Beccles Books Ltd

20/06/2026

14/06/2026

Thanks to our local MP Jess Asato for mentioning us in connection with Independent Bookshop Week.

📚 It was a pleasure to attend the Independent Bookshop Week reception in Parliament this week, celebrating the incredible contribution that independent bookshops make to communities across the UK.

As Independent Bookshop Week marks its 20th anniversary, it’s a timely reminder of the vital role these local businesses play - not only in supporting authors and publishers, but in fostering a love of reading, bringing people together, and enriching our high streets.

I’m particularly proud of the fantastic independent bookshops we have in our community, including Moral Of The Story Bookstore and Beccles Books Ltd. Their passion, expertise and commitment to encouraging reading and supporting local culture make a real difference.

I encourage everyone to support their local independent bookshop this week and discover their next great summer read.

Thank you to the The Booksellers Association and everyone involved in organising this year’s celebrations.

12/06/2026

Writer and producer Simon Brett OBE is the last on the list of authors at this year's Slaughter in Southwold.
Hope to see you all tomorrow!
There's still time to book tickets, by phone on 01502 442817 or on the website www.ticketsource.co.uk/slaughterinsouthwold

Now Booking: Friends of Southwold Library present Slaughter in Southwold: Southwold Library Crime Writers Festival

Saturday 13th & Sunday 14th June at Southwold Arts Centre, St Edmunds Hall

Sunday 14th June: 3.30pm Simon Brett.

Simon Brett is the author of over 100 books, many of them crime novels, including the Charles Paris, Mrs Pargeter and Fethering series. Simon was chairman of the Crime Writers Association from 1986 to 1987 and of the Society of Authors from 1995 to 1997. He was also President of the Detection Club and was awarded the 2014 CWA Diamond Dagger. In 2016 he was awarded an OBE for services to literature.

For Major Bricket, attending church in his village of Stunston Peveril in Suffolk is a good way to keep up with the village gossip. Having only recently retired from a career where he was privy to many international secrets, the Major likes to stay in the know. Events take a turn one Sunday though when, after the morning service, Major Bricket notices the door to the bell tower open... and finds a body at the bottom of the stairs. The dead man is dressed in a suit and dog collar. But who is he? And could someone in Stunston Peveril have killed him? Perhaps predictably, most of the village.

Book at the library, by phone 01502 442817 or on the website www.ticketsource.co.uk/slaughterinsouthwold

11/06/2026

We're selling Abir Mukherjee's new book a couple of days before its officially pubished at Slaughter in Southwold this weekend.

Now Booking: Friends of Southwold Library present Slaughter in Southwold: Southwold Library Crime Writers Festival

Saturday 13th & Sunday 14th June at Southwold Arts Centre, St Edmunds Hall

Sunday 14th June: 2.00pm Abir Mukherjee.

Abir Mukherjee is the bestselling author of the award-winning Wyndham & Banerjee series of crime novels set in 1920s India and the British Book Awards Crime Thriller of the Year 2025 Hunted. His books have been translated into sixteen languages and won various awards including the CWA Dagger for best Historical Novel, the Prix du Polar Européen, and the Wilbur Smith Award for Adventure Writing. He also co-hosts the popular Red Hot Chilli Writers podcast which takes a wry look at the world of books, writing, and the creative arts, tackling everything from bestsellers to pop culture. Abir grew up in Scotland and now lives in Surrey with his wife and two sons.

Every floor has its secrets. Washed-up American heart-throb George Abercrombie hates India, even from the rarefied heights of his apartment on the 68th floor of the Pinnacle, Mumbai’s grandest luxury skyscraper. He hates the noise, he hates the heat and maybe he’s even grown to hate his much younger wife, the newest queen of Bollywood, Sweety Sahota. When George wakes from a drunken stupor to find Sweety murdered in their bedroom, he knows he will be the prime suspect. But where is her computer,
her phone – and where has his personal assistant gone? As George scrambles to piece together the night, others in the building are covering their tracks. Sweety’s assistant must find who is blackmailing her, and a servant who knows too much goes on the run. Welcome to the Pinnacle. A place where murder meets luxury and the world’s most privileged depend on the most desperate.

Book at the library, by phone 01502 442817 or on the website www.ticketsource.co.uk/slaughterinsouthwold

10/06/2026

If you're a fan of Anna Mazzola's historical novels then we have great news: she'll be at "Slaughter in Southwold" this weekend to tell you all about her new novel and her new name: Anna Sharpe.

Now Booking: Friends of Southwold Library present Slaughter in Southwold: Southwold Library Crime Writers Festival

Saturday 13th & Sunday 14th June at Southwold Arts Centre, St Edmunds Hall

Sunday 14th June: 2.00pm Anna Mazzola

Anna Sharpe is the pseudonym of Anna Mazzola. She's the award-winning author of three historical thrillers plus one ghost novel. Her debut novel, “The Unseeing”, won an Edgar Allan Poe award in the US. Her third novel, “The Clockwork Girl”, set in 18th century Paris, reached number 11 in the Sunday Times Chart.

In her latest book, “Notes on a Drowning Alex, a legal aid lawyer takes on the case of Rosa, whose teenage sister Natalia has been found drowned in the Thames. Initially dismissed as an accident by the police, Rosa believes there is more to the story & seeks Alex's help. As Alex investigates, she is haunted by the unresolved disappearance of her own sister, which adds a personal stake to her quest for justice. Kat, a Special Adviser to the Home Secretary, has her own troubled past and is drawn into the investigation when she uncovers a series of cover-ups related to Natalia's death. Despite their complicated history, Alex and Kat must work together to navigate a web of political corruption and powerful adversaries who will stop at nothing to protect their secrets.

Book at the library, by phone 01502 442817 or on the website www.ticketsource.co.uk/slaughterinsouthwold

10/06/2026

Nicci French will be making a welcome return to Slaughter in Southwold this weekend.

Now Booking: Friends of Southwold Library present Slaughter in Southwold: Southwold Library Crime Writers Festival

Saturday 13th & Sunday 14th June at Southwold Arts Centre, St Edmunds Hall

Sunday 14th June: 11.30am Nicci French

Nicci French is the pseudonym for the writing partnership of journalists Nicci Gerrard and Sean French. The couple are married and live in London. There are 27 novels by Nicci French, including the bestselling Frieda Klein series, published in thirty-one languages. Their 25th novel “Has Anyone Seen Charlotte Salter?” was shortlisted for British Book Awards Book of the Year 2024 – Crime & Thriller. They have sold in excess of 15 million copies of their novels worldwide

Their latest book is "What Happened That Night". After nearly 30 years in prison for the murder of his university friend Leo Bauer, Tyler Green is finally free. Meeting up with the group of friends who were there the night that Leo died, Tyler is looking to reconnect – but he’s also looking for answers. When another friend is found dead that night, his newfound freedom is put in jeopardy. Detective Maud O’Connor is called to investigate – but can she discover the truth, or is Tyler Green never going to be free?

Book at the library, by phone 01502 442817 or on the website www.ticketsource.co.uk/slaughterinsouthwold

09/06/2026

There's still time to buy tickets to meet Julie Wassmer this weekend at "Slaughter in Southwold".

Now Booking: Friends of Southwold Library present Slaughter in Southwold: Southwold Library Crime Writers Festival

Saturday 13th & Sunday 14th June at Southwold Arts Centre, St Edmunds Hall

Saturday 13th June: 5.00pm Julie Wassmer.

Julie Wassmer is a professional television drama writer, working on various series including ITV's “London's Burning”, C 5's “Family Affairs” and BBC 's “Eastenders” – which she worked on for 20 years. “Murder at St. Alfred’s” is the brand-new book in the Whitstable Pearl crime series, starring restauranteur and detective Pearl Nolan (now a major TV drama, starring Kerry Godliman).

For almost two centuries, St Alfred's Church in Whitstable, Kent, has held special significance in the lives of its parishioners – including for private detective, Pearl Nolan, owner of the Whitstable Pearl restaurant.
Pearl's son, Charlie, was christened in the church and her oyster fisherman father, Tommy Nolan, is buried in the old churchyard. Now, St Alfred's is about to play another part in Pearl's life as the setting for her wedding to Canterbury police detective, DCI Mike McGuire. But two fateful events are about to threaten this happy occasion – the discovery of a body on hallowed ground and the return of a ghost from Pearl's own past...

Book at the library, by phone 01502 442817 or on the website www.ticketsource.co.uk/slaughterinsouthwold

08/06/2026

Beccles author Salman Shaheen returns for this weekend's Slaughter in Southwold Crime Writing Festival! Tickets are still available,

Now Booking: Friends of Southwold Library present Slaughter in Southwold: Southwold Library Crime Writers Festival

Saturday 13th & Sunday 14th June at Southwold Arts Centre, St Edmunds Hall

Sunday 14th June: 10.00am Salman Shaheen

Salman Shaheen is a British politician, journalist and novelist. He has written for the Guardian, New Statesman, Huffington Post, & the Observer. Born in Norwich in 1984, Salman grew up near Beccles, Suffolk. He studied Social & Political Sciences at Jesus College, Cambridge, before going on to complete the Creative Writing MA at the University of East Anglia. He now lives in Brentford, West London. Salman is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts. “Freebourne” is his first novel.

After learning of his wife's affair with his best friend and business partner, divorced and unemployed MindTech entrepreneur Dr Harry Coulson arrives in the idyllic English town of Freebourne, looking to start a new life. But any hopes of quietly picking up the pieces of his broken world are shattered when he steps off the train to discover the body of a young woman lying in the snow. It's almost as if she'd been left there for him to find. Harry does everything he can to help. But as a stranger arriving on the night Freebourne witnesses its first murder in over a century, he not only becomes a suspect in the woman's killing but finds himself caught in a deadly game between science, faith, and free will - in a secret far darker and more terrifying than anything he could have imagined.

Book at the library, by phone 01502 442817 or on the website www.ticketsource.co.uk/slaughterinsouthwold

04/06/2026

Next on the list of authors at this year's Slaughter in Southwold is a woman who truly needs no introduction: the incomparable Elly Griffiths!
There's still time to buy tickets before 13th June so why not spend next weekend with one of the most popular authors in East Anglia!

Now Booking: Friends of Southwold Library present Slaughter in Southwold: Southwold Library Crime Writers Festival

Saturday 13th & Sunday 14th June at Southwold Arts Centre, St Edmunds Hall

Saturday 13th June: 3.30pm Elly Griffiths.

Elly Griffiths is a multi-award-winning author & a No. 1 bestseller. She has written 27 crime novels for adults; 4 for children, & a volume of short stories. Her books for adults include the Dr Ruth Galloway Mysteries, the Brighton Mysteries and the Detective Harbinder Kaur series, as well as “The Frozen People”, the first book in the Ali Dawson Mysteries. Elly's many accolades include the CWA Dagger in the Library, the Edgar Award, the Fingerprint Award for Crime Novel of the Year and the Theakston Old Peculier Outstanding Contribution Award, as well as being shortlisted multiple times for the Theakston Crime Novel of the Year Award. Elly has two grown-up children and lives near Brighton with her archaeologist husband and their cat, Pip.
In her latest book “The Killing Time” Ali Dawson is a police detective who leads a unit that investigates cases so cold her team must travel to the distant past to solve them. But Ali and the team haven't been allowed to time-travel ever since their technical expert, Jones, got stuck in Victorian London.

To distract herself, Ali looks into a present-day case - an apparent su***de of a young man who fell to his death from a high building. She believes the death is linked to a psychic medium called Barry Power, who convinced the boy he could fly. Ali goes to one of Power's shows where he claims to be in contact with Jones.

When Ali notices that evening that her cat, Terry, has gone missing, she decides to go back in time just long enough to prevent Terry from escaping through his open cat flap. A dangerous plan which backfires, and she finds herself once more in Victorian London, where she meets Jones, as well as Power . . .

Book at the library, by phone 01502 442817 or on the website www.ticketsource.co.uk/slaughterinsouthwold