Kate Webb writes the DI Matt Lockyer cold-case crime novels. The latest title Vital Signs was published on the 26th of March 2026. For her participation in this Q&A, she received the limited edition £22.22 Gumshoe Books gift voucher.
Describe your latest book in one sentence.
Book 4 in the DI Lockyer series of cold case mysteries, set on wind-swept Salisbury Plain; a twisty, atmospheric who – and why – dunnit.
What soundtrack do you suggest readers should listen to while they read your latest book?
Personally, if I’m reading, I’m not listening to the music! And if I’m listening to the music, I’ve stopped reading … I do have a soundtrack of quite muted, moody Indie music which plays on repeat while I’m writing, however. If readers fancy a listen, to get them into a DI Lockyer sort of mood, they could try Wickerbird, The National, Charlie Cunningham, or Beach House.
What's next?
I also write historical fiction, as Katherine Webb, and I’m currently working on the third book in a historical trilogy. This one is set in 1933. The first book, The Promise of Wonder, comes out this June. After that, I’ll be on to DI Lockyer book 5, provisional working title: Unsafe Places.
What was the first book you remember reading?
My mum used to read to my sister and me all the time when we were little – The Chronicles of Narnia, The Weirdstone of Brisingamen, and The Hobbit. I was an early reader, probably because of how much she’d made me love stories. I think the first book I read by myself was Funny Bones, by Janet and Allan Ahlberg. I can still remember the opening lines: ‘On a dark dark hill, there was a dark dark town . . .’
Please list your top five all-time favourite books (any genre)
So difficult! In no particular order:
- Brat Farrar by Josephine Tey – a woefully underrated crime writer
- The Night in Question by Susan Fletcher
- Atonement by Ian McEwan
- Once Upon a River by Diane Setterfield
- Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver
What is the most underrated crime novel, and why does it deserve more attention?
Oh! Ha ha – I see above!
I grew up reading Ruth Rendell and Colin Dexter, and came later in life to adore Agatha Christie and Dorothy L Sayers. But I think Josephine Tey deserves to be as well known and widely read as Ms Christie, and it’s a shame so few people have heard of her these days.
She wasn’t as prolific, certainly, but her books are so elegantly written, and very insightful from a psychological standpoint. The plots are complex and highly original. I think Brat Farrar is my favourite – a standalone novel – but her Inspector Grant novels are also excellent. For a historical take on a cold case mystery, try Daughter of Time – Inspector Grant, laid up in hospital, solves the case of the Princes in the Tower. It’s brilliant!
Also, I have read and loved everything Belinda Bauer has published – they're all brilliant. 'Rubbernecker' is one of the best crime novels out there.
The Gumshoe Dude sneaks into your latest story while you’re not looking. What is he doing there?
Well, it took a good long while for DI Matt Lockyer to build up a close working relationship with anyone else, but DC Gemma Broad has proved to be the exception to the rule. Lockyer’s childhood friend, Kev, is leading a life more inclined to crime than the solving of it – and it was turning a blind eye to his misadventures that got Lockyer sidelined onto cold cases in the first place. So, perhaps gumshoe dude is a suspicious colleague, keeping a close eye on both of them . . .
And now for the quick questions:
Top book on your TBR (to-be-read)
The Last Time I Saw Her Alive by Kate Riordan. It comes out in July, but I’ve got an advance copy. Kate’s books are always excellent – intense, slow-burn psychological thrillers.
Poirot or Rebus?
Poirot, bien sûr.
Keyboard or pen?
Keyboard for actual writing, atrocious handwriting at the plotting/note-taking stage.
Audio or E-book?
Audio. We live in an on-going renovation project, and audiobooks are perfect for while I’m scraping, sanding, painting, scrubbing . . . I still don’t own a Kindle or equivalent – I’ve always been a luddite.
If you turn on the radio now, what station is playing?
BBC Radio 4. You can learn so much about things you never knew existed! And I love their radio dramas.
And finally, your writing beverage of choice?
Mint tea. So. Much. Mint. Tea.
Questions ©Bonnie Burke-Patel and Anneli Meeder; Responses ©Katherine Webb; Kate Webb author photo ©NellMallia
