A former Aberystwyth woman will return to the county to launch her debut novel.

Sue McCormick’s Red as any Blood is the first in the Holly and Ivy Mystery series, mixing 1950’s show business with the shadows left by the war.

Actress Dame Elspeth Hollanby (Holly) and her dresser Ivy are heading to Black Gairy, a remote mansion in the Galloway Forest, for a reunion with old theatre friends. They are worried to hear that vicious press tycoon Sir Max Coyle has manipulated his way onto the guest list.

Storms snow them in, the phone lines are down and all too soon one of the guests becomes a murderer…

Sue McCormick has been an actor for 40 years, working all over the country on stage, TV and radio, and she has written four plays, which have been professionally produced.

After an MA in Creative Writing at Lancaster, she is now focused on writing. Her story ‘The Pig’ was a finalist in the Scottish Arts Club Competition 2020, and her debut novel, Small Acts of Courage, was shortlisted for The Retreat West Novel Prize.

Born and raised in Preston, she lived in Aberystwyth, then in Lancaster, before moving to a small village in Dumfries and Galloway where her partner Mark runs the oldest theatre in Scotland.

A dedicated fan of classic whodunnits, Red As Any Blood is the joyous fulfilment of a long-held ambition to create her own cosy crime series.

Sue is speaking as part of the Crime Cymru panel at the Aberaeron Book Festival on 1 November. Fellow panellists include Fflur Dafydd and Sarah Ward.

She will launch her book at Waterstones Aberystwyth on 6 November at 7pm.

Red as any Blood, published by Honno, is the first Holly and Ivy mystery. The second, Sharp As Any Thorn, will be released next year.