DS Regan Carter

I wrote this blog over the last two weeks and kept changing the details below to the point where it probably doesn’t make any sense now. Anyway, here it is.

I’ve literally had my head in a book for what seems like months – that’s the last of the three DS Regan Carter books. Today I finally straightened my back and looked up, and by Jimini, someone had changed the seasons!

When I peered out of my window and saw trees with little green flags all over them, and heard the zuzz of a random bee, I realised winter had actually packed its thermals and buggered off down south (but it’s not exactly warm out there, is it?).

The first records of creating this new series suggest I began making notes on 10^th March 2023. I’d already written the first part of the first chapter, the bit that got me fired up to grow a book from (you can see the first three paragraphs of the first chapter of the first book in the latest newsletter – out today! [last week!]). I’m writing this to you now 6^th June 2024 [12^th June], and I’ve just put the finishing touches to the last draft of the last book. It’s taken 15 months to create a trilogy of some 260-thousand words. Add to that a lengthy bout of Long-Covid, other illness issues, and a computer that blew up and lost a precious chapter of new work, and perhaps it’s not such a bad result after all.

Do you want to know what it’s about?

Okay, if you’re sure.

Regan Carter manuscript being edited

It’s not about a CSI or SOCO; it’s about a police officer. She’s a Detective Sergeant in South Leeds CID. Through no fault of her own, she’s transferred away from her comfy office and her comfy team who deal with street robberies, assaults, and ram-raids, and thrown into the major crime world handled by, strangely enough, the Major Crime Unit. Their bread-and-butter cases feature dead bodies, and Regan’s biggest hate is… dead bodies, so this was a punishment transfer.

This new position is much more volatile than her previous role. Within the first week one of her team is hospitalised after running into a freshly released criminal. And this is the very beginning of a trilogy where Regan fights her colleagues and fights the very nasty criminals who form one of Leeds’s most violent OCGs. Most importantly, she fights herself, growing from wimp to… well, I’ll let you decide.

Coppers don’t clock off and then go home to watch Coronation Street, forgetting all about their day and the people they’re chasing. Well, some do, I suppose, but not Regan Carter. For her, this story is incredibly personal, and it’s made so by the people she’s chasing. They take this new level of scrutiny to heart, and they don’t really appreciate it.

Without giving away too much, this becomes a fight between Regan, the members of the OCG and the top men there, too. And before you think it’ll be easy, and Regan will win hands down, nothing in this life is easy for her, and as for winning… well, that depends on your definition of the word.

While each book has its own story, they are all part of the overall story contained in the trilogy. Don’t make the mistake of reading them out of order because you won’t be able to follow the plot if you do that. I intend releasing the books over a three-month period in 2024 so you won’t have long to wait between episodes – dates to be confirmed. The DS Regan Carter trilogy is not a police procedural, it’s more of a crime thriller, but as I said above, it’s a very personal story where we see what makes her tick and what makes her lose her temper.

I really hope you enjoy spending some time with Regan Carter. I’ve certainly enjoyed my time with her, and I think I’ve found a new friend in her.

I haven’t yet settled on titles for the books. If you’re subscribed to my newsletter, you’ll get to help me choose – there’s a poll in it, and your choice will help me decide. If you don’t have a copy of the newsletter to hand, here’s a link, and if you’d prefer to know the choices and then email me, I’d be delighted to hear your thoughts:

1. The Long Scream
2. The Long Drop
3. A Random Killing

CSI Eddie Collins t-shirt and mug

And lastly for today is just something I hope will whet your appetite. I’m thinking about getting some merchandise produced. The reactions so far have been phenomenal, and I hope you’ll let me know if you’d be interested in something along these lines.