Okay. Who moved July? It can't be over already, surely? Or apparently it can. How quickly is this year vanishing, folks? Bad news is that my list of things to look forward to is rapidly diminshing. I have a couple of theatre trips booked, including a couple of days in the capital, but ither than that - meh. Looking at holiday options so hopefully they will be firmed up soon, but still. The one book I thought I might just still get to this year - Chiltern Kills - has sadly been cancelled so I think, book wise, I may well be done for 2026, which is a strange thing to say, as I really don't see me being able to make Bloody Scotland this year any way other than virtually.

What a week. Ordinarily, in most previous years, I'd have been waxing lyrical about Harrogate and Theakston's Crime Fiction Festival but not this year. For the second year on the bounce I have been otherwise engaged. Both years have involved travel and water, although the mode of transport this year was decidedly larger ... Mandie and I pootled down to Southampton last weekend to hop onto Iona for a week long tour around the Norwegian Fjords. A slightly different itinerary to last year, but no less enjoyable, and I got to celebrate by birthday on board so there was that.

And there we have it. Another month gone. July is here and we begin the slow count down to Christmas and the New Year. Don’t groan. They are closer now than they have ever been and the speed of time in directly impacted by how little you want it to pass, so if you embrace the holiday season the longer you have to get ready for it. Don’t blame me. It’s just physics (or something…). I haven't done a lot this week other than attended work, a management meeting and shopping, so here are some ducks etc from my morning walkies.

Peter James’s latest Roy Grace detective story, ‘The Hawk Is Dead,’ imagines the queen surviving an assassination attempt and helping to evacuate a crashed train.

September is passing by quickly, don't you think? Not quite sure we have ended up in the final third of the month already, but there we go. Good news for me is that I have finished the final module project write up for my apprenticeship, one more group session, a review with my coach, and the assessment to go and I can put it all behind me.

Okay. Time needs to slow down now. How are we one week into July? This madness just cannot continue ... Or maybe it can. Can't stop the passage of time, right? All you can enjoy is enjoy what you've got while you've got it. This past weekend I attended a baby shower - not my usual doings by any stretch, but nice to celebrate the impending arrival of a future generation.

Hall for Cornwall, Truro – until 5th July 2025 Reviewed by Kerry Gilbert 5***** ‘A Captivating, Intriguing and Thrilling Mystery which keeps you guessing’ I was thrilled to review Peter James’ Picture...

Lyceum Theatre, Sheffield – until June 7th 2025 Reviewed by Sharon Farley 5***** “Keeps its secret hidden until the very end” When Detective Superintendent Roy Grace reopens an old murder case involvi...