Pauline Rowson on the Bridge of the Wightlink Ferry signing a copy of DI Horton crime novel A Killing Coast

[Pauline Rowson]

I was thrilled when Captain Paul Marshall, of the Wightlink ferry, St Clare, welcomed myself, my husband Bob, and our dear friends Nick and Linda Leader on to the Bridge on a glorious sunny morning on Friday 23 March.  The occasion was  not only to give Captain Marshall a signed copy of the DI Horton crime fiction novel, A Killing Coast but to surprise Linda Leader who A Killing Coast is dedicated to.  We couldn't have picked a more perfect day.

Pauline Rowson signing a copy of A Killing Coast for Captain Paul Marshall on the Bridge of Wightlink, St Clare

As readers  of the DI Horton marine mystery crime series know, Horton's patch is Portsmouth and the Isle of Wight and to get from one to the other, he has to travel across the Solent sometimes by police launch, sometimes by the Hovercraft and some times by the Wightlink car ferry.  The Solent is a vibrant area, with so many contrasts and so much happening both on land and at sea, what better place to set a series of crime novels.

Sailing into Portsmouth Harbour, the setting for the DI Andy Horton marine crime series

 
A Killing Coast is number seven in the series and is set in Portsmouth and the Isle of Wight.

When a body is found floating in the sea off Portsmouth harbour, Detective Inspector Horton initially judges it to be an accidental death. Soon though, to his dismay, he discovers he’s got it very wrong. Accused of being incompetent by his boss, and with the head of the Major Crime Team coming down heavily on him, Horton wonders if he’s allowed his ongoing investigation into the disappearance of his mother over thirty years ago to cloud his judgement. With no clear motive for the murder, Horton is sucked into a baffling investigation that he is determined to resolve despite the odds. Not only does he need to find a brutal killer, but Horton now has to prove to himself, and others, that he is still up to the job.

Here are some more photographs of our trip across the Solent on a calm, sunny, glorious morning.

Pauline Rowson with Captain Paul Marshall

Captain Paul Marshall explaining the Radar system to Pauline Rowson, Nick and Linda Leader

Sailing into Portsmouth Harbour, the view from the Bridge of the St Clare, Wightlink ferries

Linda Leader who A Killing Coast is dedicated to, Pauline Rowson, crime author and Captain Paul Marshall on the Bridge of the St Clare, Wightlink ferry