More About The Murders in Great Diddling
The best stories are the ones we didn't know needed to be told.
The small, rundown village of Great Diddling is full of stories—author Berit Gardner can feel it. The way the villagers avoid outsiders, the furtive stares and whispers in the presence of newcomers… Berit can sense the edge of a story waiting to be unraveled, and she's just the person to do it. In fact, with a book deadline looming over her and no manuscript (not even the idea for a manuscript, truth be told), Berit doesn't just want this story. She needs it.
Then, while attending a village tea party, Berit becomes part of the action herself. An explosion in the library of the village's grand manor kills a local man, and the resulting investigation and influx of outsiders sends the quiet, rundown community into chaos. The residents of Great Diddling, each one more eccentric and interesting than any character Berit could have invented, rewrite their own narrative and transform the death of one of their own from a tragedy into a new beginning. Taking advantage of Great Diddling's new notoriety, the villagers band together to start a book and murder festival designed to bring desperately-needed tourists to their town. What they couldn't have predicted is how the new story they've begun to tell will change all their lives forever.
Uplifting, charming, and laugh-out-loud funny, The Murders in Great Diddling by New York Times bestselling author Katarina Bivald is a celebration of the life-changing magic of books and the people who love them.
More about Katarina Bivald
My brand new murder mystery series is OUT in the US, and it really is the most extraordinary feeling! I’ve always said that the best thing about being a writer is that it’s a socially acceptable way to have imaginary friends as an adult. I spend years talking to the characters in my head, getting to know their hopes and fears and many, many quirks. And then, one magical day they’re out there for everyone to get to know. So publishing a book is a little bit like having imaginary friends that other people suddenly exists for other people, too. Suddenly I’m not alone knowing Berit Gardner and DCI Ian Ahmed and the rather strange inhabitants of run-down village Great Diddling.
It’s a glorious feeling. There’s nothing like it in the world as hearing other people talk about your imaginary friends as if they’re real for them too.
Now, having your book published in another country is an even better feeling. Your characters are out there exploring the world, and you are at home, cheering them on. There’s only one catch: it’s much more difficult to sneak around bookstores to see your book out there in the wild.
That’s the first thing I do when my books are published in Sweden. I visit all the bookshops I can, and try to sorts of just wander, very naturally, not at all suspiciously, trying to see if my book is there and if it is, how amazing it looks surrounded by other great books. There’s no more beautiful sight than your brand new book in a beautiful bookshop-setting.
Thoughts on The Murders in Great Diddling
I fell in love with the classic British village murder mystery as a middle schooler. I'd read all the Nancy Drew. Agatha Christie was next in line! I thought I was getting another classic British village murder mystery when I picked up The Murders of Great Diddling on a whim. But along with the classic murder, Katarina Bivald added a great twist: we get to see the murder and the people of the village through the eyes of an outsider/insider.
Author Berit Gardner can count the time she's been a villager in months. So although she is a villager, she is also decidedly a newcomer. Add to that the fact that she comes from Sweden (and most recently London) and we get to see a group of people that have known each other their entire lives through new eyes.
The Murders of Great Diddling is full of secrets. I didn't keep count but it's almost as if there are more secrets than villagers. Quite a wild bunch is this charming little village! The village secrets are a delightful way to complicate the murder. Who has a secret? Who knows someone else's secret? Are they harmless secrets or those that would inspire murder? Are people sharing secrets just to cover up their own pasts...or their motive for murder?
It was a little longer (392 pages) so I didn't fly through this book. But if you want to dive into the various quirks that shape people, Berit has created some interesting characters with rich descriptions. I found myself latching onto and abandoning multiple suspects and motives who all seemed perfectly reasonable. I never thought I'd want to be friends with so many would-be murderers.
A Little Extra
In case you didn't realize, author Katarina Bivald is in Sweden but super excited about her book being in the US and wants to see it "in the wild". So she's requesting everyone let her know when they see it! Personally, I picked it up in the New Section of my local library(it was released in English on August 14). So my photo isn't in a bookstore, it's on my desk. But if you see it in a bookstore, here's Katarina's request:
So I was wondering if I could ask you a favor: if you live in the US, and visit a bookshop, and you should happen to see my book there -- could you take a picture of it and send it to me? You can find me on Instagram, @katarinabivald, or email me: katarina@katarinabivald.se, of comment on my website.
How sweet! Who could say no?
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