"Short, quick, easy reads, action-packed and dosed with a pleasing amount of gruesomeness." The Independent.
Great news - MONDAYS ARE MURDER has been shortlisted for the Red House Children's Book Award, the Leeds Book Award, the Bolton Children's Book Award and the Phoenix Book Award.
About the Poppy Fields books Tanya writes:
"After writing Apache and The Goldsmith’s Daughter – serious historical novels for young adults - I felt I needed some light relief. So I turned to crime!
I’ve always enjoyed reading murder mysteries: disentangling the lies, the intrigue, the double bluffs; identifying the red herrings – it’s as satisfying a completing a huge jigsaw or a tricky crossword puzzle.
The notion of writing murder mysteries of my own – Agatha Christie for kids - had been at the back of my head for a while although I hadn’t developed the concept. After an operation on my leg I spent a couple of weeks in bed recuperating. It was then that I began to jot down some ideas and once I’d started they came in thick and fast.
Dreaming up plots is highly addictive. I can’t look at an ornament now without wondering if it would make a good blunt instrument, or enter a building without puzzling over where the body might be discovered. And I can’t see a stranger on the train without speculating about whether or not they might have a motive for murder.
I’ve had a great time creating this series – it’s been wonderfully refreshing. I hope people have as much fun reading them as I had writing them."
You can download a Poppy Fields crime busting detective pack on the Walker website:
www.walker.co.uk/poppyfields.aspx
Zombies? Spooks? Or just plain murder?
"My name is Poppy Fields. I never believed in ghosts - until I stayed on a remote Scottish island and people started dropping dead all over the place. Was it a spirit taking revenge? When Graham and I investigated we started to see right through it."
That's the way to do it!
"I was dead excited about my first trip to America. But then people started getting themselves killed in really weird ways. Nothing made sense until Graham and I investigated, then the murders seemed to tie together as neatly as a string of sausages. A little too neatly."
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Stage Fright!
"When Graham and I landed parts in a musical we didn't expect real drama. But then the star got a death threat and the bodies started stacking up. Before we knew it, we were at the top of the murderer's list..."
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On the trail of a murderer!
"When we deigned a murder mystery trail for the school fayre, it was supposed to be a bit of fun. But before long the head was dead and Graham and I were hunting down a real life killer."
Murder is a beastly business!
"Graham and I were first on the scene at a series of murders at the zoo, but who was behind them? We had to prowl around a bit to investigate - and what we saw was not pretty. How would we escape before we, too, became dead meat?"
Roll up, roll up!
"When the circus came to town, the posters promised certain death. This made Graham and me suspicious, and we were proved right when someone was killed in the ring. With the circus performers still in grave danger, we had to work fast to discover who was firing the shots."
About the Poppy Fields books Tanya writes:
"After writing Apache and The Goldsmith’s Daughter – serious historical novels for young adults - I felt I needed some light relief. So I turned to crime!
I’ve always enjoyed reading murder mysteries: disentangling the lies, the intrigue, the double bluffs; identifying the red herrings – it’s as satisfying a completing a huge jigsaw or a tricky crossword puzzle.
The notion of writing murder mysteries of my own – Agatha Christie for kids - had been at the back of my head for a while although I hadn’t developed the concept. After an operation on my leg I spent a couple of weeks in bed recuperating. It was then that I began to jot down some ideas and once I’d started they came in thick and fast.
Dreaming up plots is highly addictive. I can’t look at an ornament now without wondering if it would make a good blunt instrument, or enter a building without puzzling over where the body might be discovered. And I can’t see a stranger on the train without speculating about whether or not they might have a motive for murder.
I’ve had a great time creating this series – it’s been wonderfully refreshing. I hope people have as much fun reading them as I had writing them."
You can download a Poppy Fields crime busting detective pack on the Walker website:
www.walker.co.uk/poppyfields.aspx
Zombies? Spooks? Or just plain murder?
"My name is Poppy Fields. I never believed in ghosts - until I stayed on a remote Scottish island and people started dropping dead all over the place. Was it a spirit taking revenge? When Graham and I investigated we started to see right through it."
That's the way to do it!
"I was dead excited about my first trip to America. But then people started getting themselves killed in really weird ways. Nothing made sense until Graham and I investigated, then the murders seemed to tie together as neatly as a string of sausages. A little too neatly."
Stage Fright!
"When Graham and I landed parts in a musical we didn't expect real drama. But then the star got a death threat and the bodies started stacking up. Before we knew it, we were at the top of the murderer's list..."
On the trail of a murderer!
"When we deigned a murder mystery trail for the school fayre, it was supposed to be a bit of fun. But before long the head was dead and Graham and I were hunting down a real life killer."
Murder is a beastly business!
"Graham and I were first on the scene at a series of murders at the zoo, but who was behind them? We had to prowl around a bit to investigate - and what we saw was not pretty. How would we escape before we, too, became dead meat?"
Roll up, roll up!
"When the circus came to town, the posters promised certain death. This made Graham and me suspicious, and we were proved right when someone was killed in the ring. With the circus performers still in grave danger, we had to work fast to discover who was firing the shots."