Published by graham on Fri, 01/11/2013 - 11:01
The week before last saw the publication of Western Approaches - first in the new spin-off Jimmy Suttle series after the end of the Pompey novels - plus Strictly No Flowers, an e-book available on all platforms. Both books come from Orion, and both books are a bit of a departure after a decade in the company of Joe Faraday and Paul Winter. Small wonder, therefore, that yours truly has been a tad nervous about reader reaction. I'm glad to report, though, that comments to date - fielded largely through this website - have been more than supportive. As have the reviews that have so far appeared.
Dragging Jimmy Suttle down to the West Country was always going to be a gamble but I'm beginning to get the feeling that this act of kidnap may have worked. Western Approaches is very different in style and focus, compared to the Pompey books: a smaller cast list, less clamour, no big city edginess, but plenty to stretch Suttle to his limits - both professionally and in his (rather fraught) private life. The Faraday books offered a portrait of a particular UK city, seen through the eyes of both the Good Guys and the Bad, throughout the course of an entire decade. The new series will explore the pressures on a young family, trying to weather the demands of three impossible jobs: crime fighting, investigative journalism, and parenthood.
Will they survive intact? Stay tuned....