Christine Poulson
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First British Edition Hale (2003) |
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Stage Fright
During her maternity leave, Cambridge academic Cassandra James gets involved in a production of East Lynne. There is as much drama behind the scenes as there is on stage. The director is desperate to revive his flagging career. The maker of a fly-on-the-wall documentary is equally desperate to launch his. The crisis is reached when the leading lady disappears before the first night. Cassandra thinks it is more than stage fright, for Melissa has left six-month old Agnes behind. Cassandra’s struggles to uncover the truth lead her deeper and deeper in maze of illusion and deceit. Someone close at hand is not what they seem. Cassandra and her baby are in grave danger . . .
'Modern cosy is too restrictive a term for this exciting,
well-plotted and very written novel . . . . the mystery develops
through a series of well observed scenes and characters into a
surprising and very clever climax. You do not quite realise how tense
events have become until two thirds of the way through you find it
difficult to put the book down. Good to encounter eloquent prose and
a minimum of gore in a contemporary crime novel.' Rod Murphy,
Sherlock magazine
'my favourite type of mystery, suspenseful, and where everyone is
not what they appear . . . Christine is great at creating atmosphere
. . . she evokes the magic of the stage, and her characters [have] a
past to be uncovered before the mystery is solved.' Lizzie Hayes,
Mystery Women
Hardback
Hale
(2002) |
 |
Dead Letters
A painful divorce takes Cassandra James to Cambridge and a lectureship in a women’s college. She moves into her new home, an isolated house deep in the Fens. Suddenly her quiet life is shattered when she discovers the body of her head of department, Margaret, floating in a swimming pool.
This death triggers a series of events that threatens everything Cassandra values: her job, her integrity, and her independence. As the days grow shorter and darker, she suspects that Margaret was murdered and that she herself is the killer’s next target.
Will her skills in solving literary puzzles help her to unmask a murderer? She now has more to lose than she could ever have dreamt . . .
‘an intriguing read . . . keeps the reader guessing . . . a lot to enjoy in this romp through the Cambridge Commons . . . a strong sense of place and a narrative style that is both energetic and engaging.’ Margaret Murphy, Sherlock
‘A fascinating mystery, the sense of place was very strong . . . I just hope the next one is not too long coming.’ Lizzie Hayes, Mystery Women
‘It’s a relief to encounter a new crime writer who doesn’t rely on blood splattering and sweaty bodies to achieve her effects . . . the climax is surely unique . . . definitely different.’ Gwen Moffat, Shots magazine
About The Author
Before Christine Poulson turned to crime she was a respectable academic with a PhD. in history of art and had written widely on nineteenth century art and literature. During her career as an art historian, she worked as a curator of ceramics at Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery and as curator at the William Morris Society at Kelmscott House in Hammersmith, London. She taught for the Open University and was a lecturer in Art History at a college in Cambridge. The city of Cambridge and the surrounding fens, with their unique, sometimes sinister atmosphere, provided the setting for her first novel and she was spurred on by her own experience of being made redundant.
Christine is now a research fellow at the Centre for Nineteenth Century Studies at Sheffield. Her most recent work of non-fiction, a book on Arthurian legend in British Art 1840-1920, was short listed for the Mythopeotic Award in the USA in 2002. She lives in a water-mill in Derbyshire with her husband and small daughter.
Bibliography
N.B. dates and publishers in dark red indicate British First Editions. Dates and publishers in black indicate recent reprints.
Stage Fright
(Hale,
2003)
(Cassandra James)
Dead Letters
(Hale,
2002)
(Cassandra James)
The Quest for the Grail: Arthurian Legend in British Art 1840-1920
(
1999)
William Morris on Art and Design
(
1996)
William Morris
(
1989)
Stage Fright
WebPage: 
by Christine Poulson
