Former Chad journalist to publish debut novel

After winning numerous prizes for his short fiction, Richard Hooton’s crime novel The Margaret Code will be published in hardback, eBook and audio on 10 April, with the paperback set to follow next January.

Born and brought up in Mansfield, Richard attended Leas Park Junior School and Manor Comprehensive School, now The Manor Academy. Richard worked at the Chad from 2001 to 2004. Now living in Greater Manchester and working as a senior communications officer for Tameside Council, he wrote the book in his spare time before securing an agent and a publishing deal.

The voice-led whodunnit follows eighty-nine-year-old Margaret whose failing memory holds the key to the murder investigation taking place on her street. It was inspired by the author's own relationship with his grandmother, who died with Alzheimer’s when he was a teenager.

The Margaret Code will be published in the UK by Sphere, an imprint of Little Brown; in America by Union Square and Co; and in Germany by DTV. Richard is represented by Sam Copeland of literary agency Rogers, Coleridge and White.The audiobook is narrated by BAFTA-nominated actress Maggie Ollerenshaw, who has starred in Open All Hours, Last of the Summer Wine and Coronation Street.

Richard studied English Literature at the University of Wolverhampton before becoming a journalist, also working at the Lancashire Evening Telegraph and Oldham Evening Chronicle, and then going on to work in communications.

Taking to creative writing, Richard joined two writing groups and began entering short story competitions to hone his craft and validate his writing. He went on to win competitions such as the Hammond House Publishing International Literary Prize and the Evesham Festival of Words Short Story Competition, as well as being shortlisted for the prestigious Bridport Prize.

The Margaret Code is described as a compulsive and charming crime novel where “Elizabeth Is Missing” meets “The List Of Suspicious Things” and “The Marlow Murder Club”.

It follows eighty-nine-year-old Margaret as she attempts to solve the murder of her best friend and neighbour, Barbara. She is convinced Barbara entrusted her with a secret before she died, a secret now buried in Margaret’s ailing memory. With the help of her grandson, James, Margaret sets out to recover her memory and investigate the crime. But soon strange things begin happening in her home. Her family are convinced Margaret’s illness is getting worse, but Margaret is sure somebody wants her out of the way.

Richard said: “It’s a dream come true to have my novel published after many years of hard work to create it. I’d like to thank everyone who has supported me along the way, in particular my agent Sam Copeland and editor Rosanna Forte and her team at Sphere, whose expertise and enthusiasm has been exceptional.”

Sphere Editorial Director Rosanna Forte said: “Richard’s novel captured me from the first page. Margaret is the most compelling of narrators: witty, warm, perspicacious, and heartbreakingly vulnerable. Richard is a master at drawing complex and convincing relationships, and this, combined with a superbly twisty plot, makes for a crime novel unlike anything else I’ve read. Everybody at Little, Brown has fallen head over heels for The Margaret Code and I’m very excited for readers to do likewise.”

The Margaret Code is available to pre-order from Amazon or any bookshop. Richard is on Facebook, Instagram, X, and Bluesky as @RJHooton.