Dr. Gay Marris is a retired research scientist. Her career focused on insect ecology, parasites and honey bee health. A Curtain Twitcher’s Book of Murder is her first novel, set in the suburbs of the deceptively dangerous suburbs of 1960s London, where she grew up. Gay now lives in York with her husband, a cat and a tortoise.

'I am not Crime’s biggest fan by a long shot but this book is CLEVER. Written as a series of short stories you can dip in and out of it at leisure, but as you get further in you realise how the web of stories are being woven together to create the novel. The characters you met at the beginning pop up again in the least expected of places and of course at the centre are the vicar and his wife...It really does give you the feeling of being a curtain twitcher! The cast of characters in Atbara Avenue are deliciously dark, they plot and scheme whilst polishing the silver and being very polite to each other... I really enjoyed it, it’s full of dark humour and it’s very entertaining. A great read!'