British
author Luke Johnson (a penname of Keith Jahans) formed Peatmore Press as
an on-line magazine in 1996 to publish and promote his writing. In 2008
he left his microbiology job at Defra’s Veterinary Laboratories Agency
and established Peatmore Press as a Limited Company the following year.
He has published several books - novels and non-fiction – and VICTIM OF
COMPROMISE introduces his fiction to the ebook readers in the US. He
lives in Woking, England.
Luke understands the impact that initiating a thriller with a
description of a dastardly deed creates in the reader’s perception. Thus
he open page on with - ‘The naked body of a young woman lay face down on
the double bed like a discarded doll, a toweling cord wrapped tightly
around her neck. "Dressing gown cord," explained Donovan. "The 'otel
supplies gowns for their guests. The room's been checked and
photographed. Mr. Wallace said everything should be left as it was found
till you arrived. The doctor's been and gone, and Forensic are waiting
to move in when you've finished." Ray had no idea why he had been
summoned. He had only received news of his promotion a month ago and was
due to take up his new post in the Serious Crime Squad in two weeks. The
previous night he'd been out with the lads from the Flying Squad
celebrating his promotion. The evening had started well, then some
bastard had put something in his drink. Now his head was pounding and
his tongue felt like an old dishrag. He had no track record of leading a
murder inquiry. However, investigating a suspicious death was part and
parcel of police work, and he'd seen far too many corpses in his career
- more than he cared to remember. At least this one was relatively fresh
and thankfully there was no blood. "When was she found?" he asked "About
nine o'clock this morning, by the cleaning maid."
And so we are off and running on a crime thriller . The synopsis
provides an adequate outline for the story – ‘A killer at large – and
for the victim there is no escape. It is 1995 and southern England is
sweltering in a heat wave. Before he can take up his post in the Serious
Crime Squad as a newly promoted Detective Chief Inspector, Ray King is
summoned to investigate a murder. The victim is a young woman who is a
private detective and former police officer in a suburban town where the
local dignitaries have something to hide. The body count rises and, when
it appears the case has been resolved, the killings begin again. The
novel is a fast-moving account of crime and sexual entanglement that
ensnares detectives and suspects in a web of deception.’
Luke Johnson keeps pace with the development of the crime story with a
fine balance between events and perception of events as well as the
effect the crime has on both the immediate collection of investigators
and the progression of the sordid events that follow. Think Alfred
Hitchcock. Solid writing here.