Ann Cleeves says eavesdropping fuels her crime writing

British crime writer Ann Cleeves, the creator of detective Vera and investigator Jimmy Perez, told ERR’s Ringvaade that she is highly curious and often listens to other people’s conversations in restaurants and on public transport.

“I’m just starting a new Jimmy Perez story. I’m quite excited to get to know him again, but by the end I may be a little tired of him and want to do something else. I very rarely write stories about the same investigator one after another,” Cleeves said.

Cleeves has written murder mysteries for 40 years. When she feels sad or needs comfort, she returns to authors from the golden age of crime fiction, including Margery Allingham, Dorothy Sayers and Nicholas Blake.

She often does not know who the victim will be when she begins writing. “I usually start with a very strong image. The book coming out in the autumn begins with a description of a house. Then I started thinking about who lived there, what happened there and whose body was in the swimming pool,” she said.

When she writes herself into a dead end, Cleeves goes for a long walk and tries to work out what an investigator would do in the same situation. “Usually it works,” she said.

Detective Vera emerged when Cleeves was attempting to write a different kind of book. Her young editor had little faith in traditional crime fiction and asked whether she would write a standalone psychological novel without detectives.

Cleeves began writing about three women who lived together in the Northumberland mountains and monitored the environment. She killed one of them, but then became stuck.

Inspired by American crime writer Raymond Chandler’s advice to have someone enter through a door with a gun when a plot stalls, Cleeves instead wrote a funeral scene and imagined the door opening. Vera Stanhope then entered the story.

“I had her name, and she looked more like a homeless person than an investigator. All her notes were in a supermarket carrier bag. And there she was, extremely pleased with herself. Perhaps that is exactly why people like her,” Cleeves said.

Brenda Blethyn, who plays Vera on television, is a close friend of the writer.

“For me, the most important thing when writing is the setting. I know I can write more about Northumberland, where I live,” Cleeves said.

She said her curiosity about people also leads her to listen in on conversations. Her family dislikes it when she tells them what people at neighbouring tables are discussing, while on public transport she listens to what is happening behind her.

“I don’t know how you can be a writer if you don’t use public transport,” she said.

This weekend, Cleeves will appear at the Rõuge crime festival. She said she was looking forward to meeting readers and linking her short stories to places she visits on holiday or at festivals where she meets other writers.

“In a new place, you get that first clear experience of smells and images. That is what I think short stories need: a first impression,” Cleeves said.