Oct 12, 2023 | Bonus Content, Members Only
Well, it’s taken me a long time to get the next Devonshire Mystery ready.
It’s been a long road, and it’s a long book. Very long.
Today, I’m sharing the first part of chapter 1. This is just between us, so you’ll need to be a member of the site and logged in to read it in full.
The woodland pictured is one of my own photos, taken on a local walk, and I think it gives you an idea of the setting for this chapter.
I hope it gives you a flavour of Dan and Alan’s next adventure, and maybe it will whet your appetite.
A Must-Have Murder – A Snippet
Chapter 1
Alan ran through the forest, his thigh muscles cramping, sweat slicking his back, his chest, his scalp. The crisp air of early spring did nothing to cool him, and his breath rasped in his throat, every exhalation a low moan of pain. But he couldn’t stop to get his breath back, couldn’t slow down.
Ahead, a shadowy figure raced into the distance, sometimes vanishing in the shadows or hidden by a curve in the trail. He was getting away, and Alan couldn’t allow that. He had to catch him.
Alan threw back his head and gasped for air, pouring everything he had into a headlong dash. Arms pumping, feet pounding the dirt, he urged his tortured body onward. I can do it, he thought. I’m gaining on him.
The trail was rougher here, the path littered with loose stones and fragments from broken branches. Alan scanned the ground as he ran, but the dappled shadows made it hard to see, and the sweat from his brow stung the corners of his eyes. He blinked, lifted a hand to wipe his eyes, and that was all it took.
In mid-step his left foot caught on something, and he almost fell, but he spread his arms and twisted his body, keeping his balance. His momentum carried him forward, but his next stride was clumsy, and his right foot hit the ground at an awkward angle. A jab of pain jolted through his calf. He ran on, but each time his right foot met the trail, the pain in his calf intensified as if the muscles were being torn apart.
“Oh hell!” Alan had no choice but to stagger to a halt, wincing with every step. He pressed his hand against the nearest tree trunk, and took the weight from his right leg, staring down at it, half expecting to see the signs of some terrible injury.
There were footsteps on the trail, growing closer, slowing as they approached, and Alan looked up to see the man he’d tried so hard to catch. This was it: the moment he’d been dreading. He’d failed, and now he’d pay the price.
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May 27, 2022 | Bonus Content, Members Only
A second snippet from the upcoming Devonshire Mystery, Accomplice to Murder.
Another little piece from Chapter 1 of the next Devonshire Mystery. If you haven’t seen the first one, it’s here.
Please note that getting to read these sneak peeks in full is a privilege for members of the site. Membership is free and easy to set up, and there are no strings attached.
In this excerpt, we’ll begin to see that despite the glossy setting of Dan’s new job, all is not quite as it seems.
Well, it is a mystery, after all.
This is an advance snippet, so it’s still a work in progress and probably contains errors and typos. There will be changes and corrections over the coming days, and I hope to share more as I tackle the rewrites.
Accomplice to Murder
Sample from Chapter 1
Footsteps ringing out on the polished granite floor snapped Dan out of his reverie, and he looked up to see a besuited man heading toward him. Dan hadn’t heard the lift arrive, and he noticed that the glass door at one side of the lobby was still swinging shut. He took the stairs, Dan thought. A young man in a hurry.
“Dan,” the man called out as he strode across the lobby. “Good morning.”
“Morning.” Dan pulled back his shoulders, hoping he looked more relaxed than he felt as he stepped forward to meet the new arrival. They shook hands, and the man’s grip was firm.
“I’m Joseph Clayton,” the man said. “But call me Joe. We like to keep things friendly around here.” Slim and fresh-faced, Joe exuded self-confidence and energy. His smile was genuine, and there was something about Joe’s manner that made Dan like him right away.
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May 11, 2022 | Bonus Content, Members Only
At long last, I can say more about the upcoming Devonshire Mystery.
Today, I’m sharing the first part of chapter 1. This is just between us, so you’ll need to be a member of the site and logged in to read it.
The photo on this post is from the location in which the scene is set, so I hope it helps to give the flavour.
To read the snippet in full, please join the site – it’s free, easy and fun to do.
This is an advance snippet, so it’s still a work in progress and probably contains errors and typos. There will be changes and corrections over the coming days, and I hope to share more as I tackle the rewrites.
Accomplice to Murder
Sample from Chapter 1
Dan Corrigan adjusted his tie without breaking his stride as he advanced on his destination. Tucked away discreetly behind Exeter Cathedral, Southernhay West was stirring into the type of early morning life found in cities all over the world. Smartly dressed people climbed from their cars and bustled toward their places of work. Vans and taxis vied to be the first away from the traffic lights, and colourfully clad cyclists pedalled past, their backpacks bulging. No doubt they’d be carrying a change of clothes for the office, a pair of smart shoes and a laptop too. Dan had his own small backpack slung over his shoulder, although in his case, the situation was reversed. He’d brought his sports kit in case he fancied a run after work, and he felt a certain kinship with his fellow travellers. With every stride, every urgent turn of the pedals, they proclaimed a sense of purpose. They weren’t here for the shops or the scenery; they were here to work.
A bus trundled by, belching exhaust fumes, and Dan smiled. This was more like it. A sense of energy and purpose buzzed all around him. Everyone was going somewhere, and none of them wanted to be late.
That includes me, Dan thought. But I’ve got plenty of time. Dan had been in Exeter for quite a while already, although his appointment wasn’t for another half an hour. He’d parked down by the quay, and he’d spent the time walking through the city, limbering up. And while he’d pounded the streets, he’d felt his senses becoming heightened, his mind growing sharper.
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Dec 20, 2021 | Bonus Content, Members Only
Season’s greetings, Earthlings,
I trust that this missive finds you in good spirits, despite the cloud of befuddled confusion that seems to descend on most of you at around this time of year. I blame the climate and the lack of live reptiles in your diet. Were you to nibble on a couple of live vipers now then, you’d certainly have good reason to keep your wits about you during the cold winter months. But I digress.
Things have been quiet here at Bolster and Associates Investigations. As you know, Brent does not subscribe to the general view that this season is brightened up by the exchange of gifts and the consumption of luxurious food and drink. No, he is un affected by the atmosphere of goodwill and bon hommie that so many of you enjoy. Instead, Brent’s mood over the last few weeks is best described as sullen, and he’s much given to casting dark looks and making even darker remarks whenever words such as Christmas or yuletide are mentioned. Indeed, he has taken to hiding himself away at home, where he consumes dangerously large amounts of strong coffee. He’s found a brand of a coffee-like bean that’s drunk on Andel, and since most Andelian foodstuffs have been classified on Earth as biological weapons, he’s playing a dangerous game every time he opens the can. He couldn’t even grind the beans until he bought a suitably heavy hammer. Like many Andelian ingredients, the coffee needs to be stunned before it can be consumed.
I’m afraid you’ll get no yuletide greetings from Brent, but personally, I have come to appreciate many aspects of this season on Earth. On Gloabon, the government-mandated holidays are strictly observed, and everyone stops work early and packs up. In earth units, this extra free time would be the equivalent to approximately four minutes, and we used the time well, converging on the communal baths to take a dip and soak up the lovely glyphoforms that give our skin that lustrous green sheen. It is sad that you Earthlings are so unaware of the microorganisms that inhabit your body. We Gloabons appreciate our microscopic helpers, and as we like to say, you’re never alone with a symbiont.
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Aug 27, 2021 | Bonus Content, Members Only
It’s time to share a snippet of the upcoming Devonshire Mystery.
The finished version of this book still feels like it’s some way off, but I thought you might like to see how it’s shaping up. Sharing it now will also help to keep me accountable.
The new novel still doesn’t have a title, but much of the action takes place in Exeter, so the picture is a snap I took of Exeter Cathedral.
I hope you like the look of the snippet. As always when I share an advance snippet, it’s very much a work in progress. I may well change it when I redraft the novel, and it will also be run past an editor.
If this leaves you wanting more, then I’m afraid I’ll have to ask you to be patient. I’m writing it as fast as I can.
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May 11, 2021 | Bonus Content, Members Only
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