The wonderful Shipston Bookfest in The Cotswolds will be the scene of the crime for a fantastic panel featuring, among others, yours truly, discussing all things crime across a vast range of examples.

Spanning historical, contemporary and cosy crime, the event brings together “some of today’s best crime writers” (not my words, though I’ll take it!) for a lively evening of chat.

Hosted by historical crime novelist GJ Williams, I’ll be talking about the cosy stuff, while fellow panellists Guy Jenkin – the multi-BAFTA and Emmy-winning writer behind Drop the Dead Donkey and Outnumbered – will be revisiting Shakespeare as a reluctant sleuth in Jacobean London and Tim Sullivan will be discussing his bestselling contemporary procedurals featuring DS George Cross.

Secrets, suspects, sleuths. What more could you want on a Friday night?

It’s sure to be popular so get in early and book your tickets here: https://shipstonbookfest.org/events/2026/crime-panel

My tour of Lancashire libraries continues with a visit to Parbold, where the thriving Friends group has extended a warm invitation to join an afternoon of cosy crime and writing chat.

I’ll be interviewed by my trusty sidekick Tricia Anderson, and there’ll be the opportunity to ask questions of your own about my career, my books and pretty much anything else (although I reserve the right not to answer anything that might incriminate me!).

It’s completely free so if you’re in the Wigan vicinity and fancy joining in the fun, come along and say hello. It’d be great to see you there.

I’m thrilled to be chairing a cosy crime panel with some star names as part of the annual Dead On Deansgate festival at Waterstones in Manchester.

The crime celebration weekend at the bookshop’s prestigious Deansgate store has a host of amazing events, and at noon on Saturday three top writers and I will be exploring the irresistible appeal of cosy crime, diving deep into the world of amateur sleuths, quaint settings and eccentric sidekicks.

Guests include Mel Pennant, who has just been named winner of the Crime Writers’ Association’s Whodunnit Dagger Award for best crime debut novel A Murder for Miss Hortense, Katy Watson, author of the Three Dahlias mystery series, and SJ Bennett, whose offbeat new series introduces a rather unusual amateur sleuth – Her Majesty the Queen!

It’s going to be loads of fun, and hopefully offer some clues (d’you see what I did there?) about the secrets of cosy crime-writing, so book your tickets and join us for a lunchtime date with death.

https://www.waterstones.com/events/dead-on-deansgate-cosy-crime-panel/manchester-deansgate

Join the party for the launch of the latest Cosy Crime Club instalment, From Murder With Love.

The wonderful independent bookstore Book Bean & Ice Cream is hosting an evening of conversation, questions and book-signing, chaired by legendary radio presenter John 'Gilly' Gillmore.

In the new adventure, the four members of Norcester's crime fiction reading group have been invited as guests of honour to a weekend celebrating the life of the late author of their favourite murder mystery detective novels.

But when the author's secret archive is opened to the public after fifty years, there's a deadly surprise inside...

The quartet find themselves embroiled in a mystery that stretches back to the Cold War. With an accomplished Russian spy close on their tale, a runaway train filled with treasures, and time running out, they will once again have to use everything they've learned from their fictional heroes to catch the killer...

Tickets are £8 each and available from the shop. Pop in or give them a ring on 01772 683444. There will be an opportunity to buy the book and have it personalised on the night.

A bit of a new format for me, courtesy of the appropriately named Bodies in the Bookshop in Cambridge. In what feels like a kind of author speed-dating with audiences, I’ll be one of several writers allocated a five-minute slot to talk about Murder by the Book, followed by tea and cake, chatting to all-comers and signing books. The event is called, rather pleasingly, Crime and Nourishment, and if you’re in the Cambridge area, come on down and say hello.

It’s only been five minutes since Murder by the Book came out but, like those proverbial London buses, here comes another one right behind it! The second in the Cosy Crime Club series – A Game of Murder – is out in paperback on Thursday, March 12, and to celebrate, the quirky and characterful Fable Book Café in St Annes is hosting a Fylde Coast launch party. Members of the café’s various reading groups will be joining me to mark the big day, and we’re hoping no bookshop managers will be harmed in the making of the event…

The lovely supportive folks at Hunt’s independent bookshop in Rugby have invited me to talk about Murder by the Book and its sequels at a special ‘In Conversation’ event in the town. Chaired by my old newspaper pal Richard Howarth and hosted by Hunt’s, the event kicks off at 6.30pm in the fabulous Baked Brownies café at 26-27 High Street. There’ll be the chance to hear me interviewed by Richard, plus an open-floor Q&A for you to fire anything you like at me (though not baked brownies, please – that would be such a waste!). Hope to see some Midlands friends and readers there. Visit https://huntsbookshop.com/collections/authorevents/products/in-conversation-with-michael-davies-murder-by-the-book for details and to book

Come along to the delightful Mirrie Dancer Bakery and Café in St Annes for a lunchtime meet-and-greet.

Hosted by author Linda Hampton, I’ll be chatting about all things writing and answering all your questions about Murder by the Book, the first in my new cosy crime series, plus anything else you’d like to throw at me!

It’s completely free and the coffee and cakes are terrific, so I hope to see you there.

The paperback edition of Murder by the Book hits the streets today!

Published by HarperCollins division One More Chapter, it’s the first in a new cosy crime series that I’ve spent the past year creating, and I’m thrilled to bring it to readers in 2026.

The ebook and audiobook editions are released on January 23, but the physical copies reach bookstores and Amazon on Thursday, January 29, and I’m delighted to say the five-star reviews have been pouring in!

Don’t miss your copy – you can pre-order now, along with the second instalment, A Game of Murder, which publishes in paperback on March 12.

The new Bill Kemp novel Thin Ice gets its first public airing as the hardback, ebook and audiobook go live. Welcome to a world of pain and freezing challenges, Bill!

Continuing the celebrations to mark the centenary of Blackpool’s worldwide bestselling thriller writer Desmond Bagley, join us for a special author event at the town’s Central Library, where Bagley first developed his love of books and reading.

David Brawn, estates publisher at HarperCollins, who publish all Bagley’s books, will be hosting this special ‘in conversation’ event with me, Michael Davies. And if you don’t know what my connection is to Desmond Bagley, well, you haven’t been paying attention, have you?!

There’ll be tea, coffee and possibly even biscuits on offer at this free event, staged by the wonderful team at the library, and it would be wonderful to get as many people there as possible to celebrate the life and legacy of this superb author.

Desmond Bagley (pictured) was one of the world’s best-loved thriller writers from the 1960s to the 1980s and wrote 17 novels before his early death at the age of 59 in 1983.

To mark the centenary of his birth, a blue plaque is to be unveiled on the house in Blackpool where he grew up, developing his love of books at the nearby Central Library.

Come and join us for this very special occasion, which will be followed by a celebration event at the library from 2.30pm (see separate event listing). It’s free and there’s no need to book. Just come along and pay tribute to the man dubbed by his contemporaries ‘the best’.