Martine Bailey

Martine Bailey is a writer of crime and mystery novels born in Manchester. After writing four acclaimed historical novels she has created a chilling new crime series beginning with Sharp Scratch set in 1980s Salford.

After studying English Literature while playing in bands on the Manchester music scene she worked as a hospital personnel officer and qualified in psychometric testing. Over her career she assessed staff for Ashworth top security psychiatric hospital and completed an MSc on the ‘Psychic Prisons’ that can trap health workers in negative behaviours.

Martine’s debut, An Appetite for Violets, takes sharp-witted cook Biddy Leigh on a murderous trip to Italy. Fay Weldon described its mix of crime, gastronomy and history, as a new genre, the ‘culinary gothic’. It was a Booklist top ten crime fiction debut of the year. The Penny Heart (A Taste for Nightshade in the US) is a Sunday Times Best Summer Read that draws on cooking, trickery and revenge.

The stars, riddles and murder align in The Almanack, a historical mystery featuring fifty authentic riddles. In its sequel, The Prophet, destiny and murder weave an intricate web around Tabitha’s new life.

Martine’s novels explore the psychological pressures of crime with an interest in social class and northern culture in Britain. Her influences are Ruth Rendell, Sarah Waters and the gothic tradition. She is married with one son and lives in Chester, UK.