s Yorkshire. DI Paul Snow has a personal demon. He is a homosexual but is desperate to keep it secret, knowing it would finish his career in the intolerant police force. As this personal drama unfolds, he is involved in investigating a series of violent murders in the town. All the victims appear to be chosen at random and appear to have no connection with each other. After the fourth murder, he is removed from the case for not finding the killer but continues investigating the matter privately. Gradually, Paul manages to determine a link between the murder victims, but this places his own life in great danger. Can Paul unmask the killer as he wrestles with his own demons?
Exclusive Extract:
Snow in Huddersfield: David Stuart Davies on his novel Blood Rites
A lady friend of mine, a glorious 98 year old, said to me recently, ‘Why does such a nice chap like you write about such nasty goings on in the world – murders and the like?’ Well, the answer is simple, I am a writer – a crime writer – and while I consider myself to be a fairly placid, cheery fellow, I do allow my imagination to create crimes, criminals, dark motives and grim scenarios.
Certainly, there is no getting away from it, there are some very dark scenes in Blood Rites, the latest DI Paul Snow novel. There is a serial killer on the loose in the Yorkshire town of Huddersfield and Snow is given the unenviable task of catching him as the body count increases. A disparate group of inhabitants are murdered and there seems to be no link between the victims – but there is. The killer has a definite, if twisted motive, for his crimes. Working out a motive that isn’t immediately obvious to the reader is one of the most difficult tasks the crime writer has to master. If members of one family, or one club or one board of directors are being bumped off, for example, the culprit would eventually become obvious: he or she is the only one left alive. It has to be more subtle than this.
However, the motive for the murders must not dominate the narrative. There must be exciting scenes, tension and vivid dramatic moments. And above all, engaging characters. Personally, I find my detective to be a fascinating character. I think this is important, for if the writer is not intrigued by his main protagonist, how can he expect the readers to be. While I created Paul Snow, he seems to have developed very much without my help. I thought that a gay copper operating in the 1980s police force with its strong homophobic culture, would add an extra dimension to the drama. While he has to cope with the demanding task of trapping the killer, he is also dealing with his own sexuality – having to keep it under wraps and to contain his
natural desires. So much pressure for one man. While Snow is a decent, professional and dedicated officer he is not a wholly good man: he has flaws and weaknesses, which I hope not only adds to the realism of the character but also racks up the tension. Snow seems to have struck a chord with readers. Interestingly, an advance copy of the book was sent to a gay officer in the West Yorkshire Police (happily in 2017 there in no need to hide in the closet) and this was his response to reading it:
The book was thoroughly engrossing. The way it was written was on par with the most famous authors and allowed me to imagine every scene just as if I were reading a Stephen Leather thriller. My thoughts whilst reading it were ‘why is this book not for sale across the country in WH Smith? It should be in the book charts!’ It was most definitely a page turner.
The ending of the novel is meant to shock. One reviewer stated that as he reached the final pages he let out an expletive, which shocked the other passengers on the train! While I do not encourage swearing, that response pleased me no end. I hope after reading this post you will be intrigued enough to enter Paul Snow’s world and be entertained, enthralled and a little bit disturbed.
About The Author:
David Stuart Davies is an author, playwright and editor. His fiction includes six novels featuring his wartime detective Johnny Hawke, Victorian puzzle solver artist Luther Darke, and seven Sherlock Holmes novels – the latest being Sherlock Holmes and the Ripper Legacy (2016). His non-fiction work includes Starring Sherlock Holmes, detailing the film career of the Baker Street sleuth. David is regarded as an authority on Sherlock Holmes and is the author of two Holmes plays, Sherlock Holmes: The Last Act and Sherlock Holmes: The Death and Life, which are available on audio CD. He has written the Afterwords for all the Collector’s Library Holmes volumes, as well as those for many of their other titles. David has also penned three dark, gritty crime novels set in Yorkshire in the 1980s: Brothers in Blood, Innocent Blood and Blood Rites. He is a committee member of the Crime Writers’ Association and edits their monthly publication Red Herrings. His collection of ghost and horror stories appeared in 2015, championed by Mark Gatiss who said they were ‘pleasingly nasty.’ David is General Editor of Wordsworth’s Mystery & Supernatural series and a past Fellow of the Royal Literary Fund. He has appeared at many literary festivals and the Edinburgh Fringe performing his one man presentation The Game’s Afoot – an evening with Sherlock Holmes & Arthur Conan Doyle. He was recently made a member of The Detection Club.
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Over The Rainbow Blog 