My novel couldn’t be more relevant. One of the strands, in my feminist crime thriller, is based on the manner in which Iran targets journalists and dissidents outside of Iran . https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c98wjzj4jlpo

My latest novel Reptiles will be launched at the end of September. I keep being surprised by just how up to date it is. The report out today vindicates a plot line relating to Iran.

A character, named Serena Shriver, in Reptiles, is linked to JD Vance  – so the quote below  is also relevant. The victim in Reptiles is a  feminist gynaecologist who sometimes carries out abortions. This interview echoes a scene in Reptiles. https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m002d87b

The victim’s mother is an Iranian feminist and Mark Turner  has produced this feature on targeted killings carried out by Iran. The ms was off to be copy edited and designed when the documentary was released. I let out a sigh of relief that I had got in right .

https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m002csb2/eye-investigations-iran-murder-for-hire?seriesId=unsliced&page=1

Mark is  a fellow member of a casual Oxford networking called First Tuesday.  You turn up if you can and want to meet some fellow film makers (such as Zoe Broughton and Richard Scrace), journalists (local and national) and freelance writers (like me) on the First Tuesday of each month. If you are one of the above or a photographer, cartoonist or anything media related, and would like to join us, let me know.

As well as in Kennington at the  on November 1, I’ll launch Reptiles at the Oxford Indie Book Fair in the University Examination Schools on Sunday November 23. (The iconic building is not usually open to the public and our event is free and everyone of all ages and backgrounds feel welcome (See pic of last year’s exhibitors)

In Reptiles and Current of Death , my village goes under the name of Thames Reach. The main local characters are the same as in Current of Death  but Reptiles is darker.  Locals will understand from the cover that up to the minute local issues are involved too.  But no book of mine can be without light and humour. It ends on White Horse Hill which I always visit when I judge the writing at the Swire Art Prize, in Uffington, and hope to have a launch in the local pub The Fox and Hounds.

Endorsements for Reptiles

Well researched and insightful, this engrossing page-turner brings to life the front line of our culture wars across local, national and international contexts. Every page touches a nerve, every turn of the plot vibrates with contemporary angst and builds to a satisfying climax. The characters are intriguing: all are relatable and motivating – I loved sharing their struggles, and being inside the bonds that grew between them. Deeply sad, as an honest-to-God murder story is likely to be, Reptiles raises smiles along the way, and is ultimately up-lifting.

Steve Lunn, author of The Price of Dormice and We’re Not Getting Divorced.

Come for the many twists and turns of a murder mystery thriller – you’ll be swept along by the fast pace of the investigation. But expect much more from Reptiles than a cleverly constructed plot. Well-developed characters and webs of intrigue that are much of the moment will take you far beyond the confines of an apparently ordinary village on the edge of Oxford.

 

Paul Gamble, Oxfordshire-based writer and poet