A Q&A WITH PAULINE ROWSON

For readers discovering your books for the first time, what can they expect from the Inspector Alun Ryga Mysteries?

Readers can expect atmospheric murder mysteries set against the fascinating backdrop of post-war Britain, where every investigation is rooted in authentic history and unforgettable coastal locations.

Britain in the early 1950s was still living with the legacy of the Second World War. Housing shortages, rationing, bomb sites and the black market were part of everyday life, and those realities form the backdrop to every Inspector Ryga mystery.

Without DNA, CCTV or computers, Scotland Yard detectives relied on observation, patience and experience. Inspector Ryga is a thoughtful, quietly determined detective who listens more than he speaks. He notices what others overlook and understands that solving murder begins by understanding people.

Each novel combines an intricate mystery with richly researched historical detail, bringing post-war Britain vividly to life while taking readers on a journey through some of Britain’s most dramatic coastal landscapes.

What drew you to write a detective series set in post-war Britain?

I’ve always been fascinated by Britain in the years immediately after the Second World War. It was a country rebuilding itself but still carrying the emotional scars of conflict.

The early 1950s sit between wartime hardship and the social revolution of the 1960s. It was an era of secrets, resilience, change and quiet determination. That makes it the perfect setting for crime fiction because the past is never far away and almost everyone has something they would rather forget.

Inspector Ryga himself is shaped by those experiences. A former Merchant Seaman and prisoner of war, he understands loss, fear and resilience, qualities that influence both the way he investigates and the compassion he shows to those caught up in murder.

What research did you do for this book, and was there anything particularly interesting you discovered along the way?

Research is one of my favourite parts of writing historical crime fiction.

For every Inspector Ryga novel, I study contemporary newspapers, police procedures, maps, train timetables, weather reports and local history to recreate post-war Britain as accurately as possible.

For Death on the Pier, I researched Southend-on-Sea during the summer of 1951 in remarkable detail. Sometimes a tiny historical discovery — a newspaper report, a weather record or an old map — changes the direction of the story completely.

The research never exists simply for its own sake. It becomes part of the investigation and often inspires new plot twists that I hadn’t originally planned.

How does this book compare to others you’ve written? Were there any new challenges or surprises during the writing process?

Every novel presents new challenges, which is one of the reasons I still enjoy writing crime fiction after more than thirty books.

One of the pleasures of the Inspector Ryga series is recreating a vanished Britain, not only its landscapes and towns but the attitudes, customs and everyday lives of the people who lived there.

In Death on the Pier, there is more than one disappearance. Alongside the mystery of a vanished body is the gradual disappearance of an older England, particularly the great country houses and the lives connected with them.

Set during a July heatwave in the bustling seaside town of Southend-on-Sea, the investigation leads Ryga from a missing corpse to murder, long-buried secrets and the consequences of decisions made years before.

What’s the last book you read that you couldn’t put down?

Maigret and the Death of a Harbour Master.

I’ve long admired Georges Simenon’s ability to create atmosphere with remarkable economy. Like Inspector Ryga, Maigret succeeds not through dramatic action but through careful observation, patience and understanding human nature. His investigations remind us that solving a crime is as much about understanding people as it is about collecting evidence.

What are you working on now?

Alongside the novels, I’ve recently launched Case Files: Inspector Ryga, a series of cinematic short films on YouTube that recreate the investigations through authentic 1950s production stills. They allow readers — and newcomers — to step inside Ryga’s world and experience each case almost as though they were watching a classic British television detective drama.