Sleuths: festival of crime & thriller writing

April will see the latest in the English Riviera’s crime-related events. The four-day English Riviera Festival of Crime and Thriller Writing will see some of the country’s most expert writers of murder mystery plays and crime stories arriving at the birthplace of the greatest selling crime writer of all time, Dame Agatha Christie.

The fun begins on Tuesday, 20th April with a talk at the Palace Theatre given by well-known crime writer Simon Brett with special guest author Diane Janes. Tuesday evening will witness a unique event at the Paignton and Dartmouth Steam Railway. Guests will be able to enjoy a mystery with actors from the Candlelight Theatre Company. Those who prefer a more musical evening can go along to the Torquay Library where local historian, author and musician Mike Holgate will present his popular one-man show featuring songs and stories from the English Riviera’s sensational past.

On Wednesday, The Spanish Barn at Torre Abbey plays host to a couple of mediaeval murder mystery writers and ‘Murder in Mind’ by Terence Feeley begins a run at the Palace Theatre in the evening. If you feel like staying in Torquay at Torre Abbey you may like to unravel the clues in Murder at the Abbey followed by drinks at a nearby hotel.

Thursday allows you the chance to join fellow enthusiasts at the Palace Theatre for an audience with MC Beaton, writer of the Hamish Macbeth novels and in the evening pay a visit to the Princess Theatre in Torquay to solve the mystery of Who Killed John Wilkie?

The festival rounds off on Saturday with An Audience with Ann Cleeves at Torquay Library. Ann is a another well known crime writer. In the afternoon the Crime Writers’ Association’s Young Crime Writers Competition Area Awards, which take place at the Palace Theatre. Young writers from schools and colleges across Devon, Plymouth and Torbay have entered the competition, and the regional winner will go through to the national awards in June.

Together with the festival around the Bay, LAL Torbay will be putting on the following activities at the school for the students to enjoy...