Murder, mystery and cake to be served up at Northern Angels in Alnwick

Crime thriller writer Marrisse Whittaker will join forces with locals to eat cake and join in a game to solve a fictional crime on Sunday, March 17.

Together with Vikki Diggins and Laura Baile from Northern Angels they came up with the idea of a relaxed and fun murder mystery event based on a ‘crime’ which takes place in Alnwick in 1912, during a Suffragette rally.

“The fictional character in my Billie Wilde series of books, is a feisty female based in Northumberland, so I was absolutely thrilled when The Northern Angels asked if they might stock the books in their shop,” said Marrisse.

"Billie Wilde sits alongside some amazing real life female heroines from the area, seen telling their stories on the big screen in the venue, such as Grace Darling and Suffragette Emily Wilding Davison.”

“I will be appearing at Morpeth Book Festival a few days later, being interviewed by Jackie Kaines Lang, in which we talk about my books and writing process in detail, so it seemed to be a good idea to entertain people with a different approach.”

Not that Marrisse will be taking any credit for creating this twisty crime.

"I have a new Billie Wilde thriller being published in July and have a further work in progress, so apart from drinking copious amounts of tea and throwing character names into the hat, I’ve been pretty useless at creating the story so far,” she said. “So Vikki and Laura will be deservedly taking the credit for this brilliant work of fiction.”

Marrisse will be talking a little about structuring her own thrillers during breaks.

"It seemed a good idea to put Suffragettes, as well as Alnwick into the spotlight,” Marrisse says. “My books sell in the usual bookshops and online, but Northern Angels are one of three local businesses run by amazing women to stock my books, including Kris Blackburn at The Running Foxes and Sam McDine at Whickham Cottage Crafts.

"We’re all women helping other women with our projects. But that doesn’t mean that men can’t join in the fun!”

People are welcome to dress up for the event in vaguely Edwardian attire.