Whodunnit on the bowling green

Fans of detective fiction will soon be able to discern whodunnit and whereabouts in Burnley in a local author's latest novel.
Andrew HamlingAndrew Hamling
Andrew Hamling

Sussex-born author Andrew Hamling has just completed the third in his series of Bethany Gallagher detective novels, “A Body on the Green”. this time inspired by the world of crown green bowling in Burnley.

His first novel, “A Matter of Conscience”, was published in 2013.

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Andrew (67) arrived in Burnley in 2011 after spending 14 years working in South Africa as a geography teacher.

He said: “I have really settled in Burnley and have found writing to be an enjoyable way to pass my retirement. I also play crown green bowls at Queensgate Bowling Club where I am captain of the Monday night Pendle League team.

“It is my membership of the team that partly inspired some of the incidents in my latest novel. I hope my Burnley friends will enjoy it.

“A lot of the locations, including lakes and allotments, will be familiar to Burnley readers. I have worked all over the country, as well as South Africa, but I settled in Burnley partly because of the wonderful countryside. I think this is apparent in the novel.”

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Andrew, who was born and brought up in Sussex, studied geography at Rolle College of Education in Devon and subsequently completed an Open University degree in psychology.

Also a keen philatelist and bridge player, he has enjoyed writing all his life, has dabbled in poetry, his volume of poems is entitled "Songs for Calpurnia", but said that prose is his favourite medium.

Indeed, his favourite author is nineteenth century great Thomas Hardy, but not surprisingly, his detective novels were partly inspired by the Queen of Mystery Agatha Christie.

Andrew added: “As a teenager I was brought up on Agatha Christie so it’s perhaps too surprising that I would try my hand at detective fiction. Thomas Hardy is certainly my favourite author though.

“They say you what about what you love, and I think there’s a lot of my interests in this novel.”