An award-winning author from Preston will be interviewed at Waterstones next month.

Christie J. Newport will be being interviewed by Samantha Brownley of the UK Crime Book Club about her debut The Raven’s Mark, a crime thriller set in Preston, on Sunday 12^th February at 1pm.

“It is important to me to come back to my home city and celebrate in the place that inspired the setting for my story,” said Christie.

The former pupil of Archbishop Temple Church of England High School and Preston College won the inaugural Joffe Books Prize for Crime Writers of Colour in 2021 as well as garnering a number of glowing reviews for her debut from best-selling and award-winning authors.

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Author Lisa Jewell said, “The Raven’s Mark is the most assured crime debut I have ever read, pacey, authentic, and utterly gripping. I can’t wait to see what Christie Newport does next!”

“The Raven’s Mark is an utterly compelling and propulsive thriller that grabs you from the first page and refuses to let go. Newport is an author that everyone will be talking about,” said author Awais Khan. 

“Wow! Just finished The Raven’s Mark by Christie J Newport – as addictive as Criminal Minds, creepy as the movie Se7en and with characters who felt so real I thought they’d walked off the page and we were sat having a cuppa,” said Amy McCulloch, author of Breathless.

The book follows Detective Chief Inspector Beth Fellows as she battles a sadistic murderer who brands his victims with the image of a raven.

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The Mystery Tribune listed The Raven’s Mark as one of the best crime, mystery and thriller novels in November, amongst authors such as Jeffrey Deaver and Anthony Horowitz. My Chronicle Book Box opted to make The Raven’s Mark their crime and thriller book for December. Dorothy Koomson has listed The Raven’s Mark as one of her eight recommendations in Country and Town House magazine’s culture book of Great British Brands of 2023.

The event will take place upstairs at Waterstones and there will also be the opportunity to purchase the book and have it signed.

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