Reader's Freebies 6 - DEATH OF A TEMPTRESS by P. F. Ford
For the next in our Reader's Freebies blog, I've chosen Death of a Temptress by P. F. Ford, free on Kindle.
This book is the first in Peter Ford's police procedural series, featuring Detective Sergeants Dave Slater and Norman Norman. (Yes, his name’s really Norman Norman – these things happen!)
DS Dave Slater is unofficially suspended pending investigation, thanks to a fiasco of bad luck and poor planning, although the blame really belongs to senior officers from the Serious Crimes Unit (SCU.) His boss calls him back to take on an investigation nobody else wants. A missing woman, Ruth, was written off as a runaway by the Met, but Ruth's sister has connections in high places, and she insists that the local small-town police must resume the search.
Dave is assigned to work with newly-arrived DS Norman, who's overweight, in need of ironing and has a reputation of only being useful for menial tasks. Dave discovers that Norman is also a victim of the SCU's genius for shifting the responsibility for their own mistakes.
As the case progresses, Dave and Norman uncover a mass of confusing information, with more questions than answers. Were the original investigators incompetent, or is there a massive cover-up? Why is seductive up-and-coming barrister Jenny involved in the case and what is she hiding? Does Ruth's reeking-of-money sister Beverly really care so much for her sibling, and if not, why has she reopened the case? Who is desperate to stop the investigation—desperate enough to try to push Dave under a bus? And most important, who is the real Ruth—the dowdy young woman portrayed in Beverly's photograph, or the glamorous and classy lady known as Ruby?
When Ruth's body surfaces in a river six months after she disappeared, it shows no sign of decay. The mystery deepens into a tangled web of blackmail, cheating spouses and high-class call girls. If Dave and Norman can successfully sleuth their way through the maze, they stand a chance of regaining their reputations and paying off a few old scores.
Peter Ford has aimed for a mixture of cozy mystery and police procedural, and it works well. He has a light touch, and the sprinkling of humour makes for an entertaining and enjoyable read. The police background feels authentic, and his characters are interesting and three-dimensional. By the end of the book, Dave and Norman felt like friends I'd known for years. Minor characters such as the saintly Tony, the inscrutable Mr Chan and genteel yet friendly Lucinda, who runs an escort agency, kept me fascinated.
This book will appeal to readers who like their mysteries full of unexpected plot twists, their characters and setting realistic, and who above all like to be entertained.
Peter Ford kindly agreed to be interviewed for this blog.
Have you always wanted to write? What got you started?
I've always been fairly good at expressing my ideas on paper, but it never occurred to me that I would actually be able to make a living from it, and I was always told you had to be special to do that. I did send a story to several publishers many years ago, but it was rejected, prompting more assurances from those around me that you really did have to be special.
It was not long after this that events in my life drained my self-esteem and confidence and I took a very long 15 year slide into debt and depression until, at the age of 53 I realised I was quite worthless and had to choose between ending my life or changing it. I chose to change it by walking away from all the things that made me unhappy, paying off my debts and starting again with nothing.
A year later, in 2008 I met a lady called Mary, and for the first time in many years I began to feel a little self-belief. Five years later I wrote the first couple of chapters of a story called 'An Unlikely Hero'. Mary thought it was wonderful and encouraged me to write more. This became the first in a five novella series. During one of the stories in this series I needed to create a police officer, and that was when Detective Sergeant Dave Slater was born.
I plucked up the courage to publish the novellas on Amazon's Kindle platform, and to my great surprise they sold a few copies! This gave me the encouragement to try my had at writing a novel, and Death Of A Temptress was published for Kindle in August 2014, just a couple of weeks before Mary and I got married.
Sounds like you really hit rock bottom - and bounced back to make a good life. If you were asked to give one piece of advice to someone who's at that rocky bottom, what would it be?
If I had to give advice to someone I would say ‘never stop believing, and never stop trying!’
Do you think you'll ever publish that first novel the publishers rejected? Or was it, in your opinion, really not good enough - they say most first novels are bad! (My first one was terrible.)
The first attempt at a novel was dire! Absolute rubbish.
Ha ha. I'm glad I'm not the only one whose first novel rightly ended in the rubbish bin. When you invented Dave Slater for the novella, did you at the time feel he was worth doing more with? Was he fun to write from the beginning?
Dave Slater first appeared because I needed a policeman. There was no planning, and no thought of ever
using him again, but then in the next novella I needed him, and that’s when I thought it might be fun to see if I could take him a bit further.
Are you a full-time author? What work did you do before that?
Many years ago, I had what was supposedly a 'good job' in sales management, but the constant nagging from above for more and more sales drove me to quit. My life was already in free-fall by then, and I drifted along doing a bit here and a bit there trying (and failing) to make ends meet. Now, I am fortunate enough to be able to call myself a full-time author. I've never made any best-seller lists, and I don't make mega-bucks, but I make a good living, and hope to be able to buy our house in the next two or three years. I think that's not bad for a guy who considered himself a waste of space ten years ago.
The characters in your books are believable and well-rounded. Do you have a process for inventing and developing characters?
I don’t really have a process. I picture my stories in my head rather like watching a TV show so I just describe what I see. The only rule I had when I created Slater was that I wanted him to be more like a normal guy than the usual mentally tortured detective with a head full of dark secrets. Yes, Slater does have a chip on his shoulder, but he’s not a closet psycho like so many fictional detectives.
You certainly succeeded in making Slater a normal guy, and that makes for an enjoyable read. Does he feel real to you? Do you find yourself sometimes seeing life through Slater's eyes?
Dave Slater is a bit like a friend (after all, he’s been very good to me). I’m not sure if I see the world through his eyes, or he sees it through mine - probably a bit of both! (Last summer I built a log cabin at the bottom of my garden where I go when I want to write undisturbed. It’s got a nameplate like a house. It’s called Slater’s Lodge.)
The Dave Slater series has a strong police background. Do you yourself have a background in police work, or do you have friends who do? How do you go about the research needed to keep this authentic?
No, I have no police background, nor do I have friends in the police, but I am addicted to detective series on TV (especially the British ones), and there are plenty of online resources, books etc. Even so, there are times when I don’t follow correct procedure, but I write fiction, not fact, so if it helps the story, and it’s not outrageously out of order I don’t lose sleep over it.
What's your favourite TV crime series?
I don’t have a particular favourite TV series, but I love Lewis, Morse, Vera, A Touch Of Frost, Line of Duty, Dalziel and Pascoe, Endeavour, Midsomer Murders, Death In Paradise… you name it, I probably enjoy it!
Do you keep up with real-life crime to find inspiration for your plots, or are they purely from your own imagination?
If I’m watching a TV show, reading a book, or watching the news, and I find something that I think would make an interesting storyline, or add a twist to a storyline, I make a note of it for future use. But my golden rule is always ‘how can I adapt this idea to my story’, not just copy ideas as is.
What are your best sources for research?
There are one or two specific UK police and forensic sites I use, but otherwise I start with a Google search and then check out a minimum of three sources to get a consensus.
What's the weirdest thing you've looked up for your novels?
The murder method in Death of a Temptress was pretty weird!
Your books include the Dave Slater police procedurals, the Alfie Bowman series, and some non-fiction titles. Do they all have the same light-hearted, easy-to-read approach?
When I sat down to write the very first Alfie Bowman story I tried to write as I speak, with no particular style in mind. What I ended up with was very much my own voice, and a lot of people seem to enjoy the fact that it’s a bit different. I don’t believe every detective novel has to be embellished with extra blood, guts and ‘f’ words to be authentic.
Who's your favourite character in your books and why?
I owe a lot to Dave Slater and Norman Norman, but my heart belongs to Alfie Bowman. Alfie proved to me that I could write, and he sees the world very much as I do. I think he’s a cross between who I am, and who I would have liked to be.
Do you have plans for other books outside the series?
I have several different projects I would like to develop further, one of which is a series, and another that could easily become a series. I also plan to go back to the Alfie Bowman novellas and turn them into novels.
Could you tell me a little about your most-recently published book?
My last book, published in January, was book nine in the Dave Slater series. No longer working as police officers, Slater and Norman are asked to look into the apparent death by natural causes of a seemingly innocent elderly man. But if he’s so innocent, how come he officially didn’t exist until five years ago?
Sounds intriguing. What are you working on now? Will we see more Dave Slater books?
Having finished the last book I’ve allowed myself a couple of weeks off to get my garden straight, and I’m now trying to get to grips with dictation software so I can increase my writing speed and spend less time sitting down!
There will be more Dave Slater books, but I also have several other projects I would like to spend some time on. Then there’s dear old Alfie Bowman; his novella series needs further attention.
You've chosen to self-publish your books. Was this a good choice?
It seems publishers are only interested in celebrities with a huge following and therefore guaranteed sales, so self-publishing was the only choice. Three years on I can say I’m glad I didn’t have a choice. I get to choose where I sell my books, and how much I sell them for. I also get to decide what marketing I do and where I do it. I am as near to having complete control as it’s possible to get. I wouldn’t want it any other way.
Did you find it hard to get your books known and sought-after?
As an unknown, it’s very hard to get traction unless you’re exceptionally talented or very lucky. I was lucky enough to write mysteries that were a little different and slowly started to pick up fans who wanted more of the same. Even so, it wasn’t until I released the fifth book in the series that I felt I could make a living out of my writing.
Thanks for your time. It’s been great chatting to you. I’m off to read the next in series!
If you enjoy P. F. Ford's work, also be sure to check out the latest issue of Reader's Abode. You can sign up to our mailing list to receive the full collection for free, which includes fiction and poetry by Eddie Cantrell, Barbara Russell, Alice S. Hill, Alison McBain and Carly Marino.
Please join us in two weeks' time for a continuation of the Reader's Freebies series with a look at ten of our favourite free flash fiction magazines.
