Walter had shared a home and a sort of life with her for over sixteen years. When he came to think of it, that’d been a bit like a game of chess too. He’d gone from the enthusiastic opening – through a mid game of jogging along – to the endgame of barbed neutrality, a sort of emotional desert where no win was possible, a kind of stalemate. That had been the pattern for the last five years.
Summer 1930 and Walter Bruce is told he has a terminal disease. With nursing care and an easier job he could have five more years. With neither he may not see out the year. But he’s got a wife to keep – one too selfish and idle to be his nurse. When he finds out she’s been deceiving him about her past for years he comes to a stark decision: if she won’t take care of him he’ll have to take care of her – for good. He plans her removal like one of the chess problems he loves. It will be the perfect murder; he’ll get away with it and enjoy his last few years in comfort. But his carefully laid plans unravel, entangling him in a slowly closing trap where truth and lies become confused…
Set in between-the-wars Liverpool, Stalemate is a gripping tale of moral choices and terrible punishment.
~~~~~~~~~~
My Review:
Stalemate is a gripping work of fiction based on an actual murder from that area. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book and it was difficult to put down at night. I love Alan’s writing style and hope to read more of his books in the future.
A ☆☆☆☆☆ read!
~~~~~~~~~~
BUY LINKS
~~~~~~~~~~
GIVEAWAY
2 SIGNED PAPERBACKS (UK only)
2 ECOPIES (International)
~~~~~~~~~~
About the Author:
Alan Hamilton finds that real events, where there is a mystery or something unexplained, leave so much to the imagination they give the writer of fiction license to make it up. At heart he’s a conspiracy theorist though his head tells him accident is usually more likely – albeit far less interesting. As an antidote to the urge to write creatively, Alan is a publisher’s editor for non-fiction, academic books and journal articles. He lives by the sea in the South West of the UK. His hobbies are cooking and cryptic crosswords in the national newspapers, winning first prize twice in ten years.
https://www.facebook.com/alan.hamilton.1291?v=wall
The one thing every writer hopes for, and you have given me in your review, is when a critic says she likes ‘his writing style’. Thank you Melanie, you made my day.
I’m so happy to have made your day, Alan. I hope to be able to read more of your writing soon.
Wow !! Nice story !!!