Cath Staincliffe at Tangled Web UK

Page Updated: 14/03/2011

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Cath Staincliffe - Page 1

01 Apr 11

About the Author (Photo (c) Paul Herrmann)

Bibliography

First British Edition Constable (2011)

Witness
Four bystanders in the wrong place at the wrong time. Witnesses to the shocking shooting of a teenage boy. A moment that changes their lives forever.
Fiona, a midwife, is plagued by panic attacks and unable to work. Has she the strength to testify? Mike, a delivery driver and family man, faces an impossible decision when his frightened wife forces him to choose – us or the court case. Cheryl, a single-mother, doesn’t want her child to grow up in the same climate of fear. Dare she speak out and risk her own life? Zak, a homeless man, offers to talk in exchange for witness protection and the chance of a new start.
Ordinary people in an extraordinary situation. Will the witnesses stand firm or be prevented from giving evidence? How will they cope with the emotional trauma of reliving the murder under pitiless cross-examination? A compassionate, suspenseful and illuminating story exploring the real human cost of bearing witness. A senseless crime, a community in fear, would you dare stand up and be counted? Would you bear witness knowing how high the cost might be?

First British Edition Constable (2010)

The Kindest Thing
When Deborah reluctantly helps her beloved husband Neil end his life she finds herself in the dock for murder. As the trial unfolds and her daughter Sophie testifies against her, Deborah, still reeling with grief, fights to defend her actions. Deborah seeks solace in her memories of Neil and their children and the love they shared. A love story, a modern nightmare and an honest and incisive portrayal of an ordinary woman caught up in an extraordinary situation, The Kindest Thing tackles a controversial topic with skill and sensitivity. A book that begs the question: what would you do?
'Intelligent and heartfelt.' She
'A compelling novel.' Star
'Excellent.' Big Issue
'Compelling to read.' Catholic Herald
'An involving novel.' Natasha Cooper, TLS
'A topical and controversial tale...I loved it.' Sarah Broadhurst, The Bookseller
'A modern day tragedy that keeps you rapt till the end.' The Pulse

Hardback
Allison & Busby (2007)

Missing

Back in June, the same week that I’d just found one person, two more went missing. None of them related. The only connection was me; Sal Kilkenny, my job; private investigator And finding people seemed to be the flavour of the month.

Janet Florin has been gone for almost a week. Her husband, Mark, reported her missing when she failed to collect their two young children from school and a family friend, Trisha Marlowe, desperate for news of Janet, hires Sal to track her down. What could possibly have led Janet to abandon everything she holds dear?
Ramin’s brother, Berfan, is missing, too. A failed asylum seeker, likely to be returned to Iran, has he disappeared to escape deportation? His brother says not. And when Sal hears that Berfan has been seen in Manchester, the chances of finding him look promising.
Sal has already traced Bob Swithinbank’s birth-mother, though whether Sandra Patefield will ever agree to meet Bob is another matter...
Meanwhile, as the summer kicks into gear, the temperature is notched up on the domestic front when Sal’s housemate, Ray, wants to share much more than just the chores.
Sal Kilkenny is back in this eagerly awaited new novel about separation, secrets and the search for truth.
‘Real people, real problems… Staincliffe writes brilliantly and compassionately about the things that matter’ Literary Review
‘Struggling single mother Sal Kilkenny is compassionate, gutsy, bright enough to know when it’s clever to be scared and tenacious as a Rottweiler. Cath Staincliffe’s tour of the mean streets and leafy suburbs of Manchester reveals the city as the natural successor to Marlowe’s Los Angeles’ Val McDermid
‘Gritty, intelligent, humane and involving… A highly believable heroine rooted in a vivid and convincing Manchester background in this novel and entertaining book’ Big Issue
‘A fast, witty novel with a rip-roaring finale’ shotsmag.co.uk
‘Complex and satisfying’ Sunday Times

First British Edition Allison & Busby (2005)

Hit and Run
Life is tough as a cop at the top - and tougher still with a new baby at home. Starting back at work after maternity leave, DCI Janine Lewis finds herself in the thick of two major investigations. As Janine and her team fight to unravel the story behind each death, Janine struggles with an insomniac baby, a traumatised little boy, an errant ex-husband and a sardonic boss.
`Has her finger on the pulse of her city and that rare ability to write about love, motherhood and friendship without sentimentality... A Must’ Val McDermid, Manchester Evening News
‘As good as the British private-eye novel gets’ Time Out
`Uncommonly engaging... zestful and involving... A writer with wit, energy and a point of view. Stand hack and watch her go’ Literary Review
`Compassionate, exciting, and down-to-earth. Infused also with that rare and precious ingredient: true feeling’ Literary Review
`Gritty, intelligent, humane and involving... a highly-believable heroine rooted in a vivid and convincing Manchester background’ The Big Issue
`Warm, compassionate and engrossing... One to watch out for’ Yorkshire Post
`With a cast of characters drawn from the gutter to the high ranks of business and officialdom, she probes the city’s underbelly in an exciting tale of corruption, exploitation and brutality’ Val McDermid
`Gutsy, unconvoluted prose... an original thriller whose protagonist is no-nonsense and thoroughly likeable... combines gritty realism with a clever plot... Recommended’ Birmingham Post

First British Edition Allison & Busby (2004)

Blue Murder
From the author of the popular ITV I drama series Blue Murder, starring Caroline Quentin.
Janine Lewis is Manchester’s first female Detective Chief Inspector. She’s also a single mother to three demanding children, and pregnant with a fourth. Her husband left her on the morning she got the promotion after she discovered him in bed with the cleaner. But Janine fought hard to get to the top, and she’s determined to prove herself, especially as she’s in charge of her first murder case.
The deputy head of a local high school was left to die face down in the mud of his allotment, his stomach slashed. The prime suspect is on the run and an elderly dying man and a seven-year-old child are the only witnesses. This isn’t going to be an easy case to crack for the new DCI...
Blue Murder blends the warmth of family life with the demands of the police investigation in a gripping new crime thriller.

About The Author
Cath Staincliffe is the creator of Granada Television’s Blue Murder, the hit police drama series starring Caroline Quentin, which a staggering 8.4 million viewers tuned in to see.
Cath Staincliffe is also the creator of the Sal Kilkenny mysteries. These books, set in contemporary Manchester (Northern England), feature single-parent, private eye Sal Kilkenny who, like many modern women, has to juggle the demands of work with those of parenthood.
Looking For Trouble (Crocus 1994) was short-listed for the Crime Writers Association's John Creasey Award for the best first crime novel and was also serialised on Woman's Hour, BBC Radio 4.
Cath Staincliffe was raised in Bradford with a few years interlude in Torquay. After graduating with a degree in Drama and Theatre Arts from Birmingham University she moved to Manchester to start a job. She lives with her partner and their three children. Combines working on freelance community arts projects and childcare with writing. She's a keen crime reader and aspiring gardener. A member of the Crime Writers Association and Mystery Women.
Cath has always written poetry and stories (from infant school onwards..) She studied play-writing at university but her writing was sporadic and limited to poetry for several years while she worked as a community artist. Cath devoted more time to writing when on maternity leave with her first child and she attended women's writers workshops at Commonword, Manchester. Her poetry and short stories were published in anthologies and she became interested in developing longer pieces initially in science fiction. She writes in small snatches, in longhand, sitting on the sofa (no room of her own!) and never works out all the plot first - which leads to tricky times. She attends a novel writing group where she gets and gives support and encouragement.
Looking For Trouble was inspired by the crime fiction that Cath likes to read. She chose to develop the domestic life of her heroine, Sal Kilkenny, by making her a mother with all the attendant responsibilities and concerns. Sal is a character whose life reflects the experience of the many women who have to combine business and work with home and family.
The City of Manchester provides a strong background to the stories, there is great diversity of place and atmosphere and the cosmopolitan make-up of the city means Cath can find any number of characters and enterprises to write about.
Cath is a founder member of Murder Squad, a group of seven crime fiction writers who have come together to promote their work and the genre to a wider public. Murder Squad carry out readings, literary projects, residencies and workshops in a whole range of settings. For further details see their website www.murdersquad.co.uk
Cath is also the creator of Granada Television's hit police drama series, Blue Murder, starring Caroline Quentin. Blue Murder was first broadcast in May 2003 and attracted an audience of 8.4 million viewers. It introduced Detective Chief Inspector Janine Lewis as Manchester's first female DCI. Recently separated, with three children and a fourth on the way, it's a challenging time for Janine to be heading her first murder enquiry but she has fought hard to get to the top and is determined to succeed. A second series of Blue Murder is showing in 2004. As well as writing scripts for the series, Cath is also writing the books. The first, Blue Murder: Cry Me A River, is published in summer 2004.

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Bibliography
N.B. dates and publishers in dark red indicate British First Editions. Dates and publishers in black indicate recent reprints.

Witness (Constable, 2011) Apr 11

The Kindest Thing (Constable, 2010) Constable Pbk Jul 10

Missing (Allison & Busby, 2007)

Hit and Run (Allison & Busby, 2005)

Blue Murder (Allison & Busby, 2004) (Janine Lewis)

Bitter Blue (Allison & Busby, 2003) (Sal Kilkenny)

Trio ( 2002) Severn House May 02

Towers Of Silence (Allison & Busby, 2002) (Sal Kilkenny)

Stone Cold Red Hot (Allison & Busby, 2001) Allison & Busby Pbk Feb 02 (Sal Kilkenny)

Dead Wrong (Headline, 1998) Headline Pbk Apr 99 (Sal Kilkenny)

Go Not Gently (Headline, 1997) Headline Pbk 1998 (Sal Kilkenny)

Looking For Trouble (Crocus Books Pbk, 1994) (Sal Kilkenny)