RECENTLY spent a long weekend in Harrogate and, let me tell you, every day was murder. Every. Single. Day. And that’s before we even get on to the kidnappings, robberies and blackmail.

Because, once a year, the picture postcard Yorkshire town renowned for genteel afternoon tea at Betty’s Tea Rooms becomes the crime capital of the UK. Not an hour goes by without an indictable offence.

Serial killings? Check. Criminal conspiracies? Check. Russian hitmen? Check. A gunman holding hostages on a commuter train? Yep, they even had one of those. All in the space of four frenetic days.

The annual Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival is the world’s longest running, and most prestigious, event dedicated to criminally addictive, often lethal, literature. And it’s still killing it.

From humble beginnings back in 2003, the festival has become a major international attraction that attracts not only hundreds of crime fiction fans to the town, but also a ‘who’s who’ of the genre’s A-list authors – more than 100 of them this year alone.

The festival site. Pic: Richard Maude

It’s line-up to die for.

And did I mention that it all takes place in and around the hotel where Agatha Christie famously hid under a false name while the entire nation was caught up in the hunt for the mysteriously missing author in 1926?

Agatha Christie

Agatha booked in to the Swan Hydropathic Hotel – the Old Swan Hotel today – under the name of her husband’s mistress on December 4 and hid out until she was discovered on December 14.

She stayed in Room 253, still bookable today. My wife and I stayed a just a few doors down the corridor for the festival, and I can confirm that the hotel retains a sense of history and tradition, mystery and old school atmosphere.

aThe Drinking Detective tent. Pic: Richard Maude

Some of the authors were staying here, too, while others were driven in from other hotels in, and around, the town. In keeping with the festival’s friendly vibe, they mingled freely with readers throughout the four days.

The likes of Lee Child, Ann Cleeves, Mark Billingham, Val McDermid, Chris Brookmyre, Anthony Horowitz, Lisa Jewell, Mick Herron, Lucy Foley and David Baldacci all took time to chat with fans. 

Murder In Harrogate. Pic: Richard Maude

Familiar faces from television included Vera star Brenda Blethyn, Death In Paradise favourite Ardal O’Hanlon, Steph McGovern, Jeremy Vine, and Matthew Stadlin but there were no airs and graces, just a shared passion for crime writing.

So, what’s the experience like?

We arrived late on Thursday afternoon to collect our Essential Weekend Rover lanyard passes, allowing entry to all the main stage author panels end events, with access to all the venues within the hotel and grounds.

Each came complete with a tote goodie bag packed with advance proof copies of upcoming books, bookmarks, a festival passport to be stamped at various events to win prizes – and a can of Old Peculier.

All the 21 main Theakston Stage appearances and panels were to last an hour or more, with additional fringe ‘Swift Half’ author interview sessions in a smaller tent lasting 30 minutes for an additional £5 a pop.

Add in special premium events including a couple of Come Dine With Me author dinners, and a packed schedule loomed – so packed, in fact, that organisers had warned in advance that it would be impossible to do it all.

That’s not counting the many free admission pop-up events run by publishers, where there were meet-and-greets, giveaways galore, fun competitions and more. Careful priority planning was needed.

We decided to miss the first night’s Theakston Old Peculier Crime Awards & Party, wanting to be up early next morning for the day ahead, and the chance of a bookish bonus we’d learned about upon arrival.

Lee Child in the Reacher Room Pic: Gerard Binks

Friday morning found us near the front of the queue at the hotel’s re-named Reacher Room, waiting for the door to open at 9.30am, and be among those to receive 25 advance copies of Lee Child’s new Jack Reacher novel Chain Reaction – three whole months before publication.

Then we hot-footed over to the huge tented Theakston Stage to see Val McDermid, Lucy Foley, Ragnar Jónasson, Ruth Ware and Ross Montgomery discuss all things Agatha in a fascinating (and often funny) From Poirot To Podcasts panel.

The Agatha Christie panel. Pic: Gerard Binks

That was to become the good-humoured hallmark of all the events. Sure, there was serious discussion about crime writing but almost always wrapped up in friendly forays and bookish banter. 

Next on our list was a Swift Half conversation between two of my favourite Scottish authors, Chris Brookmyre and Doug Johnstone, followed later by a memorable main stage chat between Brookmyre, creator of journalist Jack Parlabane, and Mark Billingham.

Doug Johnstone & Chris Brookmyre. Pic: Gerard Binks

We took in several pop-ups, some street food and ale, shopped in the hotel’s temporary Waterstones (surely the only branch stocking solely crime writers?) and took time to get several books signed. There was plenty more that we could have done but a busy Saturday beckoned.

It was indeed our busiest day, zig-zagging crazily between tents, signings and special events. Things kicked off early, with the 9am appearance of Anthony Horowitz, creator of Midsomer Murders and Foyle’s War, whose energy and enthusiasm could have lit up the town at night.

Anthony Horowitz. Pic: Gerard Binks

Do you know why there are some many murders in Midsomer, by the way? Anthony explained that he planned a murder before each ad break to keep viewers hooked and ensure they returned after making a cuppa. As the series grew in popularity, more ad breaks were added and the body count rose.

We watched the annual Critics New Blood panel discussing some of the year’s best new books, then saw Val McDermid interview first-time author Rebecca Philipson, whose How To Get Away With Murder began life during a previous year’s festival creative writing workshop.

Ann Cleeves at the party. Pic: Richard Maude

Next, a dash to the Dead Giveaways tent for an impromptu party where Ann Cleeves, creator of Vera, was being feted for her 40th anniversary in crime writing, complete with a birthday cake, celebratory drinks and a guest appearance by Vera herself, Brenda Blethyn.

Top of my wishlist ahead of the festival had been the double-header of Slow Horses creator Mick Herron and former CIA analyst David McCloskey, author of the Artemis Proctor espionage thrillers including Damascus Station, Moscow X and the upcoming London Station.

Mick Herron & David McCloskey. Pic: Gerard Binks

Under the banner Are Spies Heroes Anymore?, they swapped stories of their flawed characters, how closely their books reflect real-life secret services and favourite writers. Oh, and yes, they came to the conclusion that Artemis would surely have had to murder Jackson Lamb.

Next up on our priority list was Whiteboards Versus Empty Screens – How Do They Do It?, a panel discussing the process of writing, featuring Ardal O’Hanlon, Laura Shepherd Robinson, Remi Kone, Adele Parks and Sophie Hannah. Inspirational stuff.

Lee Child with Lisa Jewell. Pic: Richard Maude

To round the day off, we watched Lee Child interview festival chair Lisa Jewell, two of crime fiction’s most successful authors chatting about their craft and, as in most author sessions, taking questions from the audience. How do you top that?

We got the answer on Sunday, starting out with Alice Feeney and Chris Whitaker – one of my favourite writers, author of the exceptional All The Colours Of The Dark – in conversation. I met Chris afterwards and we chatted about our mutual admiration of Fredrik Backman’s books.

Alice Feeney & Mark Whitaker. Pic: Alice Feeney

Midday brought the festival highlight, however.

Ann Cleeves and Brenda Blethyn popped up again for a main stage double act hosted by Steph McGovern. It was heart-warming, hilarious and aptly drop-dead funny when Brenda and Steph broke into an impromptu Irish dancing routine to fill the gap while a microphone had to be fixed.

Steph McGovern, Brenda Blethyn & Ann Cleeves. Pic: Richard Maude

Throughout the four days we’d added more than two dozen books to our collection – several of them for free – and met a dozen of our favourite authors in person, all of whom graciously signed copies for us.

There’d been many more, including big names such as Gillian McAllister, Holly Jackson, Abir Mukherjee, David Hewson, and L.J. Ross, that we could have caught but we were feeling our way as festival newbies, savouring the must-sees on our list of priorities.

The view from our room at festival’s end.

Above all, it’s such a friendly festival. You meet complete strangers in a signing queue or in one of the tents, and within minutes you’re chatting about your favourite reads and characters you’ve come to know and love.

We finished the day with a room service dinner just down the corridor from Agatha’s hideaway. It seemed a fitting finalé to our first Theakston Crime Writing Festival. No cliffhanger needed – we’ll be back again.

• We visited the festival as paying members of the public. This year’s festival runs from July 22 to 25 at the Old Swan Hotel in Harrogate and will feature more than 130 of the world’s most celebrated crime writers in conversation, in action and at the bar. For author announcements, early bird tickets and info, see the festival website.