My debut mystery novel Dream of the Dead is the start of a new detective series based in the West End, London’s world-famous entertainment district. Like the Oxford colleges of Colin Dexter, or the racecourses of Dick Francis, the charming theatres of the West End might initially seem an unusual environment for a crime novel. It’s certainly an exuberant, expensive, exhilarating area. But is it dangerous? After all, anyone who knows London tends to think of the West End as a pleasure ground for the masses. The colossal shops of Oxford Street and Regent Street. The glitzy restaurants of Soho and Covent Garden. The tourist magnet of Leicester Square. And, of course, the gorgeous theatres of St Martin’s Lane and Shaftesbury Avenue. Hardly a place teeming with criminals. Or so it would seem… Yet take a guess at which area of London also has the highest crime rate? Guess which part of the capital you are most likely to become a victim of violence? That’s right. The West End. STATISTICALLY SPEAKING… Many famous places typically thought of as being in ‘London’, from touristy sights like Big Ben, Trafalgar Square, or 10 Downing street, to prestigious universities, billion-pound corporate headquarters,…
