WITH her middle class accent, sprawling country manor and university education, Minette Walters should be a world away from criminals and murderers.

Infact the mother-of-two couldn't be more involved with the dark underbelly of society.

Classed as England's bestselling female crime writer, her novels delve behind the mind of some seriously shady characters.

"I think middle class women are quite good at this sort of stuff," she laughs. "Have you ever met Ruth Rendall or PD James?"

Minette is talking to the Echo ahead of her visit to the Mill in Rayleigh on Monday, March 10 as part of the Essex Book Festival.

"I love doing talks like this," she says of her pending visit. "I love to know my readers and see who they are."

Minette grew up reading Sherlock Holmes and Agatha Christie, but didn't make the move into writing her own books until she was nearly 40 years old.

Her first, The Ice House, won the CWA John Creasey Award for Best Debut Crime Novel and sealed Minette's fate as a writer with bags of talent and a very murky imagination.

The Ice House and four subsequent novels, The Sculptress, The Scold's Bridle, The Echo and The Dark Room were all adapted for television by the BBC.

If it weren't for her husband Alec, however, Minette might not be as successful as she is today.

"I have a very supportive husband," she says. "I was struggling to get The Ice House published and he read it and said I don't understand why they're not snapping it up. That kept me going."

Her latest novel, The Chameleon's Shadow, follows the story of Lieutant Charles Acland who is flown home from Iraq with serious head injuries.

The readers follow him trying to get his life back on track, but crippled by migraines and suspicions of his psychiatrist, he begins to display sporadic bouts of aggression, particularly against women.

Acland ends up under suspicion for murder and even starts to doubt himself.

"I find it very exciting as an author to get behind the mind of a character," explains Minette.

"In a way you're God for the time it takes you to write the book."

Desperate to encourage more people to read and write their own stories, Minette has just shot a very unusual BBC TV programme.

"It's about celebrities who want to be crime writers," she says of the show which will be aired in early March on BBC Two.

"I set them tasks, such as high speed police chases and they have to experience them and try and write their own storyline."

The programme is called Murder Most Famous and features former Sun editor Kelvin Mackenzie, Strictly Come Dancing's Brendan Cole, celebrity gardener Diarmot Gavin, Holby City's Angela Griffin, Emmerdale's Sherie Hewson and Matt Allwright from Rogue Traders.

Essex crime writer and close friend of Minette's, Mike Ripley, will be helping to judge the contestants, alongside her publisher.

"The aim is to attract a whole who audience to reading books and writing them," Minette explains.

"You know 17million people out there don't read, struggle to read, or don't have time to read. So it would be absolutely great if the BBC could make books popular again."

With her novels flying off the shelf each time she writes a new one, it seems Minette already has.

Minette Walters in conversation with Mike Ripley Monday, March 10 Mill Arts and Events Centre Bellingham Lane, Rayleigh 7.30pm Tickets: From £8 01206 573948