The Boatyard - Whaley & Gaskill: The New Cumbria Crime Series

Hello from Lancashire

And at long last, I’m thrilled to announce the new Cumbria Crime series!

Book 1, The Boatyard, is available for preorder right now.

Rachel McLean and I have been on quite a journey with DI Carl Whaley and DS Denise Gaskill over the last couple of years. 

Denise, in particular, has had a hard time from us. She’s been pushed around and threatened, and nine times out of ten she gives as good as she gets. She’s been ignored and overruled, and she doesn’t let that get in her way. And, of course, she’s been blown up.

That one’s definitely more of a problem.

So I thought I owed her something, and that something turns out to be her own series, where she'll star alongside Carl, ably supported by Harriett, their boss DCI Branthwaite, and a host of familiar faces. Although Zoe’s team at the Hub face their final chapter in The Marsh next February, Carl and Denise will make sure we stay in touch with the characters who have formed such a big part of our lives over the last few years.

I'm sad to lose Rachel as my co-writer, but we remain very much a team - I still have the genuine privilege of editing her books, and I know you're going to love the things she has planned, both in Dorset and elsewhere. I'm also thrilled that she's given me her blessing to write this new series. And here's what she has to say about it: 

Joel is a masterful crime writer, and I'm loving this continuation of the Cumbria Crime story we began together

We've developed most of the characters in Whaley & Gaskill together, but Carl was part of Rachel’s fictional world long before Cumbria became his home, so huge thanks to Rachel for trusting me to continue her legacy, and for the support she's given me every step of the way.

Huge thanks as well, of course, to you, the readers, who have been so supportive of us and the Cumbria Crime series. I’ve loved every minute of this journey, and I’m excited to continue it. And don’t worry. Even with the change of focus to Denise and Carl at PSD, you’ll still be seeing plenty of the old Hub crew, not to mention their enemies, and even some of the more irritating lawyers.

Well, I couldn’t just let Stan Basham walk into the sunset, could I?

The Whaley & Gaskill series will see more bodies in starkly beautiful locations, more lies and treachery and twists. And, because it’s PSD running the show, more corrupt cops. If you thought Ralph Streeting was as bad as it got, you’re in for a surprise.

The series kicks off with The Boatyard, based on the old Waterhead Marine boatyard on the edge of Ambleside, seen above (looking picturesque enough) and below (looking more like the sort of place where you might stumble across a corpse). It can be ordered on Amazon on the buttons below, and will be available in bookshops alongside the current Cumbria Crime series.

The Boatyard

As well as polishing The Boatyard, writing book 2, and making plans for the next two after that, I’ve spent most of the last two weeks fighting off the attempts of a particularly persistent hacker, who has got hold of a bunch of my passwords and has been trying to wrest control of all aspects of my digital life, from Facebook, Apple and Amazon to Spotify, Tesco, and Avanti West Coast. I've lived almost entirely on coffee during the long and tedious task of getting everything back again, but I'm pleased to say that things are finally falling back into place.

I'll leave you with a photo taken at a recent dinner with friends in Gisburn, not far from where we live. Look! There were reindeer! (Not to mention peacocks, but peacocks are ten a penny round these parts).

Reindeer

I’ll be in touch again soon, with more news about The Boatyard, and a description of the most bizarre tourist attraction I’ve ever experienced, a few weeks back in Croatia.

In the meantime, happy reading, keep your friends close, and keep your passwords closer!

Joel