The Bingo Hall Detectives by Jonathan Whitelaw published by HarperCollins today

Congratulations to Jonathan Whitelaw, whose novel The Bingo Hall Detectives is published by HarperNorth today. The Bingo Hall Detectives is the first in a cracking new cosy crime series featuring an unlikely detective duo and their quest to solve a crime in the Lake District.

An irresistible slice of murder and mystery – there’s a killer on the loose in the Lake District, and the members of the Penrith Bingo Club have decided they’re the ones to catch the culprit…

Jason Brazel is an out of work journalist who lives in Penrith with his family and mother-in-law, Amita. She knows everyone and everything that’s going on in this corner of the Lakes.

So when it’s discovered that Madeline Forbisher, one of Amita’s fellow regulars at the bingo club has died, found by the postman outside her crumbling country home close to Ullswater Lake, she senses immediately this is no accident. The trouble is, no one else seems to take her suspicions seriously.

That is, until she enlists the help of her friends at the Penrith Bingo Club. Dismissed by many as eccentric, over the hill or out of touch, it turns out that it’s unlucky for some that these amateur sleuths are on the case…

Jonathan Whitelaw is an author, award-winning journalist and broadcaster. After working on the frontline of Scottish politics, he moved into journalism. Subjects he has covered have varied from breaking news, the arts, culture and sport to fashion, music and even radioactive waste — with everything in between. His work has appeared in The Sun, Daily Mail, Scotsman, STV and The Scots Magazine as well as numerous international newspapers and websites.

He’s also a regular reviewer on the BBC – specifically for arts reviews on The Afternoon Show on BBC Radio Scotland. Jonathan also regularly contributes to book events and festivals, including appearances on the Blood Brothers podcast and the Bloody Scotland Book Club, and presenting the Desert Island Crooks panel at the Bloody Scotland crime writing festival.