Stand aside Kojak, Columbo, Maigret, Morse, Lewis and Rebus. There’s a new detective on the block – and he’s not ashamed to flash his ME/CFS credentials.
Retired Detective Chief Inspector Parrish fills the frame with three weeks of powerful sleuthing combined with unrefreshing bed rest in ‘The Embleton Murders’ by North East England writer Bear Lawrence.
It’s a bit of a belter, set in a large font to make it easier to read.
Parrish, known as ‘Scratcher’ to his mates, worked in the Metropolitan Police until he had to take medical retirement at the age of 39 when the cognitive overload caused by ME and fibromyalgia took him down. He had been one of the Met's star murder detectives.
Lawrence gives us well-drawn characters set in a pacey plot, while introducing readers to part of Northumberland that he knows very well – the towns and villages near Dunstanburgh Castle, standing on a remote headland lashed by the sea.
And there it starts, with a woman’s body found broken on the rocks below. The fuse is lit after Parrish’s rest is disturbed by a phone call from old school friend Robbie Mustoe, now a professor at Embleton University, that alerts him to strange goings-on and mysterious deaths at the university which may not be just pure coincidence.
The local constabulary, all out of leads to solve the deaths, hear Parrish is living in the area at Helmsley and call him in as a consultant. The story fizzes along as Parrish works closely with a local detective inspector, who doesn’t object too strongly to playing Robin to Parrish’s Batman.
Photos show: the book cover; the writer Bear Lawrence, with his latest book and his 2022 memoir; the area covered in detail in ‘The Embleton Murders'.
The writer gives us detailed insights into toxic culture clashes on campus at a fading university, railway level-crossing procedure, mobile phone mapping, a runner’s routine, local topography, drone work and civil aviation and the singular workings of Parrish’s brain – with those powerful synaptical flashes finally leading the police team to the killer.
Bear Lawrence, who makes a surprise appearance in the book itself, is a retired university lecturer himself who also had to quit work after he went down with ME. He’s an engineer who has flown helicopters and run his own businesses. He knows what he’s writing about.
In an email, he told us: “I'm really trying to raise awareness in the general public about chronic illnesses.
“The second book is about 95% written. It's called ‘Recognition Man' and an American serial killer is pitting his wits against DCI Parrish.
“The son of a drunk and drug-using single mother, Remah is a loner with a fascination for weapons and the dark web. When he learnt of his family history, he resolved to right the wrongs as he saw it, and by murderous methods.”
‘The Embleton Murders: A DCI Parrish Crime Thriller’ is available from Amazon , price £9.99:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Embleton-Murders-Parrish-Thriller-Thrillers/dp/B0CSMY996P/ref=sr_1_2
Tony Britton
Senior Fundraising Consultant, The ME Association
tony.britton@meassociation.org.uk Mob: 07393 805566
