As with all my books, lots of different kinds of inspiration came together to create this story.
I think the starting point came when I realised how society often underestimates the elderly, which led to the creation of the indomitable Lady Peony, who soon runs rings around the younger characters.
Another influence was that I grew up reading my grandmother’s collection of gothic romantic suspense novels. Published in the 1960s and 1970s, these books had fabulous covers, usually featuring the heroine running away from a big old house, often wearing a long, flowing nightdress. I am sure DS Harriet March would have been furious with me if I’d had her running around this story in a nightdress, but I did manage to squeeze in a ruined mansion, a few ‘ghosts’ and a thunderstorm!
Regular readers will know I love visiting big old houses. In this story, Blackheath Hall was inspired by several places, rather than just one. I knew I wanted to write about a fortified manor house, so a starting point was Stokesay Castle in Shropshire, which has a wall around it. Lowther Castle (Penrith) and Basing House (Hampshire) were also inspirations.
The mausoleum – for a full-on gothic, I had to have a mausoleum! – was inspired by the Lowther Mausoleum in Penrith.
The ghosts of the Civil War soldiers haunting the forest around Raven’s Edge were mentioned in my first published book, Smoke Gets in Your Eyes, way back in 2002, and then went on to appear in several of my other books, so I felt they deserved to have a story of their own.
There are several entrances to former battle sites across the UK nicknamed ‘the Gateway to the Dead’ or ‘Gate to the Dead’, but they’re usually the more ordinary kind of gate. Raven’s Edge, I decided, needed something a little extra. Their ‘gateway’ is based on the ruin of Gisborough Priory.
You may have noticed that this book is dedicated to ‘Betsy and Harriet’. Betsy was my grandmother and Harriet was her sister (my great-aunt). They were very close and had lots of adventures after their retirement. There’s a repeated phrase in this story about never underestimating little old ladies, which definitely applied to them!
I had such fun bringing everything together for Murder at Raven’s Gate. I do hope you’ve enjoyed reading it!
Raven's Edge 