The evening began by my explaining that our guest was, actually, the best-selling author, Martyn Waites; C.B. Everett being one of the pen-names he adopts for his differing styles of thriller novels.

A successful author for over 30 years, Martyn had diversified from his original choice of career as an actor, undertaking countless roles on stage and in many of our favourite tv crime series. Stints as creative writing tutor in prisons paved the way for the leap from actor to full-time writer; add to that a long-held fascination for 1950s American crime novels and Martyn’s choice of genre was always going to be thrillers.

The Final Chapter, described as ‘a novel within a novel teasing the reader with what is real and what is fiction’, is Martyn’s 15^th novel. He explained the successful author, Jonathon Durwood, had disappeared ten years before, but a manuscript had recently been delivered to publishers purporting to be written by him. His old friend, C.B. Everett, himself an author, had been asked to edit and annotate that novel, ‘Russian Doll’.

‘Russian Doll’, on its own, is a gripping espionage story of an MI6 assassin whose identity changes dependent upon his mission. The further C.B. Everett delves into the novel, the more he realises the author, if that is indeed, Jonathon Durwood, has deliberately inserted references only he, as his good friend, would identify. Is the novel a key to Durwood’s disappearance and his current whereabouts?

Asked if the depiction of life as a budding author in 1990s London was based on his own experience, Martyn admitted much of the description of dismal, lonely days spent writing in a shabby attic flat was him at the start of his writing career. This is echoed in The Guardian’s comment,

‘Buckle up for a darkly funny mystery about friendship, rivalry, ambition and – wannabe novelists look away now – the more soul-destroying aspects of authorship’

I know it’s a cliché, but I couldn’t put The Final Chapter down. To elaborate further would risk spoiling the twists and surprises for the reader, but I’ll finish by quoting the following reviews by 3 names synonymous with top-quality thriller writing:

Lee Child: —”A deftly plotted, gripping, pulse-racing rollercoaster of a thriller. . . stunning.”

Harlan Coben, “Mesmerising.”

Ian Rankin, “Chilling . . . Great stuff.”

 – Lynne Carroll

Signed copies of The Final Chapter are available in store or online HERE