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Novelist Susie Steiner, best known for the Manon Bradshaw detective series, has died aged 51.
A tweet from her account on 3rd June said: “Susie died yesterday after being diagnosed with a brain tumour three years ago. She lived with her illness with courage and good humour. She was much loved and will be much missed.”
Steiner grew up in north London, studied English at university and trained as a journalist. She worked in newspapers for 20 years, 11 of them on staff at the Guardian. Her first novel, Homecoming, was published by Faber & Faber to critical acclaim in 2013.
Her second, Missing, Presumed, her first with The Borough Press, introduced Detective Manon Bradshaw. It was a Sunday Times bestseller, a Richard & Judy book club pick and was shortlisted for the Theakston Crime Novel of the Year 2017. Persons Unknown, the sequel, was her third novel, also a Richard & Judy book club pick and also long-listed for the Theakston. The third in the Manon trilogy, Remain Silent, was published in 2020
Steiner wrote extensively about losing her eyesight to Retinitis Pigmentosa and was registered fully blind. In May 2019 she was diagnosed with a brain tumour (Grade 4 Glioblastoma). She lived in London with her husband and two children.
Susie died yesterday after being diagnosed with a brain tumour three years ago. She lived with her illness with courage and good humour. She was much loved and will be much missed pic.twitter.com/nrqaiGK5CZ
— Susie Steiner (@SusieSteiner1) July 3, 2022
Her agent Sarah Ballard of United Agents said: “Susie’s glorious talent as a writer was rooted in her deep appreciation of the undercurrents of human nature. A small domestic exchange might become something magical, heartbreaking or hilarious, as told by her.
“Her special insight made her not just a critically acclaimed and bestselling writer, but also a generous and sharply funny friend who will be missed by everyone who knew her. It also made her a passionately attentive, thoughtful mother to her two sons, who, along with her husband, Tom, were always the centre of her world.
“We are heartbroken at their loss, and for ours, and for the absence of the work she planned to write. At the same time, we are so grateful that she leaves her voice with us in the form of her four exceptional novels.”
Borough Press publishing director Suzie Dooré added: “Susie was an extraordinary person and a wonderful writer. Personally, I am proud to have also counted her as a friend, and will always remember and cherish her quick wit and brutal honesty, both attributes she was able to pass on to her series character Manon Bradshaw.
“A train trip to a festival with Susie was guaranteed to bring hilarity, oversharing, Percy Pigs and mini bottles of wine. She was truly unique, full of warmth and incredibly perceptive.”
Authors also took to Twitter to pay tribute. Marian Keyes wrote: "This news is horribly sad. Rest in peace, Susie ???????? (Her books were absolutely wonderful, Manon Bradshaw was a great character. If you haven’t read any, I recommend that you do.)"
Jane Casey said: "Oh I am heartbroken by this terrible news. She was just a wonderful person, and a supremely gifted writer. What a loss."