Welcome to Stairwell Books and an equally warm welcome to the choir of St Edward’s Church, Dringhouses, and their friends.
Pauline has been a good friend to us for nearly 15 years and in this time we have been fortunate to have published 8 of her books. Shhhh! She has published 3 of ours. Waters of Time has been long in the making. Not only written and published a long time ago, but in the pipeline here at Stairwell for a long while: originally slated as an eBook following the reissue of The Keepers. By the time all the copyright issues were resolved we had a new distributor that made reprinting the book viable.
We recently redesigned and reissued three of the four DI Ambrose mysteries and in the process it was seen as an opportunity to revise the first book, Foul Play, taking the opportunity to add some background to events that occurred later in the series.
For this event we have made both books available at a discount and free of postage. Books ordered will be signed by Pauline and then mailed to you as soon as practicable: this will of course incur a small delay in delivery.
In addition there is a super discount on ordering all four books in a block – there is a link to this option following the descriptions of the two featured books.
Note that if you want to buy both books you will need to return to this page to access the special pricing.
Waters of Time – Launch Event
£8.00
When Martha Cooper returns from Australia she is forced to come to terms with her past, memories of which are dominated by the death of teenager Mike Boothman, drowned in the river at Arton. It is at Arton that she meets his brother Paul again. Martie must unravel many secrets and bring hope to the community to which she has returned.
Waters of Time is Pauline’s first novel published in 1988 and this reprint coincides with its availability as an eBook.
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Description
When Martha Cooper returns from Australia she is forced to come to terms with her past, memories of which are dominated by the death of teenager Mike Boothman, drowned in the river at Arton.
It is at Arton that she meets his brother Paul again. They had loved each other but that love was killed by the tragedy and the bitterness which followed. Now, with Paul’s help and her Great Aunt’s guidance, Martie must unravel many secrets: secrets that could change her life, and bring hope to the community to which she has returned.
“It weaves a captivating web, using characters who refuse to fit into moulds in which others want to see them cast.”
– Janet Barnfather, Yorkshire Evening Post
“Pauline’s economical style creates her peoples and settings not with lengthy descriptive prose but with pithy observations of or by her characters: succinct phrases are dropped in to outline a character with the casual ease of a charcoal artist.”
– Sesame, newspaper of The Open University
“The novel inter-relates the lives and loves of three women set against the most well-thought out backdrop I have ever read: Pauline Kirk gives the close-knit town a character which in turn shapes the characters in the story.”
– Paula Shutkever, Leeds Other Paper
Foul Play – Launch Event
£8.00
DI Ambrose investigates the murder of the leading lady at the bomb damaged Chalk Heath Theatre. This edition has been revised and extended by the authors adding scenes to to heighten events in the later novels.
Look inside (click thumbnail):
Description
This intriguing detective story introduces DI Ambrose and his team in the first of four tales of murder most foul in a fog bound theatre with a cast of eccentric actors to keep the reader engaged until the very last page. This novel is the first cooperation by mother daughter duo Pauline Kirk and Jo Summers writing as PJ Quinn.
Set in a partially bombed out theatre in the sleepy town of Chalk Heath where the leading lady is attacked on stage during a rehearsal. This is postwar austerity Britain, James Dean, Danny Kaye and Brian Rix are all the rage, yet in Chalk Heath, culture is represented by the Players. Ambrose and his team set about finding the killer.
This was a time when forensic science was in its infancy and crime scene processing was primarily good observation with a bit of fingerprint analysis and blood typing thrown in to taste. For the crime novelist this period allows for good character development and greater freedom to explore the relationships between all the principals. Foul Play is an exemplary tale of high drama in a dramatic setting while Ambrose, who remembers the theatre in is prewar glory, and is coping with his own wayward son, attempts to reconcile his younger self, his son; the damaged theatre and acting troupe with the essential business of solving the crime.
This edition, which has a new cover, has been revised and extended by the authors adding scenes to heighten events in the later novels and to underpin the role of WPC Meadows for further development in later stories.