Otago kaimahi and alumna Molly Crighton will launch her crime novel "The Body and the Blood" (Moa Press) at a special event at St Paul’s Cathedral in Ōtepoti tomorrow night.
A criminally good book has just hit the streets of Dunedin. The perpetrator? Otago kaimahi Molly Crighton. Here, Laura Hewson talks to Molly about her road to crime and why Ōtepoti is such a good setting for murdery business.
When organist Sybil Marsden is found dead in St Paul’s Cathedral, the police rule it a tragic accident. But was it really an accident? (Spoiler alert: it was not.)
Such is the set up for author Molly Crighton’s first book, The Body and the Blood (Moa Press), a crime novel that’s officially launching this week.
Molly, who in real life is a Librarian at Otago’s Central Library, has previously had poetry published in literary journals and was a 2023 winner of the University’s Writer competition for her short story ‘95 Million Years’.
But it wasn’t until she took ENGL243 Tartan Noir: Scottish Crime Fiction (now superseded by ENGL475 Reading and Writing Crime Fiction), that she first turned to crime.
“I never had any interest in crime fiction novels as a teenager or young adult. If I ever read one, it was by accident,” Molly says.
“However, in my second year of Uni I took Professor Liam McIlvanney’s Scottish crime fiction paper and realised I’d actually been cutting myself off from a fun, fascinating genre full of experimentation, subversion, ethical quandaries – and good old bloody murder, of course.”
Molly clearly had an affinity with the genre. Her short story about a murder in a cathedral choir received a perfect grade from Liam, who is the Director of the Centre for Irish and Scottish Studies as well as an award-winning crime writer.
“One of the great joys of teaching is when you encounter a student whose ability just blows you away,” Liam says.
“In three decades of university teaching, I have awarded a mark of 100 per cent precisely twice. One of these was for Molly’s creative writing assignment so it comes as no surprise at all that she’s gone on to become a published novelist.”
“One of the great joys of teaching is when you encounter a student whose ability just blows you away.”– Professor Liam McIlvanney
That short story provided inspiration for Molly a few years later, when she was thinking about writing a full-length book.
“I thought I might as well capitalise on what I already knew I could do well, which is killing people in churches, apparently.”
Molly approached her novel by first creating a list of the things that would convince her to pick a book up off the shelf, she says.
“I’m drawn to atmospheric settings. I like labyrinthine libraries and evocative theological elements and I love the classic crime duo: grizzled old detective coming out of retirement for one last job, and younger amateur detective with 100 per cent of the pair’s EQ.
“I also love when books have a ticking clock that gets set at the beginning of the story, so you can feel the anxiety as something inches closer. Hopefully this book – set during the liturgical season of Lent, which is the leadup to the crucifixion – evokes that same feeling for readers.”
"The Body and the Blood" out in the wild. Photo: Tymoteusz Ryan
In The Body and the Blood, Molly introduces amateur sleuths Halia Knox, a disgraced journalist, and Ivo Hart, a lowly police administrator, who have to race against the clock to solve the mystery of Sybil’s death.
“Halia and Ivo are polar opposites whose investigative styles complement each other – Halia is a battering ram, whereas Ivo is far more careful and cautious.”
Dunedin is a great place to fictionally kill someone, Molly says.
“Crime fiction is always littered with ghosts. It’s adjacent to the gothic in that way, because in the gothic the past constantly intrudes on the present, and in crime, the dead always haunt the living.
“Ōtepoti is like a city version of that because its history is so layered: we have this quite polished ‘Edinburgh of the South’ image that’s presented to tourists; the student life; the pre-colonisation Māori settlements; and much of South Dunedin was originally underwater (sometimes it still is).”
There are plenty of local Easter eggs in the book, she says.
“I don’t mention businesses by name, but hopefully locals will immediately know which café the characters are at, which pubs they go to, and which streets they’re walking down just from the descriptions.”
But will people recognise themselves?
“Hopefully not! I wanted to write characters who felt real, and who reflected the people I really know and see in this place, but I combed through the book so many times to check I hadn’t ripped any details from people I know in real life.
“I changed hair colours, accents, and even a dog’s breed to avoid any accidental reflections of reality.”
St Paul’s Cathedral is not just the scene of the crime in Molly’s novel, it will also be the scene of the book launch tomorrow night.
“The most atmospheric place I could think to set the book was in St Paul’s Cathedral, where I sang in the choir for six years,” Molly says.
“I’m so grateful to the congregation and ministry community there. They’ve been so supportive and enthusiastic. St Paul’s was the first place I really felt like I belonged somewhere, so it’s incredibly special to host the launch there.
“All are welcome. Except my enemies.” she says.
“Liam McIlvanney is launching the book – very fitting, as he’s the crime fiction culprit for my writing.
“The real-life Dean of Dunedin, Tony Curtis, is kindly speaking as well. He’s been very understanding about the fact I’ve made his fictional counterpart a Belgian lesbian.”
St Paul’s Cathedral was the perfect place for author Molly Crighton when it came to choosing an atmospheric setting for her novel.
Molly has a Bachelor of Arts and an Honours degree in English from Otago, as well as a Master of Information Studies (MIS), which she completed by distance.
It might seem unexpected, but librarianship is a perfect companion for crime fiction, she says.
“I actually set a scene in the Hocken Library here at Otago, so apologies in advance to the archivists for what the characters do in there.” – Molly Crighton
“Crime is such an information-finding genre: when you pick up a crime novel, there are so many things you already know – there will be a murder, someone will solve it, there’ll be red herrings, historical crimes will probably rise to the surface. The draw of the genre is not finding something new every time, but finding something out every time. And librarians love finding stuff out.
“I actually set a scene in the Hocken Library here at Otago, so apologies in advance to the archivists for what the characters do in there.”
Molly wrote The Body and the Blood while studying for her MIS in the evenings, working full time and also working part-time in the weekends.
“I’m never ever doing that again! It was not a relaxing experience. But it was certainly productive.”
In the end, writing the draft manuscript was actually one of the shortest parts of the process, she says.
“In the age of AI, where speed is prioritised above quality, and churning things out as fast as possible is preferable to taking your time over them, I’m actually very appreciative of how much time and thought my publisher put into the book.
“It’s amazing as a writer to get edits back from someone who’s devoted their whole professional life to editing books (or typesetting them, or developing them, or publicising them), and who has experienced insights.”
Molly has already written her next book, which she hopes will come out in 2027.
“It’s a standalone thriller that I’m really excited about. And I’m working on another book at the moment, which is a sapphic horror set in Dunedin.”
Molly will also take part in three events at WORD book festival in Christchurch at the beginning of September.
“One of the best by-products of writing a book is the chance to take part in bookish events. I’m looking forward to being in rooms of people who love reading, talking to people who love writing. I’ve also been attending these events for a long time – so it’s very exciting to be involved like this.
“And while it’s a bit nerve-wracking that people can actually read the book now, I hope that it brings them even a fraction of the enjoyment it gave me to write.”
- The launch of The Body and the Blood will be held at St Paul’s Cathedral tomorrow night at 6pm.
- The University of Otago’s 2026 Writer competition is now open for entries.
More about ENGL475
For anyone wanting to follow in Molly Crighton’s crime-writing footsteps, ENGL475 Reading and Writing Crime Fiction offers an in-depth approach to the genre, covering everything from setting and structure, clues and red herrings, all the way through to publication and promotion.
The paper is primarily taught by award-winning crime writer Professor Liam McIlvanney, with guest appearances from a range of other crime writers and industry professionals.
“My exposure to crime fiction through Liam McIlvanney’s class was the first time I’d seen novels stripped back to their internal scaffolding,” Molly says.
“I realised that I didn’t have to beat my way into an uncharted wilderness if I wanted to write a book – I could construct a path before I started.”
Molly highly recommends Otago’s writing courses to others interested in improving their craft.
“Everything I learned has been worthwhile – about poetry, essays, crime, literary fiction. Writing really is a craft, and it’s always useful to try new things, read books you’d never normally read, and be guided by talented teachers.
“I’m very grateful to all the amazing creative writing teachers and tutors here at Otago. They’re living proof you absolutely can teach someone the craft of writing.”
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