New murder mystery is set in north Highlands
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Lockdown has given a former bookseller and lover of literature the opportunity to become a published author in in his own right.
Jonathan Creed of Golspie used the enforced spare time to write his first novel, A Sutherland Murder, a crime thriller set in the county as well as Oxford where he spent his later childhood.
The novel, which took 10 weeks to write, features a couple Bill and Jane, who get caught up in the investigation of a suspicious death while staying at an East Sutherland hotel.
The action ranges over three decades from Golspie to Brora, Helmsdale and Dornoch as well as Oxford. A picture of Strathsteven broch is on the book’s cover.
“I thought if I set it mainly in East Sutherland, it might attract visitors to this area,” said Mr Creed.
A voracious reader, Devon-born Mr Creed turned to books after his family got rid of their television when he was aged around eight and crime has always been his favourite genre.
“I started off reading Agatha Christie and moved on to Colin Dexter and Clive Cussler,” he recalled. “I’ve always loved books and have three to four on the go at the same time.”
He worked as a bookseller in independent stores for some years before going to Oxford Brooks University to study accountancy and finance.
A previous thriller Tunnel Under Threat, written when he was in the book trade and centring on the Channel Tunnel, did not reach the publication stage.
Mr Creed moved to Golspie in 2001 and ran the village’s post office for some years. He now runs a portable appliance testing (PAT) business in addition to producing jigsaws, calendars, prints and postcards of the northern Highlands.
He set up Paul Publishing to produce his own novel and is hoping to also publish titles from other authors. He is already working on a sequel No Body at Ben Bhraggie which will be published later in the year.
A Sutherland Murder, priced £10, will be available from next Thursday, March 11, at Dornoch Book shop, Lindsay's in Golspie and Cunningham's, Brora.
For more information, email: info@paulpublishingltd.co.uk
