Fiona Walker's Blog

I’m thrilled to share the news that French Relations is out as an audiobook. The very first Fiona Walker, bursting with authentic 90s love and lust in the Loire, can be downloaded today from Audible, Apple, Google Play and other audiobook platforms.

Read by the wonderful Alix Dunmore, French Relations is a big, fun-filled hug of a rom-com for hopeless romantics everywhere:

A summer holiday with her eccentric, infuriating family and assorted glamorous hangers-on is the last thing Tash French would usually volunteer for. But her mother is insistent and, out of a job and recently ditched by her boyfriend, Tash decides that spending July in the vast rambling Loire chateau might have its compensations.

It’s a summer of lust, bed-hopping, unresolved sexual tension, horses, dogs, bolshy kids and lots of bad behaviour. And in the midst of bedlam, at least two people fall in love…

What’s more, Kiss Chase and Lucy Talk are coming out as audiobooks next month, soon to be followed by Well Groomed, Snap Happy and Between Males in the summer. It’s a sextet of sexy vintage Walkers for 2026.

You can read more about French Relations and the story behind it on its dedicated page HERE.

To buy French Relations on Audible, please click this LINK (and if you’re a member, the good news is that it’s currently on sale, hooray).

My website blog has been eerily quiet while all the Walker creative energy was being poured into writing another twisty-turny, rollicking village whodunnit. Now I’ve dunnit, I’m delighted to be back to share the news that The Village Detectives and The Deadly Brew comes out in July this year.

I’m always horribly distracted during the final stage of writing a book. The dog gets ever-shorter walks, the post goes unopened, and the family are reduced to playing Russian roulette with frozen meals that the labels have fallen off. By this point, I’m carrying the entire plot in my head and dread disruptions, often working late at night when everyone has gone to bed, the funky smart LED lightbulbs in my study set to an ambient sunset glow to fool my brain into thinking it’s still early evening. To my consternation, just as I was writing the penultimate chapter of The Deadly Brew, we had a power cut. It stayed off for so long, I finally got around to opening the letter from National Grid informing me that they were trimming trees and the electricity would be off all day. ‘No matter!’ I said through gritted teeth, ‘I’ll just write it tonight!’ But when the power finally came back on, the smart bulbs had switched to ‘disco’ mode, and I couldn’t find the little remote that came with it. So I finished the book over three more successive late nights with a fabulously Donna Summer vibe.

The day I delivered my manuscript, having barely slept in 24 hours, I realised to my horror that I had a school governors’ meeting that evening. I opted to do it by Zoom, cranking up the face filter to max to hide the bags under my eyes, and praying I wouldn’t nod off during the Headmaster’s annual report. Once it was underway, I realised two things: 1) I was the only governor not there in person, meaning my strangely smooth face was being displayed on the meeting room’s 65-inch TV at maximum scale, and 2) the disco lights were still all flashing behind me. I hope I lightened the mood.

Now I’ve finally caught up on some sleep, I’ve excitedly realised that Spring has started bursting forth while I was rounding up my latest suspects, with new lambs out in the field opposite our front gate, and demure hellebores partying with the brash daffs in the garden. I’m so grateful to our British springs for their capacity to cheer, no matter how gloomy the world is.

I’ll post more about The Village Detectives and The Deadly Brew here very soon. Meanwhile, if you want to make sure you get it on the day of publication, it’s already available to pre-order (clicking here should take you there).

Other exciting news coming soon is the release of six of my early books on audio – yes, six! These include French Relations, Lucy Talk and Kiss Chase, which are being recorded by the brilliant Bolinda as I type for release in early summer; Well Groomed, Snap Happy and Between Males will follow shortly after. I think the first three titles can also now be pre-ordered, and I’ll post details and links here in a separate blog as soon as I have them.

All of which means I’ll be back very soon. For now, I’m readying myself to start editing by disco light, because I still haven’t found that remote…

Are you ready to curl up with some cosy crime? The third instalment in The Village Detectives series is now available in ebook, paperback, hardback and audiobook. You can click on the cover to learn more, or read on…

The Little Black Book Killer revisits the leafy riverside village of Inkbury, where an online dating app is not all it seems. Local lonely-hearts beware; the look of love might just be deadly.

Join Juno and Phoebe as they set out to find the killer before it’s too late. Jam-packed with colourful characters, fun and high jinks – plus plenty of twists and red herrings – it’s the perfect escape this autumn. (But I wrote it, so I would say that).

You can order online by clicking the link below. And a big thank you to all those who have pre-ordered, you lovely bunch. I really hope you all enjoy it. If you do, and have time to leave a review, I’m always so grateful because it makes a huge difference.

The fields outside my study window are once again a-bleat with lambs that sound so child-like, I keep rushing outside on a wave of maternal instinct. Once there, the hedges are bubbling with birdsong, and the garden is a pomade of sweet scents.

I *so* love spring!

All of which makes me doubly grateful that I’ve finally delivered the latest Village Detectives novel after a difficult six months. Last autumn, my partner Sam broke his leg badly. His right thighbone was already full of plates and pins from a horse fall way back in the nineties that ended his eventing career, and this time it needed to be completely reconstructed, Bionic Man style. It was a big op. Poor Sam’s recuperation has been slow and painful. I’ve covered for him as best I can with my nurse’s cap plonked on top of the many hats Sam usually wears, although it’s been a terrific juggle with precious little time for uninterrupted writing.

As a result, writing dastardly deeds in Inkbury was far trickier than usual. Through November and December, I worked mostly in frantic snatches on my laptop in the mum-taxi/ambulance whilst waiting for teenagers to come out of schools and clubs or Sam to emerge from hospital appointments and physio. January was taken up rewriting these ‘carpark chapters’, which were frankly bonkers. In February, I thought I had a first draft, only to review it and change my mind completely about whodunnit. Thank goodness Sam started driving again in March, meaning he could reclaim the early-morning teen runs and I could return to the witching hours of my familiar late-night writing shifts. That transformed everything, and the last few weeks marked a joyfully exhausting nocturnal romp to the (all-new) end.

The Little Black Book Killer will be coming out in October. In it, Juno and Phoebe once again join forces to solve a village mystery, this time to uncover why Inkbury’s most pugnacious entrepreneur has been found dead in the cricket pavilion, and what that might have to do with the dating app Juno’s just signed up for.  With old rivalries, buried secrets, lonely hearts and a killer on the loose, it’s another fun-packed puzzler and available for pre-order HERE.

I’m now enduring the nail-biting wait for edit notes – of which there will be plenty, I’ve no doubt – and trying not to overthink the usual anxious maybes: maybe I should have made it darker, maybe I could have added in some horses and men in breeches, or those sexy elves which are all the rage in fiction. Then again, maybe I should just take May’s gorgeous canvas as inspiration for the next instalment, blossom floating down while the sap rises, and the welcome sight of Sam setting off at a brisk limp to forage wild garlic, Nordic poles clacking (because crutches make him feel old). He insists he’s almost ready to get back on a horse again.

And I’m already raring to write another book. If it features broken legs, sheep and bluebell woods seamed with pungent wild garlic, you’ll know why.

I’m excitedly strapping on my digital roller-skates to announce through my virtual megaphone that a brand new Fiona Walker novel is out today, published worldwide by the brilliant Boldwood Books.

The Poison Pen Letters sees the Village Detectives back in action in leafy Inkbury.  Filled with colourful characters and dastardly deeds – plus plenty of tantalising twists and a sprinkle of romance – it is the perfect toasty escape as the nights draw in.

When crime writer Phoebe receives an invitation to her own funeral, she has no intention of taking it lying down. She and her husband Felix are straight on the case, along with old friend and neighbour Juno and pub landlord Mil. But before they know it, the postman drops dead on Phoebe’s doorstep, and the whole village is caught up in the drama.

Phoebe strongly suspects the culprit is close to home, but Felix is convinced it’s somebody from his wife’s past, possibly from their madcap London dating days (which some readers may remember from my ‘nineties romcom novel Kiss Chase). Meanwhile, Juno is investigaing the back-stabbing village book club, and Mil has skeletons of his own in the cupboard.

The Poison Pen Letters is available in hardback, paperback, eBook and audio. Starting at just £1.99, it’s a bargain of a reading treat. Please click below to find out how to buy.

And if you haven’t already read The Art Of Murder, they make the perfect double act!

I am eternally everyone who buys and reads the books in The Village Detectives series, and if you can find the time to review them – even just clicking a star rating at the end – that makes a world of difference too. Please share the news, tell your friends, gift them to crime-loving rellies and send up a wish for Disney+ to commission a series asap.

Finally, don’t forget you can subscribe to my publisher’s dedicated Fiona Walker cosy crime newsletter, which will soon be featuring an exclusive Village Detectives Christmas short story, as well as regular news and giveaways.

I’m delighted to reveal the gorgeously deadly cover of the second novel in The Village Detectives series, The Poison Pen Letters, which comes out on 8th November.

Phoebe and Juno are back with a new case, and it’s perplexingly toxic! There are plenty more sinister goings-on in beautiful Inkbury, alongside new friendships, family fracas, animal antics and village high jinks. Here’s the blurb…

We regret to announce the tragic death of Phoebe Fredericks…

When crime novelist Phoebe opens the post and receives an invitation to her own funeral, she’s horrified. Not least because the date of her death is marked as tomorrow.

Deciding it’s nothing more than a prank from an enemy from her past, she determines to put it to the back of her mind.

But the next morning, when her completely infuriating postman (who likes to think himself her no.1 literary critic) rings her doorbell, a parcel of poisoned pen-nibs explodes in his face. Forced to confront the fact her correspondence is more RIP than RSVP, Phoebe realises someone must want her dead.

Together with the newly-formed Village Detectives – Juno, Mil and Felix – Phoebe resolves to find out who is behind the poison pen letters before they strike again, and her fate is signed, sealed and delivered!

The Poison Pen Letters will be published in eBook, hardback, paperback, audiobook and large print, so it’s perfect to gift as well as guzzle. Print versions can be pre-ordered right now by clicking below, and the audio link will follow soon.

If you haven’t yet read The Art of Murder, that’s also available in all formats and is just a click away; simply follow this LINK.

There’s lots more info about Phoebe and Juno’s new adventures in The Village Detectives section of this site. To hear first about upcoming books in the series, and receive exclusive offers and content, please subscribe to the Boldwood Books Fiona Walker newsletter by clicking on the envelope below and following the instructions.

If you want to ask anything about The Village Detectives or my other books, you’re also welcome to get in touch via the Contact page or leave a comment below; I always love to hear your thoughts. And I’m enormously grateful to all of you who have already bought The Art of Murder, especially for the lovely ratings and reviews on Amazon, Goodreads and social media – they make such a world of difference!

My first novel, French Relations, was published on 7th July 1994, which makes it thirty today. Shocking to realise that it is now older than I was back then.

I started writing it in my early twenties to pass the time whilst recuperating from illness, returning from a hectic London house-share to my parents’ Berkshire cottage for a break. What began as a short story grew to 800 pages over the course of a year’s feverish writing, interspersed with part-time work at a local saddlery.

The book has a vast cast of characters, all gathering in a gorgeous turreted cream manoir in the Loire Valley for a family holiday that culminates in a riotous al fresco party. Amid the suncream and apéros, Citroens and Chablis, my heroine Tash falls head over heels in love…with the wrong man. It was a pure escapist joy to write, two parts Jilly Cooper to one Jane Austen and a quarter Gen X daydream.

Mine was a star-crossed publication journey. The first agent I submitted it to loved it; the first editor she shared it with also loved it. Before I knew it, I was in Hodder and Stoughton’s Bedford Square boardroom being introduced to the team over champagne and canapes. I was signed for two more books and, as the cliché would have it, I ‘never looked back’.

Except I do look back quite often, especially now that the publishing world is so different. And I’m continually stunned and humbled by how lucky I was to get my break the way I did.

My introduction to life as an author came in a haze of two-bottle lunches in Bloomsbury and glamorous nights out wooing key buyers in the Café de Paris or partying with booksellers in swanky hotels. The publicity my debut received was amazing, although in my naivety I didn’t appreciate how rare it is for a new author to have a full-page photograph in the Sunday Times magazine or be interviewed on Woman’s Hour. I just went with the flow and loved every minute.

Looking back, I can see how kindly I was treated for being so young, particularly in an era when few writers emerged in their twenties, fewer still in commercial women’s fiction. These were the years before Bridget Jones slid down her fireman’s pole to spark the Chick Lit revolution. Publishing was still entirely analogue: no internet, no Amazon, Kindle, social media, blogs, metatags, algorithms or TikTok trends. Just page-turners, thumping good reads…and giveaways.

Hodder gave away a pair of espadrilles with every hardback of French Relations sold out of a ‘dump bin’ (the glorious name for the now-outdated promotional cardboard bookshelf displays offered to bookshops for certain titles). The warehouse soon filled up with footwear and, much to their alarm, poor booksellers found themselves asking each customer’s shoe size to go with their summer read. It drove them mad, but it worked; copies of French Relations raced out of shops as fast as those woven soles could carry them.

By the time I celebrated my own thirtieth birthday, I’d written half a dozen more novels, including a sequel to French Relations in which Tash got together with the right man. I’d also toured and promoted around the world, met a host of amazing authors, sold over a million books and had the time of my life.

That was more than half a lifetime ago. The perks may be far fewer these days, but I still write exactly as I did then – often late at night, fuelled by caffeine, typing ever more addictively and feverishly as deadlines approach, borrowing from real life, falling in love with my cast, and giggling at with glee when funny moments land. And the fictional parties are just as riotous, although confess I bump off the odd guest now. (But only the really annoying ones).

I’d love to one day return to that dreamy cream manoir in the Loire to see how they’re all doing. Meanwhile, I will never underestimate how lucky I was to find myself in the right place at the right time thirty years ago and to have enjoyed such a lucky run.

Bon anniversaire, French Relations. Thank you for starting it all. Je croise les doigts pour que je fasse un retour (meme si je dois tuer pour le faire).

May has come as a delicious shock because I’ve barely looked up from writing since February. Then, earlier this week, I delivered the second Village Detectives novel – out in November, yippee – and realised that Spring’s finally sprung, the greyhounds were out in the garden sunbathing, and it’s publication month already.

First Country Secrets is romping out in paperback today, and later this month, the Village Detectives spring into action in The Art of Murder, which will be published across all formats on Monday the 20th.

I’ve had two unopened boxes of author copies waiting on a table behind me all week, which I was vaguely saving for an ‘unboxing video’, but life is too short, as are my unmanicured nails. I’m sure you’d rather read the books than see me wrestling with packing tape, shrink wrap, and scissors. Instead, I’ll inbox and photograph them for this blog, including those pre-requisite pimp-my-pet paperback shots.

Done! And I’ll offer a giveaway soon, so watch this space. But if you don’t wish to trust the fickle hand of fate – or the disorganised multi-tasking of Walker – you can order Country Secrets in paperback by clicking below…

…and to pre-order The Art of Murder in paperback or eBook, audio and even a lovely hardback, please click below.

And don’t forget you can sign up for Boldwood’s Fiona Walker newsletter HERE (they’re far better organised at giveaways).

I’ll be back with more about Juno and Phoebe’s return soon!

To subscribe to this blog, please fill in your email below:

Subscribe

With my life of crime now in full swing, I’m thrilled to share the cover of the first book in the Village Detectives series, The Art of Murder. Isn’t it drop-dead gorgeous?

The Art of Murder comes out on May 20th. You can pre-order a copy by following the link below.

Meanwhile, the clever team at Boldwood Books has created a Village Detectives newsletter that will offer free giveaways and exclusive content. To sign up for that – and automatically enter into a draw to win a signed paperback – please click the link below.

I’ll be posting more here soon about both The Village Detectives and The Comptons, so please keep checking back or subscribe below for automatic updates when there’s a new blog post. It’s going to be a busy year, and I wouldn’t want you to miss anything!

Subscribe

I’m delighted to have book news to share! The first of my Village Detectives series is coming out in May 2024.

Reuniting to solve mysteries whilst navigating midlife mayhem and a generous dollop of late-blooming romance are two of my all-time favourite heroines, Phoebe Fredericks from Kiss Chase and Juno Glenn from Snap Happy. I’ve always wanted to bring them back, firmly believing that a romcom’s happy-ever-after is only ever a beginning. Having also always longed to write whodunnits, this is the perfect opportunity to combine two characters I love and a genre I adore with all the usual romping rural Walker fun.

My new partners in crime are the wonderful Boldwood Publishers, who I’ve admired from the get-go. They’re a dynamic, award-winning and frankly brilliant bunch whose egalitarian approach to publishing is a breath of fresh air.

You can read more about the Village Detectives on this website by following this LINK.

To pre-order the first in the series, The Art of Murder, click HERE.