Scene of the Crime

How does place shape crime fiction? From Jane Harper’s haunting thrillers set in rural Australia to Abir Mukherjee’s historical detective stories in Raj-era India and Chris Whitaker’s sweeping tales of revenge and redemption against an American backdrop, setting is far more than scenery.

It determines atmosphere, motive, danger and the very rules by which justice is pursued.

In this wide-ranging conversation, three acclaimed writers explore how landscape, culture, history and climate influence the crimes they imagine and the characters they create.

They discuss how different legal systems, social codes, police procedures and moral assumptions shape a story, and why the most compelling mysteries are often rooted deeply in place.

There will be a book signing after this event.