Ian Sansom's new book is called The Norfolk Mystery. Professor Sansom teaches in the English and Comparative Literary Studies Department. His new comic thriller will be read on BBC radio 4 by actor Julian Rhind-Tutt who is also Warwick English and Theatre Studies graduate! Ten episodes will be broadcast from Monday 29 July to Friday 2 August 2013 at 10.45-11.00pm.

The Norfolk Mystery is the first novel in a thrilling new detective series 'The County Guides': "A must-read for fans of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Agatha Christie, every county is a crime scene, and with 39 counties in store there’ll be plenty of murder, mystery and mayhem to confound and entertain you for years to come."

Synopsis:

It is 1937 and disillusioned Spanish Civil War veteran Stephen Sefton is stony broke. So when he sees a mysterious advertisement for a job where ‘intelligence is essential’, he applies.

Thus begins Sefton’s association with Professor Swanton Morley, an omnivorous intellect. Morley’s latest project is a history of traditional England, with a guide to every county.

They start in Norfolk, but when the vicar of Blakeney is found hanging from his church’s bellrope, Morley and Sefton find themselves drawn into a rather more fiendish plot. Did the Reverend really take his own life, or was it – murder!

A few words from the author:

I have written another book.
Like all of my other books it probably won’t be stocked in your local Waterstones.
There will be no reviews. You will not find it in airports.
I will not be interviewed by Mark Lawson or Mariella Frostrup.
I will not be attending literary festivals. Or giving readings.
There is no Facebook page. And I'm too tired to tweet.
Basically, frankly - I'll be totally honest - there is no publicity.
For what it's worth, here's my pitch: it's a good book. You might like it."