I’m so delighted to be welcoming Diane Jeffery to Novel Kicks and the blog tour for her latest book, The Crime Writer.

2019. Leona Walsh, a 34-year-old wife and mother vanishes on a bitterly cold afternoon while out jogging on the edge of Exmoor. It’s a mystery which captures public interest and ignites wild speculation. The police have a prime suspect: Leona’s husband, Matthew, a renowned crime writer. He can plot the perfect crime. But is he capable of committing the perfect murder?

Despite extensive searches, the police find no trace of Leona and her disappearance remains shrouded in mystery. As public interest dwindles, Matthew returns to raising their two daughters, aware the cloud of suspicion is never far away.

2024. Some human bones are discovered in a garden. Could they be Leona’s remains? And if so, is there enough evidence to find out what really happened five years ago?

Journalist Gabriela Conti covered the news story back in 2019. The police may have stopped watching Matthew, but Gabriella hasn’t forgotten him. And she is determined this case will define her career… even if that means getting close to a murderer.

There is a chance to win a copy of a previous paperback by Diane Jeffery below but first, she has kindly shared an extract with us today. We hope you enjoy. 

*****beginning of extract*****

The following extract is taken from Chapter 6.

Leona Walsh, a local counsellor and mother of two, has gone missing. Volunteers are helping police to search for her around Wistlandpound Reservoir, where she was last seen. Journalist Gabriela Conti approaches Matthew, Leona’s husband, a renowned crime writer, in the hope of getting an interview.

I have chosen this extract because it is the moment where the two main characters in my book meet for the first time.

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