The Starlings & Other Stories

Author/Guide: Ann Cleeves

Why a Booktrail?

Every picture tells a story and in this book, Wales is brought to life in both pictures and words

ISBN: 978-1909823747
Genre: Short Stories

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What you need to know before your trail

Twelve tales of Welsh crime and intrigue illustrated with photos from the celebrated Photographer David Wilson. His images capture a Pembrokeshire of many shades of black and white – each of them having inspired a new and interesting angle to the Welsh landscape. The writers are collectively known as The Murder Squad and their accomplices with contributions from celebrated crime writers including Ann Cleeves, Cath Staincliffe and Martin Edwards.

As for the themes, there might be tales of crime and betrayal but history and modern day love plays their part too.

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Travel Guide

What do you see when you look at a photograph? How does a picture of landscape speak to you and what does it say? In this book, the landscape of Pembrokeshire, from the rugged and rural to the more recognizable is interpreted in many different ways. Through the eyes of the photographer and from each of the Murder Squad in turn.

Photographs start the words flowing and shows how an image can be interpreted by a great writer who paints a new picture to go alongside that of the photographer’s. The picture and the words draw you in and pull you in further, into not just a black and white world but one of twisty dark tales

Photographer David Wilson is famous in his own right for capturing ‘Pembrokeshire but not the images found in the tourist guide. His landscape are the forgotten houses, the dilapidated huts and the rolling fields of space.

Haunting and with the words of crime writers attached, chillingly and criminally evocative too.

Booktrailer Review

Susan: @thebooktrailer

A lovely premise for a book I thought. Pictures starting off a story. This is something we used to do at school in French class and I loved to interpret a picture so to read about crime writers doing it was great for me. I started each story by looking at the picture and imagining what IU was going to find in the story but I was surprised each time as everyone of course sees things differently. I must say that to have a Vera backstory was interesting and my favourite was Valerie Laws’ Mountains out of Molehills as I was not so much introduced than thrown head first at some speed into the events which followed.

I had the pleasure of attending the launch of this book with Ann Cleeves, Valerie Laws and Toby Forward and having only come across Toby’s YA books before, this was more than an eye opener! I do enjoy it when an author shocks you though. All stories were so different and emotional on a range o levels.

Wales through the eyes of people who see and create dark chilling criminal tales gives you a real insight into Pembrokeshire and Wales setting and I really need to go back here now.