Clues led to Gigha
READERS uncovered a crime thriller writer’s secrets at an island rendezvous.
A CAMPBELTONIAN celebrity thrilled a packed Gigha hotel as he introduced his latest DCI Daley novel.
Denzil Meyrick, whose has sold more than a quarter of a million paperbacks, set his fifth book, Well of the Winds, on the Isle of Gairsay, a thinly disguised Gigha, off the coast of Kintyre.
Denzil and his publisher Polygon, with sponsor Campbeltown distillery Glen Scotia, chose Gigha for the initial launch party and filled all available accommodation on the tiny island last Friday and Saturday.
Denzil said: ‘I have been visiting Gigha all my life and had a number of school friends at Campbeltown Grammar who came from the island.
‘Previously it was owned by a series of landlords who did not want people to visit. Since the trust bought Gigha, it has become a much more welcoming place.
‘Waterstones on Glasgow’s Argyle Street held a second launch last night for anyone unable to get to Gigha. The shop is also selling a special edition version.’
Denzil said he always thinks every book is his best and hopes to make little improvements to each.
During the launch party, former Cou
rier journalist Fred- dy Gillies, who lives on the island and has published books, in- terviewed Denzil for nearly 40 minutes in a broadcast streamed live on Facebook.
Denzil said that this was the only part of the launch which did not go quite to plan because of internet connectivity issues.
Denzil has a busy schedule with a further appearance at Waterstones, Newton Mearns, Glasgow, on Thursday April 13.
He will be interviewed simultaneously on BBC Radio Scotland.
On May 5 he will perform an official ribbon cutting ceremony at Campbeltown town hall which he has described as a ‘great honour’.
Denzil said: ‘I am all for doing anything I can for the town. Harper Collins will publish the books in German in three weeks, and that is sure to bring Kintyre to a larger audience.’ Watch out for the
Courier’s Well of the Winds review.