FOUR female crime writers will reveal some of the dark secrets to their literary success when they appear at Darlington's Crown Street library.

The group, known collectively as The Ladykillers, have conjured up a range of violent crimes in their writing - with more than 60 murders featured in their books, not to mention kidnappings, assaults, drug dealing, gun running, prostitution and blackmail plots.

The group includes Priscilla Masters, a Shropshire-based author whose best known character is Detective Inspector Joanna Piercy; Zoe Sharp, a former magazine columnist from Cumbria, whose own experiences receiving death threats prompted her to write about crime; Lesley Horton, a retired teacher from West Yorkshire whose years as a teacher in a school for pregnant girls inspired her to write, and Danuta Reah, a lecturer from South Yorkshire, who writes psychological suspense novels.

The Ladykillers will be at the library on Monday, March 6, at 2pm talking about their books, where they get their ideas from, how they create dark, psychological plot twists and page-turning action scenes.

Tickets for the event are £5, available from the library.

For more information about The Ladykillers go to www. ladykillers.info