The following is an interview with author Victoria Dowd regarding the recent release of the novel, Death in the Aviary, through Datura Books. In this interview, Fanbase Press Editor-in-Chief Barbra Dillon chats with Dowd about her creative process in bringing the story and characters to life on the page, what she hopes that readers may take away from the story’s themes, and more!
Barbra Dillon, Fanbase Press Editor-in-Chief: Congratulations on the release of Death in the Aviary! For those who may be unfamiliar, what can you share with us about the story’s premise?
Victoria Dowd: Thank you so much. This book is the first in a series that I am incredibly excited about, The Blood Chronicles. I’m a huge fan of Golden Age Detective fiction novels and I’ve always wanted to set one in the actual time. Death in the Aviary begins in December 1929, when a young back-room journalist, Charlotte Blood, is sent to the isolated Ravenswick Abbey in the wilds of Dartmoor to investigate the murder of the heir to the Ravenswick fortune. Almost a year ago, on New Year’s Eve, nine members of the Ravenswick household stepped into a vast, ornate lift installed for the ailing head of the family, Lord Ravenswick. When the power failed, the lift stopped and, in the darkness, a single shot was fired. As the light returned, the occupants were met with the sight of Charles Ravenswick, the heir, dead on the floor, the gun lying in the centre of the lift. No one could have got in. No one could have got out. All the occupants of the lift have motives. It could equally be any one of them and it has, until now, been a crime that is impossible to solve.
Charlotte Blood has been working as a gossip columnist to pay her way. She’s a young widow, still grieving the loss of her husband, and desperate to avoid being married off to one of the many suitors her family have in mind for her. Her refusal to be forced to remarry has led to her being cut-off by her family and in need of new ways to fund living in the room she rents from the inimitable Mrs C. This assignment is a chance to elevate herself and move up in the world of journalism. Charlotte arrives under the pretence of reporting on the family’s infamous ravens. She’s determined to succeed and crack the case that no one has been able to solve so far but finds a house that is trapped in mourning and suspicion. There is still a murderer amongst them. As she starts to unravel the intricacies of their lives, dark truths surface from her own and she begins to realise nothing is quite as it seems, and she may well be in more danger than she imagined.
BD: How would you describe your creative process in crafting a great mystery? It’s always thrilling to follow a great mystery story as the reader, but I would imagine that crafting the narrative and staying 3 steps ahead of your reader is quite the challenge!
VD: It is very much a challenge. My novels often involve impossible crimes or crimes that seem unsolvable. I do quite a lot of intricate plotting to make sure they are also fair play detective fiction. The clues are all there, albeit hidden. There are, of course, lots of red herrings, too! I use my murder boards, covered in maps, pictures, clues, characters, and red string. For anyone passing my study window, I think it probably does look like I’m plotting a murder.
I spend a lot of time working out how the clues will fall. I work outwards from the central trick of the book. So, in this particular instance, the main issue is how would you ever be able to work out who shot someone in such a closed environment with no modern forensic methods to help you. There is a way, the clues are there, but they are very hidden.
The physical environment is also very important. Sometimes, as with this novel, I build a model of the house. My son has even built me a whole village out of LEGO for one of my books, complete with mini-figures for the characters. It means I can immediately track where every character is at any moment in the book. That’s incredibly important, as what people have been able to hear or see is often crucial. Each clue runs down the edge of the boards and is mirrored in my notebook as I plot each chapter. There’s quite a lot of work before I even start the first chapter but by that point I know exactly where the story is going.
BD: At Fanbase Press, our #StoriesMatter initiative endeavors to highlight the impact that stories can have on audiences of various mediums. How do you feel that Charlotte’s story may connect with and impact readers?
VD: Charlotte is a young woman who is fighting to remain independent. Although this is set in 1929, many of the challenges she faces still resonate to this day. She’s a journalist and it’s a very male dominated world. She’s not paid as much as her colleagues, which is still an issue in the workplace for many women. It’s so important to her in maintaining her freedom and avoiding the need to remarry. There were many young widows at this time in history as a result of the First World War. It was a struggle for them to rediscover their place in society.
Alongside the economic concerns she faces, there is of course the over-riding feeling of grief and how she navigates a way through that unimaginable loss. It is something universal and inevitable. Murder mysteries do, by definition, involve an element of death. However, many don’t deal with the impact that has on the characters, the motivations it creates in them. Charlotte is faced with the unaccountable death of a young man. Someone took that life and there is as yet no one who has been made to answer for that. Similarly, her young husband, Archie, having come home from the war, faced a slow and difficult death as a result of having his lungs destroyed. There seems no rhyme or reason to his meaningless loss of life. The parallels between the two deaths are very much a driving force for her character.
BD: What makes Datura Books the perfect home for this story?
VD: Ever since I first met with my editor Ella, I got an incredible sense of the excitement for this book. To see someone so invested in the characters and the enthusiasm for the story was just wonderful. The whole team have been wonderful. It’s been an absolute joy to work with them. From the magnificent cover and its little clues, to the map of Dartmoor, there have been so many elements of this book that Datura have enhanced and shown incredible attention to. As an author, it is a gift to have an editor like Ella who is so passionate about the book.
BD: Are there any other projects – past or current – that you would like to highlight for our readers?
VD: I have written another series, the first of which was The Smart Woman’s Guide to Murder, which was fortunate to win an award and, alongside other books in the series, went on to be a bestseller. I also write short fiction which is featured in various anthologies.
I’m currently working on the next book in The Blood Chronicles though and I’m utterly immersed in that. Charlotte is sent on an archaeological dig this time and faces a fiendish locked tomb mystery. I’m loving the research element involved this time and am even planning a little site visit.
BD: Lastly, what is the best way for our readers to find out more about Death in the Aviary and your other work?
VD: Death in the Aviary is available from September in the bookshops.
It’s available now for preorder from:
Barnes & Noble Death in the Aviary: The Charlotte Blood Chronicles by Victoria Dowd, Paperback | Barnes & Noble®
Waterstones Death in the Aviary by Victoria Dowd | Waterstones
Death in the Aviary by Victoria Dowd: 9781915523532 | PenguinRandomHouse.com: Books
Death in the Aviary: The Charlotte Blood Chronicles : Victoria Dowd: Amazon.co.uk: Books
I have a website where I post various updates and events that I’ll be appearing at. I’m also on social media.
Victoria Dowd – author (@victoria_dowd) / X
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Thank you so much for a wonderful interview. I hope you enjoy Death in the Aviary. I’m very excited to see it on the shelves.
