The co-founder of the award-winning bereavement notification service, Settld, has turned her entrepreneurial drive and love of storytelling to fiction, releasing her first crime novel under the pen name Bobby Cussens.
Shotley Bridge Murders is a gripping murder mystery set in a small County Durham village, where a brutal killing shatters the calm of a tight-knit community — and sparks a hunt for a killer hiding in plain sight.
Businesswoman Julie Wilson, from County Durham, co-founded Settld- a startup which became an award-winning nationwide success, before being sold to The Estate Registry in 2024.
Wilson, who lives near Consett, County Durham. says she is immensely proud of the business she helped build.
“Building a death tech business was a huge challenge and I’m delighted that Settld is still helping people through the worst times in their lives.”
She says the women’s sleuth novel has been “a completely different kind of challenge.”
“Writing crime fiction lets me explore the same human emotions — grief, death, love and survival — but through a different lens. The people in Shotley Bridge Murders might be fictional, but their struggles feel very real.”
The police procedural novel introduces Detective Constable Heather Hudson, a young mother whose first major case plunges her into a world of deception, small-town secrets, and professional peril.
When a local man is found murdered by the riverbank, Heather must balance police politics and parenting pressures as she uncovers a web of lies that connects the most ordinary of neighbours to the most extraordinary crimes.
What begins as a single killing soon becomes a complex web of violence and deception stretching across Shotley Bridge and nearby Consett. As tensions rise and more bodies are found, Heather must navigate a world of half-truths, damaged loyalties, and small-town gossip — while battling her own doubts and demons.
Blending the authenticity of local life with the tension of a modern police drama, Wilson’s storytelling as Bobby Cussens has already drawn comparisons with leading northern crime writers such as Ann Cleeves and Val McDermid.
Drawing on her North East roots and a keen ear for dialogue, Shotley Bridge Murders captures the humour, hardship, and humanity of a region rarely shown with such intimacy and insight.
With biting dialogue, Northern wit, and a keen sense of place, Bobby Cussens creates a world that feels uncomfortably real.
Shotley Bridge Murders blends the precision of classic British fictional detective with the psychological tension of a modern thriller. It’s a story about loyalty and betrayal, justice and revenge — and the fine line between the two.
A gripping debut and the first in a planned series, Shotley Bridge Murders introduces readers to a cast of complex, compelling characters who linger long after the final page.
Shotley Bridge Murders by Bobby Cussens is available now in paperback, with pre-orders available on e-book. The official launch takes place this Friday November 21st in Sale Pepe Restaurant, Shotley Bridge.
Sale Pepe appears as one of the recognisable local settings — part of the authentic community backdrop that Bobby Cussens weaves throughout Shotley Bridge Murders. It’s referenced in passing when characters talk about village life or move through the main street near the bridge and the club.
The inclusion of Sale Pepe, along with real landmarks like The King’s Head, Wood Street, Muggleswick Woods, and Derwent Reservoir, helps root the story firmly in Shotley Bridge, County Durham, blending real-life familiarity with fictional intrigue.
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