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Kit Pelham, Fangirl Detective, Gets A Second Novel From Nev Fountain

Kit Pelham, Fangirl Detective, gets a second novel, Lied And Dolls, by Nev Fountain, from Titan Books in July 2025

Published Tue, 06 May 2025 06:57:07 -0500

Last year, Titan Books published The Fan Who Knew Too Much: The Kit Pelham Mysteries by Nev Fountain. Now I know Nev of old from the Writers' Room at BBC Broadcasting House for the Radio 4 topical sketch comedy Week Ending. People could just walk into the BBC back then and pitch ideas at a meeting, which was handily held at lunchtime close to where I was working in an office. Nev went on to work on Dead Ringers, on radio and TV, as well as the likes of Have I Got News for You, The News Quiz, Loose Ends, as well as being a senior writer on my favourite magazine, Private Eye. And I… did this.

Nev Fountain has also written a bunch of Doctor Who audio dramas for Big Finish Productions, including Omega, The Kingmaker, and Peri and the Piscon Paradox. Oh yes, remember Peri? Well, actress Nicola Bryant, who played her, is his partner. So yes, he won. She also read the audiobook of his thriller Painkiller, as well as playing roles in his detective novel audios The Mervyn Stone Mysteries, also published by Big Finish Productions in 2010. That's about the exploits of an ex-script editor of science fiction television series called Vixens from the Void, who encounters murders at sci-fi conventions, during the recording of a DVD commentary, and during a revival of the series. And then last year, Nev Fountain launched The Kit Pelham Mysteries from Titan Books. The first volume, The Fan Who Knew Too Much, introduced Pelham, a podcaster and sci-fi superfan, who investigates the murder of her friend, who promised to reveal secrets about Vixen from the Void… it's all part of the FountainVerse. And now a second book, Lies and Dolls, is due to be published in July 2025, also by Titan Books. Here's a look at the pair…

: The Kit Pelham Mysteries by Nev Fountain

: The Kit Pelham Mysteries by Nev Fountain

The Fan Who Knew Too Much: The Kit Pelham Mysteries
by Nev Fountain
Launching a new series, a podcaster and cult science fiction superfan stages a documentary to solve her friend's murder, and a 40-year-old disappearance, in this riotous and fiendishly twisty mystery. Perfect for fans of classic TV such as Doctor Who and Star Trek, wobbly cardboard sets and spandex costumes, and sharp-witted amateur detective crime such as Richard Osman, J. M. Hall and Andrew Cartmel. Kit Pelham is a professional fan, interviewer, host of the podcast The First Cult is the Deepest, and occasional obituary writer. Except this time the obituary is for her friend, maverick podcaster Wolf Tyler, who is murdered in his shed during a live broadcast, moments before revealing a huge secret about the cult TV show Vixens from the Void. Kit and her group of friends and fellow superfans soon realise Wolf had discovered something about the disappearance of Lily Sparkes, an extra on Vixens from the Void, back in 1986. And it was a secret worth killing for… To find justice for their friend, and much more importantly, new trivia about their favourite TV show, the gang decide to put together a 'Then and Now' Blu-Ray documentary that will reunite the original cast and crew. Armed with only a shoestring budget, an occasionally soggy drone, action figures (in the original packaging) and encyclopaedic knowledge of 1980s sci-fi TV, they have just four days to discover Wolf's secret, and solve his murder.

Lies and Dolls: The Kit Pelham Mysteries
by Nev Fountain
A pacy, laugh-out-loud funny whodunnit set in the world of cult sci-fi fandom, this novel sees the return of neurodiverse sleuth Kit Pelham as she investigates the destruction of rare vintage action figures and an actual murder at a rare toy museum. Perfect for fans of Richard Osman, J. M. Hall, Ian Moore and Andrew Cartmel. Professional cult sci-fi fan Kit Pelham returns in this laugh-out-loud funny follow-up to The Fan Who Knew Too Much. When Kit and her best friend Binfire head to a stately home in Lincolnshire to view five ultra-rare Vixens from the Void action figures – the main exhibit at the opening of a new toy museum – they come across more than just nerds and toy-collectors. The figures are stolen from their glass case and, just as Kit and Binfire begin to get their heads around this mystery, they start to reappear, broken into pieces, left for their distraught owners to discover. And that's when the real killings start.

And here's the conceit behind the fictitious show that has now spawned two series…

Extract from the 'Vixens from the Void' Programme Guide, originally printed in 'Into the Void' Fanzine #1.
CORONATION. (Serial 1A)
Transmitted: 18 September 1986
Recorded: Studio: BBC Television Centre 16-17 May 1986
Location: Brighton Pavilion, Brighton, 16-27 June 1986
Arkadia: Vanity Mycroft
Magaroth: Emilia Green
Medula: Tara Miles
Vizor: Roger Barker
Captain Talon: Patrick Finch
Tania: Suzy Lu
Velhellan: Jennifer McLaird
Elysia: Samantha Carbury
Excelsior: Maggie Styles
Costume Design: Joan Peverin
Stuntman: Duggie Fletcher
Production Design: Paula Marshall
Writer: Mervyn Stone
Script Editor: Mervyn Stone
Director: Leslie Driscoll
Producer: Nicholas Everett

Synopsis: The female empire of VIXOS spans the whole galaxy, ruled by the VIXENS. The peace of the empire is shattered by the news of a tragic accident. The royal shuttle crashes in a barren area of space known as the VOIDLANDS. VIXOSSIA the PRIME MISTRESS of VIXOS is killed, along with half the royal family. The sister of the PRIME MISTRESS is MAGAROTH, who was already ruling in her older sister's absence. When the news comes of the accident she is expected to step down in favour of ARKADIA, third in line to the throne, next to her mother and her older sister BYZANTIA (who also perished in the crash). To the surprise of many, MAGAROTH refuses to step aside and assumes the role of PRIME MISTRESS, claiming that ARKADIA is too young and inexperienced to rule, and offering tutelage to ARKADIA in the royal palace. CAPTAIN TALON, meanwhile, makes a journey to the VOIDLANDS to recover the royal ship, and becomes suspicious that the accident may not have been an accident at all…

Notes: 'Vixens from the Void' was pitched by producer Nicholas Everett and writer Mervyn Stone to the BBC to fill the hole left by the cancellation of 'Doctor Who'. They summarised it as 'Dallas' meets 'Dynasty'… but in space! The BBC was particularly interested in the idea, as Head of Episodic Serials Hugo Treadway had recently issued a directive to include more female voices in BBC drama. Treadway showed the proposal to his wife for approval, who hated it, and pointed out it was written by two men. Thankfully for 'Vixens from the Void' fans, Treadway dismissed her strong reservations as his wife's 'moody
time-of-the-month stuff' and 'Vixens from the Void' was commissioned.

'Vixens from the Void' premiered on BBC1 on 18 September 1986. A party was held in BBC studio 8 to celebrate the new show, attended by the cast, production team and the Head of Episodic Serials with his new wife, former personal assistant, Selena Treadway, who became Head of Sitcom Development the following year. The opening episode concerned the offstage death of a character and the other characters' reaction to that death. The soap opera 'EastEnders' did something similar a year before. The first episode of the series, 'Coronation', was given a larger than usual budget with extra days for location filming, as it was decided that generic exterior shots could be taken and slotted into subsequent episodes. The same practice was undertaken for the first episode of series two, 'Assassins of Destiny – part two', and all subsequent series.

The climax of series one, 'Assassins of Destiny – part one', was largely filmed in the studio because the series budget had run out at that stage. If the story is watched as a compilation, it is interesting to note there is a point around the fifty-minute mark where everyone decides to go outside. 'Vixens from the Void' was an instant success, with nine million viewers tuning in regularly for the first series. However, in recent years the programme has been marred by allegations made relating to its inception. Accusations were made by several woman writers claiming they had been asked to contribute to Hugo Treadway's 'female voices' initiative by pitching ideas for a new sci-fi programme in 1985. They were invited up to his office on the eighth floor, where they were confronted with a naked Treadway, a bottle of chilled Dom Perignon and a sofa that folded out into a bed. These allegations have been reported to the Metropolitan Police's 'Operation Mulberry' department (set up in response to the '#metoo' movement) and are currently being investigated.