Canal Noir with Stephen Booth and Andy Griffee

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'CANAL NOIR' - with STEPHEN BOOTH and ANDY GRIFFEE

Stephen Booth has recently teamed up with fellow author Andy Griffee to offer talks and events on the theme of 'Canal Noir' - the murky appeal of inland waterways as a setting for crime fiction.

Waterways are an irresistibly atmospheric location for authors who like to explore the darker side of life, from the turbulent history of Canal Mania and the lives of working boatmen, through to the role of canals in a modern urban setting and the crime they sometimes attract. That water may look peaceful, but what lies beneath the surface?

Stephen's standalone novel 'Drowned Lives' is set against the background of a canal restoration project in Staffordshire and a centuries-old feud between families of canal owners. It explores the history of the people involved in a fictional canal scheme, right back its beginnings in the late 18th century. As the author of the award-winning Cooper & Fry series, Stephen has been a popular speaker for festivals, libraries, bookshops, clubs and societies for the past 20 years.

Andy Griffee is a former BBC journalist. He became Controller of BBC Regions, based in Birmingham, before he retired and started a new career as a crime writer. His debut novel 'Canal Pushers' depicts a series of murders on the waterways of Birmingham and is partly inspired by real-life news stories. It's the first in the 'Jumping Jack' Flash' thriller series starring narrowboat-living ex-journalist Jack Johnson, all with canal settings. Andy's second book 'River Rats' will be published later in 2019.

'Drowned Lives' and 'Canal Pushers' are the latest examples in a thriving sub-genre of crime fiction, of which a classic might be Colin Dexter's Inspector Morse novel 'The Wench is Dead'.

Stephen and Andy are able to travel throughout the Midlands to give talks (includes Q&A and book signing).

If you're interested in an intriguing and entertaining session from Stephen Booth and Andy Griffee on the theme of 'Canal Noir', please get in touch.

Send a query by email to: events@stephen-booth.com

UPDATE: Stephen and Andy's first 'Canal Noir' festival event will be for Wolverhampton Literature Festival on Sunday 2nd February 2020, with other dates to be confirmed.