So how was lock-down for you? I can't imagine. Everyone I know seems to have reacted to it differently. Like a lot of writers, I had plans to go and research my latest book. Like a lot of writers, I obviously couldn't. You can hardly sit and moan in a situation of international crisis – so you find a way round what is for you really no more than a little local difficulty.
I decided that if I had to stay at home, only venturing out for very limited periods, my characters would too. Of course, Thorncroft House is considerably larger than my home, but Harriet and Matthew had the problem of having to share their space with quite incompatible people. Then the arrival of a snow-bound traveller complicated things further.
There was the problem of supplies – no booking a supermarket delivery slot for them. No gorging on box-sets, either. And no phoning the local police when things go badly wrong – which I hope you expect them to do.
I would like to reassure you that all the issues will be resolved and that Harriet and Matthew can enjoy a period of quiet and relaxation. But I don't think I ought, do you?
Severn House
26 August 2021
The third instalment in Cutler’s popular Matthew Rowsley historical mystery series will delight fans… A gripping locked-room mystery with a suitably twisty plot, Cutler’s latest also offers an intriguing look at social customs and gender roles during the Victorian period. Booklist, November 2021