The Mike Newman stories are set in 1981/2 in the fictitious city of Hartingam in Central England. Although Mike doesn’t believe in ghosts, his friend and fellow policeman, John Collett, is haunted by a murder victim from ten years before. When a group of police officers turn to corruption to supplement their income, Mike becomes the victim of a serious assault. Even though severely disabled and never likely to return to work, Mike Newman still fights the corruption, often with tragic results.
Four books are available:
Who Else is There?
Mike Newman Mysteries
Independent Author Network Awards Finalist (2015)
Best Indie Book Awards Finalist (2015)
The newly promoted Mike Newman has finally resolved to end his turbulent marriage, but his adulterous wife Debbie has other ideas. In her words: “I would rather be a widow with his police pension than a poor divorcee.” Her lover delivers a single blow to the side of Mike’s head, which renders him unconscious. Debbie’s attempt to suffocate him causes a stroke. After resuscitation, his damaged brain conjures up images of his attacker’s other victims. Following a major assault on Mike’s doctor, detectives link the attacks to an earlier unsolved murder. Calling themselves The Brethren, some police officers turn to serious crime on an unprecedented scale. Their corruption erodes the line between good and evil and leads to another murder. More than once in this novel, we are left with the question, if you can’t trust the police, Who Else is There?
First published August 2011
Revised Edition July 2021. For adult reading only. Click here for Amazon
Suffer Little Children
Mike Newman Mysteries
Suffer Little Children is a powerful story which explores the relationship between children and those who are meant to care for them, whether that child has grown to be a policeman grieving for his deceased mother, a doctor brought up by his cruel and heartless grandparents, the privately educated stepdaughter of a member of parliament, a father and son suffering the long term effects of bereavement, a perpetual criminal and his errant offspring, a deranged daughter who delighted in her father’s death, or Mike Newman and his daughters: nine-year-old Rebecca and seven-year-old Emma.
After Police Sergeant Mike Newman suffered a stroke six months before, his daughters, Rebecca and Emma have been in the care of his sister-in-law and her policeman husband, Peter Stillerton. On the day that Peter leaves her, she attacks the children, but Vince, a recently bereaved policeman who works with Peter, rescues them. The deranged woman visits a derelict church and finds a long forgotten priest hole. Inspired by the words “Suffer Little Children” on a stained glass window, she plans to abduct the children in order to make them suffer.
When Mike leaves the hospital to join the search for his daughters, he is accused of provoking a race riot, during which a policeman dies. In his absence, a man is murdered in his hospital bed. The MP, who once dubbed him as the Hero of Hartingham, leads a press campaign against Michael “Mad Maverick” Newman, and Mike finds his status moving quickly from hero to zero and beyond.
For Adult Reading
Penalty for Murder
Mike Newman Mysteries
Having lost his home and wife to gambling debts, Detective Sergeant “Flash” Foster joins a corrupt band of police officers. The death of a childhood friend gives him an unexpected opportunity to leave his worries behind, but first, he intends to exact revenge on his tormentors.
Meanwhile, with the local member of parliament scheming to have Mike locked away, a mysterious woman determined to kill him and the threat of arrest for his wife’s murder, in this gripping adventure, Mike Newman once again fights against the odds as he tries to discover who killed the mysterious woman in green.
For adult reading
Available from Amazon (Click here)
