Pluscarden based author Elizabeth Mostyn publishes new crime novel The Only True Remedy
Register for free to read more of the latest local news. It's easy and will only take a moment.
A LOCAL author has released a new book – the first of a fictional crime series.
Retired research scientist, Elizabeth Mostyn, from near Pluscarden, has written ‘The Only True Remedy’, part of the ‘Phenomenological Detective’ series of nine books.
She said: “This is a new kind of detective story. My main protagonist is satisfactorily married with children. His team is diverse and has taken steps towards equality. It’s an engaging story, based on real science and history which is interesting and scattered with humour.”
A synopsis of the book reads: “Commissaire Patrice Lanier of the Paris Police Judiciaire has his thigh in plaster and his mother-in-law losing her memory. His wife is concerned only with that, his children text more than they speak, and even his dog isn’t speaking to him. His assistant, ex-nun, Pucelle, has gone undercover in the underbelly of the Parisian drug culture. He needs to be in Avignon to support his wife, in Paris to support Pucelle, and in Pont-St-Esprit to pursue his own investigation.
“Back in the present day, Paris must be locked down: there are 250 terrorists in the city, ready to blow it to kingdom come.
“How is Patrice going to find them in time? And where the hell is Pucelle?”
The story combines police procedure with science and a little-known event in French history.
Liz explained: “’Le Pain Maudit’ – The Bread That Kills – happened in August 1951 and has never been satisfactorily explained. It has been attributed to a fungus (Claviceps purpurea - ‘ergot’) contaminating rye flour, inadvertently in the flour used to make the bread, to arsenic or mercury in the water supply, to a curse (the Bishop was called to exorcise the bakery), and to an experiment with LSD by the American CIA, without permission of the French government.”
Liz was born in Lancashire but has lived in Scotland for 35 years since studying Experimental Pathology at the University of St Andrews, then the delusions of people with Lewy Body Dementia and Parkinson’s Disease Dementia for her Master’s at the University of Aberdeen.
She said: “I do a great deal of research for my books, because I need to be authentic. My scientific background tells me to question everything and I cross-check, read in many sources, and fact check meticulously. To assemble my evidence, I begin with basic internet searches, then scholarly papers, then I widely study books touching the subject. For The Only True Remedy, I studied John G Fuller’s ‘The Day of St Anthony’s Fire’, and Hank Albarelli’s ‘A Terrible Mistake’ for direct information, and many sources about the development and effect of LSD, plus a great many pharmacological scientific papers.
“Happily, much of the discussion of Alzheimer’s Disease is in my head because of my own research!”
The Phenomenological Detective’ series is based on a team of Police Judiciaire detectives working in Paris who often assist in other European countries.
The Phenomenological detective is Commissaire Patrice Lanier. Phenomenology is a branch of philosophy where one goes ‘back to the things themselves’, while bracketing pre-existing prejudices and ‘what we think we know’. It is an attempt to take everything into consideration and miss nothing.
The first volume of the new series will be available as an ebook and paperback, from May 31, on Amazon and other sites.
A local author is releasing a new book at the end of the month - the first of a fictional crime series.
Retired research scientist, Elizabeth Mostyn, from near Pluscarden, has written 'The Only True Remedy', part of the 'Phenomenological Detective' series of nine books.
She said: "This is a new kind of detective story. My main protagonist is satisfactorily married with children. His team is diverse and has taken steps towards equality.
"It's an engaging story, based on real science and history which is interesting and scattered with humour."
The blurb reads: "Commissaire Patrice Lanier of the Paris Police Judiciare has his thigh in plaster and his mother-in-law losing her memory. His wife is concerned only with that, his children text more than they speak, and even his dog isn’t speaking to him. His assistant, ex-nun, Pucelle, has gone undercover in the underbelly of the Parisian drug culture. He needs to be in Avignon to support his wife, in Paris to support Pucelle, and in Pont-St-Esprit to pursue his own investigation.
"Back in the present day, Paris must be locked down: there are 250 terrorists in the city, ready to blow it to kingdom come.
"How is Patrice going to find them in time? And where the hell is Pucelle?"
The story combines police procedure with science and a little-known event in French history.
Liz explained: "'Le Pain Maudit' - The Bread That Kills - happened in August 1951 and has never been satisfactorily explained. It has been attributed to a fungus (Claviceps purpurea - 'ergot') contaminating rye flour, inadvertently in the flour used to make the bread, to arsenic or mercury in the water supply, to a curse (the Bishop was called to exorcise the bakery), and to an experiment with LSD by the American CIA, without permission of the French government."
Liz was born in Lancashire but has lived in Scotland for 35 years since studying Experimental Pathology at the University of St Andrews, then the delusions of people with Lewy Body Dementia and Parkinson’s Disease Dementia for her Master’s at the University of Aberdeen.
She said: "I do a great deal of research for my books, because I need to be authentic. My scientific background tells me to question everything and I cross-check, read in many sources, and fact check meticulously.
"To assemble my evidence, I begin with basic internet searches, then scholarly papers, then I widely study books touching the subject.
"For The Only True Remedy, I studied John G Fuller's 'The Day of St Anthony's Fire, and Hank Albarelli's 'A Terrible Mistake' for direct information, and many sources about the development and effect of LSD, plus a great many pharmacological scientific papers.
"Happily, much of the discussion of Alzheimer's Disease is in my head because of my own research!"
The Phenomenological Detective' series is based on a team of Police Judiciare detectives working in Paris who often assist in other European countries.
The Phenomenological detective is Commissaire Patrice Lanier. Phenomenology is a branch of philosophy where one goes 'back to the things themselves', while bracketing pre-existing prejudices and 'what we think we know'. It is an attempt to take everything into consideration and miss nothing.
The first volume of the new series will be available as an ebook and paperback, from May 31, on Amazon and other sites.
