Anna Sayburn Lane

Thriller author

New novel

Cover reveal: The Peacock Room

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And here it is! I’m delighted to share the cover for the new Helen Oddfellow mystery, THE PEACOCK ROOM, which will be published in October.

A literary obsession.

An angry young man with a gun.

And one woman trying to foil his deadly plan.

When Helen Oddfellow starts work as a lecturer in English literature, she’s hoping for a quiet life after the trauma and loss of her recent past. But trouble knows where to find her.

There’s something wrong with her new students. Their unhappiness seems to be linked to their flamboyant former tutor, Professor Petrarch Greenwood, who holds decadent parties in his beautiful Bloomsbury apartment.

When Helen is asked to take over his course on the Romantic poet William Blake, life and art start to show uncomfortable parallels. Disturbing poison pen letters lead down dark paths, until Helen is the only person standing between a lone gunman and a massacre.

As Helen knows only too well, even dead poets can be dangerous.

THE PEACOCK ROOM is the intriguing follow-up to the acclaimed 2018 mystery thriller UNLAWFUL THINGS, which introduced the London literary sleuth Helen Oddfellow.

Thanks to designer Jessica Bell for another great cover.

Lewisham Voices podcast: Beyond Unlawful Things

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I enjoyed a long chat with Rachel New, outreach officer for Lewisham Libraries, for their Lewisham Voices website, about the inspiration behind Unlawful Things and my next novel, The Peacock Room. Includes tips on writing in lockdown, becoming a journalist, and how not to give up on your novel during eight years of writing!

You can listen to our conversation here.

New year, new book

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Mosaic of William Blake near Hercules Buildings, Lambeth, where the poet lived for 10 years.

I’ve made just one new year resolution this year – to write the first draft of my next novel.

Reading the reviews for Unlawful Things has been a delight, not least in discovering what people think about my heroine, Helen Oddfellow. She’s been described as “the new Morse”, a “splendid protagonist” and “who Dan Brown’s Professor Robert Langdon from The Da Vinci Code would have been if he were younger, female and travelled using an Oyster Card”.

But the big question readers have asked is: what happens next? Will Helen disappear back into my imaginary world, or are there plans for a sequel? The good news is, she’ll be back. I’m deep into researching, plotting and planning for the second Helen Oddfellow mystery.

I’ve been intrigued by the poetry and art of William Blake since university. Most people know him from the Songs of Innocence and Experience, including classics such as London and The Tyger. He was a bit of an oddball, a London tradesman who saw visions of angels and ghosts, and who struggled for recognition as an artist all his life.

I’m busy weaving a mystery around his already extraordinary life, for Helen and her friends to unravel. Think he’s not relevant today? Think again… I’ll keep you posted on progress. But let me know what you think – are there any other Blake fans out there?

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