Frederick Petford

Welcome fellow book lovers.

Just to update you on a big development at this end. In January 25 I signed a worldwide, three-book deal with Hodder and Stoughton to write a new historical crime series set in Cornwall during World War One. It's a fantastically exciting new venture for me and the first book in the series called A GHOSTHUNTER'S GUIDE TO SOLVING A MURDER will be published in early October, in e-book, paperback and audiobook simultaneously. Two more will follow. I hope you look out for them and enjoy reading them as much as I am enjoying writing them!

Meanwhile... the idea for the Ghosts of Passchendaele, came from an extraordinary and thrilling true incident in a World War One cemetery which defied explanation, but was witnessed by a group of army personnel.

The Death of Conscience deals with the return of a conscientious objector to the village, with terrible consequences. And in A Question of Malice the lugubrious but brilliant Sergeant Burrows tackles a classic locked room murder mystery.

The setting for the books is Great Tew, a real village in Oxfordshire. It is a delightful place as it stands, although in the narrative I have made some changes and added other features of classic Cotswold villages. Both the village and the surrounding countryside are wonderfully atmospheric, and provide an rich backdrop to the Langford Estate as I imagine it is, just after the Great War.

My own supernatural experiences mirror those in the books. I have a fascination with the ancient landscape and suspect that the people that built the stone monuments that are so prolific in the British landscape knew a great deal that we have long forgotten.

You can follow Frederick Petford on this page and on Instagram and Facebook. And if you have enjoyed my books, I'm always grateful for a review on the Amazon sales page as it makes a huge difference to the search ratings.

Thanks for your company and your support.