The Last Devil To Die полностью

I am going to make a pavlova later. But with mangoes. I bet that has surprised you? I saw them do it on Saturday Kitchen. There will be plenty for Ibrahim, Ron and Elizabeth. And maybe, just maybe, there will be some left over for Edwin Mayhew.

By the way, when I went to see Edwin, he asked me if I was a member of any of the clubs at Coopers Chase.

Am I a member of any clubs at Coopers Chase?

I think that’s probably a conversation for another day, don’t you?

Time for me to turn in now. I know it sounds silly, but I feel less alone when I write. So thank you for keeping me company, whoever you might be.

I have so many people to thank for the part they have played in The Last Devil To Die, but I would like to start with you, the reader. I would simply like to echo Joyce’s final words in the book. Thank you for keeping me company. This relationship we have makes me very happy. May it all continue for many years to come.

This was the fourth Thursday Murder Club book, and I promise it won’t be the last. But I will be making you wait for a little while, as I’m going to write something new next, about a father-in-law/daughter in-law detective duo. I promise you’ll like them, but, as I say, rest assured that Joyce, Elizabeth, Ibrahim and Ron will also be sticking around for a long time to come.

Here come the acknowledgements and, as anyone who has ever had to wrangle a book into existence will know, they are heartfelt.

Thank you to my wonderful agent, Juliet Mushens, and welcome to the world, Seth Patrick-Mushens. You have an incredible mother, Seth, you lucky boy.

Juliet’s team are the very, very best, and look after me with skill and grace and great humour. Thank you, Liza DeBlock, Rachel Neely, Kiya Evans, Catriona Fida, and the whole Mushens Entertainment team, it is a great pleasure to work with you. Huge thanks too to my US agent, Jenny Bent.

Thank you to my amazing UK editor, Harriet Bourton, for, among many other things, convincing me that The Little Box of Death was not a good name for a book. Thank you also to the incredible Thursday Murder Club team at Viking: Amy Davies, Georgia Taylor, Olivia Mead, Rosie Safaty and Lydia Fried. Thank you to the forensic Sam Fanaken and her outstanding sales team in the UK, and to Linda Viberg and the wonderful international sales crew. And a huge vote of thanks to the amazing Penguin audio team, who always give the audiobook such care. Donna Poppy did her usual exemplary job on the copy-edit too, she is the very best in the business, and Natalie Wall and Annie Underwood saw the novel through its production seamlessly. Richard Bravery produced yet another cracking front cover (featuring Snowy, if you hadn’t spotted the details on the ears!). Thank you to Karen Harrison-Dening for her thoughtfulness and insight. And thank you to Tom Weldon for the continued support and wisdom.

My US publishing team are equally brilliant, and you’re able to email them later in the day because of the time difference. Thank you to my legendary editor Pamela Dorman, and her soon-to-be legendary right-hand woman Jeramie Orton. (I wonder if I subconsciously introduced an unusually spelled Jeremmy into the book in your honour?) Further thanks to the indispensable Brian Tart, Kate Stark, Marie Michels, Kristina Fazzalaro, Mary Stone, Alex Cruz-Jimenez, and to the rest of the team at Pamela Dorman Books and Viking Penguin. By the way, ‘Viking Penguin’ is a terrific idea for a kids’ book. Let’s talk numbers.

Three special mentions for this particular book. Firstly I want to thank Raj Bisram for his sage advice on the world of antiques and forgery. Raj certainly has some amazing stories to tell (although none, I should point out, about murder). Thank you to the real-life Luca Buttaci for lending me your name, and apologies to your mum, Kay, for making you such a bad guy. She promised me it was OK. Finally, the character of Computer Bob is entirely fictional, but I would like to extend a huge vote of admiration to John, who lives in my mum’s retirement village, and who really did set up his computers and treat everyone to a New Year’s Eve three hours in advance. John, it won’t surprise you to learn, is too modest to have his whole name mentioned.

To my family, my eternal thanks. To my children Ruby and Sonny, who continue to humble and delight me. To my mum, Brenda, and her undimmed curiosity about the world. To my brother Mat and his awesome wife, Anissa, and to my Aunty Jan, who has had a tough time of it this year, and faced it with a great deal of bravery.

But also to my sparkling new family of in-laws. I am immensely lucky to have been welcomed into the world of Richard, Salomé, Jo, Matt and Nicola, and, especially, my new nieces and nephew, Mika, Leo and Neni.