AJ Aberford tapped into his passion for writing following his move to the Mediterranean. Inspired by the geopolitical climate of his new surroundings, he launched the Detective George Zammit series. Quickly becoming a favourite in his home of Malta and overseas, AJ is now up to his sixth entry in what has become an acclaimed series of series. What We Reading sat down with AJ to talk about everything from life in Malta, fan feedback and his hopes for the future!
Thanks for speaking with us, AJ! First off, tell us a bit about yourself and what led you to the world of writing.
Hi, I am a former lawyer, who retired to enter the world of craft brewing in 2005. My brewery, Saltaire Brewery, is still going strong and makes about 5 million pints of beer a year. Having spent 10 years in wellingtons, shovelling malt, I retired for the second time, to go and live in Malta, where my wife and I have a house.
As we settled into living in a new country, I gradually realised Malta was not all sun, history and Italian cuisine.
The way of life and politics in the southern Mediterranean is totally different to the more ordered and structured life we lead as northern Europeans. The machinery of justice moves slowly, if at all and a culture of impunity pervades most aspects of public life. The geopolitics of the Mediterranean basin is fascinating and provides a rich and varied background to the Inspector George Zammit stories.
Talk to us about the George Zammit series. What is it about, and how has it evolved?
I started writing during the pandemic and thought I’d be happy just to write one book and get it published. However, my fifth book in the series (The Last Bird of Paradise) is due out in November and the sixth in the series is written and is now in production, for release in the New Year.
All the books are written to be read as ‘standalone’, but given the main characters are six books in, they have certainly developed and progressed. The George of book one (Bodies in the Water), is different to how he is in Book 6.
Some characters grow in confidence, some overreach themselves, and some strive and fail! So I would suggest reading the books in sequence would be the best way to approach George’s adventures.
George himself is a reluctant hero, an everyman. Berated by his wife, and bullied by his boss, he finds himself in situations not of his choosing. Be it being chased by Islamic State militants in Libya or the ‘Ndrangheta in Calabria. Somehow he usually manages to survive and even the most devious of opponents learn never to underestimate our Maltese inspector!
Over the course of the books, George also learns to correct his moral compass, drawing on reserves of courage he didn’t realise he had, he develops the courage to apply his principles – not easy when everyone around you is willing to take the easy way out, rather than do the right thing.
What is the number one goal you want your work to have with readers?
I want people to enjoy moral ambivalence. I mean, good people can do bad things and bad people can do good things! The characters in my books are all flawed in this way.
One email I received read: ‘When is character ‘x’ going to get her comeuppance – but I love her, don’t kill her off, please!’ There are heroes and villains in my books – but they all inhabit that grey space between good and bad, be they policemen, people smugglers, blue-blooded aristocrats or money launderers!
What do you think makes you stand out as an author?
Hopefully, people will enjoy the descriptions and the journeys the characters take around the southern Mediterranean, be it Libya, Tunisia, Turkey, Sicily or even Malta! In book terms, it is an area which has been much overlooked.
Also, I hope to inform the reader. Many of the themes of the books revolve around the current political state of affairs in the various countries and the competition between various players for control of the huge energy reserves in North Africa and the Mediterranean basin.
Most of the conflicts you hear of today, Libya, Syria, Iraq, the Sahel, Turkey/Greece, and Russia/Ukraine are due to the geopolitics of the Mediterranean. You can understand how a lowly Maltese policeman can quickly get out of his depth!
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What would you say has been your biggest success so far?
The paperbacks have been a great success in Malta, at least one of them being in the top ten places in the Maltese ‘most read’ charts for the last twelve months! Also, given the books take a satirical look at Maltese politics, I’m glad I’m still around to see Book 6 hit the shelves!
Some of you might remember Daphne Caruana Galizia, the blogger who criticised the Maltese government and was murdered in 2017. (Listen to the podcast: My Mothers Murder).
If you could go back in time to one book you read for the first time, what would it be and why?
I lived next door to an English Literature lecturer, who lent me the three Lord of the Rings books. I had complained to him that I loved CS Lewis and Arthur Ransome and was struggling to find something to read.
It was 1970 and I was fourteen or so. The books were leather bound and he had bought them in some bookshop in Cambridge, which I thought was very exotic. It was years before LoTRs became a thing (certainly in NE England!) and I remember disappearing into a world of Middle Earth for months.
To my eternal shame, I dropped the Return of the King (Vol 3), in the bath and the pages swelled to twice the thickness. When I handed the book back not a word was said, but I never borrowed another book from him again. I would like to travel back in time and skip that particular bath!
What’s one tip you would give your younger self if you had the opportunity?
Believe more in yourself. When you need it, seek help and direction. Never fear failure. Learn when to be quiet and to enjoy your own company.
And finally, what do you hope the future holds for you and your writing?
Having written six Inspector George Zammit books, I think I will refresh a couple of different projects that have been on the back burner. I have one and a half working manuscripts that form the basis of a completely different series and an idea for a standalone book, set in my native North East of England. That should keep me busy in 2024.
Thanks for letting me chat to your followers!
Check out all AJ’s work by following him on Twitter/X or at his website
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Part-time reader, part-time rambler, and full-time Horror enthusiast, James has been writing for What We Reading since 2022. His earliest reading memories involved Historical Fiction, Fantasy and Horror tales, which he has continued to take with him to this day. James’ favourite books include The Last (Hanna Jameson), The Troop (Nick Cutter) and Chasing The Boogeyman (Richard Chizmar).
