Alan Jones' Website
BY PROXY
I began to write this book immediately after my first novel
A Half Remembered Song was published
In the two years since, I have striven to create a story that deals with a man seeking justice for a crime committed many years before against a member of his family, and challenges our views on his justification to take the place of the law.
DCI Frank Brice and his partner DS Joan Roberts are confronted by a case involving the shooting of Leamington builder James Shepherd. The fact that Brice knew the victim personally has an unsettling affect on him, while James Shepherd’s drug addiction and his philandering present a number of potential suspects. All of these seem to have personal alibis, and the possibility of a hire killing is not ruled out.
As their personal relationship develops, Brice and Robert discover a crucial piece of forensic evidence seems to suggest the wrong man might have died. As the story develops, we begin to get an insight into the identity of the killer and his raison d’etre. A critical piece of unexpected evidence turns the enquiry on its head, and ends on the bank of a nearby canal, with Brice talking down the killer.
I hope the story is both interesting and challenging and has all the usual elements of a thriller. The leading characters have intrigued me as I have written about them, and I hope the reader will find them three dimensional and believable.
