Harrogate Tea Rooms Facebook post goes viral as two women with same name bond over books written by Yorkshire crime author Malcolm Hollingdrake

The friendship blossomed during a book signing with popular crime writer Malcolm Hollingdrake whose books are set in Harrogate.

The cafe was very busy with people and one woman struggled to find a seat, so she asked to share a table with another woman.

When introducing themselves, they discovered they both had the same name and bonded over their love of Malcolm’s crime books.

The two women, both named Anne, have now started meeting up for weekly catch ups at the Harrogate Tea Rooms.

Owners of Harrogate Tea Rooms, Carrie and Tony Wilkinson, were both so taken with the newfound friendship they posted the story of their encounter on Facebook.

The post has since attracted 1,400 reactions with 37 comments.

Carrie told The Yorkshire Post: “We were so touched by this chance encounter that led to a lovely friendship; so much so that we wrote a post about it.

“Both Annes are adorable and happened to be in the right place at the right time.

“I think the fact that they both were called Anne was the icing on the cake! The perfect ingredients.”

Malcolm was born in Bradford and spent three years studying at Ripon College.

He has since written many successful short stories as well as a set of crime novels called The Harrogate Crime Series and two books within the Merseyside Crime Series.

He met both Annes that day at his book signing and formed a bond with them.

Malcolm told The Yorkshire Post: “The story is indeed a touching one and it was my pleasure to meet the two Annes. One of whom attended the same college as me so we had much in common.

“I think that’s the power of the written word – books set in real locations have an ability to bring people together on common ground and there is nowhere better than Harrogate and the Tea Rooms for that. I have to say, I was humbled they both enjoy The Harrogate Crime Series.

“I’m always looking for inspiration and perhaps there is a new book in this story. Their meeting does inspire me as writing is a lonely business. Meeting one's readers helps to bridge that gap.

“Receiving feedback and meeting readers is, for me at least, the boost I need to work on another book in the series. Maybe we all gained something valuable to treasure that day.”