Exclusive interview with Hannah Dennison and a review of her latest mystery novel involving a high speed train line
Rating: 4 Stars
By Gabrielle Pantera
“The backdrop of this book revolves around the possibility that a high-speed train network, similar to HS2 that is being developed right now in the UK, might destroy the Honeychurch Hall estate,” says Deadly Desire at Honeychurch Hall author Hannah Dennison. “As I did the research I became more and more angry about the British government’s plan to destroy hundreds of listed buildings just to shave fifteen minutes off the travel time from London and Birmingham. My feelings surprised me and of course, now I am an active campaigner.”
Deadly Desire is a charming whodunit set in Devon at an English manor house. Our heroine Kat Stanford has been taking care of her mother Iris in the town of Little Dipperton. Kat is ready to return to London but then gets the news that the whole town is in uproar over plans for a high-speed train line that will mean losing forever part of their quaint village. Outraged, Kat decides to stay to help fight to stop the train. Tensions run high at the town meeting. A misfit crew of servants and colorful locals face the possibility of their lifestyle being gone forever. The government’s compensation agent disappears and one of the villagers is found dead. Who did it?
Dennison draws us right into the story with the relationship between Kat and her mother Iris especially well-wrought. Dennison laces her mysteries with clues and tidbits to keep you guessing. The characters you’re reading about feel as though they could be your friends or neighbors. You don’t have to read the first book in this series (Murder at Honeychurch Hall) before you read this one, but you may want to because the setting is such fun.
A typical day for Dennison is to start writing very early in the morning. “I usually wake up before the alarm at 5:30am and, armed with a cup of coffee, go straight to my computer. I got into this habit years ago when I used to ‘do’ Morning Pages from Julia Cameron’s wonderful book, The Artist’s Way. If I don’t capture that magical early start, I am doomed.”
Dennison says deadlines are most challenging part of her work, but that she can’t do without them. “If I don’t have one, I just faff about. And even when I do, which is always, I seem to leave it to the very last moment and then panic. I have a very patient husband.”
To spark ideas for plots, Dennison likes to scour the newspapers for odd stories. “I also find that some people love to tell me things,” says Dennison. “I worked at an advertising agency and the plant guy was a mine of information. The minute he found out I was an author he’d tell me the most bizarre things that he came across during his job, and he always seemed to know someone connected to the crime. I suspect he was making a lot of it up. For example, his wife usually worked with the killer or something equally outlandish, but I didn’t mind.”
Dennison switches between writing two different mystery series. Before she makes the switch, she re-reads her books. “It helps me capture the voice of my protagonist and the tone of each work,” says Dennison. “I have another series called The Vicky Hill Mysteries. They chronicle the adventures of an aspiring investigative reporter who, unfortunately is stuck writing the obituaries. This is also set in Devon, England and is based on my own experiences as a cub reporter.”
She is currently writing the third book in the Honeychurch Hall Mystery series.
Dennison moved to Portland, Oregon two years ago, which she says reminds her of England. She was born in Hampshire.
Deadly Desires at Honeychurch Hall: A Mystery Series by Hannah Dennison. Hardcover:, 304 pages, Publisher: Minotaur Books (May 5, 2015), Language: English, ISBN: 9781250007803 $24.99
