Runner up in SAW Constable Silver Stag Award 2018
Chosen as a Crime Spotlight novel at Bloody
Scotland 2019
Not The Life Imagined
“Ill-judged sex had horrendous consequences for some of our number: suicide, insanity or needing to dispose of an incriminating body in a hospital incinerator, to name but a few. This isn’t a tale for the faint-hearted.”
It’s 1967—rock stars, miniskirts and free love dominate— but medical student Beth Slater is discovering that the NHS isn’t ready for female doctors.
Against a backdrop of prejudice and misogyny, Beth stands up for what is right. When a close friend dies, she vows to find out the person responsible.
As the years pass, Beth refuses to give up as she navigates stormy relationships, friends in crisis and the dark shadow of the AIDs epidemic. But technology is changing and advances in DNA and forensics provide clues which finally reveal a brutal truth.
Anne Pettigrew has written a sharply observed, witty, and delicious tale, of ambition, prejudice and human triumph over adversity
“There have been many books written about the world of medicine, but Anne Pettigrew brings a fresh voice and moral authority to the subject. Well-written and lively…”
Simon Brett, OBE, RSL Fellow, 2014 CWA Diamond Dagger winner,
Judge of SAW Constable Silver Stag Award 2018
Not The Deaths Imagined
“Driving away from the Necropolis, he relishes the usual wave of satisfaction he experiences on completion. This latest triumph is a little younger than his usual, but no less warranted. The experimental cocktail in her tea had worked splendidly…”
In a leafy Glasgow suburb, Dr Beth Semple is busy juggling motherhood and full-time GP work in the 90s NHS when she becomes suspicious about some local deaths. As she tries to convince the authorities something is amiss, she finds her professional reputation at stake and undergoes a chilling campaign of harassment. Is a charming local GP actually a serial killer? Can she piece together the jigsaw of perplexing fatalities and save lives? And as events accelerate towards a dramatic conclusion, will the police intervene in time? Reflecting Pettigrew’s own medical expertise, Not The Deaths Imagined re-affirms the benefits of growing up in a loving family and the need for friends in hard times, while offering insight into the twisted development of a psychopathic mind.
“…a great book with an exciting denouement that will keep you gripped to the final page. There is a long tradition of doctors turning their talents to fiction – Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Anton Chekhov, Michael Crichton, Khaled Hosseini and Richard Gordon being among the most prominent. Now another name can be added to the list – Anne Pettigrew, a retired Greenock GP who has written a brilliant murder mystery.
Paul Donnelley
Daily Express
Medicine, Money and Murder
Out September 18th 2024! Preorder on Amazon now!
“She checked with every department – even the morgue – but found absolutely no record of a Mrs or Senora Carmela Gomez being admitted there on Friday night – or for that matter, at any time over the weekend. She wasn’t even seen in the Emergency Room. It’s weird.’
Step into the scorching summer of 1971 in New Jersey, USA, where Scots medical students Mhairi and Laura encounter more than just contrasts in language and culture. Within the outwardly peaceful and prosperous Ellis Memorial Hospital, discord brews.
The clash between the principles of US healthcare and their NHS background is palpable, but it’s the shadowy occurrences within the hospital that trouble them most. Who are the mysterious Sunday Morning patients under Dr Juan Mendoza’s care? Why does the enigmatic Dr Elias van Lindholm exert such influence? As sinister incidents escalate, the hospital’s tranquility shatters, and the disappearance of a charity patient raises unsettling questions.
When a fellow student meets a tragic end, Mhairi and Laura find themselves entangled in a web of danger that threatens their own lives. “Medicine, Money and Murder” explores the complexities of cultural clashes, ethical dilemmas, romance, and humour, guiding readers through a thought-provoking narrative to an exhilarating climax—with a twist that defies expectations.
Prepare for a riveting tale that lingers in the mind, leaving you breathless and eager for more.
Why Anne Pettigrew writes…
Everyone visiting a doctor must wonder what they are thinking… Millions watch medical dramas like Casualty or ER and there are many novels featuring doctors, yet few are female unless they’re pathologists, historical pioneers, or incidental love interest. My aim is to show the reality of women working in the patriarchal world of medicine starting 50 years ago, the nuts and bolts of medical training and the difficulties faced fighting up the career ladder as a female. And also, to highlight the difficulties and prejudice faced by others. Doctors are human, as liable to get sick, have a breakdown or commit suicide, statistically even more than average. The books’ narrative themes are topical: surviving ‘Weinsteins’, domestic abuse, addiction, untrustworthy medics and the problems of the NHS. They all have something to say about the Scottish psyche, the evolution of sexual predation and the dark side of advancement in many careers, but humour is never far away. I like to think I write book club books ripe for discussion on the struggles of the ‘goodies’ and the genesis of ‘the baddies’ and on medical motivations and morals. Most of all, however, I want to entertain and intrigue.
Sparsile Books is an independent publisher specializing in literary fiction and high-quality non-fiction encompassing a wide range of voices and experiences and offer exceptional perspectives even in old familiar genres.
To Sparsile, publishing is as much art as it is business, their books are for everyone and the stories they aim to give readers an original vision of the world without formulistic tropes.
‘Sparsile’ being a star which has not been assigned to a constellation, the company chose it to reflect their distinctive approach to publishing and hope of bringing readers books which are ‘a little bit out there’.
Anne’s books benefit children’s charity PlanUK who strive for a just world that advances children’s rights and equality for girls in the UK and world-wide.
Find out more at: https://plan-uk.org
Buy now…
The Carnelian Tree
“She peered behind all her pictures and examined the telephone before opening another bottle of Zinfandel”
When Judith Frazer discovers the brutally murdered body of Professor Gilbert, a world expert on ancient Eastern society, she has no idea the danger she – and her family and friends – are about to be drawn into. As she tries to explain what is happening to the police she realises just how odd her life has become – and how frightening. Modern terrorism and ancient history collide in the dreaming spires of Oxford, leading to a terrifying race against time.
Set against the backdrop of the War on Terror in 2003, The Carnelian Tree is a humorous but fast-paced thriller featuring locked doors, missing computers, CIA agents, Saddam Hussein and even a cat’s collar concealing a vital clue.
Fans of Dan Brown, Helen Fielding, Lucey Foley and Agatha Christie will find much to admire in this clever mash-up of literary styles.
“Like Hitchcock at his best, Anne Pettigrew creates for her innocent and unknowing characters a bewildering train of events that could lead them to disaster…
Rob McInroy
CWA Dagger longlist author of Cuddie’s Strip and Barossa Street