Review of DEAD END

DEAD END has received its first review, in New Books Magazine.
"Dead End is the first book I have read by Leigh Russell but it won't be the last! This psychological thriller is apparently the third in a series featuring DI Geraldine Steel but can be read as a stand alone novel. I, however, will be buying the first two and reading them immediately. I am an avid reader but have become a bit jaded of late but I found this book gripping. The writing reminded me of authors like Tess Gerritsen and Mo Hayder. I found the narrative well written and at times terrifyingly brutal. The tension slowly builds as the twists and turns develop and as the story unfolds I could not put this book down. I was really impressed and am now Leigh Russell's number one fan!"
http://www.newbooksmag.com/reviews/6338-9378/review.php

Another digression

This blog is supposed to focus on my life as an author of crime novels, but I can't resist sharing the beautiful flowers I received this week. Sadly the purple tulips a friend brought me last week have gone but they were fabulous as well. Yes, lots of purple flowers with my spring daffodils! They cheered me up while I was feeling low - as did all the good wishes I received online. Thank you.

Blogging again

In some ways writers are similar to visual artists, in their close observation of details. Painters seeing a landscape might rearrange the composition in their heads, select colours for a canvas, respond to light and shade (I’m guessing here.)
As a writer even the most mundane detail transforms into words in my head – a carrier bag flapping in a gust of wind, the smell of earth beneath dry leaves – anything can be used to help set a scene somewhere in a book.
Recently I had a very different experience of noticing detail, spending a week in hospital suffering from pneumonia. Looked after by a wonderful team of NHS staff, I was reminded how much I take for granted every day. That first cup of NHS tea when I was able to drink, the feel of dry sheets after I managed to dislodge my drip which leaked in the bed, the joy of eating a piece of toast!
Not much about crime writing here but I have been a bit off the case recently - although I did have a clear view of the hospital car park, deserted after dark. One night I watched a lone figure hurry along the walkway and couldn’t help thinking “What if…”
…a second figure leaps unexpectedly from the shadows, brandishing a knife, and the patient becomes an unwilling witness, three floors up. Before she can move or cry out the victim staggers and falls, the assailant vanishes into the darkness… The patient presses her buzzer and watches as the victim bleeds to death far below in the deserted car park…