The Scribbler
Page 33
This is the first of a series of Gayther & Carrie books. As well as Gayther and Carrie, working on LGBTQ+ cold cases, I have introduced two fast-tracked detective constables, Glyn Thomas and Lou Cotton; a gay couple who are new to the force. They take a back seat in The Scribbler but will come to the fore in the next book. Gayther and Carrie and Thomas and Cotton will be back sometime soon in The Key Man.
Iain
March 2020
AUTHOR’S ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I’d like to thank …
Saraband for publishing The Scribbler – it’s been another wonderful experience.
Sara, my third book with you – here’s to more!
Tony Conry for reading the MS to make sure the psychodynamics of The Scribbler and other characters were as accurate as possible. You made a big difference, Tony. Thank you.
Neil Boast MBE for reading the MS from a police perspective to ensure procedures matched the realities of what would actually happen. I could not have asked for more, Neil. Thank you.
A quick thank you, too, to Jules at Woodbridge Emporium for introducing me to Neil.
My other MS readers who helped to check and double-check facts and figures. Any errors to be found, artistic licence aside, are mine and mine alone.
Ali Moore for copy-editing the MS and helping me turn it into the best book we could. I could not ask for a better copy-editor.
Rosie Hilton for a forensic proof-read and for giving me a heads-up on one or two LGBTQ+ issues. And another sensitivity reader: you know who you are.
Ken Leeder – a brilliant cover again!
My fab, possibly long-suffering, agent Clare who not only guides me and sorts out all the contractual stuff but also steps in when needed to stop me doing anything ‘dramatic’.
Georgia, Glyn and Sophie – my children’s partners – for letting me use the names Carrie, Thomas and Cotton for my main characters.
Tracey, Michael, Sophie and Adam, my family. You are always in everything I do.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Iain Maitland is the author of two previous thrillers, Mr Todd’s Reckoning (2019, optioned for television) and Sweet William (2017), both published by Contraband, the crime, thriller and dystopia imprint of Saraband. He is also the author of Dear Michael, Love Dad (Hodder, 2016), a book of letters written to his son who suffered from depression and anorexia, and writer of the script of its television adaptation; and co-author (with his son) of Out of the Madhouse: An Insider’s Guide to Managing Depression and Anxiety (Jessica Kingsley, 2018). Iain is an ambassador for Stem4, the teenage mental health charity, and talks regularly about mental health issues. A writer since 1987, as a journalist he has contributed to the Sunday Times, Financial Times and Guardian as well as writing many books on management and business.
A father desperate to be with his young son escapes from a secure psychiatric hospital, knowing he has just one chance for the two of them to start a new life together. His goal is to snatch the three-year-old – a diabetic who needs insulin to stay alive – and run away to France … but first he must find the boy, evade his foster family and stay well clear of the police, already in pursuit.
A real page-turner cut through with pitch-black humour, Sweet William zeroes in on a potent mix: mental illness, a foster family under pressure, and an aggrieved father separated from his precious child. The result is a breathtakingly dark thriller that spans forty-eight hours in the life of a desperate father and a three-year-old child in peril. Brilliant and terrifying, this is a debut novel that will stay with its readers long after they finish turning the pages.
“Extremely well written and very frightening.” Barbara Nadel
“A breathless journey through fear and love that explores how interdependent those two extreme emotions are.” Ewan Morrison
Behind the door of a normal house, in a normal street, two men are slowly driving each other insane. One of them is a psychopath.
the father…
Mr Todd is at his wits’ end. He’s been robbed of his job as a tax inspector and is now stuck at home… with him. Frustrated. Lonely. Angry. Really angry.
the son…
Adrian has no job, no friends. He’s at home all day, obsessively chopping vegetables and tap-tap-tapping on his computer. And he’s getting worse, disappearing for hours at a time, sneaking off to who-knows-where?
the unholy spirit…
In the safety of suburbia, one man has developed a taste for killing. And he’ll kill again.
“Truly scary … a fantastic book.” Barbara Nadel
“Phenomenally dark and utterly compelling.” Chris Dolan
Also by Iain Maitland:
Mr Todd’s Reckoning
Sweet William
Out of the Madhouse (with Michael Maitland)
Dear Michael, Love Dad
Copyright
Contraband is an imprint of Saraband
Published by Saraband
Digital World Centre
1 Lowry Plaza, The Quays
Salford, M50 3UB
www.saraband.net
Copyright © Iain Maitland 2020
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without first obtaining the written permission of the copyright owner.
ISBN: 9781912235803
ebook: 9781912235810
Printed and bound in Great Britain by Clays Ltd, Elcograf S.p.A.
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This is a work of fiction.
All characters are a product of the author’s imagination.