Crime List  
In Kensington Gardens once... by H.R.F.Keating out April 1997 See Review 
Blood Waters by Chaz Brenchley  See Review 
Northern Blood 2 (ed. Martin Edwards) 
About Flambard Press  

In Kensington Gardens once... by H.R.F.Keating   
Flambard Paperback Original (1997) £6.99 See Review 
In Kensington Gardens once... the author, waist down on the left, restraining his son Simon from plunging into the Round Pond forty years ago. This is the only known photograph of Harry Keating in Kensington Gardens, which provides the link between the ten stories in this collection. Keating first got to know Kensington Gardens in 1956 when he moved to London to work as a journalist on the Daily Telegraph. He published his first detective novel in 1959, and since then he has written well over thirty novels, mostly crime, as well as numerous short stories and a number of critical works on crime fiction, which earned him the American George N. Dove Award in 1995. The Perfect Murder, the first of many books about Inspector Ghote off the Bombay CID, and The Murder of the Maharajah were both awarded the Crime Writers' Association Gold Dagger, and in 1996 he was the recipient of the Cartier Diamond Dagger for a lifetime's achievement. In 1985 he was elected President of the Detection Club in succession to G. K. Chesterton, Dorothy L. Sayers, Agatha Christie and Julian Symons. Harry Keating is married to the actress Sheila Mitchell. 
Gwen Mandley, who has illustrated this book with twelve drawings of Kensington Gardens, is well-known in the London art world and has shown her paintings in numerous exhibitions and galleries over a long period of time. After studying at Manchester School of Art, she worked as an artist for Oldhams Press before serving in the ATS during the Second World War. For her work in the War Office she was awarded an MBE. After the war, she became Art Director of the Civilian Bureau of Current Affairs, and later headed an art studio for a leading advertising agency. She is a member of the Council of the Chelsea Art Society. 

Blood Waters  by Chaz Brenchley    
Flambard Paperback Original (1996) £7.99  See Review 
Chaz Brenchley has established himself during the 1990s as one of the most innovative and sophisticated young writers of crime and horror fiction. His novels make something  new and unexpected from the genres he employs; the latest are Dead of Light (1995) and Dispossession (1996). Blood Waters is his first collection of stories, planned as a coherent book since all ten (the longest, a novella) either fed into or grew out of his year as crimewriter-in-residence on the St. Peter's Riverside Sculpture Project at Sunderland, `the strangest job in the known universe'. 
Of Blood Waters, Val McDermid, winner of the Crime Writers' Association's Gold Dagger Award for The Mermaids Singing as the best novel of 1995, says: 
"Chaz Brenchley's stories cut right to the heart of the damaged lives they depict. He speaks for those without a voice of their own. He tells these troubled lives with irony, empathy, honesty, anger, but above all, humour. Like a diamond dropped in a pool of sump oil, these stories send penetrating ripples through the reader's soul." See Review by Val McDermid 

 Northern Blood 2 ed. Martin Edwards  
Flambard Paperback Original (1995) £7.95  
A collection of crime writing with a northern theme edited by Martin Edwards and foreword by Peter N. Walker, Chairman of the Crime Writers Association (1995-1996) 
Includes two unpublished talks by Dame Ngaio Marsh (1895-1982) 
The Stories:  
R.I.P. by Gerard Benson 
Foreword by Peter N Walker 
Introduction by Martin Edwards 
Dog Television by Robert Barnard 
Drowning, Drowning by Chaz Brenchley 
The Harmless Pursuits of Archibald Stamp by Ann Cleeves 
Right Between the Eyes by Barbara Crossley 
A Tour Too Far by Eileen Dewhurst 
Act of Kindness by Martin Edwards 
Video Nasty by Roger Forsdyke 
Where the Snow Lay Dinted by Reginald Hill 
A Bend in Time by Margaret Lewis 
Borrower of the Night by Peter Lewis 
Heartburn by Val McDermid 
Intimate Voices by Kay Mitchell 
Wilfred's Last Do by Stephen Murray 
The Old Folks' Home Murder by Alan Sewart 
The Unknown Lady of Sutton Bank by Peter N Walker 
Simple When You Know by Barbara Whitehead 
Who Fired the Fatal Shots? by Douglas Wynn  

Two Talks by Ngaio Marsh  
1. Our Particular Job 
2. Shakespeare's Lost Whodunit  
"A chilling volume ... what really catches the eye about the collection is the more off-beat stories which will certainly appeal to those who would not ordinarily consider reading a book about crime." YORKSHIRE GAZETTE & HERALD 
"A well-balanced content of fact and fiction ... most of the stories had ingenious plots and plausible twists." A SHOT IN THE DARK 
"A sparkling anthology. This could be a text-book for aspiring authors, and the diversity of offerings ... make it a joy for any crime fan ... the best anthology for several years." YORKSHIRE POST 
"Excellent value ... Martin Edwards is making no idle boast when he speaks of variety being the hallmark of the contributions." NORTHERN REVIEW 
"Shows the commitment of its authors to the regional work of the Crime Writers Association," NORTH EASTERN EVENING GAZETTE 
"There is something here for any reader of short mystery fiction" THE MYSTERY READERS' JOURNAL 

ABOUT FLAMBARD PRESS   
Flambard was established by Peter & Margaret Lewis at the beginning of the Nineties as an outlet for talented Northern poets who were publishing widely in magazines and anthologies but couldn't get a book out. In one case the poet had her book accepted by three publishers who then either went bankrupt or had their Arts Council grant reduced and could no longer afford to publish it. It's a tough world for small, independent presses. 
In 1995 they decided to try fiction as well as poetry, and have done a handful of titles. Because both Margaret and Peter are members of the Crime Writers' Association, they wanted to include some crime fiction, the first one being Northern Blood 2, a sequel to a collection of Northern Blood published by Didsbury Press (which immediately ceased publishing). Martin Edwards edited this, and 17 or 18 Northern writers were included. The next crime book was another story collection, but this time by a single author: Chaz Brenchley's Blood Waters. Flambard's next crime title will be out in April, and is yet another story collection, but totally different from Chaz's book. This is H.R.F.Keating's In Kensington Gardens Once... 
All Flambard titles can be ordered directly from the publishers. 
Cheques to Flambard: 
4, Mitchell Avenue, Jesmond, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE2 3LA or Tel:(0191) 281 5196