Dark Angel by P.J Nash #BlogBlitz #GuestPost

Today on Dark Angel blog blitz I am delighted to share a fab guest post by the author himself....I hope you enjoy it

Warning May Contain ‘Spoilers’

The Good Guys and the Bad Guys (and the Good Girls and the Bad Girls)

It’s important to have characters that have three dimensions. Crime fiction fans groan every time another middle-aged divorced Detective with a booze problem staggers onto to the page. I’m not saying if it’s done well it’s not good. I love Rankin’s boozy, fag frazzled John Rebus. But Rebus has another dimension – his silent partner the historic, beautiful feme fatale that is Edinburgh. The other ingredient that Rankin has, that’s essential to romping  good crime read is a ‘good’ baddie. Hence Big ‘Ger’ Cafferty. It’s characters like these that most interest me. The milieu where the cops cross the line to talk to characters from the ‘dark’ side to help prevent a worse crime, compromising their morality but for the greater good. The shades of grey that all individuals especially police officers inhabit.

Lawrence James my main protagonist definitely likes a drink, smoke and opposite sex. He’s definitely worse for wear when he meets Dr Jessie Sandersen. The good Dr was originally going to be a minor character but during the writing process she crept up by degrees to become more important. However, I obviously hadn’t done that great a job as many bloggers/reviewers have suggested Sandersen is a bit of a stock ‘Sidekick Chick’ character. Well Mea Culpa they have spoken, and I have listened. I’m not really sure I’ve done a much better job with ‘Dark Angel’ but in my defence I had finished the manuscript before ‘The Hunt for the Dingo’.  I will endeavour to ensure the good Dr Jessie Sandersen gets more book time and developed a bit more. Maybe a spinoff book of her own beckons?

There’s no gender imbalance on the baddie’s side – Alison Havilland – the daughter of ‘The Dingo’ is pretty busy. And so is the female killer of Stag party Brits in Dark Angel. Rather than getting some out of the box female killers, I wanted to explore the idea of the killers as being victims too. In both their cases they are victims of sexual abuse. This is the ‘trigger’ for their actions. I hope I’ve at least had a decent go. Obviously, it’s a bit of a tight rope for the crime writer to touch on interesting issues whilst trying to write an entertaining and gripping read.

Cyrus Bain is simply great at being bad. I just can’t bring myself to kill him off. I’d love to say that I’d created him purely from the genius of my own creative genius, But Melbourne’s Moriarty is a composite of many baddies I’ve read about. Namely two Irish gangsters – Martin Cahill aka ‘The General and Gerry ‘The Monk’ Hutch. Both were serious gangland players who made piles of cash but eschewed the materialism and showiness normally associates with major underworld players. While Cyrus Bain likes a good Cuban cigar and a glass of Remy Martin, he doesn’t bother with the flash cars or faster women. He’s actually more into good architectural design and Koi carp.




The Book

When a commuter discovers a mutilated corpse on the Prague Metro, Captain  Jiri Hofschnadir  of the Criminal Police is called in to investigate.

Meanwhile, in Hong Kong, newly-weds ex British cop Lawrence James and forensic psychologist, Jessie Sandersen are on honeymoon after their frantic efforts to capture the Australian serial killer known as The Dingo.

But wherever James and Sandersen go, trouble is never far behind.

As the body count rises in Prague, Sandersen is called in to help track down the serial killer dubbed The Dark Angel.

In a game of cat and mouse, James and Sandersen will be pushed to their very limits.

But can they catch The Dark Angel before it’s too late?

Author Bio:


P.J Nash was born in Nuneaton, Warwickshire, the birthplace of George Eliot and Shakespeare, respectively. Not surprisingly he decided he’d like to be a writer too.

After studying history and working in PR for a few years, he was running a second hand bookshop, when wanderlust and destiny in the form of his future wife took him to Prague.

During his time behind the counter in the shop and travelling on trams between English lessons he wrote his first crime novel, The Hunt for the Dingo featuring maverick British expat cop , Lawrence James and and his hunt for a serial killer in Australia. On his return to the UK, he drew on his Bohemian adventures to write his second crime novel featuring Lawrence James and his co-investigator, Dr Jessie Sandersen.  He currently lives on a narrowboat with his wife Clare and grumpy cat, Lulu.

In his past life P.J. Nash was a Special Constable for the Warkwickshire police.

Nash is also a member of the CWA and International Thriller Writers.

Links:

www.facebook.com/pjnash.501

Twitter: @PJNash2