Overview

A van driver with abduction and murder on his mind. An eleven-year-old girl snatched on her way home from ballet. A tortured reporter, happy to use her death and the terrifying reign of a child killer to help make his name... ""Don't let the rather bland title put you off - this second novel by Dave Franklin is an impressive pacey read, spiced with ethical dilemmas as well as his earthy dialogue and humour."" - Sunday Times ""Franklin's first novel, Looking for Sarah Jane Smith, introduced his unique brand of bitter humour as he journeyed out of Wales into Aussie territory. In this new book, Franklin chooses to return to familiar territory, setting the novel in Portsmouth, on England's south coast. His raw-edged honesty and earthy humour combine to make a compelling portrayal of one man's undoing against a backdrop of murder, brutality and desperate love. It is a gritty and vicious novel with an unredeemable hero."" - Post Newspapers Length: 62,000 words.

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Born in Wales, Dave Franklin published his first story in a national fishing magazine at the age of sixteen. He immigrated to Australia in 1999 and made his living as a reporter, earning the distinction of being sacked twice by the same Perth-based newspaper group. He then spent nearly three years teaching English in Korea, during which the mortality rate of the children under his care remained at an impressive zero. He now teaches ESL to adults in Brisbane, helping (among others) Thai Lady Boys get to grips with their past participles. The major theme of Dave's small, character-driven stories is alienation, the symptoms of which include male immaturity, misogyny, dysfunction, self-destruction, xenophobia, violence, religion, and a childish glee in winding up the politically correct. There are no car chases or explosions in his books; instead he prefers twisted, graphic sex scenes while focusing on exasperated loners full of doubt. Readers who like his work tend to see its black comedy (and disdain for his own characters) whereas his harshest critics insist on taking everything at face value. Indeed, some observers would suggest that the highlight of his writing career, which has seen him produce ten novels, remains being published in a fishing magazine. A Handy Guide To Dave's Full-Length Work: DARK COMEDY Looking For Sarah Jane Smith Manic Streets of Perth English Toss on Planet Andong Evil Arse Soup: Three Ultra-Dark Comedies (A bargain-priced anthology of the above titles) The Muslim Zombies: A Satirical Horror Novel HORROR / SUPERNATURAL / DARK FANTASY Straitjacket Blues: Stories of Unease 1 - 3 The Goodreads Killer: The Trilogy Begin The Madness: The Straitjacket Blues Trilogy (A bargain-priced anthology of the above titles) Nice Man Jack: A Jack The Ripper Novella PSYCHOLOGICAL / CRIME Girls Like Funny Boys To Dare A Future Blundering Blokes (A bargain-priced anthology of the above titles that includes Looking For Sarah Jane Smith) Riders on the Storm and Other Killer Songs Saving a Child from God A Promise of Pain (An anthology of the above two novels plus two novellas and a short story) EROTICA Bawdy Blokes: Three Porno Funnies Welcome to Wales, Girls: A Violent Odyssey of Pornographic Filth NONFICTION Go Fuck an Iceberg! A Brit's Take on Guns, Tits and Other Fun Movie Stuff Smile, You Sonuva...

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