Warwick author's debut novel is a crime thriller some 50 years in the making

Paul A Cooper has published his first novel The Hillingdon Files.

A Warwick author's debut novel is a crime thriller which is some 50 years in the making.

Paul A Cooper, who also lived in Kenilworth for most of his life having been born in Solihull in 1952, had dabbled with writing in his late 20s before the days of computers, spell check and him being the father of five children but after filling about thirty handwritten foolscap pages, the project was abandoned, never to see the light of day again.

Approaching retirement and with more spare time on his hands, Paul took up writing again as a hobby and has now released The Hillingdon Files, the story of DCI Greg Richards who finds himself at the hands of a money laundering syndicate which has kidnapped his partner and her sister because of their knowledge of a not-so-well-hidden computer file which can expose a multi-billion-dollar scam.

Aided by the girls’ cousin, Richards embarks on a torturous journey to track the women down.

The evidence takes the men to Latvia, where they have managed to pinpoint the women’s location.

The trouble is that the Eastern European drug runners who are holding them aren't the types to just let them walk away.

Paul said: " This is my first book, and I can honestly say it came from nowhere.

"Its initial title was the Tithe Cottage and was the starting point for an adventure for me that I had no idea about direction, storyline, or conclusion.

"The Tithe was based loosely on one in Graffton Flyford, Worcestershire.

"Honeysuckle cottage belonged to a great great Aunt of mine that I don’t believe I ever met, but where my parents spent their honeymoon.

"The story as it is today grew page by page, character by character, and I was as excited to see each chapter develop into a proper novel, as if I were reading it for the first time.

"Most of the places visited are real and I have tried to stick to as truer representation of them as possible, but with some embellishments to help with the story line.

"I have no idea why the base for the story is in Bournemouth, I’ve been there a number of times and visited Poole and surrounding districts and I can only assume it has struck a chord somewhere in my subconscious.

"But I have enjoyed exploring it, and the many other places, through the magic of Google.

"This story will continue, and at the time of writing is called ‘The Follow on’, doubtless this will change into something, with any luck, a little more inspiring."

The Hillingdon Files is available on-line from Amazon, World of Books, eBay and many other platforms.