THE CHALK MAN – OUT ON 7TH MAY 2024!
Well, there were a few days last year where I wondered if I was ever going to see daylight again (and watching TRUE DETECTIVE: NIGHT COUNTRY for inspiration didn’t exactly help; nor did working a run of 60-hour weeks) but the surface was eventually breached with a huge gulp of air, and I am now delighted to share the news that Barnes #4, THE CHALK MAN, is released for Kindle and in paperback TODAY! Get your copy now.
Barnes finally has the family he always longed for. But someone is coming for them . . .
Detective Barnes crouches down by the body near the seafront. Male, mid-twenties. The face is blue-white, mouth stretched open in a silent yawn.
Suddenly his eye is caught by an abrupt movement. A woman has fallen over on the pavement opposite. ‘Looks like someone’s feeling crook,’ says Will Howlett, his detective constable.
Then Barnes sees another person collapse nearby. A young man, fit. He hasn’t tripped. His body starts to convulse on the ground.
As panic spreads through the crowd, Barnes’s mobile rings. It’s Tamsin, his normally unflappable partner.
‘Barnes . . .’ She sounds frantic. ‘It’s . . . it’s Maggie.’
Barnes goes cold. ‘What about her?’
‘She was supposed to be at rugby practice. But she never showed up. She’s . . . she’s missing.’
His stepdaughter is missing — and Barnes has a very bad feeling about who might be responsible . . .
Perfect for fans of Joy Ellis, Graham Hurley, Helen H. Durrant, Peter James, Angela Marsons, Rachel McLean, J.D. Kirk or J.M. Dalgliesh.
WHAT READERS ARE SAYING ABOUT THE DETECTIVE BARNES SERIES:
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘Packed full of unexpected twists and turns.’ Sheila M.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘Pulled me in and held me to the end.’ Dawn T.
⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘Cracking good police story. Complex and twisty.’ Joan
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘Very good and gripping.’ Kay C.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘Some really convoluted twists and turns. I loved it.’ Rob
BURNT OUT SECRETS shortlisted for the 2023/24 People’s Book Prize
I’ve been a little quiet on the blogging front lately, largely because my fourth Barnes book, THE CHALK MAN, is due for delivery to my publisher at the end of the month and I am in a head down, laser focus, draw-the-curtains-on-the-world state as I pin my ears back and go for the home straight. This means no telly, essential emails only, precious little socialising – even the gym has taken a short-term back seat. Normal life will resume in time for Christmas (I sincerely hope!) but dare I say that total immersion is not only absolutely essential to get the job done… but actually strangely enjoyable as well. It starts to feel like the world you are creating is almost as real as the real world… and the challenges of the real world feel almost trivial in comparison. A sort of red pill/blue pill state, if you will.
I have, however, switched my wi-fi router on just long enough to share the very exciting news that Barnes #3, BURNT OUT SECRETS, has been shortlisted for the 2023/24 People’s Book Prize. This is a prize voted for entirely by readers, and so it is a definite case of the more, the merrier. If so inclined, you can cast your vote here. There are NINE titles in the Fiction category, and voters can vote for up to THREE titles in each category – and so with those odds in mind, I am quietly hopeful that BURNT OUT SECRETS has a fighting chance.
Voting closes on 30 April 2024, so you have plenty of time to decide.
This seems a fitting point to say how thrilled and overwhelmed I have been with the messages of support and encouragement that have been coming through since I set up this website. That people have taken the time out of their busy schedules to not only read the Barnes books, but thence to reach out and connect, is truly humbling. I am trying my absolute best to reply to everyone personally – so far, so good! Thank you, all.
ADAM LYNDON 