DETECTIVES were on the agenda as film critic Barry Norman shot straight from the hip during a talk on crime movies. An audience of about 40 people attended the 1book4stevenage talk on Saturday at North Hertfordshire College where Mr Norman was introduced

DETECTIVES were on the agenda as film critic Barry Norman shot straight from the hip during a talk on crime movies.

An audience of about 40 people attended the 1book4stevenage talk on Saturday at North Hertfordshire College where Mr Norman was introduced by best-selling author Ken Follett.

During the speech, which was organised by Stevenage Library staff, Mr Norman gave an overview of the crime film in the context of Hollywood cinema and American history; most notably why crime movies were so popular in 30s and 40s America.

Afterwards Mr Norman answered a number of questions thrown at him by audience members.

Another 1book4-stevenage event saw an audience take part in a murder mystery play which went down a treat, writes Hilary Spiers.

The Lytton Players performed an audience participation murder mystery called Death Can Be Fatal in front of a packed house at The Lytton Theatre in Vardon Road, Stevenage.

The audience watched as Miss Marple was murdered by an unseen hand when a group of sleuths were invited to a castle on a mysterious island.

Seven suspects were interviewed by the audience which included Stevenage mayor Simon Speller and Ken Follett.

Watching over the proceedings was Herbert Parrot, a unique cockney Belgian detective, and suspects included Gemma Peel, Knights Templar, Sam Shovel and members of the Famous Four. The show was well received and the murderer was discovered, but in true Mousetrap style the culprit cannot be revealed.