John Dean – Crime Writer

I thought that an update on my crime novels might interest my readers, so here goes.

Book number 27 is currently undergoing editing (and will be published by The Book Folks, an imprint of the award-winning Joffe Books) and it’s a DCI John Blizzard one (the previous book to appear was Murder in the Pennines, the 12th in the DCI Jack Harris series).

The next book due to appear is the 13th in the Blizzard series and is scheduled to come out in September 2026. I cannot give away too much detail – you would not expect me to do so, I suspect – but I am excited about it because there are some dramatic scenes and big themes within its pages and some thought-provoking storylines that challenge Blizzard and his team (not to mention the reader).

I can say that one of the main themes is the changes that technology is bringing about in all our lives, mixed in with the capacity of scammers to fool the unwary, both powerful subjects which offer scope for me as the author.

I am glad to say that I tend not to struggle with ideas but the trick is not coming up with them but coming up with ideas that are strong enough to carry the story on a novel’s (figurative) shoulders.

The way to do that is to let your mind explore an idea, seeking multiple angles, each of which has the potential to spark a new plotline. The new Blizzard novel does that, throwing challenges into the path of the characters, some of whom are old favourites experiencing changes in their lives and some newly-created ones. Each new element of the story has the effect of introducing energy and it is energy that keeps the series fresh.

One final point, Mathematics has never been my strong point but I know that 13 Blizzard books and 12 Harris titles does not add up to 27. However, I also wrote two DCI Danny Radford ones under the name John Stanley (same publisher).