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Bruce Beckham

Goodreads Author


Born
in Middlemarch, The United Kingdom
Website

Genre

Influences
John Updike, Patricia Highsmith, John Fowles, Ruth Rendell, Colin Dext ...more

Member Since
February 2014


BRUCE BECKHAM brings a lifelong love of the outdoors to the contemporary crime novel. An award-winning, Amazon best-selling writer and member of the UK Society of Authors, he pens fiendish plots, vivid wild scenes and compelling dramas.

His series 'Detective Inspector Skelgill Investigates' now extends to 24 standalone murder mysteries and 8 boxsets, and sells across five continents, from Japan and India to Brazil and the United States of America. Over one million copies have been downloaded worldwide.

Murder at Blind Beck (#25) was released in May 2025 and can be ordered at https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DK2XQ46Z

You are welcome to contact Bruce directly through the Goodreads message system or via his publisher, at this address: lucius-ebooks@l
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Popular Answered Questions

Bruce Beckham Hi Bec

Thanks for your question - it's a very pertinent one!

The short answer is that - yes - they are stand-alone mysteries.

However, they are set in ch…more
Hi Bec

Thanks for your question - it's a very pertinent one!

The short answer is that - yes - they are stand-alone mysteries.

However, they are set in chronological order, and so perhaps there is a small degree of 'context' that informs developments in each successive novel.

In general though, I don't think there is anything you would need to know from earlier books to understand (and hopefully enjoy!) a later one.

I read 'Rabbit is Rich' by John Updike and thought it was brilliant - only to discover it was the third in a very closely linked series of 4 books.

You give me the opportunity to highlight one point that will not be apparent: I wrote 'Murder in Adland' ten years before the second in the series. It was only when the Kindle edition began to take off that I realised this was where I needed to concentrate my efforts: (most) reviewers were clamouring for more! But in that interval I significantly changed my writing style (and hopefully competence!). I am currently writing the fourth DI Skelgill mystery, which should be published in Spring 2015. After that, I intend to revisit Murder in Adland to bring it into line with the rest of the series.

Best wishes

Bruce(less)
Bruce Beckham Aha - some good questions!

1. Inspiration for characters

Mainly people whom I have met and got to know something of! This way I have a good idea how the…more
Aha - some good questions!

1. Inspiration for characters

Mainly people whom I have met and got to know something of! This way I have a good idea how they will act in most circumstances. Between the real person and the page they might switch shape, size, age, gender etc - but at the heart of each is a little spark of personality I can rely on for consistency.

I try to give characters names that are distinctive and perhaps that reflect their nature or profession (to help the reader identify them more easily). A simple example of this is DS Leyton in the 'DI Skelgill' series - he is a 'Cockney' and Leyton is a district of East London.

2. Notes during idea-gathering stage

No - I don't take notes in the beginning. I develop an overall idea for a novel in my head and start writing. I liken this to knitting a tartan scarf (not that I can knit) to a pattern I've seen in a shop. At any stage after commencement there is a neatly finished portion at the front, with a whole array of loose threads to be woven back in, and several untouched balls of varying colours yet to be incorporated!

I do have lots of ideas once I get moving, and sometimes discover a new and better ending halfway through! I record these on whatever is handy and incorporate them into the untidy tail of the scarf as soon as I reach my Mac.

3. Diary - personal reflections on writing

No - I don't keep a diary of this nature - partly due to time pressure - but I do think a lot about the subject while I'm occupied with routine tasks eg. taxiing kids around Edinburgh, loitering at the gym, waiting for the dog to return with the ball - and also while I'm reading - perhaps the best cue for comparison and learning.

(less)
Average rating: 4.32 · 27,584 ratings · 1,420 reviews · 223 distinct works • Similar authors
Detective Inspector Skelgil...

4.36 avg rating — 2,025 ratings
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Murder in Adland (DI Skelgi...

3.85 avg rating — 2,044 ratings — published 2012 — 5 editions
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Murder on the Lake (DI Skel...

3.97 avg rating — 1,534 ratings — published 2015 — 5 editions
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Murder in the Woods (DI Ske...

4.09 avg rating — 1,345 ratings — published 2017 — 5 editions
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Murder In School (DI Skelgi...

4.13 avg rating — 1,292 ratings — published 2014 — 5 editions
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Murder on the Edge (DI Skel...

4.17 avg rating — 1,081 ratings — published 2014 — 4 editions
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The DI Skelgill Series #5-7

4.43 avg rating — 997 ratings
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Murder at the Flood (Inspec...

4.12 avg rating — 1,047 ratings — 5 editions
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Murder by Magic (DI Skelgil...

4.25 avg rating — 962 ratings — published 2015 — 5 editions
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Murder at the Wake (DI Skel...

4.15 avg rating — 888 ratings — published 2016 — 4 editions
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More Who, Less Dunit

The Search for Othella Savage The Search for Othella Savage by Foday Mannah

My rating: 2 of 5 stars


This was the latest choice of our Edinburgh street book group. It is set largely in our city and the villages to the west, which was viewed as an aspect of the novel’s appeal. The characters are mainly members of the expat Sierra Leonean community and connected to a rather dubious organisation, the Lion Mountain Church.

Unfortu Read more of this blog post »
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Published on September 21, 2026 10:20 • Tags: agatha-christie, bruce-beckham, golden-age, skelgill
Murder in Adland Murder In School Murder on the Edge Murder on the Lake Murder by Magic Murder in the Mind Murder at the Wake
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4.32 avg rating — 27,299 ratings

Trent's Last Case
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A Cumberland Vall...
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Cumbria Within Li...
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Bruce’s Recent Updates

Bruce Beckham wrote a new blog post

More Who, Less Dunit



The Search for Othella Savage by Foday Mannah
My rating: 2 of 5 stars
This was the latest choice of our Edinburgh street book group. It is set largely Read more of this blog post »
Bruce Beckham rated a book it was ok
The Search for Othella Savage by Foday Mannah
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This was the latest choice of our Edinburgh street book group. It is set largely in our city and the villages to the west, which was viewed as an aspect of the novel’s appeal. The characters are mainly members of the expat Sierra Leonean community an ...more
Bruce Beckham added a status update: Free today and tomorrow in the Kindle Store (3rd & 4th September, 2026), #1 in the DI Skelgill series, 'Murder in Adland' - in case you would like to try a copy (and thanks if you already have!):

US
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B009T93NO8

UK
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B009T93NO8

CA
https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B009T93NO8

AU
https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B009T93NO8
Bruce Beckham is currently reading
Trent's Last Case by E.C. Bentley
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The Life of Crime by Martin Edwards
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I tend to reserve 5-star ratings for novels that I sense will leave a lasting impression upon me – but I don’t have a frame of reference for non-fiction, which I rarely read these days. However, I think this book merits top marks.

Its subtitle is “Det
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Hickory Dickory Dock by Agatha Christie
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There aren’t too many mediocre Agatha Christie novels, but this is one of them.

It is a Poirot mystery set in a central London student boarding house – and therein lies the rub – seventeen possible suspects, poorly differentiated and, necessarily by v
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The Ha-Ha Case by J.J. Connington
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“A remarkably high standard of ingenuity & workmanship.”

So says a quote on the front cover attributed to the New York Times.

Hmm. I think their literary editor had an off day.

That said, the novel was published in 1934, so who knows how and when the pu
...more
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The Mystery of the Blue Train by Agatha Christie
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The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins
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This is a long-celebrated novel which I think, on balance, fails to live up to its promise … or perhaps I should say, “premise” – a legendary accursed Indian diamond that brings about the downfall of all those who possess it.

Much like Wilkie Collins’
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Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe
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I thought I knew all about Robinson Crusoe, but when I began to read the eponymous novel, I realised that what I ‘knew’ was a childhood memory of a 1960s French TV series dubbed with ham American accents that bore little resemblance to the original w ...more
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Quotes by Bruce Beckham  (?)
Quotes are added by the Goodreads community and are not verified by Goodreads. (Learn more)

“a philosophy borrowed from the long-suffering Scots, that there is no such thing as bad weather, only the wrong clothes. ”
― Bruce Beckham, Murder in the Mind

“I began to appreciate that the job of an amateur sleuth was not quite so straightforward as they make out in the whodunits.”
― Bruce Beckham, Murder Mystery Collection

“ken whit tae dae wi’ it.”
― Bruce Beckham, Murder Mystery Collection

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“this: a Republican is a man who made his money; a Liberal is a man who inherited his; a Democrat is a barefooted Liberal in a cross-country race; a Conservative is a Republican who has learned to read and write.)”
― William Faulkner, The Reivers

“I don’t very much believe in blood,” said Samuel. “I think when a man finds good or bad in his children he is seeing only what he planted in them after they cleared the womb.” “You can’t make a race horse of a pig.” “No,” said Samuel, “but you can make a very fast pig.”
― John Steinbeck, East of Eden

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Comments (showing 1-6)    post a comment »
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message 6: by Bruce

Bruce Beckham Well - thank you, too, Donna!


message 5: by Donna

Donna Thank you Bruce for becoming a friend on Goodreads.


message 4: by Bruce

Bruce Beckham You're welcome - thanks also to you!


message 3: by Karen

Karen Hi Bruce! Thanks for the friend request. :)


message 2: by Bruce

Bruce Beckham Thank you - and the same to you!


message 1: by Stacy

Stacy Merry Christmas Bruce!!!!!


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