AN AYR man has published his first book to prove that he could crack the code behind the genre of cosy crime.
Connor Stuart, who currently resides in Australia, published 'Gangs, Grannies and Guilty Verdicts' after he was able to guess who the killer was in each book that his partner read.
The 32-year-old challenged himself to write his own to show that the genre follows a certain formula.
He told the Advertiser: “It is all very exciting and I can’t quite believe that I have written it. I read anything, but my partner reads exclusively cosy crime and murder mysteries.
“When she reads one, she tells me what is happening in the book, and I usually can guess who the killer is in the first four chapters because the books are formulaic, and I told her that anyone could write one.
“I told her that I would write one to prove a point. It started off as a bit of a joke, but over time I found that I loved doing it.”
The book follows a jury on a high-profile murder case, but tragedy strikes when one of the members dies. It is down to the other members to solve the mystery of the death by unravelling secrets, cracking alibis, and refilling the tea kettle.
And for Connor, he found that he enjoyed the writing process more than he expected.
He added: “It is a classic whodunit. It helped me to switch off from work and focus on something else. Once you begin the writing process, you become immersed in the characters and the plot.
“I found myself waking up in the middle of the night, toying with the idea of different scenarios for each character.
“It doesn’t have the same structure as most authors in that genre have, but I am proud of it. It still doesn’t feel real yet."
And despite the aspiring author having dyslexia, he hasn’t been completely put off, as he hopes to publish a second book.
“It is trying to find the spare time when I have a two-year-old”, Connor admitted.
He said: “I think that is one of the reasons why I enjoyed self-publishing it because I could spend the time getting it perfect, and the cover work is just incredible.
“I am hoping people can buy the book and then tell me if they worked out who the killer was.”
Gangs, Grannies, and Guilty Verdicts can be purchased on Amazon.
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