Five Books With Suzy Aspley

It’s another round of the hottest (and easiest to do) interview for mystery writers, namely Five Books. This time, it’s an author who I only came across this year by chance – the Highland Bookshop in Fort William had Crow Moon on display as a local title and, passing through on the way to our holiday destination, I picked it up on way through on a whim. I absolutely loved it and was delighted when Suzy got in touch and sent me a signed copy of The Bone Mother – the review will be up for Halloween (and it’s only 99p on Kindle this week, I think).

Anyway, enough from me, over to Suzy.

Introduce yourself

I’m Suzy Aspley, Scotland based author of gothic thrillers featuring journalist Martha Strangeways. Originally from South Shields, I’ve lived in Scotland for more than 30 years and my inspiration comes from the places that surround me. Remote and rural landscapes and the weird things that can happen in small places. My books have been described as ‘folk horror inflected crime fiction’ and I’m happy with that. I won Bloody Scotland’s Pitch Perfect competition in 2019 with an idea for my debut Crow Moon. When the book came out in 2024, it was shortlisted for the Bloody Scotland and Theakstons’s McDermid Debut prizes.

I’ll just add that Crow Moon also won the Puzzly for August 2026 against some stiff competition.

What book inspired you to write crime fiction?

I love Scandi Noir and one of my favourite authors is Icelander Yrsa Sigurdardottir. Her Thora series started me off with a love of dark fiction. In Last Rituals, a young man is found murdered with his eyes removed. He was obsessed with folklore and lawyer Thora is commissioned by his family to investigate his death. She goes deep into a world of torture and witchcraft as she draws closer to a killer gripped by a dangerous obsession. I love the way Yrsa sets up a sense of the uncanny which is often rooted in something mundane. She’s brilliant at this kind of story.

Which of your own books are you the most proud of?

Crow Moon. It started during a writing retreat in the Highlands in 2017 with a single idea and was the first book I’d ever written. Most authors have several in the drawer they’ve completed, but I hadn’t done anything like this before. It was a roller coaster to get to publication, but I was so happy when it came out and people are still reading it two years after publication.

What crime novel should everybody read?

Burial Rites, by Hannah Kent. It’s about the last witch to be executed in Iceland Agnes Magnusdottir, based on a true story and is so poignantly written it stays with you. You want to step into the novel and change what you know is going to happen and although not a classic crime novel, it’s a tale of how the patriarchy has committed so many crimes against humanity.

What’s your favourite non-crime novel?

I love anything by AG Slatter. She writes the most delicious modern fairy tales set in her Sourdough World, as well as folk horror novellas. All The Murmuring Bones was the first I’ve read and I’ve devoured everything she has written since.

Please plug your latest book.

The Bone Mother is the second in the Martha Strangeways Mysteries. Set in the run up to Halloween, when Martha is called out to investigation the discovery of a human ear on a remote West Highland railway line, she is drawn into a spooky investigation that sees ancient and modern traditions at war. Young women are going missing and they all have connections to a pilgrimage to an ancient shrine dedicated to the Celtic Cailliach – a deity who has been worshipped for more than a thousand years. As the investigation progresses, Martha finds connections come far too close to home. Babies, backpackers, bones and bodies – can Martha stop a killer before it’s too late?

Thank you, Suzy, for taking part. I’m going to have to take a look at some of your recommendations, and I’m very much looking forward to whatever comes next from you. I’d heavily recommend Crow Moon – also currently 99p on Kindle. If it helps, Tom Mead was reading it at Death In The Dales and really liked it too!

Suzy Aspley Bibliography