Dan Ddylanwad - John Alwyn Griffiths

Llofruddiwyd merch ifanc yng Nglan Morfa ddeng mlynedd ar hugain yn l. Maer un peth wedi digwydd eto.

Pan ddaw Elen Thomas i ddeall fod rhywun wedi bod yn torri i mewn i ffermdy unig ei modryb ym mherfeddion nos er mwyn ei dychryn, nid at yr heddlu mae hin troi. Meurig Morgan lwyddodd i ddatrys dirgelwch marwolaeth ei gwr bum mlynedd ynghynt ond y tro yma, fydd on tynnu blewyn or trwyn anghywir?

Dyma ddilyniant llawn twyll a dirgelwch i nofel gyffrous gyntaf John Alwyn Griffiths, Dan yr Wyneb.

Dyma chwip o nofel, syn symud yn gyflym ond yn hyderus ac yn ddifyrrwch pur. Darllenwch, mwynhewch . . . a gweddwch mai ffuglen ywr cyfan.
Adolygiad o Dan yr Wyneb; Catrin Beard, gwales.com

Former police head finds his voice in the dark world of crime thrillers

The author of a newly-released Welsh crime thriller, Dan Ddylanwad, says that with a book of memoirs and a second novel under his belt, he has now found his voice as a writer.

Dan Ddylanwad (under the influence)is former policeman John Alwyn Griffiths second novel, and with a third novel completed and a fourth in progress, it is quite clear that his voice has plenty to say.

Griffiths, originally from Bangor but now living in Anglesey, is clearly in his element writing about the world of crime. But the story also has gentler touches, as the relationship develops between some of the characters. Dan Ddylanwad revisits characters from his first novel - Meurig Morgan and Elen Thomas - and introduces a new character who features in his third novel - an unconventional detective named Jeff Evans.

This time, Ellen Thomas needs help to solve the mystery of a string of strange events that end in the suspicious death of her great-aunt. But in truth, this is just the beginning.

Before venturing into the world of thrillers, John Alwyn Griffiths published Pleseraur Plismon (policemans delights), an autobiographical collection of stories from his time with North Wales Police. He then stepped into the world of the detective novel, again drawing from his life-long career with the police, especially his time as head of North Wales Polices Fraud Department. It is clear that he has found a genre that is perfectly suited to his background and interests.

All his books have been published by Gwasg Carreg Gwalch. Manager Myrddin ap Dafydd said, The novel could be described as a crime thriller scattered with plenty of horror. It grabs the reader and takes them on a rollercoaster of terrifying and gruesome events. And the second the reader starts relaxing, thinking they can predict the outcome, they are thrown into a whirlwind of dark pasts, greed, threats and violence.

The response to Johns 2011 autobiography was fantastic, and were pleased to be supporting him as he turns his hand to fiction, in a field hes so familiar with. His novels are original and exciting - and a revelation!

Griffiths admits that there is a personal angle to some of his main characters. The character Esmor Owen, a gamekeeper, is based on a real person who died three years ago, a subtle tribute to a good friend.

He was a great friend, says Griffiths, and head gamekeeper on the Dwyfor river in the Lleyn Peninsula. His family love the fact that I have written him into the novel - he features quite prominently in my first book, Pleseraur Plismon.

"There is also a few similarities between the Jeff Evans character and a former colleague of mine - he knows who he is but Id better not say any more!

The way Griffiths approaches his writing betrays a lifetime of detailed police work, meticulous, thorough and disciplined.

On the days Im writing, I'll be at my desk by nine thirty and Ill be there until five, three to four times a week. After competing a novel, I then leave it for two or three months and return to it, to see how it reads. When Im not writing, Im constantly turning things over in my mind.

With this genre, detailed research and accuracy is clearly important.

Its twelve years since I retired from the police and I do a lot of research on the web to ensure that the police techniques I write about are still current.

Before writing, I plot the book in detail. I must say , before this latest one, I had no idea what I was going to write. But the ideas come from reading about cases in newspapers and cases Ive dealt with in the past."