Cambridge crime author Alison Bruce: ‘I’ve based my new heroine on real Cambridgeshire police officers’
Crime author Alison Bruce has published the first novel in a new series set in Cambridge featuring Detective Ronnie Blake, who moves to the city following her sister’s sudden death.
Soon entangled in a complicated case involving a fraudster, a dead academic, and her sister’s dark past, Ronnie’s investigation will lead to shocking discoveries that threaten her sense of safety in her new city.
Alison is launching her crime thriller Because She Looked Away at a free event in Cambridge on 3 October and is hoping fans of her previous 11 books will come along to meet her and get their hands on the latest novel.
Following her very successful police procedural series featuring Cambridge cop DC Gary Goodhew, Alison decided to make the lead in her new police stories someone very different.
She said: “I thought my starting point would be someone who is quite the opposite of Gary, and then build from there. I thought it would be a change to have the lead character as female, perhaps somebody who's new to Cambridge, rather than has lived in Cambridge all their life and absolutely loves it. Instead, she’s somebody who's perhaps reluctant to be arriving in Cambridge.
“I work with the police as part of my day job and so there's a couple of police officers there who I thought were quite inspiring. So there are seeds of some of their personality traits in there. I was thinking of one former police officer who worked on several major crimes, and she's this incredibly positive person who's dealt with some sort of horrendous things, but seems to be able to prioritise what's important about them, and really care about the people involved and deal with that. But at the same she's not worn down by it.
“Fictional detectives have been, historically, quite negative, quite depressed, and flawed. I thought I'd like somebody who was determined and positive, compared to Gary, who's quite a more of an introverted, thinking type character.
“I’ve also given Ronnie a family situation where she’s had to come and look after her nephew. I found that changing the character dynamics meant she was seeing Cambridge in a different way too.
“She’s moved here from London and sees Cambridge as a rural backwater where nothing happens and as probably the end of her policing career. Of course, I'm going to make sure plenty happens!”
Alison’s crime novels have the inside track on modern policing as she is a key member of Anglia Ruskin University’s (ARU) police education team. Alison’s career in Cambridge has been as dynamic as her novels. Having completed her BSc (Hons) in crime and investigative studies at ARU, she now helps shape the next generation of police officers through her work in ARU’s Police Education Qualifications Framework (PEQF) programmes. This strong connection to police training brings an authentic edge to her writing, giving her books a realism and depth that resonate with readers.
She says: “I did my degree to inform my crime writing and I do have some great sources who are always happy to help and advise. And then I had this opportunity to work with the police. And one of the things I benefit from understanding the mindset and the the attitude and the language of policing that makes the writing subtly authentic.
“A police procedural advisor said when he read the book that he assumed I was ex police. He said, ‘Loads has rubbed off on you’. He told me I had nailed the relationships and dialogue, as well as the procedure. I thought that was a really nice compliment.”
Ronnie is based in Parkside Police Station, overlooking Parker’s Piece, and becomes part of a group who work on investigation strategy called the DEAD team - which stands for Detail, Evaluate, Action and Detain.
And some of the action will take place in a fictional University of Cambridge college called St Eldith’s.
Alison says: “I’ve named it after a road in Fordham, which according to local stories should have been called Edith Avenue, and it got written down wrong.
“Before this, I tended to write about more ‘town’ than ‘gown'. So this was a little bit of a departure. I'll always be more interested in what people see and what people experience when they're just living in the city. I think that's really my take on Cambridge, normally.
“If you're not of the university mindset, a lot of it is very mysterious, isn't it? There are a lot of traditions and buildings and things where we don’t know how they fit together; whereas the rest of the city, the history of the city and the state life in the city, it's just there for everybody to explore and walk around and enjoy. I'm always trying to find angles on Cambridge. My biggest compliment from locals is if I find some interesting thing about the city, and someone will tell me they have lived here for years and had never noticed it before.”
Alison, who lives in Cambridge, has been shortlisted for two Crime Writers’ Association (CWA) Dagger awards, and her writing has been praised by The Times as "gripping and unputdownable".
Because She Looked Away is the first in a new series and marks her 12th published book.
Launch event in Cambridge
To celebrate the book’s release, a launch event will be held on 3 October at The Master’s Lodge, Downing College, Cambridge. This free event offers fans the chance to meet Alison and hear more about her latest thriller. Book lovers can RSVP by visiting Bodies in the Bookshop or by emailing info@bodiesinthebookshop.co.uk.
