Sorry blog readers, in all the excitement of updating Instagram, Facebook and my newsletter with my cover reveal last month I completely forgot to update my blog!

I assume most of my blog followers have seen the reveal elsewhere but, just in case you haven’t – here it is!

I had the most wonderful launch at Theakson’s Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival in Harrogate which included a game to win a proof, a school desk for me to sign copies and a burning cake!

Notes on an Obsession is my 16th book (12th crime novel) and my first book for my new publisher, Headline.

It’ll be published in ebook, audiobook and hardback on 25th February 2027. Here’s the blurb:

Oxford University, 1995.

Three student deaths in three weeks can’t be a coincidence. Ned Marlowe doesn’t think so, but no one wants to listen to him: not his professor or the clique of elitist psychology undergraduates he supervises.

Then Celia, a student in a nearby building, tells Ned what she saw the night of the last death, and his suspicions deepen into obsession.

Someone is trying to stop him from getting to the truth. The less he knows, the better.

But Ned can’t let it go…

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I’ve already had some amazing quotes from authors who’ve read a proof:

‘Deliciously dark and beautifully written, a gripping thriller that will keep you guessing until the end’ Alice Feeney

‘It’s just so damn good you’ll want to read it twice. A delicious, slow burn that ignites into a firecracker of a story.’ John Marrs

‘A dazzlingly clever book where nothing is quite as it seems. A tour-de-force from CL Taylor.’ Elly Griffiths

‘Sophisticated… a wonderfully satisfying treasure-hunt of a novel.’ Erin Kelly

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Want to get your hands on a signed and dedicated copy?

They’re available to pre-order from Bert’s Books and Max Minerva’s.

Also available from Amazon and Waterstones, unsigned.

All retailers in UK and Aus/NZ

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Yesterday I got back from my first solo writing retreat of the year (to be fair I only normally do one, very occasionally two). Normally I go when I want to finish a book, this time it was to get into it.

I arrived in Teignmouth on Monday afternoon with 6,000 words in the bag and left Saturday afternoon with 13,000. Considering a lot of research and thinking was also done I’m pleased with that. This book will end up being published in February 2028 and it’s nice to have that extra bit of breathing time as I didn’t have a new hardback out this year.

I hope you like the sound of Notes on an Obsession. I’d be very grateful if you could pre-order as it will help convince my publisher that readers need my books!