BOOK SYNOPSIS
IF THEY CAN REPORT THE MURDER 24 HOURS IN ADVANCE, THEN SURELY THEY CAN STOP IT? THE NEW GRIPPING THRILLER FROM THE KING OF THE LOCKED ROOM MYSTERY.
Shirley Steadman , a 70-year-old living in a small town in the North East of England, loves her volunteer work at the local hospital radio. She likes giving back to the community, and even more so, she likes getting out of the house. Haunted by the presence of her son, a reluctant Royal Navy officer who was lost at sea, and still in the shadow of her long dead abusive husband, she doesn't like being alone much.
One day, at the radio station , she is playing around with the equipment and finds a frequency that was never there before. It is a pirate radio station, and as she listens, the presenter starts reading the news. But there is one problem - the news being reported is tomorrows. Shirley first thinks it is a mere misunderstanding - a wrong date. But she watches as everything reported comes true. At first, Shirley is in awe of the station, and happily tunes in to hear the news.
But then the presenter starts reporting murders - murders that happen just the way they were reported. And Shirley is the only one who can stop them.
This ingenious blend of genres is predominantly voiced from the perspective of seventy year old grandmother Shirley Steadman who's only companion in life was her cat Moggins. The two highlights of her week were meeting up with her friends in the embroidery group and the one night a week when she was a volunteer dj at the local hospital. Shirley and her abusive (and fortunately now dead) husband Bob had two children, there was Deena with whom Shirley had a volatile relationship and Gabe who had died whilst serving in the navy. It was whilst Shirley was in the studio one evening, getting ready to play the list of requests that she had compiled from the patients in the wards that she would stumble across the radio station that would have such a dramatic effect on her life. The news presenter on 66.40 Mallet AM (and no the station had absolutely nothing to do with Timmy Mallet nor did they play Itsy Bitsy Teeny Weeny Yellow Polka Dot Bikini which is one of my favourite songs and can be one hell of a earworm) appeared to be able to predict events that were going to happen the next day. At first, as anyone would, Shirley had her doubts but after the predictions started coming true, she thought that it was all a bit of fun and found that she was intrigued and wanted to found out more about the mysterious station. But then events took a dark turn when a murder was predicted and Shirley found herself facing a moral dilemma, should she inform the police and risk being written off as a crazy old woman or should she try and warn the victim and probably have the door slammed in her face. Shirley finds herself caught up in a complex and confusing series of events and when things take a personal turn, she finds herself in a race against time to stop the predicted lose of her loved ones from coming true.
Shirley was a fantastic character, a feisty, individual who was determined to keep her independence and solve the mystery of the radio station despite her ailing health and aching bones. There was times when I thought she wasn't a very likeable individual but that didn't stop me routing for her as the story headed towards its closing acts. I can't say that I liked Shirley's daughter Deena very much but I absolutely loved DI (call me Fletch) Fletchinder. The ladies in the embroidery group were a diverse bunch of realistic individuals, each with their own unique personalities and character traits.
Occasionally a book comes along that I enjoy reading but I couldn't honestly give you a reason why and this was one of those books. I'm not normally a fan of slow burning thrillers but there was something about Shirley's story that captivated me and raised questions that I wanted answered like what the hell was actually going on. The plot was a intricate blend of thriller, mystery and domestic drama with elements of sci-fi and the supernatural and the story had a realistic, heart string pulling conclusion. I thought this was a unique, enjoyable, entertaining read.
AUTHOR BIO
Chris McGeorge studied MA Creative Writing (Crime/ Thriller) at City University London where he wrote his first novel as his thesis. His interests are broad - spanning film, books, theatre and video games. He is a member of the Northern Crime Syndicate, a supergroup of writers from Northern England. He lives in County Durham with his partner and many, many animals.
PUBLICATION DATE: 5th August 2021
PURCHASE LINK.....
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Half-Past-Tomorrow-Chris-McGeorge-ebook/dp/B08V95SMCB/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2NY5ET70TDNJV&dchild=1&keywords=half+past+tomorrow&qid=1628637290&s=books&sprefix=Half+past+%2Caps%2C252&sr=1-1
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