Good For The Soul is an acerbic, heartrending and laugh-out-loud satirical rollercoaster. It rips chunks out of politicians and oligarchs, spits them onto the ground, then grinds them into a mush, before wiping its feet on the doormat and heading inside for a cup of tea.
Six months after assisting the UK’s missing prime minister and avoiding two assassination attempts on the same day, Simon Pope is on holiday with friends, trying to cheer up a man who finds retirement depressing. But Pope also has a secret mission, which requires him to remain unobtrusive. He must assess whether specific individuals in the small Irish town of Clonbrinny are in mortal danger from a criminal overlord.
Failing miserably to maintain the desired low profile, Pope and his group become embroiled in events outside their control and discover all is not as it seems.
Perceptions dissolve, revealing a far more dangerous reality.
Meanwhile, former prime minister Andrew Blackwell’s self-imposed media silence has made him more popular than ever. His Path Finder philosophy generates global intrigue and excitement, despite nobody knowing what it is – including him.
When a secret conference on Ireland’s west coast goes badly wrong, Blackwell must evade a media manhunt and return to London, relying on old friends and new acquaintances for help.
Subsequent events and a meeting of minds raise the tantalising prospect of an unlikely collaboration, creating the foundation of a movement that could transform the world.
Good For The Soul is the second book in the Path Finder series and follows on from the award-winning Paths Not Yet Taken.
Good For The Soul by Philip Rennett was published on 25 April 2025 by Pea Arr Books. As part of this #RandomThingsTours Blog Tour, I am delighted to offer one copy of the book as a prize. Entry is simple; just fill out the competition widget in the blog post. UK entries only please.
One copy of Good For The Soul by Philip Rennett
Philip Rennett’s writing career started in 1970, at the age of eleven.
“I found my mum crying with worry about how we were going to pay the bills. She thought we were going to lose our home,” he says. “I noticed that some comics published letters and offered prizes for the star ones, so I started writing.”
Phil’s first letter won a star prize in The Victor. “I thought it would be some money,” he laughs, “I won a table tennis set.”
Undaunted, he did more research in the newsagents, wrote to the football magazine Shoot and won a £2 postal order, which he gave to his mother. She gave him a big hug, then put the money in his savings account.
“I realised I could make money doing what I enjoyed. I spent my entire working life writing, firstly for my employers and then for clients,” he says.
His career started as a public relations officer for a police force in the Middle East. Experiences included crash-landing in a plane whose pilots forgot to lower the undercarriage; flying in another plane with a dead body knocking against his leg; and gate-crashing a reception at the Sultan's palace where he bumped into the UK prime minister and the Sultan.
In an unrelated incident, he spent a couple of uncomfortable minutes sitting in his Volkswagen Beetle while three very angry soldiers pointed guns at his head through the open driver’s window.
Opting for a quieter life, he returned to the UK and worked in newspaper advertising before starting his own public relations consultancy, which he ran for thirty years.
After decades of news releases, case studies, articles, advertisements, websites, award entries, major bids, mail shots and newsletters, he started writing for himself when he retired in 2020.
His first novel – Paths Not Yet Taken – was published in April 2024.
A keen if mediocre sportsman, he took up golf after his right knee decided it didn't want to take part in more physical sports any longer. Missing the thrills of his early working life, he also goes storm chasing occasionally in Tornado Alley.
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