Crime triumph for Simon Hall
HE IS known for his TV reports as a BBC crime correspondent.
HE IS known for his TV reports as a BBC crime correspondent.
Now Simon Hall, a regular visitor to Sidmouth during the early days of the grounding of MSC Napoli, is proving to have found another outlet for his talent - as a crime fiction writer.
His third book, Evil Valley, published on Monday, September 15, by Accent Press Ltd at £7.99, continues the now established liaison between TV crime correspondent Dan Groves and Chief Inspector Adam Breen.
This time they team up to hunt a psychopath, bent on teaching society a lesson after the death of his best friend Sam.
You may also want to watch:
He relishes leaving cryptic letters and messages for Dan as the duo try to track him down after he kidnaps a child.
There are other threads to be unravelled at the same time, regarding two fatal shootings by a police marksman.
Most Read
- 1 We're open again! Town's traders welcome back shoppers
- 2 Folk festival boosted by £97K grant from Culture Recovery Fund
- 3 Confidence grows for return of traditional high street
- 4 Stableford jewel for Sidmouth member
- 5 Around the sitting room in 80 days with the amazing Diana, 98
- 6 Debut in the Dartmoor League
- 7 Archie's three marathons in three days charity challenge
- 8 Sidmouth seniors back in competitive action
- 9 Joma Devon & Exeter League results and fixtures
- 10 Escot springs out of lockdown and they're wild about opening again
This book has to be the best of the trio so far. It has a more confident style, better pace and paints detailed pictures of new characters such as Marcus Whiting, the Independent Police Complaints Authority commissioner.
Simon, who spoke to readers at a Sidmouth Library literary lunch about his work as a writer, also brings out his main characters more, giving Dan more colour and depth this time and allowing him to develop his romance with Detective Sergeant Claire Reynolds.
His determination to mix a busy TV reporter's life with the world of fiction appears to be paying off for Simon. Let's hope the Breen/Groves partnership continues for many more books to come.
