Ajay Close to give talk on What Doesn’t Kill Us in Paisley

Ajay Close will give an illustrated talk to u3a members about her crime novel What Doesn’t Kill Us, which draws inspiration from the Yorkshire Ripper case.

The talk will take place at the Salvation Army Hall on Mill Street in Paisley on Thursday, February 5, with refreshments available from 1.30pm and the talk set to begin at 2pm.

A former Renfrewshire writer in residence, Ajay’s book won the Scottish fiction book of the year prize 15 months ago.

During her Paisley talk, she will share how the crimes of Peter Sutcliffe influenced her teenage years.

Sutcliffe murdered 13 women across northern England, casting a lasting shadow on Ajay's life in Sheffield, about a mile from where he was arrested in 1981.

She spent years of her life looking over her shoulder, untrusting of any man she passed.

Later, as a journalist, she met two women directly affected by the killings: a sex worker who narrowly escaped becoming Sutcliffe’s 14th victim, and Sutcliffe’s wife, Sonia.

"As a journalist, I went on to cover major news events, including the miners’ strike and the Handsworth riots, but in the late 70s I wasn’t reporting on someone else’s story.

"I was just a young woman in the north of England who went out alone after dark – exactly the demographic Peter Sutcliffe was targeting."

"People often say life is stranger than fiction and Ajay’s recent fictional book covers real events in the 1970s.

"I’m sure we will have plenty of questions to ask around this particular whodunit."