www.leomcneir.com
crime writer
A message from Leo
Death Threats
Yes … but fortunately not for me. I must admit to
being initially rather surprised at the public reaction to the character
Valerie Paxton, who has appeared in more than one of my books. She first
made her presence felt in ‘Getaway with Murder’ and more recently
featured in ‘Gifthorse’. On reflection, perhaps I was too hasty in my
judgment. She is rather obnoxious, and I can quite understand why she
arouses so much dislike among readers. But the request that I make her
the next murder victim has rather taken me aback.
Representations have ranged from polite written
requests (‘Could you possibly see your way clear to …’) to the odd
exasperated e-mails along the lines of ‘For god’s sake do us all a
favour and bump off that bloody woman!’ At one signing last summer a
gentle-looking man sidled up to me and muttered under his breath,
‘No-one would blame you if you slaughtered Valerie Paxton in a
particularly nasty and brutal way, you know. But on the other hand, I
suppose all your readers would find themselves on the side of the
murderer …’
A tempting thought.
At least I can console everyone that she won’t be
playing a role in the new book, which I hope will be published in the
first half of this year. There may be a part for her in the book that I
hope will follow. Perhaps Valerie might even be persuaded to take a
solitary walk one dark night down a lonely lane in Knightly St John or
find herself in an isolated spot near the canal. The problem with that
scenario is, there might be too long a list of suspects if she did get
bumped off. And that might include a large number of readers.
Please form an orderly queue.
Kindest regards,
