Kate Rhodes Books

Thank you for finding your way to my website! I’d love to give you a bit of background about how I began writing.

I was born in Greenwich, a part of south London that found its way into my DNA. I went to school there, learned to swim in the local pool, and took my first job as an usherette at Greenwich Theatre. It probably comes as no surprise that I set my first series of crime novels there, featuring Alice Quentin, a forensic psychologist. But I’d already lived several lives by the time I started telling stories for a living. I was lucky enough to get a free university education. I did an English degree, and completed a PhD on the American dramatist Tennessee Williams, after spending a year studying in Austin, Texas.

I started writing poetry while living in America. My first poetry collection, Reversal, was published by Enitharmon, in 2005. My second collection The Alice Trap was shortlisted for the Forward Prize in 2008. My confidence as a writer was starting to grow. Poetry is a hard discipline, because each poem is so brief, there’s nowhere to hide, if you get a single nuance wrong. It taught me that every sentence matters. I still read my work out loud every day, listening for cadences and glitches in rhythm, trying to make sure my novels are a pleasure for audiobook readers.

My latest books are the Isles of Scilly Mysteries. I set them on the Isles of Scilly, where I’ve spent a lot of time over the years, because it’s a favourite holiday destination. DI Ben Kitto appeared out of thin air, with a wayward wolfdog in tow. The first book is Hell Bay, was shortlisted for the Crime Novel of the Year Award in 2018. Burnt Island, the third in the series was selected as a Mail on Sunday Novel of the Year. It also gives me huge pleasure that in 2021 I was longlisted for a Dagger in the Library award. I’m a huge fan of libraries, since falling in love with them as a child.

I’m looking forward to seeing my Isles of Scilly Mysteries on TV before too long. They have been optioned by Two Cities, the production company behind brilliant crime and drama series, including The Fall, and Patrick Melrose.

I have supported many young creative writers over the years, through my work with London’s FE colleges, prisons, and numerous writing festivals. I’ve also worked as a writing fellow at Cambridge University. I now write full-time and live with my husband of many years, Dave, who is also a writer. We’re based in Cambridge, where I am much too easily distracted by the cappuccino and cake available a short walk away. I am lucky enough to have three grownup stepsons, and four amazing grandkids.