Alpha Spies and Beta Dogs

Half a dozen sales and half a million live events. Or is it the other way around…

May 26, 2026

Fifth Beta

Last week I finished the rough draft of the fifth Dog Sitter Detective book, and sent it to my beta readers.

I realised after sending it that I haven’t talked about using beta readers for a while. In fact I last wrote about it seven years ago 😱 after I sent The Tempus Project, the second Brigitte Sharp thriller, off to my readers. Some of them are people I still use today.

Anyway, pretty much everything I wrote in 2019 – as evidenced by that Instagram post above – remains true. I always find sending a rough draft, which I know isn’t finished or polished, to beta readers stressful. More so, even, than sending the polished version off to my editor. Even with this, my [counts on fingers and toes] eleventh novel, the nerves are still there.

That’s a good thing, as longtime readers have heard me say before. With every book – every project of any kind – I’m always trying to improve as a writer and try new things. Every Dog Sitter Detective novel, for example, deals with a different kind of mystery and this one is no different.

The nerves that come with constantly trying to better myself, to do things I’m not 100% confident I can pull off, help to keep me sharp and make sure I couldn’t rest on my laurels even if I wanted to. Or had any to rest on.

Riding to Half a Million

My most recent royalty statement from Walker Books, publishers of the Alex Rider graphic novels, was something of a revelation: the series has now passed half a million sales.

The Alex Rider GNs continue to be popular with young readers, and are particularly successful with ‘reluctant readers’ – mostly young boys who don’t want, or find it difficult, to read prose novels. Ever since the first GN was published I regularly hear from teachers, parents, and librarians who tell me about another child who’s devoured the whole series and wants to know when more are coming.

(The answer is always, ‘we’re making them as fast as we can!’ 😉)

The GNs are also popular in libraries. My Public Lending Right statement for 2025 brought the total official loans from UK libraries for the series to almost half a million. So, following this latest statement, I’m expecting the 2026 PLR statement will bump us over one million total combined reads. Amazing.

Can You Solve the Murder? Live events

As I mentioned in the previous newsletter, I have a bunch of CYSTM Live events booked in already, so now it’s time to share some dates.

First, next week on June 4 I’ll be hosting it at the Cheltenham Science Festival. An unusual venue for a murder mystery, you might say! But the festival is hosting some crime-themed events to coincide with the anniversary of 50 years since Agatha Christie’s death, and I was only too happy to take part.

June is National Crime Reading Month, as part of which I’m hosting two library events local to me.

June 20: Keighley Library (as part of the Murder in the Library festival)
June 24: Barnoldswick Library

I’m also one of the many authors appearing at this year’s NCRM launch party in York, this Saturday May 30, at All Saints' Church Pavement. See here for details.

Then throughout July I’m going on tour again, hosting CYSTM Live events at bookstores. So far we have four booked in:

We’re in the process of planning more (possibly including Bradford Literature Festival in early July) and naturally I’ll let you know when anything is confirmed.

I’m also confirmed to run the event at this year’s Bloody Scotland festival in Stirling, and at the Fatal Shore festival in Shoreham, both in September. More details on those closer to the time.

If you want me to host Can You Solve the Murder? Live at your bookstore or festival, contact Emma Fairey at Transworld.

You’re Running at a Different Speed

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