Bamburgh: A DCI Ryan Mystery (The DCI Ryan Mysteries Book 19)

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Northumberland: Including Newcastle, Hadrian’s Wall and the Coast (Bradt Slow Travel) – Updated in 2019 and includes 30 walks, chapters on Hadrian’s Wall, the coast and Northumberland National Park. > Buy this superb walks in Northumberland book now. Bamburgh Castle is steeped in history, myths, and legends. Do you have a favourite tale associated with the castle? As someone who loves the sea and used to be a volunteer RNLI crew member with Seahouses Lifeboat, I’m very proud that the first ever lifeboat was commissioned and launched at Bamburgh by Dr John Sharp, a trustee at the Castle in 1786. Additionally, I’m also fascinated by Bamburgh Castle’s past as a royal citadel and home to the Anglo Saxon kings of Northumbria, which was the inspiration for Bernard Cornwell’s Last Kingdom books and the TV series. They tell the saga of Uhtred, the English heir to Bebbanburg who was captured and raised by Danes and who is driven to regain Bebbanburg. While Cornwell’s Uhtred is fictional, there are parallels to a real life Uhtred in history who fought the Vikings. Every year a team of archaeologists from Bamburgh Research Project come to the castle to hunt for new evidence and finds to shed light on Bamburgh’s 3000 year old past. I had the pleasure of meeting Bernard Cornwell and his charming wife Judy several years ago. Bernard and I are both adopted. Bernard had found his blood father whose surname was Oughtred. Tracing his family tree, he discovered his descendent had been a Lord of Bamburgh Castle. As he had owned the castle through his bloodline, he joked that it should, by rights, belong to him. I told him he could have it – as long as he paid the heating and electric bills! The castle stayed in Armstrong hands! What bothered me about this book (and I really loathe being critical because its so readable) is the fact it’s the third book in this fine series to use almost identical plot and character development to drive the story. Seriously. The ideas – the structure, the character, the psychopathy, the ability to fool peers and family for decades, everything, have been used not once, but twice before. In fact, when a new character was introduced, I had the fleeting thought, ‘oh, please don’t make this person behave like…’ Well, Ross did. I even eye-rolled when it became evident the storyline was the same. I mean, how many times can a small police station tolerate this kind of thing? Even one of the characters makes a joke about it towards the end. Not sure that lets Ross off the hook. It’s just as well the characters are so damn loveable and, after 18 books, we’re invested in them, and the overall story so gripping you keep reading. But I confess to feeling disappointed that, yet again, this particular plot device and type of character was used.

Louise was born in Northumberland, England. She studied undergraduate and postgraduate Law at King’s College, University of London and then abroad in Paris and Florence. She spent much of her working life in London, where she was a lawyer for a number of years until taking the decision to change career and pursue her dream to write. Now, she writes full time and lives with her husband and son in Northumberland and Edinburgh. She enjoys reading all manner of books, painting, travelling and spending time with family and friends. I also felt really at home with the other characters, too. I absolutely loved the banter between Ryan and Phillips, and really enjoyed the way that Ryan supported the rest of his team and how they all came together to get this mystery solved. Thank you for sharing that with us! Your childhood there sounds incredible! The castle is one of my favourite places to visit – there’s absolutely nothing like it.Who are your North East heroes? Brian Johnson, lead singer of ACDC – he is just a legend. And, of course, the First Lord Armstrong. He is one of Britain’s forgotten geniuses. He was one of the most successful and enlightened nineteenth century innovators and is credited with being the ‘inventor of modern living’. I am incredibly proud and humble to continue to tend Bamburgh Castle as an Armstrong. Buying Bamburgh Castle felt like coming home for the First Lord Armstrong who had family connections with Bamburgh. It’s how I feel wherever I am in the world when I return home. Meanwhile, after a recent revelation about her sister, DC Melanie Yates’ quest to avenge her death is becoming an obsession—much to the concern of those around her. With a new DCS to contend with and hundreds of cold case files to sift through, the chances of uncovering a dormant killer seem unlikely. But as Melanie delves deeper into the secrets of the past to uncover the truth, she soon realises it lies much closer to home… Buy Dead Woman Walking a novel set in Northumberland National Park here 6. Mary Stewart – the Ivy Tree – romantic suspense novel in Northumberland

Meet some real-life heroes in my series of special interviews with people who represent the spirit and heart of the North East. Northumberland has more medieval remains than any other county. It has Hadria n’s Wall. Abbeys. More than 70 Castles. Including one many know better as Hogwarts. It has heroes of Victorian Britain – Grace Darling, and Lord Armstrong, whose house at Cragside was the first in the world to be powered by hydroelectricity. In short, Northumberland has a whole lot of history and this book condenses it into a fabulous read. Buy Northumberland from the Romans to the Victorians Book Now on Kindle The Northumbrians: North-East England and Its People: A New HistoryIt didn't take me long to get on Ryan's side, and I was soon immersed in the investigation, too. There are some great twists along the way, and I also appreciated that the big reveal happened earlier on, allowing more progression regarding how this affected the characters involved, keeping you fully invested in their individual developments. LJ Ross said: "I feel especially grateful to my readership for their unstinting loyalty even 18 books into that series. I'm especially proud as an indie author and publisher who did not have anywhere near the same marketing spend as those placed #1 and #2 (or indeed the majority of the others on that list) who belonged to major publishing houses.