Liz Mistry

A British author, the novelist Liz Mistry is a world renowned author of crime fiction, as she writes from a distinctly northern perspective, having grown up in Scotland, something which can clearly be seen reflected within her writing, as she writes about subjects that are close to home, making her stories and characters personal to her and her outlook on life, which is also something that her readers have come to appreciate in her as an author. With readers from all across the globe, she creates characters and situations that speak on a universal level, giving them a voice that is unencumbered by cultural restrictions, as her stories appeal to everyone wherever they are and regardless of who they are. Allowing her prose to flow along naturally, she is not an author who typically resorts to gimmickry, as it comes across as realistic speaking to the reader in a straightforward and direct style. This gives her work a sense of immediacy that makes it come across as a lot more urgent, drawing the reader in, giving the action more of an impact in the process. Covering a whole range of subject matter, she primarily focuses upon the crime genre, tending to take a look at the more gritty aspects of life, as she submerges herself in the criminal underworld. Using her characters as a conduit into this, the reader is eased into the narrative, allowing them to get involved at their own pace, whilst not shying away from some of the more difficult aspect of the topic. This sense of realism is also backed up by her extensive research that she conducts prior to embarking on writing any books or long-running series, as it feels all very contemporary and grounded in the real world. Writing a series she is largely known for her ‘DI Gus McGuire’ series, which focuses on the eponymous detective inspector of the title as they find themselves on the British streets of Bradford investigating the on-goings there.