LitFest ’25: Kate Webb – ‘Hollow Grave’

Described as ‘the crime queen of Wiltshire’ Kate Webb has written three crime novels, (there’s soon to be a fourth) all set in the local area with very specific local references such as the Marlborough Mop, Savernake Forest and Avebury. Webb grew up in Over Wallop, a village bordering Salisbury Plain, so is very familiar with the area. In conversation with Jon Stock, journalist, author and the vice-chair of the LitFest Committee, Webb talked about the research, construction of characters and plot for her latest novel Hollow Grave.

Hollow Grave is the third novel featuring DI Lockyer, a cold case detective, and his assistant Gemma Broad. Webb commented, “DI Lockyer walked into my brain fully formed and became fixed into my imagination. He is enigmatic detective, slightly an outsider. A farmer’s son, he is an introvert and has lived a lonely life.” Lockyer is haunted and wracked by guilt about the death of his brother who was stabbed on a night out. Lockyer blames himself for not being there and preventing it. Lockyer has also been side-lined and sent to work on cold cases because he became too close to a previous investigation. Webb commented that it is important that a “detective’s perceived weaknesses are also his strengths and Lockyer is thoughtful, warm and gentle.”

The plot revolves around new evidence that has come to light in the twenty-year old case of the disappearance of a young woman who was working on an archaeological dig in Avebury. After consulting retired detectives, Webb decided that cold cases were ideal for her crime novels as it involves detectives going out of the office/station to revisit crime scenes and characters. A cold case also lends itself to two time frames which opens up narrative possibilities. “I’m always fascinated by looking at the consequences of things,” Webb commented.

Wiltshire is a big part of the books. Webb has a special affection for Salisbury Plain. “It is the landscape of my childhood, a very evocative place and I love describing it.” However, a crime novel needs to be tight and pacey and so she is unable to include as much description as she would wish.

The crime novels also follow the personal relationships of the key characters so it’s good to read them in the right order. This includes quite a dark back story concerning Lockyer’s assistant Gemma Broad and her bullying boyfriend which gradually comes to the fore.

Hollow Grave is written in the third person but from Lockyer’s point of view. The reader only ever knows what Lockyer knows and has to puzzle out the answers with him. “I like the intimacy of this,” commented Webb.

A prolific writer, Kate has written eight historical novels as Katherine Webb. As a historian (she studied history at Durham University) she enjoys the research involved in creating a historical novel. Her best-selling debut novel, The Legacy, was winner of the Channel 4 TV Book Club Summer Read 2010 and it was shortlisted for the Galaxy British Book Awards New Writer of the Year 2010. She has recently written the first two volumes of a historical trilogy and is working on the third.

2026 is a big year for Webb. The fourth DI Lockyer book, Vital Signs, will be published in March and the first of the historical trilogy in May. For those of us who have read and enjoyed Webb’s crime novels, maybe the time has come to read her historical novels.