AN AUTHOR of two popular series of crime novels and dozens of short stories has been invited to join an exclusive writing club.

Martin Edwards was invited to join the Detection Club after his latest novel Dancing for the Hangman, received rave reviews.

Mr Edwards, who is also an employment law specialist at Mace & Jones, in Liverpool, can count himself among famous names such as Agatha Christie, Dorothy L Sayers, Ruth Rendell and John Le Carré, who are also members of the elite set.

On the invitation, Mr Edwards told LDP Legal: “I was very excited. It’s a social dining club, essentially, but it’s always been quite selective.”

The recognition follows him being awarded the Crime Writers Association (CWA) Short Story award at the CWA’s annual Dagger Awards for his spine-tingling tale, The Bookbinder’s Apprentice.

The judges described the story as “subtle, insidious, and disturbingly creepy” – a compliment in this line of work.

But, turning away from what might be seen as the more traditional crime fiction genre, Dancing for the Hangman is a major departure for the writer, who has carved out a name for himself as the creator of Liverpool detective Harry Devlin, before turning his attention to his series of Lake District-based crime novels.

In the book, Mr Edwards went inside the mind of Hawley Harvey Crippen, hanged in 1910 for the murder of his wife, Cora Turner.

Five years of studying documents surrounding the trial led this legal specialist to a very different conclusion to many involved in Crippen’s trial .