Blood From Stone

by Frances Fyfield

on Tour Nov 25 - Dec 25

Book Details:
Genre: Crime Thriller Published by: Witness Impulse Publication Date: 11/26/2013 Number of Pages: 336 ISBN: 9780062301864 Purchase Links:

Synopsis:

Marianne Shearer is at the height of her career, a dauntingly successful barrister, respected by her peers and revered by her clients. So why has she killed herself? Her latest case had again resulted in an acquittal, although the outcome was principally due to the death of the prime witness after Marianne’s forceful cross-examination. Had this wholly professional and unemotional lawyer been struck by guilt or uncertainty, or is there some secret to be discovered in her blandly comfortable private life? Her tenacious colleague Peter Friel is determined to find out of that last trial held the reason for her taking her own life. The transcript holds intriguing clues, but it is another witness at the trial who holds the key to the truth.

Read an excerpt:

The trial had gone wrong on her, with the right result, certainly, one achieved through exploitation of weakness, legal argument, bullying, manipulation and luck. The suicide of the prime witness could only be called a misfortune. A thoroughly professional hatchet job on her part, in other words. It was for the prosecution to prove their case and for her to destroy it; she had done the latter but the result would not cover her with glory simply because it would be seen as an outrageous piece of cruel luck, rather than advocacy. She would not want to say goodbye. She would never want to see him again, but he was fresh out of jail and for the first time he was leaving the court via the front door and not via the prison van. The prison van, he had told her, was an exquisitely uncomfortable mode of transport, like traveling on the inside of a human time bomb complete with molded plastic seats and manacles.

Author Bio:

"I grew up in rural Derbyshire, but my adult life has been spent mostly in London, with long intervals in Norfolk and Deal, all inspiring places. I was educated mostly in convent schools; then studied English and went on to qualify as a solicitor, working for what is now the Crown Prosecution Service, thus learning a bit about murder at second hand. Years later, writing became the real vocation, although the law and its ramifications still haunt me and inform many of my novels. I’m a novelist, short story writer for magazines and radio, sometime Radio 4 contributor, (Front Row, Quote Unquote, Night Waves,) and presenter of Tales from the Stave. When I’m not working (which is as often as possible), I can be found in the nearest junk/charity shop or auction, looking for the kind of paintings which enhance my life. Otherwise, with a bit of luck, I’m relaxing by the sea with a bottle of wine and a friend or two."-Frances Fyfield

Frances Fyfield interview

What made you decide to transition from being a lawyer to a writer?

I was a writer first, I think, who deviated to be a lawyer. Did a lot of gloomy teenage poetry and essays in those years, studied English at University, and became a lawyer in order to earn a crust. I loved the law and also hated it. The desire to write came back, and after fifteen years of homicide and bureaucracy, I was desperate to make sense of it all by writing about it. I was turning fact into stories with happier endings.

I saved enough money to take a year off, to write, and thank God, it worked!

Are your novels and/or characters ever based on the real cases and people that you’ve come across as a lawyer?

Yes..and no: more no than yes. (Typical lawyer’s response.!)

The plots of my novels may borrow tiny parts of scenes or situations from real cases I’ve read about or heard about. The same is true of character. I don’t ever take whole ‘real stories’ from real life. (Believe me, no one would believe them! But I gather vignettes like a magpie gathers bright things; a way of laughing, various personal habits, a whole selection of attitudes and responses. So, they’re based on observations of real life, rather than real life itself.

What do you like about being a writer? Is there anything you miss about being a lawyer?

The glorious opportunity to take someone out their world and put them into mine, for a while at least. That’s what recreation is all about.

The moment when I meet someone in a library or somewhere, who says, I couldn’t put that book of yours down, I loved it. That makes me high as a kite. Then I know I’ve done my job and its an honourable calling.

What I miss about being a lawyer is a) the stories, and b) the colleagues.

You’ve written many crime-fiction novels throughout your career. How do you keep each story fresh and original?

I guess it’s because I’m incessantly curious, and I’m incapable of writing to a formula. I try to include my own passions and interests, of which there are many. I chose a subject I want to know more about, research it and base the book on what I’m discovering. That keeps me fresh if not particulary nimble!

I often get into an unholy mess, and change my mind wildly, which also keeps things fresh.

Is there anything in particular that draws you to crime fiction? Have you written anything outside the genre?

I’ve always had huge respect for the genre. Quite frankly the crime genre has the best stories, the most excitement and the most suspense. And it can’t be sloppy and self indulgent like a lot of other fiction. It’s about life, death and redemption..what better?

Half the classic novelists are crime novelists, really, like Dickens.

If I hadn’t written in this genre, I’d have liked to be a biographer.

I’ve written quite a lot outside the genre, ie scripts for radio, and I’m also a broadcaster for Radio4, presenting a series called ‘Tales from the Stave’.

(this series involves unearthing original musical scores by famous composers and getting performers, and conductors to come and look at the original. The last one we did was Porgy and Bess in the Library of Congress. What a blast!)