There was standing room only at Waterstone’s Princes Street store last night to mark the official launch of local author Peter Ritchie’s latest book ‘Our Little Secrets.’
The book is the fifth in the Grace Macallan series.
At Police Scotland HQ, Grace has pitched up in Counter Corruption. But the demons of her past are never far behind.
Meanwhile, Edinburgh’s gangland is in turmoil. As a new breed of upstarts challenges the old criminal order, their battle for territory causes serious havoc.
DI Janet Hadden, a complex mix of professional talent, ruthless ambition and criminal risk taking in her private life, can’t fail to escape Grace’s notice.
When Janet’s desire for promotion is thwarted, she seeks out Dominic Grainger, an imposing presence in the Scottish underworld, to take her to the top.
Beset by murder, corruption and duplicity, Grace is soon embroiled in a savage game of cat and mouse with colleagues and criminals alike.
Journalist Lesley Riddoch hosted the event and ‘grilled’ Peter on his third career as a writer having previously worked as a detective and a fisherman.
Peter then gave a reading from the book, an amusing account of how small time criminal ‘Tonto’ McGill was chased through the streets of Gorgie by a machete wielding Polish thug dressed solely in Mickey Mouse boxer shorts.
He then explained how many of the events and characters in the books are drawn from his considerable experience as a detective in Lothian and Borders Police and the National Criminal Intelligence Service in London and Holland and described how much of his writing is done at the gym.
Peter also revealed that he has just finished writing a play based on a family to fishermen in the 19th century and after a question and answer session with the audience which included many of his former colleagues, he ended the night with a selection of poems.
The evening ended with a book signing session.
John graduated from Telford College in 2010 with an HNC in Practical Journalism and since then he worked for the North Edinburgh News, The Southern Reporter, the Irish News Review and The Edinburgh Reporter. In addition he has been published in the Edinburgh Evening News and the Hibernian FC Programme.
