A light-hearted detective novel set in Borth and the surrounding area has been released by Malinda Law.

Set in 2014, it follows the adventures of a retired railwayman who lived peacefully in the village until, one evening, someone threw a pudding at him!

“It's written in English, a clean, kind 'cosy' series of three detective stories, suitable for anyone who loves Borth (and cats, and railways, and geocaching, and knitting…),” Malinda explained.

“I live in Staffordshire but since graduated in 1987 from Aberystwyth university we've been back to Borth every year, staying in holiday lets or guesthouses.”

Born and bred in Shropshire, Malinda’s experience of living in Wales amounts to three years at Aberystwyth University in the 1980s and a fortnight or so each year in self-catering accommodation on the Welsh coast (usually in Borth). She and her long-suffering husband are currently owned by their son’s two cats.

“When younger I was often disappointed by stories supposedly set in Wales, as the country they portrayed bore no resemblance to that which I had experienced,” said Malinda.

“I was similarly disappointed by my suburban existence which was singularly lacking in drama. Exciting things happened to people in books: why not to me? This yearning for adventure stayed with me as I grew older, though my expectations became more realistic.

“Meanwhile, I devoured detective stories and thrillers. When I had exhausted my parents’ book collection I turned to the local library, only to discover that many of the modern thrillers were (unnecessarily, in my opinion) extremely gory, violent and sexually explicit. I also noticed that characters who were church/chapelgoers or clergy had ceased to be well-meaning but largely ineffectual and had become hypocrites and, in some cases, particularly unpleasant villains.

“Once my children left home I began to spend more time writing stories of the type I wanted to read, and in 2014 I decided to write a thriller set in Wales with a basically good, moral, ordinary person as the main character, who when faced with increasingly challenging situations would have to overcome his own inadequacies in order to win through, as any reader might. Thus Dafydd M. Williams created.

“Dafydd lives in Borth, and although most of the locations will be recognisable, all characters, events and incidents are products of my imagination or I have used my imagination to adjust them to suit the story.

“Finally, as Dafydd and many of his friends are Welsh-speaking, I have included a small amount of this beautiful language.

“‘The Metamorphosis of Dafydd M. Williams, Detective’ is a series of three stories following the exploits of the eponymous retired railwayman, in which he solves various mysteries: in part one he works out who is responsible for throwing Yorkshire puddings at people; in the second he foils the attempts of ‘Herring-dancer’ to acquire a miniature railway destined for Borth, and in the third he discovers geocaching and helps to catch someone who is stealing fleeces from local sheep.”

The novel is available from publishers, William Congreve and Co., www.williamcongreve.co.uk and The Bookshop By The Sea, Aberystwyth.