Description

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Bristol, 1965.

In the dead of winter, a young deaf and dumb woman goes missing without a trace. But the police just don't care about a West Indian immigrant who is nowhere to be found.

Enter Joseph Tremaine 'JT' Ellington: a Barbadian ex-cop not long off the boat, a man with a tragic past and a broken heart. When local mogul Earl Linney hires him to track down the missing girl, JT soon finds himself adrift in a murky world of prostitution and kidnapping where each clue reveals yet more mysteries. What is Linney's connection to the girl? Have more women gone missing? And what exactly is the Erotica Negro Club.

Facing hostility and prejudice as well as the demons he left home to escape, JT must unravel a deadly conspiracy in a dangerous and unfamiliar world. Heartman is an atmospheric, confident debut:

Devil in a Blue Dress meets Chinatown set in the rough world of Bristol nightlife, in the pubs, shebeens and nightclubs that are the haunts of prostitutes and criminals.

About the Author

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M.P. Wright was born in Leicestershire in 1965. He was employed in various roles within the music industry before working as a private investigator. He retrained in 1989 and spent the next twenty years in the mental health and probation services in the UK, specializing in risk assessment. A self-confessed aficionado of film, music and real ale, and father of two beautiful daughters, Mark lives with his partner and their two Rottweiler dogs, Tiff and Dylan. His first novel, Heartman was longlisted for the CWA Ian Fleming Steel Dagger in 2015.

Praise For…

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"A newcomer bursting with life and originality ... Wright says his hero is the US author James Lee Burke, chronicler of crime in the steamy American South. Wright's own atmospheric evocation of the Caribbean community shows that he has absorbed the lessons of the master, while bringing outstanding pace and suspense to this powerful story, which happily allows me to end on a very high note of commendation." --The Independent

"Takes us into the dark underbelly of 1960s Bristol with panache and flair. In JT Ellington, Wright has created a truly original detective. Atmospheric & punchy, Heartman showcases an exciting new voice in the genre. --Stav Sherez, author, Eleven Days