The Big Reveal: A Murder Mystery Book Club

Why not delve with us into this emotionally involving and psychologically complex tale of a serial killer who's using Hadrian's Wall as the backdrop to their crimes. You'll enjoy a lively discussion of Emma Kavanagh's gripping and intricately plotted novel.

When 15-year-old Isla Bell finds three bodies propped against the iconic Cumbrian landmark, her whole world falls apart. In such a close-knit community, everyone knows the victims, and the man who did it.

Twenty years on and Isla has dedicated her life to forensic psychology; studying the brains of serial killers, and even coming face to face with the convicted murderer who turned her world upside down. She is safe after all, with him behind bars.

Then another body appears against the Wall. And another. As the nightmare returns and the body count rises, everyone in town is a suspect.

You'll find us on the first floor mezzanine (The Hive) of the Thrive Cafe (see directions under "How to find us"). Please bring along £1 per session (or £12 for the year) as a contribution to the annual Meetup fee.

Join us this month for a book choice from the golden age of detective stories... you'll enjoy a lively discussion with fellow fans of crime fiction.

In Miss Pym Disposes, Scottish author Josephine Tey - one of the original queens of crime and a contemporary of Agatha Christie - produces an enjoyable, intelligent and well-written thriller that will keep you guessing right to the very end.

Miss Lucy Pym, a popular English psychologist, is guest lecturer at a physical training college. The year's term is nearly over, and Miss Pym - inquisitive and observant - detects a furtiveness in the behaviour of one student during a final exam. She prevents the girl from cheating by destroying her crib notes. But Miss Pym's cover-up of one crime precipitates another - a fatal "accident" that only her psychological theories can prove was really murder.

From The Saturday Review: Elegantly written, leisurely, amusing, penetrating with a thumping terminal surprise!
From The New Yorker: Tey's style and her knack for creating bizarre characters are among the best in the field.

You'll find us on the first floor mezzanine (The Hive) of the Thrive Cafe (see directions under "How to find us"). Please bring along £1 per session (or £12 for the year) as a contribution to the annual Meetup fee.

Join us this month for a book choice from French historian, archaeologist and novelist Fred (Frédérique) Vargas, who is known for her work on the Black Death and has won two International Dagger awards from the Crime Writers' Association.

Come and enjoy a lively discussion with fellow fans of crime fiction on the first novel in Vargas's Three Evangelists trilogy. Paris opera singer Sophia Siméonidis wakes up one morning to discover a tree has appeared overnight in her garden. Intrigued and unnerved, she turns to her neighbours: Vandoosler, an ex-cop, and three impecunious historians, Mathias, Marc and Lucien - the three evangelists. They agree to dig around the tree and see if something has been buried there.

A few weeks later, Sophia disappears and her body is found burned to ashes in a car. Who killed the opera singer? Her husband, her ex-lover, her best friend, her niece? They all seem to have a motive. Vandoosler and the three evangelists set out to find the truth.

You'll find us on the first floor mezzanine (The Hive) of the Thrive Cafe (see directions under "How to find us"). Please bring along £1 per session (or £12 for the year) as a contribution to the annual Meetup fee.

A record-breaking, multimillion copy Sunday Times bestseller, Alex Michaelides's debut novel from 2019 is a gripping, must-read thriller. Why not come and join the lively discussion about a book that's been variously described as a "a totally original psychological mystery" and "one of the best thrillers this year".

Alicia Berenson writes a diary as a release, an outlet - and to prove to her beloved husband that everything is fine. She can't bear the thought of worrying Gabriel, or causing him pain. Until, late one evening, Alicia shoots Gabriel five times and then never speaks another word.

Forensic psychotherapist Theo Faber is convinced he can successfully treat Alicia, where all others have failed. Obsessed with investigating her crime, his discoveries suggest Alicia's silence goes far deeper than he first thought. And if she speaks, would he want to hear the truth?

You'll find us on the first floor mezzanine (The Hive) of the Thrive Cafe (see directions under "How to find us"). Please bring along £1 per session (or £12 for the year) as a contribution to the annual Meetup fee.