Introducing DI Pam Gregory
A Public Murder
‘My mother was a very difficult person, Inspector, and not always a very nice one. I
can think of any number of people who would want her dead.’
The shocking murder of the archaeologist, Stephanie Michaels in the new Leotakis Gallery in
Cambridge is clearly going to be a troublesome high-profile investigation from the outset.
But to track down the killer, DI Pam Gregory has to travel to the Greek island of Crete where
she finds herself on a journey she never expected, one which will change her life for ever.
My Thoughts
⭐⭐⭐⭐
Stephanie Michaels is a well known archaeologist who receives credit for her discovery of an important historical artefact in her back garden in Crete. However, when Stephanie visits Cambridge, the last thing anyone would have expected was for her body to be found in the new Leotakis Gallery, where she has been brutally murdered.
It falls upon DI Pam Gregory to try and get to the bottom of this tragic case, and before long she finds herself travelling to The Greek Island, Crete where Stephanie unearthed the historic item to try and gain a clearer picture as to why someone would want to put an end to her life.
But what DI Gregory learns there throws the already high profile investigation in to a spin, as following a conversation with Stephanie’s daughter, it quickly becomes apparent that Stephanie wasn’t a particularly nice person at all. Not only that, but there are many people out there that would be happy to see her dead.
Now DI Pam Gregory has a much wider net to scour in order to find the person responsible for the murder, but with Stephanie having such a murky past, it is going to be far from a straightforward investigation.
I really enjoyed getting to know DI Pam Gregory throughout this novel. She is a character that has a lot of passion for her job, and the drive and determination to get the answers others might struggle to attain. Despite her rather strong presence as an investigator, Pam is far from confident in her personal life. She is rather insecure, and seems to lack any real sense of how to take care of herself for once. The cast of characters we meet throughout this book all have a vast array of flaws and quirks that add to this gripping story.
A unique storyline with plenty of twists and turns throughout to keep you on your toes to the very end. This is a brilliant start to what looks to be a wonderful new series following DI Pam Gregory.
A Public Murder is now available:
(published December 2020)
From:
Amazon- Kindle (£4.86) and paperback (£7.99)
Apple ebook (£4.99)
Paperback from independent bookshops (via Gardners) (£7.99)
From Smashwords ($6.49)
From Waterstones (£7.99)
About the Author
When I was young, your passport included your profession. I put writer. ‘Why writer?’
asked my then boyfriend, ‘You never write anything.’ ‘But I’m going to,’ I said.
I always knew I was going to be a writer. It just took a while to get going. I kept getting
distracted by other things.
First distraction: Editing. Journalism
I had to earn my living and so I got jobs in journalism, publishing and as a staff writer for a
photographic news agency. I also took time off to travel. That’s when I first lived in Greece
which was on and off between 1973 and 1978.
Second distraction: Festivals.
I first helped run a festival in 1970. It was the Oxford Animation Festival, and it was a huge
success. It ended with Yellow Submarine and the Beatles singing ‘You’re such a lovely
audience’… I was hooked. Both on audiences and festivals.
When I came back to England in 1978, I re-founded the Cambridge Animation Festival, and was
its director for six years. I also helped set up the Hiroshima Animation Festival, and worked for
the Norfolk and Norwich Festival. In 2013 co-founded the Festival for Literature for Young
people (FLY) at the University of East Anglia (UEA). I was its producer until I retired in 2018.
Third distraction: Teaching:
I started writing fulltime in 1994 and had several books published. Then I began writing plays
which led to my getting an MA in creative writing at UEA, followed by a PhD on verbatim
theatre, and ten years teaching as a lecturer in Creative Writing and Literature.
And so we come to the writing:
My first published book was a guidebook to Athens, then I wrote a cookbook for dieters and
then I wrote a number of short fictions for young people learning English. These were
published mostly by Cambridge University Press and have won three Extensive Reading
Awards; Jojo’s Story’ was described by one critic as ‘a classic for all time’. Several became
bestsellers. I’ve also published essays and stories.
I wrote my first play when I was 9. It was an adaptation of The Reluctant Dragon by Kenneth
Graham and I performed it with my father at the family Christmas. (Poor family)
I’ve written a number of plays which have been produced in Norwich and Cambridge and
Heidelberg, and have received rehearsed readings in Ipswich, London and Paris. A few
have won prizes and awards.
And now it’s crime fiction.
And finally I’ve launched the first Pam Gregory novel, A Public Murder.
Victoria Wilks 