Today I’m joining the blog tour for Seat 97. I’m sharing a guest post written by the author with thanks to Rachel Gilbey at Rachel’s Random Resources for inviting me on the tour and to Tony Bassett for writing his guest post.

Blurb:

A man who had it coming, or mistaken identity?

People are finding their seats for a soul concert when a shot rings out. David Barron crumples to the floor. Next to him, journalist Nick Colton and his wife, Greta, step in to help.

The assassin quickly escapes from the building. Realising this might be the scoop of his life, Nick rushes after him.
Although the man evades him – perhaps a good thing, seeing as he is holding a gun – Nick is determined to find the killer. Despite the misgivings of the police.

So who was David Barron and why was he shot? Why was he holding the lethal ticket for Seat 97?

Can you work out the mystery?

This is a totally gripping standalone crime mystery set in London that will keep you guessing.

Guest Post:

Tony Bassett’s guest post is entitled How Seat 97 Came To Be Written.

After watching one of my favourite singers give a brilliant performance at the Royal Albert Hall four years ago, I left with the sounds of soul classics still ringing in my ears – together with the kernel of an idea for a crime thriller. 

      My girlfriend and I had arrived early for the concert, eager to avoid any last-minute rush.

      As we sat in the plush, velvet seats inside the iconic building, opened in 1871, I couldn’t help but be inspired by our surroundings. 

As a crime writer, I began to reflect on the novel I was writing at the time – one of a series set in the Midlands.  I’m still unsure exactly how it happened, but my thoughts then drifted towards my immediate location.

It somehow crossed my mind that if the sound of early concert goers taking their seats were to be suddenly shattered by a gunshot, it could make a dramatic and intriguing starting point for a novel.

As the concept developed in my mind, I visualized an assassin hiding behind the huge red velvet curtains at the back of the stalls. Since childhood, I’d always had a vivid imagination!

Once the assassin’s intended victim had taken their seat, the trigger would be released.  I imagined the dead man slumping forward, to the consternation of ticket holders nearby.

That was it. A major decision had been taken.  I had the makings of a novel which, for the first time in my writing career, I was going to set in London. 

I’m glad to say that, over the next few days, a multitude of other ideas flooded into my head – potential principal characters, potential back-stories for those principal characters, potential witnesses, potential suspects, potential locations, in addition to the hall in Kensington. 

And, after I had sat down and began writing Chapter One of  “Seat 97” a few months later,  I took a second major decision. The hero was not going to be a detective, as had been the case with my Midlands novels. It was going to be a journalist.

I spent more than forty years working in journalism, but after switching to writing novels a few years ago,  I originally thought I would use my knowledge of police work to shape my books.

But here was my chance to tap into my lengthy reporting experience – mostly spent in the capital – to produce a journalistic character. 

This was how Nick Colton, the hard-working, enthusiastic journalist in the story, came to be created.  And at the same time it became clear he would be investigating the murder at the concert in tandem with the official police. 

The book took me nearly four months to write.  After that, I put it to one side as I was then heavily involved in writing books for my Midlands series, featuring DCI Gavin Roscoe and DS Sunita Roy.

I was delighted when, earlier this year, I happened to mention to my publisher that I had a book set in London which I wished to have published at some point.

He was quite enthusiastic and, after I had personally edited the book further, I sent him the manuscript and waited in anticipation to hear back.

I’m pleased to say he liked the book, although he had misgivings about my provisional title, “Lethal Ticket.”  After a few tweaks, the book was given the snappy new title of “Seat 97” and published  after Easter in ebook, paperback and hard cover versions.

Here is what two reviewers have said about “Seat 97:”  

Geoff Verney on Goodreads:  “This is a fast-paced thriller that follows how the police and a journalist investigate the same crimes from different angles.”

Marilyn Pemberton on Amazon called the book “A complex Who Dunnit.”  She says: “I really liked that Nick is a journalist rather than a typical flawed detective you get in most crime novels.” 

I am surprised as anyone that this 263-page thriller could have developed from an evening spent at a soul concert.

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Seat 97 is available from Amazon.

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