Hear stories of sleuthing, murder and mayhem in this fascinating discussion between members of the CWA. With over 700 members, the Crime Writers’ Association is well known for its prestigious Daggers, awarded every year for the best in crime writing, and provides an unrivalled platform for authors and their work.

J M Hewitt writes crime fiction and is the author of Exclusion Zone, a novel based on murderous events surrounding the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear disaster and The Hunger Within which was inspired by the hunger strikes in Maze Prison in 1981. Her work usually incorporates 20^th century Historical events and far flung locations, and her novels explore the darker side of human behaviour. Most recently her short story, No Way Back, was published in the CWA anthology Mystery Tour. www.jmhewitt.com

Before Christine Poulson turned to crime, she was a respectable academic with a PhD in History of Art. Her first three novels featured Cambridge literary historian and accidental sleuth, Cassandra James. She has written a stand-alone suspense novel, Invisible and numerous short stories, one of which was short-listed for the Margery Allingham Prize. Deep Water, the first in a series set in Ely and the Fens, featured scientist Katie Flanagan and patent lawyer, Daniel Marchmont. It was published in 2016 and the second, Cold Cold Heart, set in Antarctica, appeared in 2017.

Paul Gitsham started his career as a biologist, before deciding to retrain and impart his love of science and sloppy lab skills to the next generation of enquiring minds as a school teacher. Paul lives in the East of England in a flat with more books than shelf space, where he writes the DCI Warren Jones series of police procedurals and spends more time than he should on social media.

FESTIVAL 4 – MULTIPLE EVENT OFFER: This year we are offering four events for the price of three on selected talks – Just choose any four events with the ‘Festival 4’ symbol when booking in person, over the phone or online.

This event is part of Essex Book Festival’s Golden Age of Crime weekend in Southend-on-Sea. Click here for a list of all events taking place in Southend as part of the weekend.

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