Story of a serial killer in Frodsham
A MURDER in Frodsham? Surely not. But a thriller about a fictional serial killer on the loose in the town has significance far beyond its success.
Writer Ruth Welsby, 72, was diagnosed with breast cancer five years ago and said the writing process of penning two books was ‘therapeutic’ for her.
Retired nursing manager Ruth, who lives in Helsby, celebrated getting the all clear in March.
Her new novel tells the story of a murderer on a killing spree in Frodsham, with one victim even drowned in the River Weaver.
Now available on Amazon it has been gaining strong reviews from the public.
The author said: “I was a nurse for 48 years and I always wanted to write, but it wasn’t feasible because of the long hours I was working.
“When I retired I decided that’s what I will do and from then it was just about getting round to it.
“After I was diagnosed with cancer I felt like I just had to get it out or it would have been lost.
“When you first start it’s just a blank piece of paper, but writing was therapeutic for me and gave me something to focus on.”
Her first book, The Legend Of Grace Roscoe, told the story of her heiress ancestor who eloped despite society’s disapproval with Frodsham-born coachman John Hazlehurst in the 18th century.
Buoyed by its success she turned her talent to thriller writing and drew on her own experiences of living in the ‘sleepy’ town.
Ruth said: “Frodsham is a lovely town and from the outside it looks so nice, but you don’t know what’s going on behind closed doors. I just thought I’ll put a serial killer in there.
“It’s such a complex little place and there are lots of little under currents running through the town.
“As I live in Frodsham and know the settings, I can see it in my head when I write and I feel like it gives it an extra dimension.”
Both books are available on Amazon through its Kindle service. Unholy Revenge has nine reviews on the website and all of them are five star.
It focuses on an investigation led by DI Helen Cooke after two murders in the town, a family is being targeted but seemingly without a motive.
Helen finds herself in a race against time to save another potential victim.
Ruth said she was already 8,000 words in to writing the follow-up to Unholy Revenge and was already developing a connection with her lead character.
The writer said: “Some people have said to me that Helen is a bit naive. She’s obviously very clever but she’s quite nervy in life.
“You read all these other thrillers with female leads and they are a bit hard-nosed, but Helen is a softie. She leads by being nice not by being horrible to her team.”
Ruth said most of it was bringing her joy to see readers enjoying her work.
She added that she also wanted to show people that having taking up writing in her 70s, it is never too late for anyone to start something new.
The 72-year-old said: “Reading is entertainment and I just hope my book takes them off into a different world. You just hope people enjoy it.
“Getting the first novel published was a great feeling and reading a positive review is fantastic.
“I would like to say, my first book was published at the age of 70 so it’s never too late for anyone to take up something new.”