Work on my new novel, ‘Broken Dreams’ is well under way and the opening chapter is now available to read on the extracts page. The story fellows Joe Geraghty, Private Investigator, as he investigates the murder of a prominent businessman’s wife. 2009 will see the hard work of either finding a publisher or doing it myself. If you can help, please shout out!

Synopsis of new novel in progress – ‘Broken Dreams’

Joe Geraghty, Private Investigator, is used to struggling from one case to the next, barely making the rent on his small office in the Old Town of Hull. Invited by a local businessman to investigate a member of his staff’s absenteeism, it’s the kind of surveillance work that Geraghty and his small team have performed countless times.

When Jennifer Murdoch is found bleeding to death in her bed, Geraghty quickly finds himself trapped in the middle of a police investigation which stretches back to the days when the city had a thriving fishing industry. As the woman’s tangled private life begins to unravel, the trail leads Geraghty to local gangster-turned-respectable businessman, Frank Salford, a man who has a significant stake in the city’s regeneration plans.

Still haunted by the death of his wife in a house fire, it seems the people with the answers Geraghty wants are the police and Salford, both of whom want his co-operation for their own ends. With everything at stake, it seems some would go to any length to get what they want, Geraghty included.

‘Black and White’ reviewed by www.a63revisited.com

In Nick Quantrill's "Black & White", a body of a black man is found in a container on George Dock, Hull. Is it the fallout of illegal immigration and human trafficking, the result of a racial attack, or something else? Across the city in Hull Royal Infirmary a man turns up having been badly beaten up, but aggressively refusing to talk about it. Are these incidents connected, or merely coincidental?

“Black & White” follows Detective Sergeant Richard Coleman through the case, from the call on his mobile summoning him to the scene of the crime until the final convincing denouement, in almost encyclopaedic detail, logging almost every conversation Coleman holds with his colleagues, boss and wife (in that order), and every interview of suspects and witnesses he attends.

The story unfolds to the pace of an old-fashioned bobby walking towards you, deliberately paced, authoritative, and attentive to detail. And as in the case of that august gentleman, the tension builds as the journey progresses. After the first fifty pages, which establish the characters and storyline, the book becomes irresistibly gripping as the plot is expertly peeled until it reaches the heart of the matter.

And better still, you can receive an electronic copy (it has not been published in paperback) for free by contacting Nick Quantrill.

Debut Novel Available

My debut novel, ‘Black and White’, is now available. Like all the other stories on the website, it will cost you nothing. Head over to the Novel page to read the first chapter. If you enjoy it, simply email me through the Contact page and i’ll send it back to you in the form of a free download.

Here’s a brief synopsis:

‘Called to Hull’s King George Dock on a cold, miserable autumn morning by his new senior officer, Detective Sergeant Richard Coleman is confronted with the puzzling discovery of a body in a cargo container. Due to be moved the following day, the container triggers an investigation that sees Coleman and his colleagues explore the murky underground world of counterfeit goods.

Meanwhile, Andrzej Oborski, a young Polish economic immigrant making a new life for himself in the city is admitted to Hull Royal Infirmary with life threatening injuries, inflicted during a frenzied attack.  Under pressure from the new DI and an expectant media, Coleman’s investigation into Oborski’s life sees the two separate inquiries gradually merge into one darker and more complex whole. Believing that the same person is ultimately responsible for both crimes, he faces a race against time to bring them to justice, before they disappear back to their shadowy world.

Confronting issues of race and belonging in a city that’s undergoing rapid social change, Coleman finds himself pushed to the limits by the demands of the job. Still rebuilding his personal life, the investigations force him to reassess his own beliefs and motivations, as well as deal with the internal disputes threatening to rip apart the team. DS Coleman is an ordinary man doing an extraordinary job. He’s a man under pressure. Things are never black and white.’

BBC Radio Humberside:
Dave Reeves from the ‘Late Licence’ programme has kindly invited me to be a guest on his show.

I’ll be talking about my writing and whatever else is happening in the world on Monday 10th July from 10.30pm. The station can found at 95.9FM, or you can listen to the live stream through the station’s website.

‘Ten Foot City’ Feature:
The June/July edition of this Hull-based magazine features an article on my writing. The magazine is available for free from various outlets around the city, or through their website: www.tenfootcity.co.uk

HarperCollins ‘Crime Tour’ Competition Win:
My short story, ‘Punishment’, has won the HarperCollins ‘Crime Tour’ competition. ‘Punishment’ will be featured in the August 2006 edition of leading UK crime fiction magazine, ‘Crime Time.’

You can find all the details about the competition here:

Interview:
The nice people at thisisull.com kindly offered to interview me, following on from the serialisation of my story, ‘Complicity’, on their website.

You can read the interview here:

Review:
The first review of ‘Complicity’ has been published.

You can read it here: