Memories of redundancy which created a novel

[John Dean]

The idea for my DCI John Blizzard novel A Breach of Trust, published by the Book Folks, grew through my experiences as a newspaper journalist in the eighties and nineties.

During that time, I reported on many business closures, from mines to factories, shipyards to shops, and witnessed the devastating effect that they had on people and communities.

As a newspaper man I myself worked at several titles which went through rounds of job cutting and each time strong emotions were evoked in the staff.

Eventually it was my turn when the newspaper on which I worked closed down suddenly one Monday morning, making myself and my wife redundant (my wife for the second time).

The feeling of being surplus to requirements is a horrible one, as anyone who has been made redundant will tell you, and as a writer, I became fascinated by the powerful emotions that it can evoke in people.

When I was seeking an idea for a novel, I turned, as so often, to memory but memory which rings as true in today’s troubled economic times as ever it did.

In A Breach of Trust, the apparently accidental death of a wealthy businessman, and the lack of grief shown by his family, makes DCI John Blizzard suspicious. When the death turns out to be murder, Blizzard has all the mandate he needs to step up his investigation.

Previously, the closure of the businessman’s factory in a northern industrial city had put many people out of work. Nothing was ever proven, but suspicions of serious financial corruption were rife so when the owner is found dead in his home, Blizzard seizes the opportunity to dig deeper.

What he uncovers is a web of deceit and plenty of people with good reason to dislike the dead man. The question Blizzard must answer is are any of them motivated enough to kill?

As I wrote the novel, and whenever I got stuck, I drew on memory time and time again, recalling the strong emotions I had witnessed when redundancy loomed.

The book can be purchased on ebook at https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07FVXBQ1F/ref=sr_1_9?s=digital-text&am...

 

This article first appeared in the Crime Readers’ Association’s August newsletter