In search of a title for crime novel Inspector Andy Horton number 14

It's time to find a title for Inspector Andy Horton no 14 now that I have finished writing it.  It has to have a sea theme and fit with a crime novel, not always easy. I've had some intriguing suggestions from readers who follow me on Twitter and Facebook and I think I'm nearly there.  I have narrowed it down to a couple of options. I'll either choose one myself or run both past my publisher to see which they prefer.  I often say that choosing a title is harder than writing the novel!

Some titles are like pregnancy, they take months  to develop and even when the novel is finished as in this case with the Inspector Andy Horton crime novel number fourteen I still have no idea what  to call it.  Other titles can come  instantly, almost the moment the novel hits the page although that is very rare. Dead Man's Wharf was one such case, mainly  because it is set around a wharf where a dead man is found.

The location and scene of the murder in the novel can often prompt the  title as in A Killing Coast when a  body is found floating in the sea off Portsmouth harbour but the action also  takes place around the stunning coastal bays of the Isle of Wight, hence the  ‘coast’ in the title.

Then there is Death Lies Beneath, the  eighth in the Horton series, when a woman's body is found beneath the sea on a  sunken barge just off a disused quayside in Portsmouth. The title of DI Horton  number twelve, Fatal Catch,  comes from the opening incident when fishermen discover they have hauled up a  human hand.

The main character's actions can also prompt a title. For example in my  thriller novel, In For The Kill, the hero, Alex  Albury, newly released from prison after serving a sentence for a crime he  didn't commit, is out to find the man who framed him and seek revenge. He  is in for the kill.

And in Silent  Running the first in the Art Marvik Silent Running an Art Marvik Marine Mysterymystery series the title describes  how Marvik is trying to come to terms with his new career after leaving the Royal Marines, working undercover  as a marine investigator for the UK’s National Intelligence Marine Squad.

The  second in the series is called, Dangerous  Cargo and is inspired by the fact the novel involves, well you’ve guessed  it... I won't say anymore for fear of giving away the plot.

And in Art Marvik number three, Lost Voyage, the story is about a salvage tug, the Mary Jo, which is lost in the Arctic until someone claims to have found it and triggers a slaying spree in order to keep the secret of the Mary Jo from ever being exposed.

But are titles remembered? The majority are not. If the book is  memorable, or becomes famous or controversial, or is the name of a film/TV series, or is treasured by the reader then it will stick, hopefully along with  the name of the author but not always.

Characters though have far greater staying  power in a reader’s mind and generate loyalty over a much longer time frame  sometimes even after the author has long been gone, therefore much better to concentrate on creating a  memorable character rather than getting hung up a title. I hope I have done that with both Inspector Andy Horton (13 crime novels) and more recently with  Art Marvik (3 crime novels).

At the time of writing this I am not sure when Inspector Andy Horton number fourteen will be published but meanwhile I'd better crack on and get the title sorted then I can whiz the completed manuscript over to my publisher.

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