Wolverhampton Literature Festival: Gallic charm as Ian Moore brings murder mystery story

Ian Moore brought his own unique brand of style and humour to the festival as he talked about his life and career and read a chapter from his book "Death and Croissants".

The comedian, author, podcaster, presenter and now author was due to appear in person at the event at Wolverhampton Art Gallery, but was forced to take to a Zoom call from his home in Southern France instead after testing positive for Covid.

Tickets holders were still able to watch the event in the Georgian Room of the Art Gallery or from the comfort of their own homes through Zoom, as Ian was interviewed by compere Mark Cartwright.

The event saw Mark Cartwright ask Ian about his process for writing the book, which sees a Bed and Breakfast owner in the Rhone Valley suddenly become involved in a murder mystery after a bloody hand print is left on a bedroom wall.

Speaking as a veteran of more than 30 years of performing, Ian spoke about his own life running a B&B and how the dullness of it caused him to create characters from people staying there.

He described how the process worked, likening it to a 1930s screwball comedy with a film noir feel, and how he had taken the time to write it, even sitting out on his sun porch at times to write episodes of the book.

Part of the event was taken up with a reading from one of the chapters of the book, with Ian effecting voices to the different characters to bring the scene to life and get across the subject matter of the book.

He also took questions from people watching the event, answering queries about his process, what chutney went well with brie and what it was like living in the South of France, to which he replied he was very lucky.

Sartorially sharp with a mod sensibility, Ian Moore brought a feeling of charm and fun to proceedings and left people wanting to hear more about the book and his life.