My mother, Lesley Cookman, who has died of cancer aged 80, was the author of a series of “cosy crime” (a term she detested) novels, starring the amateur detective Libby Sarjeant, that were a hit with readers. She published 26 novels and three short stories in the series, the last of which, Murder Under the Cliff, was released earlier this year.
Lesley was born in Guildford, Surrey, and grew up in Wandsworth, in south-west London. Her mother, Edith (nee Leonard), was a dressmaker and her father, George Penn, a professional copy editor working variously for the Observer and Hansard. Lesley’s greatest passions – reading, theatre and cats – took hold at a young age after she read The Swish of the Curtain by Pamela Brown, which became her favourite book, and owned her first cat, Candy.
After leaving Clapham county grammar, and completing a business studies course at the City of Westminster College, Lesley became something of an “It” girl in 1960s London, working variously as a catwalk model, a flight attendant for BOAC, and in different roles, including advertising sales, for the Observer, alongside her father. On one occasion while working for the paper, she was asked to interview the leader of a band, Brian Cookman, who enjoyed their conversation so much he asked her out on a date at the end of the call. Eighteen months later, in 1972, they were married, and they went on to have four children.
After our family moved to Kent in 1985, Lesley renewed her lifelong love of theatre with the local amateur dramatics company, the Lindley Players. There she took many a starring role, played a key part in their music hall revival, and ended up writing and directing many of their yearly pantomimes to great acclaim, the scripts for which ended up being published. This also led to the publication of her first book, How to Write a Pantomime (1998).
She also pursued her love of writing professionally. She had multiple short stories published in weekly magazines and was editor of the Call Boy, the official publication of the British Music Hall Society. She joined the Romantic Novelists’ Association and, in her 50s, decided to study for a master’s in creative writing, at the University of Wales, which led to finding a publisher, Accent, for the Libby Sarjeant series, with the first novel, Murder in Steeple Martin, published in 2006.
Many friends remember Mum’s kindness and her welcoming nature, whether offering an empty chair to newcomers at conferences, a quote for the cover of a book from a fledgling author, or just a glass of wine and friendly ear.
Brian died in 2005. Lesley is survived by her children, Louise, Miles, Phillipa and me, and two grandchildren.
