My new book in the Chef Paul Delamare Mystery series comes out on Thursday – let me tell you a bit about it.
First of all, though – the cover! I’d seen the image at several stages but I had no idea how SHINY it would be. I’m thrilled my publishers thought it was worth such an investment in gold foil and fake blood.
Paul goes to sea
For everyone who has read Knife Skills For Beginners, here’s a brief intro to the new book, in the hope you’ll check it out at your local bookseller, order it or ask your library to stock it. (By the way – no spoilers, I promise.)
First of all, you don’t need to have read the first book to enjoy this one. It’s a new adventure, completely independent of Knife Skills For Beginners. On the other hand, if you warmed to Paul and his best friend Julie – and hissed every time horrible stepson Jonny appeared – then you’re in for a treat.
Paul’s little house in Belgravia has been flooded. His chic Parisian friend Xéra takes pity on him, and invites him to join her and her new husband for a Transatlantic cruise aboard a superyacht. Paul has his misgivings, but Julie persuades him it’s the opportunity of a lifetime.
Things start to go wrong from the moment he steps aboard. His fellow passengers seem rich and spoilt, and on his first night the yacht’s chef goes on a bender and he finds himself in the galley cooking dinner for everyone. Then a priceless necklace disappears – and he’s blamed for it.
A cruise to remember
If you’ve been on a cruise, you’ll know that there’s always lots of entertainment laid on, and I hope you’ll find the same in Murder Below Deck.
For one thing, Julie has a new craze – tarot. Although communications aboard the yacht are erratic, she and Paul manage to keep in touch and she sends him a daily tarot reading. Needless to say, he doesn’t take her new hobby seriously, but wait and see – the truth is in the cards.
After a second terrible crime occurs, Paul finds himself having to act the sleuth, and he discovers that one of the passengers is spying on the others, and recording everything in Speedwriting. This is a clever form of shorthand – much easier to learn than Pitmans or Teeline – and I wish I’d learnt it when I was a cub reporter. Other memorable moments in the story involve a cuddly Bichon Frisé, a gleaming Fazioli grand piano, a lone albatross and a truly terrifying Atlantic storm.
Cooking up a storm
No Paul Delamare story would be complete without recipes, and as Paul spends much of the voyage in the galley, we are treated to six of his specialities, including quite simply the best chocolate dessert cake you’ll ever eat, and a glamorous new cocktail called the Poseidon Adventure. (If you’ve seen the 1972 disaster movie, with Shelley Winters, you’ll get the joke.)
People have asked me if the story is based on the TV reality show, Below Deck, and the answer is no. Of course I’ve seen the odd episode - but the yacht and characters in my story are entirely from my imagination.
Proofs of the book were sent to reviewers and authors and it seems to be going down well. My favourite blurb is from psychological thriller writer Diane Jeffrey, who described it simply as: ‘Absolutely hilarious’. Yesterday's Daily Mail described it as 'enormous fun - a mystery written with great elan.'
I was asked at a literary festival last year what I hoped to achieve in my books, and I was quite pleased with what came out – quite spontaneously, as it happens. ‘I want to make the reader smile,’ I said. ‘And shiver. And maybe even shed a tear.’
I hope that Murder Below Deck does it for you.
Comments