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Like Hidden, the macabre TV drama serial centred on the rugged hills of North Wales, Simon McCleave’s novels have brought gruesome crime to the last place you’d expect it. His Killings series, featuring DI Ruth Hunter, has sold over a million copies, and a major new TV show based on the books is due to begin shooting in Snowdonia in late 2023. Anglesey suited his plots but the island also had a personal lure. “I’ve spent many weekends on Anglesey, for trips and research visits, and as a family we always holiday there,” said Simon. “For the past 10 years, it’s been our go-to place.” Not long afterwards, another teacher is killed and the victim also has a spiral carved on their hand. With such a complex case, and all the red herrings the author sends your way, guessing who the killer is turns out to be very difficult. The ending is surprising, moving and hard hitting. However, after the reveal there’s a long section of exposition which didn’t quite fit the rest of the storytelling. Perhaps Simon McCleave wanted to tie up as many loose ends as possible, but he could easily have left some of them hanging. Starting a new life in Snowdonia was always DI Ruth Hunter's dream. Until a twisted killer turned it into her worst nightmare.In under three years, his books have collectively sold 1.5 million copies, an impressive feat for an independent publisher. Simon’s deal with publishing giant Harper Collins was a game-changer, giving him much greater reach. “My books are now in Waterstones, WH Smith and independent stores,” he said. “It’s given me access to a new and bigger audience.

The first two books in the Anglesey crime series written by Wrexham author Simon McCleave and featuring hostage negotiator Laura Hart The sheer amount of ground McCleave attempts to cover is astonishing, and we haven’t even mentioned the setting. Throughout The Snowdonia Killings, the Welsh countryside, culture and heritage are brought out through a peppering of references. Legends of drowned princes, Owain Glyndwr’s war of independence, jokes about English incomers drinking sheep urine – plenty of Welsh flavour here. However, the book’s cover is a little deceiving – there’s no snow whatsoever. The DI Ruth Hunter novels interweave Welsh folklore and history. They also feature some mangled place names, such as the fictional town of Llancastell where she is based, somewhere in Denbighshire. For local readers, they provide the opportunity for intense scrutiny: one took to Google Maps to prove it was impossible to drive from Llancastell to Liverpool in 40 minutes. Detective Inspector Ruth Hunter lives with the pain of her partner’s mysterious and unsolved disappearance. About to hit fifty, the veteran police officer trades in the crime-ridden streets of London for a more peaceful life in rural North Wales. But Ruth has barely settled into her new position in North Wales Police, when the body of a brutally murdered woman is discovered…with strange symbols carved into her skin. Teaming up with an obstinate deputy, Ruth struggles to eliminate anyone from a long line of suspects. When another slain victim is discovered with the same cryptic markings, she’s forced to re-think the investigation.All were independently published by Simon, 53, a former Hollywood scriptwriter who has worked on TV shows such as Silent Witness, Midsomer Murders, EastEnders and The Bill. After moving to Worthenbury, near Wrexham, he worked as a teacher before writing his debut novel, The Snowdonia Killings. Happy for your part of the world to be associated with violent fictional crime? Have your say in the comments below?

I was flattered when Harper Collins called my agent. It turned my head! There’s a lot of snobbery in the publishing world – the big book festivals won’t have independents. I’m now getting plenty of bookings, which is very welcome.” Having spent time on Anglesey, it seems to have a different atmosphere than the rest of Wales,” said Simon, married with two children. “The people there have an island mentality and the two bridges that connect to the mainland gives a sense of place that can be closed off.” A small-town murder. A big city detective. Can she unravel the grisly trail of clues before the killer strikes again? Teaming up with an obstinate deputy, Ruth struggles to eliminate suspects from a long line of . But she’s forced to tear up her shortlist when they discover another slain victim with the same cryptic markings…Book three in the Laura Hart series is already written, and will be published in June 2023. Simon’s deal is for six Laura Hart outings: her Anglesey sleuthing is set to throw a national spotlight on the island in ways it could never have imagined.