is it me, or is it a bit hot?

Well, here we are, almost in June and experiencing a bit of a heatwave in the UK, which involves a lot of conversations with passing strangers along the lines of, ‘Ooh, isn’t it hot?’ and ‘I know we shouldn’t complain about the heat, but…’

I hope you’re all coping well. I am just about apart from the pesky invasion of hayfever and mosquitoes, who seem to like my blood very much! They ignore my husband and head straight for me!

Thank you for all the kind words I’ve received for ‘Above. Lies. Below.’ It was fun to write a different kind of story, and I’m grateful that, despite it being sans Hugo and Coco, people still seem to enjoy it. I’m still unsure whether there will be any more ‘Les Enquêteurs’ stories, as I would rather have my hands full at the moment, but I hope we’ll see Caspar and his friends again.

As you may know by now, we recently announced the July release of ‘Bertram Hervé’s Final Case.’ This one feels as if it’s been a long time coming and, of course, was the reason for the whole ‘Les Enquêteurs’ series in the first place - a way of bringing all of my fictional universes together. I’ll write more about the story nearer the time of release, but I truly can’t wait to share this final (or is it?) case for Bertram, who is more or less a grandfather, or rather father, figure to Hugo. He has been more of a family to Hugo than his own family, and they share a wonderfully close bond. It was fun and actually touching to write their scenes together as these two crusty men clearly love each other very much.

Right now, I am in the final stretches of the ‘Lennie & Bertie’ trilogy. I’ve been writing it since November, which is a long time for me. It’s been a bit strange because it’s basically one longer, interconnected story spread across three books, which is trickier than it seems to make it both standalone and part of its own big arc. I still haven’t mastered it yet, but I hope to soon. And then, well, I was planning on starting the next Coco mystery, but I’ve finally relented and decided to do a story I said would likely not happen. A lot of people asked if Hugo and Josef would ever be reunited, and I always said probably not, primarily because I just couldn’t think of a story or how it would work, particularly now in Hugo’s life. But when people kept asking, I thought I should at least ruminate on it: could there be a story there? Well, yes, it seems there could. It’s still in the very early stages, but I am now actively planning to reunite these young lovers. Of course, Hugo is very different from when he last knew Josef; he’s a decorated police officer and very happily married. I know there’s a lot of love for Hugo and Ben, so all I can tell you is that I will do my very best to honour that.

I’ll keep you posted as I make my way through this new adventure. Until then, keep cool and healthy, and I wish you an abundance of happiness.

Take care and much love always,

Gx