Murder in Midwinter by Fleur Hitchcock

The bus stops for the millionth time and I look down at my phone for the millionth time. 

A little envelope appears in the corner of the screen., I click on it. 

It's from my sister, Zahra.

What you gonna wear to the party? 

Published by Nosy Crow in October 2016

Pages - 256

Summary

Sat on the top of a bus days before Christmas, Maya sees a couple arguing violently in the middle of a crowded Regent Street. They see her watching, she looks away, and the woman disappears. Maya goes to the police, who shrug and send her away. Then a body turns up… Now convinced she is a vital witness to a crime, the police send Maya into hiding in rural Wales. She resolves to get to the bottom of the mystery. Then the snow comes and no one can get out. But what if someone can still get in?

****

This is a perfect book for the season. Bring on the snow! Fleur Hitchcock has made me desperate for it, with this wintery, murder mystery. 

The book is aimed at the Middle Grade market, but it had an older feel to it. I would suggest that it would easily suit the younger YA crowd as well as Middle Grade. 

Maya is a fantastic main character. I think she is from mixed heritage, but it isn't really mentioned and I'm only guessing because of the names of the family members and the unusual white streak in her hair. She is courageous and bold, with a fantastic hobby. Maya likes to assemble and disassemble motor bikes. What an excellent role model she is.  She has a strong bond with her sister and will do anything to protect her. 

 I was thrown straight into the story from the first chapter and found myself quickly turning the page to find out what happened next. The plot takes us from the bustling streets  of London to the silent and lonely valleys of Wales. Maya doesn't really feel any safer there and can't wait to get back home. It doesn't help that her cousin, Ollie is so horrible to her. 

The plot keeps us on our toes through out the book and leaves you with an unexpected ending. Some of the final scenes had me gripping the edge of the seat. Especially all the scenes involving the horses. Any animal scene is guaranteed to break my heart. 

For those who love a fast paced, thrillingly tense Middle Grade read, this is the book for you. Definitely one for the Christmas stocking. 

Setting the Scene with Fleur Hitchcock

I'm so pleased to welcome Middle Grade author, Fleur Hitchcock onto the blog today, to tell us all about the settings in her latest book, Murder in Midwinter, which was recently published by Nosy Crow. Keep a look out for a review of the book, coming very soon!

Setting the scene...

At the heart of Murder in Midwinter, is Maya, a London girl, a girl who knows and walks the streets just south of the river, around the Southbank and Borough and just to the east of Waterloo. It’s an area I know well, my niece, Ruby, and her family live there - here’s a lino cut Ruby did of the block of Corporation of London flats that they live in. 

I didn’t actually use these flats, not completely, because I wanted Maya’s family to live over the plumbing supplies shop that they run. That was an amalgamation of a decorator’s shop near Southwark street and Pimlico Plumbers who have a huge sign on the railway line as you approach Waterloo station. 

But what I really used was the Thames, at night in the winter. It’s stunning, all purple and green lights, monumental architecture and silhouettes and reflections - and at one point Maya and her sister Zahra are sitting watching the streams of tourists passing the Globe theatre and Zahra says: “God. London’s beautiful.” She’s speaking for me at that point, because I love to sit on those Thames side benches in the twilight just looking. 

And when Maya needs to flee, I had to find somewhere that was the absolute opposite. Somewhere with no lights, no architecture, nothing. 

A snowy mountain in Wales. 

I have to confess that although I’ve lived in Wales, I’ve never lived in the mountains, I’ve only visited them in the winter, not in the snow, but I have lived in the countryside most of my life and a couple of years back we had some very severe winters, so I used what I remembered of those.

And finally there were the horses. I was a horse kid, but never a very able horse kid, but I do remember one particular pony, black, mean, standing in the snow, biting my best friend on the bum. I used that pony. 100%.

Is that a setting?

I think so. 

Sadly, I have no photos of him. I never thought I’d need it. 

Summary

Sat on the top of a bus days before Christmas, Maya sees a couple arguing violently in the middle of a crowded Regent Street. They see her watching, she looks away, and the woman disappears. Maya goes to the police, who shrug and send her away. Then a body turns up… Now convinced she is a vital witness to a crime, the police send Maya into hiding in rural Wales. She resolves to get to the bottom of the mystery. Then the snow comes and no one can get out. But what if someone can still get in?

Published by Nosy Crow in October 2017

To find out more about Fleur Hitchcock:

Twitter / Website

Wacky Wales

Warning - this post is rather picture heavy!

I have been meaning to show you photos from our trip to Wales for ages, so apologies for my delay.
During the summer holidays, the girls and I accompanied my parents to visit my family in South Wales. My parents go twice a year to see them, but this is the first time I have been back in eleven years. How bad is that! My family have been up to see us a few times, but I have been very slack at visiting them.
My family live in the Rhondda Valley in South Wales. The picture below shows part of the valley.
South Wales is one of the most beautiful places to visit. During our whirlwind tour, my uncle took us out to admire the scenery. We had a picnic lunch by this beautiful lake. I wish I had got the names of these places, but we travelled around at such a pace I forgot to ask.
The house below painted orange was the house where my mother was born. This is the first time I have ever seen it and it seemed surreal stepping back in time. My mother lived there with her brother, parents and grandparents. In those days, the whole extended family lived together. My grandfather was a coal miner, as were the rest of the men in the family. Unfortunately my grandfather passed away when my mother was young, so I never got to meet him.

The picture below is of my uncle and all the children. My uncle has never grown up and the kids absolutely adore him. Whilst near a river full of barges, he spent most of his time jumping on and off the decks with the kids, pretending the barges belonged to him.

I love the picture below. It is rather breathtaking. I would love to have a house overlooking this, where my writing desk faced onto the water.

As you can from the picture below, we did an awful lot of hill climbing. I thought I would have an asthma attack at the top, but luckily I didn't.

My wacky welsh family. That' s my mum in the blue. My dad is not in it as he was taking the photo.

The building below was the last coal pit to close in South Wales. I believe it has been turned into a museum now. A lot of the land where the pits were has now been replanted, so that all you see now is lush green hills.

I hope to get back a little more regularly to Wales in the future, as leaving it eleven years is far too long. Have any of you ever visited Wales?