Authors Spotlight: Colin Garrow

Death on a Dirty Afternoon by Colin Garrow

When taxi driver Frank is found dead on his dining room table, ex-cabbie Terry Bell assumes his old friend died of a heart attack. But when Terry’s former boss also turns up with his face bashed in, it starts to look like there’s a connection.

Faced with a Detective Inspector who doesn’t like coincidences, and a series of threatening letters, Terry does a bit of investigating of his own, but when another body is discovered, the temperature starts to rise – in more ways than one.

Death on a Dirty Afternoon is book 1 in the Terry Bell Mystery series.

It’s a seaside town like any other seaside town: from the non-existent sand dunes and candy-striped deck chairs to the concrete piers and tacky market stalls, they’ve got it all – including dead bodies, arson attacks and hockey-stick wielding murderers. If you love mysteries and amateur sleuthing, bald-headed villains and Swedish construction bosses, this’ll be right up your everyday seaside-town street. Download your copy of Death on a Dirty Afternoon now. Just scroll to the top of the page and select BUY to start your adventure today!

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Top Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 starsA great read.

By Joy Mutter on 3 Dec. 2016

My review of Death on a Dirty Afternoon by Colin Garrow.
I read Death on a Dirty Afternoon in a day, not because it’s a short read, but because I wanted to find out who killed Big Ronnie, boss of a taxi firm. This was the first book I’ve read by this author and I’d cheerfully read another. I’ll try not to reveal the plot in this review as that spoils everyone’s fun. I didn’t work out whodunit, as the author did a sterling job keeping up the suspense. I was particularly charmed by the main character, taxi driver Terry Bell, who acted as amateur sleuth on a mission. The detectives in several books I’ve read have often left me feeling cold and disengaged, but Terry was an endearing, humorous, normal man muddling through heroically. The book was not formulaic. Terry wasn’t riddled with personal angst, which made a refreshing change. He’s just an average Joe determined to find out the truth behind the murder of his boss. I was rooting for him all the way as he dashed headlong into difficult and dangerous situations.
The characters mostly talk to each other in broad Geordie, which I found surprisingly easy to follow, despite me being a southerner. There’s oodles of gentle humour in the book and I laughed out loud many times; ‘Step away from the curry,’ tickled my funny bone. It was not a blood and guts, steamy sex book, which was fine by me as they are two a penny. Terry and his sidekick Carol’s relationship was touching, often funny and there was an undercurrent of ‘will they? won’t they?’ which added extra suspense. The minor characters were also beautifully drawn and I could visualise each one, plus their surroundings, which is a testament to the author’s skill. I don’t know if one is planned, but I sensed there could be a second book starring Terry and Carol at some point, but I must wait and see. I’d certainly be keen to read it.

 

5.0 out of 5 starsA treat from start to finish

By Robert Crouch on 11 Jan. 2017

Death on a Dirty Afternoon is an original, delightfully narrated murder mystery, with a tone and style that reminds me of those black and white American private detective movies. Only this story takes you on a tour of the north east around Newcastle with taxi driver, Terry Bell, at the wheel, trying to make sense of the body he found on a dining table and the murder of Big Ronnie.

Filled with colourful description and characters with names like Bench Face and Gorilla Boy, this is an intriguing, twisting journey as Terry, and colleague, Carol, try to untangle the truth from the red herrings, meeting resistance and problems at every turn.

The dialogue and interplay between the main characters is excellent throughout, and you never know what’s coming or how it’s going to end, but you’re guaranteed to smile and laugh at the wry, often dark humour that permeates even the bleakest moments.

This story is a treat from start to finish, and I look forward to meeting these lovable characters in the next volume of Terry Bell.

 

4.0 out of 5 starsDeath on a Dirty Afternoon

By Maria on 3 Dec. 2016

A quirky, engaging murder mystery with an unusual amateur sleuth, Terry, an ex-taxi driver.
I especially liked the central characters, Terry and Carol. They aren’t super heroes, they are every day people who worked for a taxi firm. A little rough around the edges, funny at times, realistically human and determined to discover why their friend ended up dead on his kitchen table. When they feel their lives are in danger and they see more of the local police detective than they’d like they continue with their investigation despite being totally out of their depths.
Although the book touches on the seedier side of the business world and paid-for sex the story focusses on the investigation and remains more light-hearted than could have been the case.

A fun mystery with an authentic feel.

 

5.0 out of 5 starsSpoof thriller

By John Thys on 4 Dec. 2016

This is the first book I’ve read by this author at first I was reading it like the normal British crime thriller but then I started to laugh at certain things like what some of the characters were called like bench face and whiskers or gorilla boy then you realise this is a book with a lighter side so it makes a nice change having said that it’s still got some good thrills and spills along the way well worth read plus I will definitely look out for more books written by this author.

Authors Spotlight: Colin Garrow click here

About The Author: Colin Garrow

Colin Garrow grew up in a former mining town in Northumberland. He has worked in a plethora of professions including: taxi driver, antiques dealer, drama facilitator, theatre director and fish processor, and has occasionally masqueraded as a pirate. All Colin’s books are available as eBooks and most are also out in paperback. His short stories have appeared in several literary mags, including: SN Review, Flash Fiction Magazine, Word Bohemia, Every Day Fiction, The Grind, A3 Review, 1,000 Words, Inkapture and Scribble Magazine. He currently lives in a humble cottage in North East Scotland where he writes novels, stories, poems and the occasional song.

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