J J Salkeld Reviews

J J Salkeld is your pen-name of Richard Simpson, who was documentary film-maker and a newspaper journalist until he turned to a life of crime. Crime writing, that is...

Based in Cumbria, Salkeld spent covering the people, events and places that produce the Lake District such a magic location, even though his books chronicle the crimes and misdemeanours of all the folks that are left behind - when night has fallen, and the tourists have all gone home.

His two ongoing series are extremely different in tone, content and setting. The Lakeland Murders features detectives Andy Hall and Jane Francis, as they and their team handle crimes that are ugly in a few of Britain's loveliest places. And though the offenses could not be deadly these novels aren't blood-soaked at all - although they both do not flinch from addressing the consequences of crime, both for wider society and people.

Border City Blues, J J Salkeld's other ongoing Cumbrian crime collection, is a really different kettle of criminals. Featuring Carlisle lass DS Samantha 'Pepper' Wilson, the first four novels in this series inform one story - covering her struggle. Gritty, metropolitan and violent, these 'Northern Meeting' books are shot through with humour that is gentle, and tackle lots of the issues facing Britain's police force in financially and socially contested times.

Salkeld identifies a strong sense of location, together with evolving, well-rounded characters along with an over-arching narrative - which transcends each individual publication's plot - as secrets to both series' global success.

Please mention J J Salkeld via Twitter (JJSalkeld1) or email JJSalkeld1(at)gmail.com. He is always happy to hear from readers if they're asking when the book will be published. The answer to that one, he states, is soon...

J J Salkeld Quality Chart