The Two O Clock Boy by Mark Hill @markhillwriter

 

One night changed their lives

Thirty years ago, the Longacre Children's Home stood on a London street where once-grand Victorian homes lay derelict. There its children lived in terror of Gordon Tallis, the home's manager.

Cries in the fire and smoke

Then Connor Laird arrived: a frighteningly intense boy who quickly became Tallis' favourite criminal helper. Soon after, destruction befell the Longacre, and the facts of that night have lain buried . . . until today.

A truth both must hide

Now, a mysterious figure, the Two O'Clock Boy, is killing all who grew up there, one by one. DI Ray Drake will do whatever it take to stop the murders - but he will go even further to cover up the truth.

Discover the gripping, twist-filled start to a fantastic new London-set crime thriller series starring morally corrupt DI Ray Drake - the perfect new addiction for fans of Luther.

The Two O Clock Boy by Mark Hill was published by Sphere / LittleBrown UK in ebook on 22 September 2016, and will be out in paperback next year. This is Mark HIll's debut novel and number one in his DI Drake series.

Tense, incredibly well written, surprising and very very clever; that's The Two O Clock Boy, the first novel from Mark Hill and what a cracker of a debut it is.

The story begins in 1986, aboard a small boat in the English Channel and the reader hears the thoughts of an unknown boy. Those thoughts are full of rage and anger, there's an underlying menace that chills, the words are perfect and the scene is set.

We are taken forwards to the present day, and back again to the 1980s all the way through this gripping and quite compelling story. Mark Hill introduces us to the police team who are investigating a series of gruesome and seemingly unrelated murders. DI Ray Drake is in charge; a mysterious, quite cold character. He's recently been widowed, he's struggling in his relationship with his daughter, and there's something about these murders that touch a nerve. Long buried memories are being uncovered every day and Drake is determined that his past will not be uncovered, even if that means the investigation is compromised.

Back in the 1980s, we meet the residents of the Longacre Children's Home and the staff who rule the institution with fear and abuse. It soon becomes clear that those names, from that long burnt-down house are somehow linked to the Two O Clock Boy murder case.

Mark Hill has written an explosive and carefully constructed crime story with a lead character who is flawed but intriguing. This is top-class, intelligent writing that makes the reader do some work too. Reading this story constantly throws up questions for the reader, it is impeccably timed and I certainly had no inkling of what was to be revealed during the final chapters.

The Two O Clock Boy is an excellent start to what I anticipate to be a very successful crime thriller series. I look forward to finding out more about Ray Drake, there's lots to learn about him and I really hope that Mark Hill will allow his readers to find out more about what makes the guy tick.

An excellent debut. Very impressive writing and highly recommended from me.

About Mark Hill ..... from www.markhillauthor.com

I've been a journalist and an award-winning music radio producer. I worked for about five minutes in PR.

But I write now, which is just as well, because I love writing. It's my dream job.

It's nice to see you here, thanks for coming, but you can also find me on social media.

I'm on Facebook right here. If you like The Two O'Clock Boy, if you're interested in keeping up to date with news, events and giveaways - everything Drake and Crowley, basically - then head to my author page and, you know, 'like' the page.

Or if Twitter's your thing then you can find me there, too, @markhillwriter. I tweet about all sorts: writing, books, movies, games, custard, otters, all the stuff you like. So give me a follow.

But wait, before you do any of that, make sure you buy my book.