Kerry Tombs is the author of the Victorian Ravenscroft Crime Novels.
Born in Smethwick near Birmingham, England,Kerry grew up in various country villages in North Worcestershire, attending five different primary schools and failing the eleven plus examination, before he began his 'real' education at Glenhyng, a small private school in Droitwich.
After training as a teacher at Worcester College of Education he embarked on a teaching career n both England and Australia. He later moved to Malvern where he became a local genealogist, lecturer and bookseller. In 2005 he 'retired' to central Brittany in France, before returning to the U.K.in 2010. He now lives in Ludlow in Shropshire.
He is married with one son, Samuel Tombs, who is an award wining economist with Pantheon Macroeconomics.
All the Victorian Ravenscroft Crime Novels are set in various locations in the Three Counties surrounding the Malvern Hills in Worcestershire, England.
THE MALVERN MURDERS - the first of the 10 Ravenscroft Crime Novels - was originally written in 2006. It tells the story of Inspector Samuel Ravenscroft of the Whitechapel Constabulary who is sent to Malvern in 1887 to undertake the water cure for his health , and who soon finds himself being asked to solve the murder of a local business man.
A new Revised Edition has been published by Joffe Books in December 2019, and is available on Amazon Kindle.
THE WORCESTER WHISPERERS - the second of the Ravenscroft Crime Novels - was originally published by Robert Hale of London in 2008. A new revised edition is now published by Joffe Books in December 2019. It is 1888 and Ravenscroft is reunited with his former colleague, Tom Crabb, as he is sent to Worcester to investigate the unexpected disappearance of the cathedral librarian and a priceless medieval manuscript known as the Whisperie. They soon encounter a dark world of murder, lies and deceit within the walls of the ancient cathedral.
Meanwhile in London a mysterious woman in black attempts to gain her revenge in the darkened alleyways of Whitechapel. Soon two contrasting worlds become intertwined in unsettling and frightening ways.
THE LEDBURY LAMPLIGHTERS -the third of the Ravenscroft Crime Novels - was originally published by Robert Hale of London in 2009. A new edition is now published by Joffe Books in December 2019. On Christmas Eve 1888 a mysterious stranger arrives in the small Herefordshire market town of Ledbury, intent on a curious mission. On New Year's Eve as the Ledbury Lamplighters see out the old year by extinguishing the town's lamps, a prominent local businessman is murdered in full view of partygoers. Ravenscroft and Crabb embark upon their most dangerous adventure yet, and gradually unravel a sequence of events that threaten the very political and social stability of the country. Meanwhile the man known as the Whitechapel Murderer returns from exile to carry out one final assignment for his new masters.
THE TEWKESBURY TOMB - the fourth of the Ravenscroft Crime Novels - was originally published by Robert Hale of London in 2011. A new edition is now published by Joffe Books in February 2020. March 1889 and at midnight six strangers meet for the first time outside Tewkesbury Abbey, their mission to enter the sacred building and seek out the tomb of the medieval crusader knight, Sir Roger de la Pole. What they find inside however is both unexpected and deeply shocking. Ravenscroft and Crabb are called upon to solve the crime, and to decipher the strange coded letters on the outside of the templar's tomb. Soon they will discover that the solution to both mysteries stretches back far into the past and that their origins lie in two distant lands....
THE DROITWICH DECEIVERS - the fifth of the Ravenscroft Crime Novels - was originally published by Robert Hale of London in 2012. A new edition is now published by Joffe Books in February 2020. The nine year old daughter of a Droitwich businessman disappears without trace whilst on a visit to a local churchyard. Ravenscroft and Crabb investigate. Meanwhile Ravenscroft's wife, Lucy, is asked by a distraught mother to find the baby that she'd been compelled to give away. Are the two events connected in some way? As investigations proceed both Ravenscroft and Lucy encounter the darkened world of Victorian child exploitation - and are faced with a desperate race against time to save the endangered children.
THE PERSHORE POISONERS - the sixth of the Ravenscroft Crime Novels - was originally published by Robert Hale of London in 2014. A new edition is now published by Joffe Books in February 2020. It is 1890 and in the Worcestershire market town of Pershore, at Talbot's Lodging House, a recently arrived guest dies in mysterious circumstances. Ravenscroft and Crabb investigate but as events unfold, they uncover many secrets - and an old case from Ravenscroft's past threatens to cast long shadows over the present.
THE UPTON UNDERTAKERS -the seventh of the Ravenscroft Crime Novels - was originally published by Robert Hale of London in 2015. Now republished by Joffe Books of London in November 2020. It is March 1891 and a group of mourners gather in a small country churchyard in Worcestershire, but events do not go according to plan. An old fiend invites Detective Inspector Ravenscroft to investigate, and before long the detective and his associate Constable Tom Crabb are embroiled in the dark world of the Upton Undertakers. Their long and dangerous investigation takes the duo across the country from the Temple in London, to the ancient Shropshire market town of Ludlow, to a strange educational establishment near Bromyard. Ravenscroft eventually draws the case to a dramatic conclusion, only to find that fate has one last surprising trick to play.
THE HEREFORDSHIRE HANGMEN - the eighth of the Ravenscroft Crime Novels - was originally published on Kindle in 2017. Now republished by Joffe Books of London in November 2020. October 1891 - When a corpse is discovered hanging from a tree in the Malvern Hills, Detective Inspector Samuel Ravenscroft and his colleague Constable Tom Crabb are called in to investigate. However in a case full of twists and turns, with witnesses who are less than helpful if not outright deceitful, merely establishing the identity of the murdered man proves a challenge. Gradually, the detectives follow a complex and often dangerous trail that leads from the Herefordshire countryside to the Foundling Hospital in London, and even across the Atlantic to New York, in a quest to bring the Herefordshire Hangmen to justice.
THE BROMSGROVE BOOKSELLER; RAVENSCROFT'S CHRISTMAS - the ninth of the Ravenscroft Crime Novels - is now published by Joffe Books of London in November 2020. It is December 1892 and Detective Inspector Ravenscroft is looking forward to spending a quiet Christmas with his family when he receives news that an old friend stands accused of a brutal murder. Ravenscroft and his colleague, Detective Sergeant Crabb travel to the old Worcestershire market town of Bromsgrove to investigate when events soon take a dramatic turn. As the bad weather closes in the two detectives wonder whether they will make it home for Christmas and if they will be able to save their friend from the hangman's noose.
RAVENSCROFT'S LAST CASE - the tenth of the Ravenscroft Crime Novels - is now published by Joffe Books of London in November 2020. It is April 1893 - and Detective Inspector Ravenscroft receives some unsettling news. As he embarks on his last case he is confronted by the possibility that the victim may have died from natural causes, and that there is no crime to investigate. As Ravenscroft and his faithful assistant, Detective Sergeant Tom Crabb follow various lead they encounter the dark mysterious world of the Malvern Spiritualists, and soon the detective finds himself being confronted by a ghost from his own past. As the two detectives find themselves in a life threatening situation can it really be Ravenscroft's last case?
BOOKS 1-6 IN THE RAVENSCROFT CRIME SERIES HAVE NOW BEEN ISSUED AS A BOXED SET BY JOFFE BOOKS OF LONDON AT A SPECIAL INCLUSIVE PRICE
Kerry welcomes comments and reviews on his books, and can be contacted at the following email address - kerrytombs7@gmail.com
75 - BECOMING 75 : AN ENGLISHMAN'S YEAR (2020).
Published by the author in January 2021.
At the beginning of 2020 Kerry is looking forward to the coming year, which will see him reach the age of 75. He decides to keep a daily account of the year, and looks forward to the many places he intends to visit, and the interesting events that are to come.
But then the pandemic arrives and everything is put on hold.
Join Kerry as he and his wife take you around his home town of LUDLOW , explore the beautiful Shropshire countryside, experience the new restrictions, face up to the frustrating world of modern technology, and look forward to the birth of their granddaughter. He also looks back on his varied life, as the country faces an uncertain future.
This daily account of becoming 75 is sometimes amusing, controversial, informative and always interesting.
If you want to find out what life was like for the author in Middle England in 2020, then why not join him on this journey.
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