At the beginning of the year a disparate, and in some cases desperate, group of Parish Councillors gather in their Council Chambers. These are people such as you would meet in any village or small town in England who, with the best will in the world, aim to make a positive impact on their community.

However, the road to hell is paved with good intentions.  Before the year has properly begun one of their number has been bloodily dispatched. Over the next twelve months violent death revisits the village in different guises. Who is the merciless killer and what is his, or her, motive? Set against the backdrop of chaotic community events and vitriolic Parish Council meetings the story is character-driven and hilarious as the Councillors struggle to achieve dignity and earn respect in a world that just seems to have it in for them.

A shorter version of this story, ‘Tales from the Council Chamber’, was published in The Quorndon. It ran bi-monthly over six episodes from January through to December 2020. It was written to a strict word count with each episode taking place in the month it was published and ending on a cliff-hanger. It was a challenge!

Murder in the Council Chambers has now been worked up into a full-length novel and the search for representation and publication begins…