Death In The Closet (Edward Crisp Mysteries Book 3)

by Peter Boon

  We can reveal that he has come out to his entire team on a social media group chat, and has been overwhelmed by the support he has received from his teammates.

  Beaumont wants to be an inspiration as the first openly gay role model in English Premiership football and hopes that fans will embrace the news: ‘I’m a footballer first, but this is part of who I am, along with my race, and I hope that supporters and football fans will accept me for who I am.’

  Beaumont has the full support of his club. Jackie Luton, Beaumont’s agent, said: ‘I’ve spoken to the board at Beachy Head United, and they confirmed how proud they are of Beaumont. They want to pass on that he is a brave, brilliant young man and they are looking forward to his future with the club.’

  Beaumont himself added: ‘I want to thank my mum, family, friends and teammates for all the support I’ve received so far.

  ‘I want to dedicate this moment to two men who have really inspired me. Kieron Juniper: a great man and a great role model who I only wish I got to know more. He loved his club, his parents and his fiancée, Ellie, very much and none of us will be the same without him. I’m dedicating my first game this weekend to him.’

  ‘And Danny Higgins, a man who has really supported me in these last few days. He has made mistakes and he will share them with you in time. But please give him space until that time, and on his behalf, please don’t believe everything you read in the meantime.’

  The team here at Chalk Gap Observer would like to send our very best wishes to Beaumont and give him our full support.

  Comments

  What a legend *claps*

  I’m not crying, you’re crying.

  Now that’s how you do it. Classy guy. Lovely tribute to Juniper too.

  History made in our own little village. Get in Beaumont.

  I’m reading this story all the way in USA and I just want to say congratulations, my man. Way to go.

  That’s right Beaumont, you do you! A lesson for us all.

  Hope Higgins follows suit and doesn’t retire. They can help each other, you’ve got this boys.

  And only 18 too. Inspirational.

  ‘No big deal,’ how it should be. Hope anyone else who needs to comes forward.

  For all who came before him, who retired first or didn’t come out at all. He represents you too. You’re all brave in your own ways. Respect always.

  Author’s Note

  Before I get to my usual acknowledgments, I just want to say a little about this book, as it’s by far the most personal one so far.

  I’ve had the idea of writing about a gay footballer coming out for a long time; years ago I even started the project as a gay rom com! The fact that there is an entire multi-billion pound industry with hardly any gay men, certainly not in top flight English football anyway, has interested me for a long time.

  For the men who have come out (as mentioned in Noah’s research), the last social media post on Beaumont’s article, and therefore the last words of the novel, was actually me sneaking my own comment in there! Robbie, Thomas, Thomas, Liam, Justin (RIP), anyone else I may have missed, those openly gay in another sport, or those yet to make that step or choosing not to, you have my respect and love always.

  I’d also like to add a note about the player coming out being 25; this was the age that I came out (long story, I’ll save it for the autobiography!) so I deliberately chose that age, and was able to bring some of my own experiences into that.

  Luckily, in the 17 years since coming out I have been very lucky to have not really received any hatred or abuse, which I know isn’t true for the whole LGBT community; as I tried to show in some of the social media comments I added in this novel, we do have some work to do.

  You will also notice I gave this book’s dedication to my family. They were all so fantastic at the time (and have continued to be) and made the most difficult step to take as easy as possible. Thank you all for your love and support.

  Also a thank you to all the friends who helped me through that journey:you know who you are.

  Usual book-related thank yous on the next page, I just wanted to take the rare opportunity to thank the people who were a part of that time of my life. This book is for all of you!

  Acknowledgments

  My third novel! (And fourth book: thank you to everyone for accepting my novella The Mystery of Jackson King into your hearts as part of the Edward Crisp canon, it was totally unexpected, you treated it like it was a proper novel!)

  The last ten months as a published author have been more than I could ever have hoped for. I still pinch myself that my little mysteries have found themselves such lovely readers, and it has been an absolute pleasure interacting with lots of you on social media, as well as reading your kind reviews. Thank you to every single one of you who’s left a review, sent me a message, said kind words or recommended my books to someone. A special mention to Susan Wilson and Maggie Hall (my dear old teacher) who very kindly share pretty much everything I post!

  As mentioned on the previous page, this is one that’s very personal to me and I loved writing it. I hope you enjoyed it and found the balance right between the usual fun stuff and the more serious subject matter. I’d also be interested to know readers’ thoughts on the couple of different things I tried this time: the notes from the footballer, the newspaper articles, and the social media comments accompanying them. Would you like to see these kinds of things in future novels? Let me know on social media or at peter@peterboonauthor.com.

  This one wouldn’t have been what it was without my fantastic team.

  Thanks as ever to Marion and Ben, the amazing husband and wife team who are my first port of call for most author things.

  Next to my friend Charlie, who surpassed himself this time with some fantastic character names. You’re so much better at it than me (even if I didn’t go with Beachy Head Harriers in the end). Thank you, mate!

  Then, to my incredible proof reading team: Sue (Mum), Kerry, Hannah, Michelle, Lisa, Charlotte, Zoe, Lesley, Phillip, Donna and Sam. You are all amazing and I love chatting about my books with you (and getting your reactions in real time!).

  I also want to give a massive thank you to Samantha Brownley and all the admins and readers at UK Crime Book Club who have given me such fantastic support, and Donna Morfett at Donna’s Interviews Reviews and Giveaways. These two Facebook groups are such an amazing help to authors in finding readers, particularly newer or indie authors, and Sam, Donna et al have been amazing. I loved my interviews with both of you.

  I’ve mentioned my family already on the previous page, but thank you as ever for your love and support. And massive thanks to all my friends, old and new, north and south, for your friendship.

  Finally, Graeme, there aren’t enough words to thank you for all you do for me. Love always.

  Edward and Noah’s next adventure…

  Pre-order now: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B091J5CM8K