It would have been a crime to miss Helen

Author Helen Fields has tweeted to say how much she loved meeting the people of Perth when she came to Asda, part of her first supermarket tour of Scotland.

As part of Book Week Scotland (November 17-24), the best-selling crime writer, author of the DI Callanach crime thriller series, popped into the store on Dunkeld Road on Wednesday, November 20 for a free event.

The Scottish Book Trust ,which puts on Book Week Scotland every year in November, reports that one in 10 books in the UK are sold in supermarkets, so these stores can play an important role in communities, opening up opportunities for both book lovers and more reluctant readers.

There were lots of fans to see former criminal barrister Helen when she came to talk about her new book, Perfect Crime.

Basing herself in the Asda cafeteria for the event, she gave away 20 free copies of her latest crime thriller.

She tweeted afterwards: “Absolutely loved it. Thanks so much for joining with us for the event. Wonderful talking to so many.

“Books can’t exist without readers, and there’s nothing I like more than having the chance to talk about how reading benefits both individuals and communities.”

Using spoken word and performance, her poetry workshops helped students see how they could get creative with language.

Cat’s poetry appeared in a book called ‘#GIRLHOOD’and at this year’s Edinburgh Fringe, she debuted her solo spoken word show.

Her visits to Pitlochry HS and Perth Grammar featured reading and performance discussion and writing tasks for the students.