Tell Me The Story...

Jeff H. Smallwood (64) is a retired investigative reporter based in Belfast, Northern Ireland. He has just published a true crime book - ’The Drifter Killings’, about a series of murders in the early 90’s based on his own accounts as a reporter for the Belfast Herald, investigating a series of crimes dubbed the Drifter Killings. Jeff is haunted by the brutal murders and it troubles him deeply that the case was never solved. After Jeff’s longtime friend and the lead detective from the case, Harry McCarthy dies, Jeff feels compelled to write a book based on a series of interviews he conducted with McCarthy in 2000’s and form his own hypothesis on the suspects involved. The series of murders dubbed The Drifter Killings happened at various locations in Northern Ireland in the early 1990’s and were deemed unrelated to the violence of The Troubles. The murders all had a similar pattern - with the only distinction being that every killing was in a different town than before. The killer was never caught and the case was made inactive in 2015. It was often thought that the killings were ignored or forgotten by the police who were dealing with the Troubles and murders related to paramilitary activity at the time.

In 2019, when a body is found murdered in the style of the Drifter Killings, Jeff feels he must help the police with information about the previous killings. With a new detective, looking to prove himself being assigned the case, they must work together to stop the Drifter, though the do not get along at all. Things get more complicated when the killer contacts the Police and Media with threats on Jeff and his wife Danielle (59). What clues did McCarthy leave for Jeff after his death and did McCarthy purposefully conceal information from his friend to protect him? Can Jeff and the Northern Irish Police stop the killer before the Drifter Killer comes for Jeff and everyone he loves?

How Will The Book Be Structured?

I believe I can set The Drifter Killings apart from some books by using a slightly different structure to create the novel. I would like to use excepts from the book (within the story, that our main character Jeff writes) as prose within the novel. I would have the narrative flow break up with Wikipedia excerpts, newspaper reports, interviews and passages from The Drifter Killings novel. I think it could be a great premise to set up the stakes of the book and give audience information in a way they don’t normally receive it.

Themes

In The Drifter Killings I want to explore several themes. Being from Northern Ireland, I have always been fascinated by our history and I aim to explore that in this novel. I have always had the idea of a killer who got away with their crimes as The Troubles raged on around them. I also want to explore the relationship between Jeff and his wife as they age, plus exploring friendship, old age and the memories of the killed, that have been forgotten.

Tell Me About The Author?

Roddy McCance is an author from Belfast, Northern Ireland. He is the writer behind The Burning Memory, Tales Of The Fractured Mind, The Soul Of The Sea and Tales Of Fractured Worlds. He runs his own comic book label - Fracture Press, who publish socially conscious comics about the environment and mental health.

Roddy is 32 years old and has been writing stories since he was in high school. He loves writing stories with the power to change perspectives. He grew up in Belfast, Northern Ireland and lives with his rescue dog Benji. He loves Americana music and going for adventures.

He is the author of upcoming novel The Foreverlands, scheduled for release this year with Level Up Publishing. Roddy is a huge fan of true crime and feels the bleak climate of Belfast and his love of noir stories makes him perfect person to write a crime novel. He hopes to get lots of feedback, advice and help, as he fleshes out his crime novel.

Timeline

I will try to update regularly in between my other projects. At the moment this is something I am enjoying researching and writing for fun, so I will take my time in between comic projects and my other novel. Thank you for looking in and I hope you enjoy the concept. I am hoping to develop as an author and through feedback I can develop this project and make it successful.

Themes

The Themes of The Drifter Killings focus on injustice, police corruption, The Troubles and many other subjects.