The First Oscar Tremont Novel

It has been a long time coming, I know, and it isn't here yet, but I can finally announce that the first novel featuring Oscar Tremont, Investigator of the Strange and Inexplicable, will be released on my 45th birthday; the 30th of January, 2026. I'd like to thank you so much for your patience, but also for asking repeatedly when this book would be ready, because that eagerness has kept me chipping away at it.

Writing a mystery novel takes time, especially when it's a fair-play mystery, or whodunit, because it's not enough for the plot to be intriguing, the atmosphere evocative, and the characters engaging. Every detail connected to the puzzle needs to be spot on. The means and motive need to be solid but subtle. The foreshadowing has to be done just right in order to ensure that kick-yourself moment for the reader who doesn't work out who the culprit is before the hero reveals all. The clues and red herrings have to be planted carefully so the reader is kept on his toes chapter after chapter, and twist after turn.

I've finally put the last piece of the puzzle into place, and the result is a chilling murder mystery unlike any you've ever dared read before. Your wits will be put to the test against the Reaper himself!

DEAD ON THE DOLMEN will have you wondering whether the Ankou really is riding forth across the land of magic and mystery that is Brittany. Of course, once Oscar Tremont cracks the case, reason will reign once more...but in the meantime, your imagination will be free to roam, and the reaping will go on unhindered!

Keep an eye on this blog over the coming months for more news, including the cover reveal.

 

Fire at will!

FLICKER is free to download for Kindle today (Sunday, June 1st) only. Grab your ebook copy, enjoy, and leave a review. 

In a broken world, lighting a match is an act of rebellion...

This is the story of Flicker, a pyromaniac whose only escape from the emptiness and oppression of life in a post-apocalyptic world is to set fire to luxury automobiles. Armed with a hammer and jerry can, he wages a one-man war against the Overclass, partisans of the failing regime struggling to hold the reins since The Breakdown decades earlier. He can’t remember his family, and his friends have disappeared without a trace. His only companion is fire, that mesmerising force of glorious destruction. It alone gives meaning to his existence...but one night, he goes too far and unwittingly chooses a target best left alone. As tracker drones swarm, he finds himself running for his life, and a chance encounter with a kindred spirit changes his fate. Together, they flee the city, venturing beyond the ring road for the first time, and hope to find safety and the chance to build a life for themselves in the country. New challenges will arise, and new questions will beg to be answered. Where did everyone go? Who has left messages written on the walls of abandoned buildings? And the most terrible question of all: What is happening at the regime’s dreaded seaside resort, The Esplanade?

Best Wishes for 2025

I'd like to wish all my faithful fans and all the potential readers out there the very best for 2025. If you haven't yet read my three novels and three collections, this is the year to do it. You'll find puzzles to solve, post-apocalyptic wastelands to navigate, strange neighbours who'll have you checking the doors and windows are locked, a mysterious postman terrorising a country town, tunnel runners living beneath your street, a homicidal botanist and so much more! Read, review, and tell your friends about my books. Happy 2025 and stay tuned for new stories this year!  

 

A Ghostly Glimpse

My latest short story to be published is "Open Book" in The Black Beacon Book of Ghosts. Always a believer of "try before you buy", here's a ghostly glimpse of my tale...

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Like most professional genealogists, it started with an interest in my own family tree that soon grew to the point of obsession. It sinks its teeth in, you see. The not knowing gnaws at you night and day, and with every discovery, a new mystery arises, casting a shadow of doubt upon the discovery, so that it becomes a greater mystery than it was in the first place. It’s frustrating but fascinating at the same time. Once hooked, there’s no turning back.

My name is Thomas Alasdair Douglas, or Tommy Dee for short. Not that my name particularly matters, because this strange story—oh, and that it is—has nothing to do with my family tree. What you are about to read happened while I was working on the genealogy of one Erwan Josso. I wouldn’t have believed a word of it either if it hadn’t happened to me.

It started in Edinburgh, as unoriginal as that may be for a ghost story—but that can’t be helped. Although I reckon myself a man of the world, the Scottish capital is my home, and I’ll argue until there isn’t a drop of single malt left in the bottle that it’s the finest city in the world, and the most haunted to boot. That said, while the story you’re about to read started in Edinburgh, it soon took me elsewhere—to another land renowned for its legends of enchanted and haunted sites. You see, I was back home visiting family and friends, and doing a spot of research, after a long stint working in the genealogist’s El Dorado—the U.S. of A. I met up with a few friends over a pint one Friday night and a Breton exchange student from university days happened to be in town. Naturally enough, we got to reminiscing about the old days—if a tad over a decade ago can be considered thus. He knew I’d always been interested in family history, but he was surprised to learn I was now earning a crust as a genealogist. He thought that was “so cool”, and you’ll perhaps not be surprised to learn that it’s not the usual reaction I get when I make that particular confession. Likewise, knowing Erwan Josso came from a Breton family of some standing, I must admit I thought it was pretty cool when he invited me to stay with him in the Breton manor his recently departed paternal grandmother had inhabited.

‘You see, I need your help,’ he went on before thoughtfully sipping at his porter, and I think trying to find the right words in English. ‘There’s a mystery surrounding my great-grandmother. My brother and sister are not particularly interested in family history. Our parents even less so.’ Again the slow sip. ‘I am, however. I didn’t want to—euh, I forget the expression—while my grandparents were alive.’ A long pause, and I think he was waiting for me to find the missing expression.

‘You didn’t want to stir up a hornets’ nest?’ I offered.

Random Stairs

I've been reading Matthew Tait's work for years now, and I've watched him grow as a writer, as he takes his fiction to deeper and ever stranger places. When he asked me to write a few words of praise about Deception Pass, I didn't hesitate for a second, and when he got in touch again with Random Stairs, I stepped forward. Today, in thanks (absolutely unnecessary but so greatly appreciated) I received a print copy of Random Stairs and I can't wait to see where it leads me this time. If you haven't discovered Tait, you're missing out on a unique imagination. Don't wait - just take that first step and make your way up... or is it down? 

Buy Random Stairs here.

Read my praise here.