A METHODIST minister turned author has published his murder-mystery novel, Murder on the Ribblehead Viaduct, which he will be signing at Ribblehead Station later this month.

Reverend Malcolm Lorimer lived in the Keighley/Skipton district for 25 years and is now in Nantwich.

The book is set in the 1970s when the line was double-track over the viaduct. Seven young friends embark on a special rail journey on the Settle & Carlisle Railway.

One of them falls out of the carriage over the viaduct and is killed. It is thought to be an accident or suicide. Ten years later a notebook written in code is discovered and it appears there may be reasons why murder is suspected.

Mr Lorimer said: “The crime story is set against the background of the railway and I have had help from many people in the Friends of the Settle & Carlisle Railway for advice and anecdotes. I hope the book is a tribute to the line and helps publicise it.”

Mr Lorimer has completed 40 years in the Methodist Ministry. He has served in Stockton-on-Tees, Heald Green, Sale, Moss Side, Manchester and Nantwich. He has been chaplain at Lancashire County Cricket Club and recently been made a vice-president of the club.

He has written and published books on Lancashire cricket and also two other crime novels. Saints and Sinners and The Sermon that led to Murder.

The book is priced at £7.50. See his blog at Max Books: www.max-books.co.uk Ribblehead Station.

He will be at the station cafe on Saturday and Sunday, September 25 and 26, where he will sign copies of his book between 10am and 4pm and ‘raise a glass to one of the most spectacular railway lines in the country’.

The station café will be open and serving refreshments.