Writing festive thrillers: Nicola Upson on The Christmas Clue

About this episode

Nicola Upson discusses her festive crime novel The Christmas Clue and the intricacies of writing crime fiction set during the holiday season.

In this festive episode of The Writing Life Podcast, crime writer Nicola Upson delves into the themes and appeal of crime novels set at Christmas. Nicola Upson’s debut, An Expert in Murder, was the first in a series of crime novels to feature Josephine Tey — one of Britain’s finest Golden Age crime writers – and was dramatised for BBC Radio 4. Several of Nicola’s novels have been listed for the CWA Gold and Historical Daggers, and Sorry for the Dead was a Waterstones Thriller of the Month. Praised as a ‘perfect Christmas crime story’ by Elly Griffiths, her latest novel The Christmas Clue was published in September 2025. She sat down with NCW’s Caitlin Evans to discuss The Christmas Clue, and how she tackled balancing festive cheer with page-turning twists and deceptive characters. Together, they touch on writing fiction inspired by real people, what drew her to writing a Christmas crime novel, and how to develop the ideal festive setting for a murder mystery.

People in this episode

Host: Caitlin Evans

Guest: Nicola Upson

Topics covered

• festive thrillers
• crime novels
• writing process
• Christmas settings
• character development
• real-life inspiration

Keywords

• festive thrillers
• crime writing
• Christmas novels
• Nicola Upson
• murder mystery
• character twists
• real-life inspiration

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: BBC Radio 4, CWA

Books & works: The Christmas Clue, An Expert in Murder, Sorry for the Dead

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