Blog

Last month I was struck down with a rotten virus, missed a walking and writing holiday in Spain that I was so looking forward to*, and spent more time than usual lying in bed feeling miserable.** But it’s an ill wind and all that, and what I did do when I was too fuzzy headed to read, was listen to loads of good stuff. My DA archive book I downloaded the original Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy radio dramas on Audible – I am a big fan of the books but don’t think I’ve ever l

I was born in Birmingham, possibly as far as you can get from the coast on our island*, which may be why I’ve always longed to live by the sea. In the summer of 2022 I made that happen, and moved to the north east coast of England. It was a good choice, as it is the best place on earth. Me relaxing in the North Sea off the North Tyneside coast It was also a fortuitous choice as I love reading crime fiction, am about to have my debut murder mystery novel published, and it turn

Crosswords had a real boom in the Golden Age of mystery writing in the 1920s and 30s - and it feels as if mystery novels and crosswords are in a big period of growth again, 100 years on. I am very much here for this. I’d like to write more about these intriguing parallels another time, but for now I wanted to share two of the latest new kids on the block in the crossword world. Firstly, the Observer - home to Azed and Everyman - has launched a new puzzles newsletter. In her i

Really exciting to see The Bookseller announcement that Murder Most Cryptic will be published by Penguin Michael Joseph in Autumn 2026. This is my debut novel and I've written a puzzle-y book that I thought I would like to read - I can't wait to share it with readers. PMJ acquires Alys Cummings’ puzzle-murder-mystery debut in two-book deal

A bloody brilliant Sunday morning at Pitch Perfect, the Bloody Scotland prize for aspiring writers. Each year, eight finalists stand up...