News and Events

A Nudge for the Perfect Murder

30 May 2007

Crime novelist Minette Walters talks to Bournemouth Daily Echo deputy editor Ed Perkins at BU

One of the world’s best-loved crime novelists has revealed to a BU audience how she would commit the perfect murder.

Minette Walters - the queen of the psychological thriller - is convinced that a gentle nudge of your victim from a busy railway platform or roadside curb will leave no trace of the perpetrator.

“There is no evidence left, no DNA from the murderer, so if you are careful - and successful - then no one should be able to detect who committed the crime,” she said during a special evening in her honour at the University.

The answer – and the author - captivated the audience during ‘An Evening with Minette Walters’.

Guest interviewer Ed Perkins, Deputy Editor of the Bournemouth Daily Echo, engaged Ms Walters in conversation across a range of subjects.

Ms Walters recalled tales from her childhood and experiences of her early career, when she used to edit and write hospital romance novels.

She also told of her skill as a carpenter and ‘lady roofer,’ and shared her adoration of Dorset, where she and husband Alec now reside.

Ms Walters found success as a crime writer with her first novel, The Ice House, which she only started writing after her first child had started school.

Another 11 novels later and Ms Walter's work is now published in 35 languages the world over, complete with references to locations in the South of England, including Dorset, which has featured many times in her work.

Her next book, The Chameleon’s Shadow, is due for publication in September 2007.

An avowed fan of her contemporaries, such as Ruth Rendell, as well as writers of the 20th century, like Agatha Christie, Ms Walters said that a hallmark of her novels is the reference to current affairs to be found in each one.

“When I write, I always use current events as a backdrop,” she said, “so it will make the story so much more real for readers now, and particularly in the future.

“If you want to find out what life was like in Victorian London read a Sherlock Holmes story by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle,” she continued.

“A good crime writer will always give you as much contemporary detail surrounding their story as they possibly can.”

BU’s ‘An Evening with Minette Walters’ is the fourth in a series of activities which aims increase the closeness of the community and the University .

The evenings currently feature recipients of honorary degrees from BU.

Ms Walters received her Honorary Doctor of Letters award in November 2005, in recognition of her phenomenal global success as a writer and her connections with the county.

Others to participate in the past include Peter Alliss, the voice of golf, in November 2005, followed by fellow ‘Hon Docs’ Bill Bryson and Murray Walker in 2006.

The next scheduled ‘Evening with’ at BU in November 2007 should feature the BBC journalist Fergal Keane, who received an honorary doctorate from the University in 2003.