The Shropshire-based author of the Inspector James Given books is excited the first in his new series of historical novels is about to be released.
Charlie Garratt’s crime/mystery novels are set in Bridgnorth and Broseley, and feature Meg Valentine, an under-gardener who dreams of escaping the poverty and drudgery of her life by becoming a thief-taker, an 18th century bounty hunter. The first, The Thief-Taker’s Apprentice, will be available in mid-May in both paperback and as an eBook.
Charlie (pictured), who lives in Broseley, has written six previous novels and describes himself as ‘officially retired’ though spends much of his time writing.
He said “My first series featured Inspector James Given, a Jewish police detective in 1930s and 1940s Warwickshire. When I was looking for a new project, I’d moved to Shropshire and was fascinated by Bridgnorth’s role as a port in the 1700s. Consequently, it was an obvious choice for the setting.
‘The famous quote, “The past is a foreign country; they do things differently there” is so true, nowhere more so than in crime fiction. No DNA, no CCTV cameras, no mobile phone records, nor even fingerprints, for Meg Valentine and her mentor, Edwin Hare. They have to work on their wits, and with no law-enforcement to back them up. I hope I’ve been able to provide some flavour of those times in the novels.”
The Thief-Taker’s Apprentice is available via Waterstones and other bookshops, and on Amazon.
