Uploaded June 2025 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
This event, originally titled ‘The Deadly Sleuth-Off’, took place on 29 March 2025. The information below is correct as of the publication date.
A chance to pit your wits against some of the field’s leading luminaries in The Deadly Sleuth-Off, where Team Vera takes on Team Marple in a literary death match.
Team Marple was headed by the legendary Martin Edwards, with the British Library’s own Lucy Rowland and ‘Adapting Agatha’ author Victoria Dowd.
Team Vera was led by the redoubtable Professor Henry Sutton, our resident ‘Expert in Murder’ Nicola Upson and supersleuth Sam Blake. The crime-loving mayhem was overseen by the Deadly quiz master, Sarah “bloody adaptation” Phelps
With an opening reading by Busayo Matuluko, featured as one of Deadly’s hottest literary newcomers to the crime scene.
About Deadly: the festival of women writing crime
Deadly is the British Library’s inaugural festival celebrating the very best in contemporary crime writing by women, featuring non-fiction as well as fiction, brand-new work from celebrated authors, fresh voices, lively exploration of themes and perceptions of the genre, and plenty of criminally good fun...
To join more online and in person events visit our website: events.bl.uk
Discover more of our past events at our playlist: youtube.com/playlist?list=PLVRvouzCZmFeI-PSlsaLHzJwtEkKshATx&si=94-9DoaNCNTFAyQc
Speaker Bios:
Busayo Matuluko is a Black British-Nigerian nurse, YA/Crossover mystery and romance writer, and an extremely opinionated, award-nominated BookToker. When she’s not writing, you can find her online at three a.m. tweeting random thoughts or binge-watching TV shows. Busayo's bestselling debut, 'Til Death celebrates the nuances and dramas of Nigerian family and culture.
Martin Edwards’ novels include the Rachel Savernake books, most recently Hemlock Bay, and the forthcoming Miss Winter in the Library with a Knife. His non-fiction includes The Golden Age of Murder and The Life of Crime. He has received three Daggers (including the CWA Diamond Dagger), two Edgars, and a lifetime achievement award. He is consultant to the British Library’s Crime Classics, and President of the Detection Club.
Lucy Rowland is a curator at the British Library and has the enviable job of working with a fascinating collection of books from around the world. Which means she has a lot of access to crime fiction…
Victoria Dowd is the author of the Smart Woman’s Mystery series and has been shortlisted for the CWA Dagger. Her novel, The Smart Woman’s Guide to Murder, won The People’s Book Prize for fiction. Her historical crime novel, Death in the Aviary, is the first in her new series, The Blood Chronicles. Victoria writes the Adapting Agatha blog and is head of the London Crime Writers’ Association.
Henry Sutton is Professor of Creative Writing and Crime Fiction at the University of East Anglia, and the convenor of the Creative Writing MA Crime Fiction. As well as being a critic and judge, he is the author of 15 novels and a collection of short stories. His latest, Good Dark Night, was published under the pseudonym Harry Brett. He is the co-founder of the Noirwich Crime Writing Festival.
Nicola Upson’s debut novel, An Expert in Murder, was the first in a series featuring Josephine Tey – one of the leading authors of Britain’s Golden Age of crime-writing - and was dramatised for Radio 4. Nicola was shortlisted for the CWA Historical Dagger in 2018 for Nine Lessons, and her latest in the series is Shot With Crimson. Her new book, The Christmas Clue, features the couple who invented Cluedo and will be published in September.
Sam Blake has had a string of No. 1 bestsellers, including Keep Your Eyes on Me and Remember My Name, and has been shortlisted for Irish Crime Novel of the Year three times. Sam is the Chair of the Society of Authors, has served on the board of the Crime Writer's Association, and founded Europe's biggest online writer's magazine, Writing.ie. Her new book, The Killing Sense, was an instant best-seller.
Sarah Phelps is a screenwriter, playwright and television producer. She is best known for her work on EastEnders, and BBC adaptations including Agatha Christie's The Witness for the Prosecution, And Then There Were None, Ordeal by Innocence, The ABC Murders and The Pale Horse, as well as work with the Royal Shakespeare Company.
The British Library is a charity. Your support helps us open up a world of knowledge and inspiration for everyone. Donate today: support.bl.uk/Donate
This event, originally titled ‘The Deadly Sleuth-Off’, took place on 29 March 2025. The information below is correct as of the publication date.
A chance to pit your wits against some of the field’s leading luminaries in The Deadly Sleuth-Off, where Team Vera takes on Team Marple in a literary death match.
Team Marple was headed by the legendary Martin Edwards, with the British Library’s own Lucy Rowland and ‘Adapting Agatha’ author Victoria Dowd.
Team Vera was led by the redoubtable Professor Henry Sutton, our resident ‘Expert in Murder’ Nicola Upson and supersleuth Sam Blake. The crime-loving mayhem was overseen by the Deadly quiz master, Sarah “bloody adaptation” Phelps
With an opening reading by Busayo Matuluko, featured as one of Deadly’s hottest literary newcomers to the crime scene.
About Deadly: the festival of women writing crime
Deadly is the British Library’s inaugural festival celebrating the very best in contemporary crime writing by women, featuring non-fiction as well as fiction, brand-new work from celebrated authors, fresh voices, lively exploration of themes and perceptions of the genre, and plenty of criminally good fun...
To join more online and in person events visit our website: events.bl.uk
Discover more of our past events at our playlist: youtube.com/playlist?list=PLVRvouzCZmFeI-PSlsaLHzJwtEkKshATx&si=94-9DoaNCNTFAyQc
Speaker Bios:
Busayo Matuluko is a Black British-Nigerian nurse, YA/Crossover mystery and romance writer, and an extremely opinionated, award-nominated BookToker. When she’s not writing, you can find her online at three a.m. tweeting random thoughts or binge-watching TV shows. Busayo's bestselling debut, 'Til Death celebrates the nuances and dramas of Nigerian family and culture.
Martin Edwards’ novels include the Rachel Savernake books, most recently Hemlock Bay, and the forthcoming Miss Winter in the Library with a Knife. His non-fiction includes The Golden Age of Murder and The Life of Crime. He has received three Daggers (including the CWA Diamond Dagger), two Edgars, and a lifetime achievement award. He is consultant to the British Library’s Crime Classics, and President of the Detection Club.
Lucy Rowland is a curator at the British Library and has the enviable job of working with a fascinating collection of books from around the world. Which means she has a lot of access to crime fiction…
Victoria Dowd is the author of the Smart Woman’s Mystery series and has been shortlisted for the CWA Dagger. Her novel, The Smart Woman’s Guide to Murder, won The People’s Book Prize for fiction. Her historical crime novel, Death in the Aviary, is the first in her new series, The Blood Chronicles. Victoria writes the Adapting Agatha blog and is head of the London Crime Writers’ Association.
Henry Sutton is Professor of Creative Writing and Crime Fiction at the University of East Anglia, and the convenor of the Creative Writing MA Crime Fiction. As well as being a critic and judge, he is the author of 15 novels and a collection of short stories. His latest, Good Dark Night, was published under the pseudonym Harry Brett. He is the co-founder of the Noirwich Crime Writing Festival.
Nicola Upson’s debut novel, An Expert in Murder, was the first in a series featuring Josephine Tey – one of the leading authors of Britain’s Golden Age of crime-writing - and was dramatised for Radio 4. Nicola was shortlisted for the CWA Historical Dagger in 2018 for Nine Lessons, and her latest in the series is Shot With Crimson. Her new book, The Christmas Clue, features the couple who invented Cluedo and will be published in September.
Sam Blake has had a string of No. 1 bestsellers, including Keep Your Eyes on Me and Remember My Name, and has been shortlisted for Irish Crime Novel of the Year three times. Sam is the Chair of the Society of Authors, has served on the board of the Crime Writer's Association, and founded Europe's biggest online writer's magazine, Writing.ie. Her new book, The Killing Sense, was an instant best-seller.
Sarah Phelps is a screenwriter, playwright and television producer. She is best known for her work on EastEnders, and BBC adaptations including Agatha Christie's The Witness for the Prosecution, And Then There Were None, Ordeal by Innocence, The ABC Murders and The Pale Horse, as well as work with the Royal Shakespeare Company.
The British Library is a charity. Your support helps us open up a world of knowledge and inspiration for everyone. Donate today: support.bl.uk/Donate
