Doncaster crime writer shares her thoughts on the future of the genre in light of the Black Lives Matter movement

Author Lisa Hartley from Auckley hopes to add diversity and mix up the crime novels available to a modern audience.

Her main character Catherine Bishop is a young, gay woman who is working her way up a police career.

Lisa said: “We have enough middle-aged men who are divorced with drinking problems in crime novels.

“It’s the same character over and over again in many books.

“It’s not a big deal in the series that Catherine is gay, it’s just part of her life.”

Following the Black Lives Matter protests in the Summer of 2020, the crime genre is having to reflect on topics of race and police.

Lisa said: “I don’t think it will have as big an impact on the British crime genre as it will on the American one.

“But we all need to be thinking about diversifying not just our writing but our reading habits.

“It’s easy to get stuck in reading ruts where you stick to one genre or very similar authors but we should all be looking a bit further afield.”

Crime is always the genre that Lisa has wanted to write and she says she loves the fast-paced action that comes with murder and mystery.

Lisa has been working on her new novel during the lockdown.

She said: “Surprisingly I haven’t done that much writing during the pandemic.

“I have been caring for my 14-year-old son who is autistic.

“I’ve been reading a lot more though as I’m rarely leaving the house.”

Lisa says she is happy to see more people than ever enjoying literature and thinks that it is down to the amount of time that people now have on their hands.

Her new book is named ‘Home Fires Burn’ and is book four in DS Catherine Bishop series.

It focuses on themes of domestic abuse and murder and Lisa has taken inspiration from Doncaster and other northern towns for her fictional setting.

The novel will be released on September 24 and is being published by Canelo Crime.

Thank you to all who support local journalism with a print subscription. The events of 2020 mean trusted, local journalism is more reliant than ever on your support. We couldn't do it without you. Please subscribe here https://www.localsubsplus.co.uk/ so we can keep campaigning on your behalf. Stay safe.