'This city makes you feel like you should give it a go' Bold new chapter for debut novelist

With her witty murder mystery debut novel creating a stir in the publishing world, Lewis Clarke talks red herrings, a killer instinct and life-changing choices to Bristol-based writer Eve Hall

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T'S not every day that your literary agent gets stabbed in the chest - thankfully, in fiction.

But for Jane Hepburn, the unlikely sleuth at the heart of Eve Hall's debut novel A Novel Murder, it's the brutal start to an unforgettable weekend at a crime fiction festival. For readers, it's a smart, irreverent whodunit that cuts as sharply through industry satire as it does red herrings. And for Eve herself, it's a bold new chapter one that took root not in London's literary boardrooms, but on the quieter streets of South Bristol.

As we talk about her path to publication, it's quickly clear she brings more than just a clever plot to the table. There's grit behind the glamour, a sharp eye on the industry she skewers, and an honest, often self-deprecating view of what it takes to transition from editing other people's books to writing your own.

Before A Novel Murder began life as a manuscript, Eve Hall was immersed in the very world she now writes about with such wicked precision. Having risen through the publishing ranks to become Editorial Director for Crime & Thriller at a major house, she had a front-row seat to the mechanics and madness of the industry.

"I read a lot of crime fiction and learnt a lot about how to build a good story," Eve says. But it wasn't until a return to her Bristol roots that the creative urge truly struck. "I moved back in 2020 and quit my job to go freelance. That's when I finally had the headspace to start writing myself."

Growing up in the village of Siston, surrounded by "nothing but sheep and a church, Eve now thrives in Bedminster. "The restaurants! The bars! The proximity to the water!" she says. "It's such a great spot."