A dead man at the front of his classroom.
Darius Spencer Fletcher, Ph.D. Professor of Byzantine and Medieval Art, Fletch to his friends and enemies alike. One time soldier, sometimes art dealer, occasionally successful gambler, and former guest of Her Majesty — Maidstone Prison.
Fletch had bored many of his students, but this was the first time he had bored one to death. Why was the young man there, dead in his classroom, when he wasn’t even one of Fletch’s students?
But Fletch did know him and to his knowledge, he should have been a thousand miles away.
Fletch is thrust into solving a mystery, a secret discovered at a medieval archeological dig site on the Mediterranean Island of Malta, a search for a mysterious object, an object that wasn’t supposed to exist. Fletch finds himself up against some very dangerous people, some desperate for its riches, some for its mystical power, all in pursuit of a myth, a legendary bird, a fabled Falcon.
A new character in a new series from thriller author Neil Howarth.
Author’s note:
I was going through a process of deciding what to write next. I had an idea for a new Robert Walker (the main character in January’s Child), and a couple of ideas for more adventures for Joe Fagan (The Armageddon Trilogy et al), and even another character series. Then suddenly out of the mists of a waking dream (quite literally) this character emerged, and an idea.
It is a well known concept amongst writers. Take an existing story or story idea, then twist into a completely new dimension and make it your own. George Lucas had done it (quite successfully) with Star Wars when he took Akira Kurosawa’s 1958 samurai classic, The Hidden Fortress, and literally moved into a new galaxy (far, far way).
I had used that same approach with my own January’s Child. My wife and I were big fans of the US TV Series – The Americans. I remember the last episode, it was almost the final scene, Philip and Elizabeth were crossing the US-Canada border on a train, escaping the FBI after more than twenty years as deep cover KGB spies. As the train pulled out of the station, they looked out onto the platform – well, I’m not giving away the spoiler for anyone who has not read my book, but it was that image that propelled my whole story.
I had a similar idea with the Fabled Falcon. I spent the next week scribbling down fragments of what this story might be. Beyond my initial vision I literally had no idea what it was about. I started out thinking that maybe it would be a murder mystery, a change of pace for me. But I soon realized that was not the case. That’s just not what I write. My stories are much closer to Dan Brown and Robert Ludlum, than they are to Agatha Christie or even Dashiell Hammett 🙂 (though I love them all ).
I love mysteries, but my characters have always to be ready to RUN.
So hold on to your hat and watch this space.
NH.