Manchester Blue (Eddy Shah Retro Thrillers Book 1)

In the early Sixties, a young policeman watches as a murdered child's mutilated body is found on the Moors north of Manchester.
The scene lives with him forever and shapes the policeman that he becomes, honest, tough and committed.
Many years later, when the drug gangs are in control of Manchester's Moss Side and criminal anarchy is spreading on the streets, he sets out to bring order to this chaotic society.
But he has to change the way he operates and use methods that stand for everything he has always despised.
To do this he enlists the help of the one person he has not spoken to since they were children. That man now lives in America. He left Manchester at a young age for carrying out crimes of violence. It was the young policeman who forced him to leave.
Together, sharing a common and hateful distrust of each other, they set out to bring the drug gangs under control.

WHY A RETRO BOOK?

This book, a bestseller in its day, is the first of my Retro Books to be published in Kindle form. Three others will follow. A later sci-fi book, ‘Second World’ has already been published by Pan MacMillan as a Kindle book.
My Retro Books, all which sold well both in the UK and abroad, were written in the early 1990’s and reflect the world as it was then. I have made some changes, but have left the broad outlines and the characters as they are. In the end, they were all of their time and should stand the test as exciting stories in their own right.
‘Manchester Blue’ starts with the chilling Brady/Hindley child murders of the 1960’s on the desolate moors north of Manchester. It’s young English hero, a fledging policeman, is based on an old friend of mine who rose to a top job in the police service and was one of my inspirations as a young man. He and I both know who is; in fact I let him read the book before I submitted it for publication. He found no fault with it.
I hope you enjoy ‘Manchester Blue’. It is a reflection of a time when I lived in Manchester and much of it is based on the truth as it happened in the city.
The Manchester of today is very different – or is it? Maybe a bit glossier with fancy roads, massive glass showrooms and fancy buildings everywhere, but do the same old emotions and violence and ugliness still run underneath?
I don’t know. What I do know is that the environment might change, but human nature rarely does.
I just tried to write a good story around what I saw in the Manchester of my day.

Eddy Shah
Royal Wootton Bassett
2012

PS. Today, the 23rd September 2012, I read that church services are being held in Greater Manchester to remember PC Nicoloa Hughes and PC Fiona Bone.
Both were shot and killed in Mottram, Manchester, when they answered what they considered a domestic callout. It appears it was a planned gang-induced killing and 29-year-old Dale Cregan has been charged with the officers’ murders.
In these modern times, armed gangs to appear to be the norm in Greater Manchester. The gangs nearly all deal in drugs.
One of my family is a young police officer. It is tough out there but without the protection of the police it would be a lot tougher. I’m proud of all those who would protect us, in all our services.