Thursday Themes – Angela Wren

I’m thrilled to be joined on my blog today by Angela Wren, to discuss her latest novel, which was released this week.

Over to you, Angela…

Hi, Jo and thanks for inviting me back to your blog to talk about my latest Jacques Forêt mystery story, Marseille.

Marseille, like the three earlier books is a cosy crime mystery.  And in that respect it has an accepted and universal theme of ‘crime doesn’t pay’.  On my last visit to Jo’s blog I did explore this theme and you can find my previous post Here.  But the plotline I want to explore today concerns people’s individual positions within the sector of society in which they exist.

My latest release is the only one of the four books that actually features the criminals openly as central characters in their own right.  This means that I was able to balance good against bad.

The ‘good’ being explored through Jacques’ quest to collect the evidence, piece it all together and finally solve the crime and ensure that the criminals were brought to justice.

The ‘bad’ meant that I could write directly from the criminals’ points of view.  It also gave me an opportunity to examine the interplay and the personal dynamics between two particular individuals – Olivier and Tomek.  Of course, there were some innocents in this story as one of the crimes committed is abduction.  This gave me a third level of interplay to work with.  I found I had to develop a whole new way of thinking because a hardened criminal will look at the world that I see with very different eyes.  It was a very difficult mindset to get into and at times it was quite distressing when I looked at how my ‘baddies’ were treating the ‘innocents’.  There were times when I had to steal myself to write some of the scenes.  And there were some strong emotional moments that forced me away from my keyboard for a short while.

But thinking about this from a point a little more removed from the story, it becomes clear that one of the underlying themes is about man’s inhumanity to man and I think this is particularly displayed in the dynamics between Olivier and Tomek.  But it will be interesting to see what reviewers make of this!

 

Marseille

A spate of abductions and subsequent deaths in nearby départements have Investigator, Jacques Forêt, perplexed. Returning from extended leave to the news of a local kidnapping, Jacques is on the case immediately. And this time it’s personal.

But the case isn’t Jacques’ only worry. He has become more and more concerned about Beth, but what can he do if she doesn’t let him help her?

The investigation into the murders takes him and his trusted assistant, Didier Duclos, to Marseille. Can Jacques find the kidnappers and release their captive before another body is added to the list of unexplained murders?

It’s a race against time.

 

Marseille is the fourth instalment in the bestselling Jacques Forêt Mystery series.

 

Bio

Having followed a career in Project and Business Change Management, I now work as an Actor and Director at a local theatre.  I’ve been writing, in a serious way, since 2010.  My work in project management has always involved drafting, so writing, in its various forms, has been a significant feature throughout my adult life.

 

I particularly enjoy the challenge of plotting and planning different genres of work.  My short stories vary between contemporary romance, memoir, mystery and historical.  I also write comic flash-fiction and have drafted two one-act plays that have been recorded for local radio.  The majority of my stories are set in France where I like to spend as much time as possible each year.

Links

 

Amazon : AngelaWren

Website : www.angelawren.co.uk

Blog : www.jamesetmoi.blogspot.com

Facebook : Angela Wren

Twitter : Angela Wren

Goodreads : Angela Wren

Contact an author : Angela Wren