July 2021 "Murder at the Restoration" published

April 2021: "The Legend of the Collector's clock" published.

February 2021: "Kenavo" published

Winter 2020/21 "MURDER IN A TIME OF PLAGUE" published

Also "Murder at the Putney Debates"

(Both detective stories set in the mid-17th century)

Also 4 more "Nick & Rosemary"  stories - "Empty Lands", "Sunrise, sunset", "No stranger on the shore" and "We saw the sea"

I also published collected poems ("Fallen leaves"; a book of short stories & memoirs ("My life as a green balloon & other effusions") and a short book "REFLECTIONS ON THE PLAGUE YEAR"

SEPTEMBER 2019 "The body in the Marine Buildings" published by Beacon Publishing Co in the USA

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I am a writer, a former Commissioner of Customs & excise, a composer and an experimenter in acrylic paint.

The current state of my writter output is:

"THROUGH FIRE"  -a novel which I wrote from 1976-2006 has now been published, starting with "1 Karizhka" in June 2014. It is followd by " 2 Kardakan, 3 Magdarg 4 Magdarg: the Judgement of Subrid, 5 Thlaxaca: the Blood Sun. 6 Thlaxaca: Blood of the Blood Sun and a seventh volume of background material. 

"BY WATER", a five volume follow-up, 1 A journey from death, 2 Uncharted lands, 3 Journeys to and from, 4. Journeys of hardship and hope, 5. Full Circle.

"OUT OF SIGHT" - 1. A suspicious death, 2 Invisible people, 3 An invisible conspiracy.

All of these have now been published. I am currently working on a follow-up "Borne on the Wind"

 

CUSTOMS & EXCISE NOVELS - A series of detective stories following the career of Nick Storey originally an OCX (Officer of Customs & Excise) through his career, accompanied by his wife Rosemary, a policewoman and their family. It begins with "The Waterguard"  set in 1964, while Nick is a newly posted OCX in Harwich and Rosemary a WPC in Leicester. Events bring them together in a case involving diamond smuggling. "Misfits & Miscreants" (1965) tells of the, starting their new jobs in London, coming across odd people, bulliesm a weird organisaton and staff involved in fraud.  "Post & Perfidy" (1965) mostly involves fraud in the Overseas Parcels Office in London. By "A well-respected man" (1966) set in the City, they are married, he is working in London and she in the Metropolitan Police.  They are dealing with leaks of trade statistics which could allow City businesses to profit fro a devaluation of the Pound. These are followed by "The Summer of Love" (1967) which involves exports of computer parts to the Soviet Union. "Defenestration and devilment" (1968) involves the murder of a collague which may come from his involvement in a clandestine literary group  or poisonous relationships with his colleagues. "Inland, illicit & incompetent" (1968) covers fraud in a newly set-up inland clearance depot. "Nothing was delivered" (1969) about cannabis smuggling at Heathrow; "Something in the air" (1970), about Purchase Tax fiddles and Exchange Control evasion by East End criminals; "Bankers' Draught" (1970-3) about VAT fraud in the City linked to "the Troubles"; "All along the Watchtower" (1974/5) where Nick & Rosemary are on a 2 year secondment to the EEC and are dealing with heroin smuggling through the USSR. Two more books cover their time in Brussels - "Heard it on the grapevine" which is about CAP fraud in the wine industry and "Brussels Sprouts" which covers EEC payments fraud. On return to London, Nick is back in C&E and Rosemary returns to the Met.  "Our friends in the south" (1976) tackles warehouse fraud and illegal exports to Rhodesia; "Fools' Copper (not to be confused with Ghost Beer)"  (1977) covers an EEC fraud in North Wales and illicit beer production. "Kisses sweeter than wine" (1977/8) concerns allegations against English winemakers which identify a clandestine smuggling route. "Copper Kettle" (1978) takes them to the Highlands where they investigate illicit whiskey distilling while on holiday; "Magic Clarinet" (1978/9) involves tobacco excise duty fraud with the possible involvement of Freemasonry; "On a Carousel" covers officials breaking the law in order to entrap villains carrying out VAT fraud. After 5 years in charge of investigation where Nick is told not to get involved in investigatory work, he becomes Collector London Port in 1985. During that time he is seconded to DHSS to investigate a fraud involving National Insurance numbers and fraudulent benefit payments and also to the Cabinet Office to investigate leaks of Goverenment secrets ("Ballad of a Thin Man" and "Corridors of Secrecy/Chinese Whispers").  Immediately he starts in London Port, he gets involved in cocaine smuggling  - "Old Ghosts" (1985), followed by illicit traffic in time-expired medicines - "Medicine Man" (1988) and the use of light aircraft and yachts to smuggle methamphetamines )"dilithium crystals" (1989). An unexpected promotion to the Board further involves him in illegal arms exports - "Ghosts in the machine" (1990) and frauds and leaks related to the Government's market testing programme  - "Market Forces" (1992/3).  "End of the road" details Nick's last case in C&E involving the smuggling or ex-Soviet military equipment At the same time he is entangled in a case involving a Cabinet Minisyer smuggling horrendous pornography, linked to a brutal secret club ("It's all over now, Baby Blue"). After retirement, Nick and Rosemary continue with their sleuthing - though usually when invited to do so.  "Murder at the Baltic Coast Hotel" (1995), "Death on the Volga" (1996), "The Body in the Marine Buildings" (1997 - set mostly in Deal), "Empty Lands" (1998 - set mostly in Suffolk), "Sunrise, Sunset" (2000), "No stranger on the shore" (2001) ,"Kenavo" (2003), "The legernd of the Collector's clock" (2003) and "Carillon" (2004) cover their activities during this period.

 I'm continuing to work on three follow-up books to "By Water", called "Borne on the Wind", as well as several books involving Nick and Rosemary and a detective story set at the time of the Putney Debates in 1647.