Fergus Craig’s New Cozy Crime Novel Explores Life, Laughter, and Murder Inside a Retirement Home

British actor and comedian Fergus Craig is gearing up for the release of his latest mystery novel I’m Not the Only Murderer in My Retirement Home, a story that began as a playful idea but grew into something he became genuinely invested in. He explains that the more time he spent with his characters, the more he realized how many interesting directions their lives could take, even though the core murder plot remained intact.

Craig notes that his previous books were parody crime novels, packed so heavily with jokes that every sentence aimed for a laugh. Writing this new book allowed him to explore deeper character moments while still weaving in the humor that has defined much of his work. He says this shift came naturally as he imagined the everyday emotional worlds of the “real people” behind the comedy.

His background in writing comedy for film and TV shapes the way he approaches novels, because he’s always aware of the audience’s experience. Comedy, he says, trains you to panic the moment the audience stops laughing, which makes you constantly strive to entertain. Even though he doesn’t aim for nonstop jokes in his fiction, he still gets nervous if he feels a reader might be losing interest.

When asked whether this new novel could expand into a series, Craig gives a playful non-answer, suggesting that even if he were working on a follow-up, he wouldn’t be able to reveal it. Still, he expresses genuine excitement at the idea of continuing with these characters, noting that cozy mysteries thrive on rich personal histories and the kinds of past careers — legal or criminal — that older characters bring to the table. Readers interested in his earlier works can find them through his publisher’s page on Penguin Random House.

Craig also talks about the kinds of fictional detectives he’d love to portray on screen, tracing the idea back to the roles he’s taken in recent years. On stage, he’s often cast as the older British gentleman in period pieces, and he recently appeared in the Disney+ series A Thousand Blows, where he played a sinister butler. He also filmed a part in The Other Bennet Sister, an adaptation of Janice Hadlow’s novel, in which he plays the bumbling Mr. Hurst.

These roles have pushed him toward imagining himself as a detective who fits that same mold — an older, eccentric figure from the Georgian or Victorian era, with all the quirks and charm that come with playing characters from that time. He says he’d love the chance to embody a detective like that, drawing on the theatrical experience he has developed over the past few years.

A version of this interview originally appeared in the December 1, 2025 issue of Publishers Weekly, offering readers a closer look at Craig’s creative process as he blends crime, comedy, and character in his most ambitious novel to date. For readers curious about his acting work, additional credits and updates are listed on his IMDb profile, which highlights the range of comedic and dramatic roles that have influenced his writing career.