Today I’m delighted to welcome crime author Kelly Clayton.  Her ‘Porridge & Cream’ read is Naked in Death by JD Robb, pen name of Nora Roberts.

“I first read Naked In Death over 15 years ago. I was reading a considerable number of books a week and was a regular visitor to the local library. I read most genres but was buried deep in a Nora Roberts phase at the time. I was searching through the Nora books when I realised I had read them all. Panic! So I kept looking along the alphabetical shelf, and almost the next author was JD Robb [Nora Roberts’ pen name for her crime series]. 
The book, Naked In Death, was the first of a series and it sounded good – set slightly in the future, it followed a New York homicide detective, Eve Dallas. I borrowed it as part of that week’s haul and headed home. I was back at the library the next day for the following two books in the series. The In Death books cover crime, slight sci-fi element (but very subtle), romance, friendship, the destructive nature of humans and how the past doesn’t have to define us. Eve Dallas is a tortured kick-ass heroine with a horrific past. It’s about survival. Enter a gorgeous billionaire with a shady background and the glamour ramps up. There are now almost fifty books in the series, and I have read nearly every one.

I have re-read the original trilogy, which is Naked In Death, Glory In Death and Immortal in Death too many times to recall. I reach out for it to lose myself in a fascinating world. If I could be a fictional character, then it would be Eve, yes, even with her horrific past.  I love the characters, old friends you look forward to reconnecting with. I adore how we see Eve, damaged and mistrusting, grow and blossom but never, ever losing her most ragged edges.
I want to reread them – right now!”

Kelly Clayton’s Bio
Kelly Clayton has lived on the Channel Island of Jersey for most of her life but is originally from Scotland. She lives in a house overlooking the sea with her husband and 3 cats. Kelly is the author of the ‘Jack Le Claire Mystery’ series and, under her penname of Julia Hardy, Fortune’s Hostage.

Kelly Clayton’s links
Author website
Amazon Author page
Facebook
Twitter

Kelly Clayton’s latest book
England, 1813 Greed, deception and lust. Miss Eloise Camarthon is no ordinary debutante, she wants to live her life on her own terms. But Eloise is wealthy in her own right and a target for those with her fortune in their sights. Benedict Warrington, the Earl of Rothsea, has come to London in search of answers to a family tragedy. He meets the beguiling Eloise, and a dangerous chain of events is set in motion. Circumstances force an ultimatum, which threatens to change the course of Eloise’s future. Benedict is on the trail of a vicious murderer but finds more than he bargained for as the deaths mount up. Can he protect Eloise, or will one of them be the killer’s next victim?
‘Fortune’s Hostage’ by Julia Hardy [UK: Stanfred Publishing]

What is a ‘Porridge & Cream’ book? It’s the book you turn to when you need a familiar read, when you are tired, ill, or out-of-sorts, where you know the story and love it. Where reading it is like slipping on your oldest, scruffiest slippers after walking for miles. Where does the name ‘Porridge & Cream’ come from? Cat Deerborn is a character in Susan Hill’s ‘Simon Serrailler’ detective series. Cat is a hard-worked GP, a widow with two children and she struggles from day-to-day. One night, after a particularly difficult day, she needs something familiar to read. From her bookshelf she selects ‘Love in A Cold Climate’ by Nancy Mitford. Do you have a favourite read which you return to again and again? If so, please send me a message.

‘Naked in Death’ by JD Robb [UK: Piatkus]

Discover these ‘Porridge & Cream’ books:-
Simon Fairfax chooses ‘Heller With A Gun’ by Louis L’Amour
Caroline James re-reads ‘The Old Wives’ Tale’ by Arnold Bennett
Claire Dyer loves ‘The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society’ by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Burrows

And if you’d like to tweet a link to THIS post, here’s my suggested tweet:
Why does crime writer @kellyclayton01 re-read NAKED IN DEATH by JD Robb each year? #books https://wp.me/p5gEM4-3xC via @SandraDanby