Why The Secret Sauce?

As fans of my historical mysteries set in Erdington, Birmingham (UK), will know, I always like to pick a ‘quirky’ hook for my stories. The Secret Sauce is no different. For those who don’t know, HP Sauce was made for many, many decades at Aston in Birmingham (it isn’t any more). As a child, I drove past the sign below at least monthly, if not more often. Initially, I hoped to call this book The Body in the Beans (what a great title), but alas, HP didn’t make baked beans in the 1940s. As such, I had to have a little rethink. I thought the idea was too good to forget. And so, The Secret Sauce has as its Birmingham-specific hook; brown sauce, which, for the purposes of the story, I’ve renamed BB Sauce (you need to read the book to find out what that stands for).

However, HP Sauce is a brown, fruity sauce, with a fascinating history, and, I believe, a recipe that remains a ‘secret.’ It started life at the end of the nineteenth century, and through fair means or foul, ended up in the hands of the owners of the Midlands Vinegar Company. It survived the uncertainties of both world wars, although sourcing the ingredients was often challenging. The True Story of HP Sauce, produced in 1985, states that advertising for HP Sauce was stopped during the Second World War because it was so difficult to get a bottle.  There was also a bomb shelter beneath the factory during WW2. The Ultimate HP Sauce Lover’s Guide mainly contains recipes. I have been ‘forced’ to try HP Sauce, as I’d never had it before. It reminds me a little bit of Branston Pickle:) I don’t think I’m a fan, but I suspect it’s probably a bit like Marmite – you love it, or hate it.

Just like the Bird’s Custard Factory, which was the inspiration for The Custard Corpses, HP Sauce was a Birmingham staple. In fact, I suspect, for many locals, HP Sauce is more well-known, whether fondly or not (because it could stink), than the custard factory.

If you look at the cover for The Secret Sauce, you’ll notice, as with the other books in the series, that I’ve made some changes to the ‘brand.’ One of the changes was to make the BB Sauce bottle bulbous, a stark contrast to the elongated one of HP Sauce. I also added another Birmingham staple to the BB Sauce bottle by opting for colours inspired by Aston Villa Football Club’s kit. Why did I do this? Well, a reader shared some photos of my books and beside them was an Aston Villa programme. It was too good an opportunity to miss, as after all, the two would have been located in Aston.

Here’s the blurb

Birmingham, England, November 1944.

Chief Inspector Mason of Erdington Police Station is summoned to a suspicious death at the BB Sauce factory in Aston on a wet Monday morning in late November 1944.

Greeted by his enthusiastic sergeant, O’Rourke, Sam Mason finds himself plunged into a challenging investigation to discover how Harry Armstrong met his death in a vat containing BB Sauce – a scene that threatens to put him off BB Sauce on his bacon sandwiches for the rest of his life.

Together with Sergeant O’Rourke, Mason follows a trail of seemingly unrelated events until something becomes very clear. The death of Harry Armstrong was certainly murder, and might well be connected to the tragedy unfolding at nearby RAF Fauld. While the uncertainty of war continues, Mason and O’Rourke find themselves seeking answers from the War Office and the Admiralty, as they track down the person who murdered their victim in such an unlikely way.

Join Mason and O’Rourke for the third book in the quirky, historical mystery series, as they once more attempt to solve the impossible in 1940s Erdington.

The Secret Sauce is available in ebook, paperback and hardback. Or order a paperback directly from me via my SumUp store. I hope to have the audiobook in a few months.

Check out The Erdington Mysteries series page for more details on The Custard Corpses, The Automobile Assassination and The Secret Sauce.