Murder mystery for new writer Malcolm
A Brush with Death has hit shelves
HINCKLEY painter Malcolm Parnell has drawn on his own experiences to pen a novel mixing murder mystery with comedy and art.
The 60-year-old, who offers first aid and emergency medical care training for businesses, is the proud author of A Brush With Death.
It’s his first book, published by 3P Publishing, but he’s already working on a sequel. A creative soul, having been a drummer in various bands during the ‘80s and ‘90s, Malcolm’s passions now include painting - which was the starting point for his work.
Malcolm, a father of two with two granddaughters and now a grandson on the way, said: “The book was inspired by my love of painting, particularly watercolour. I run two local watercolour classes.
“It was the painting classes which inspired the idea for the novel. I’ve always been a fan of the murder mystery but I wanted to inject some humour into my novel and it was written purely to entertain.
“The characters in the book are fictitious and are not based on any- one in particular, they just seemed to come alive in my head.”
The book took a little under a year to write and is now available to buy on Amazon while Malcolm crafts his follow-up.
A Brush With Death is the story of a struggling artist who organises a painting holiday with a group of amateur artists after a recent bizarre and bewildering attempt on his life, only to become fixed firmly on the radar of an assassin for no apparent reason.
The publishers say: “It’s an intricate and thought-provoking piece of fiction, one that a reader recently described as ‘…like Agatha Christie but with more laughs’”.
Malcolm added: “I wanted to write something a little off-the-wall but all the while something that gives readers the suspense and mystery they crave. I wanted to take people and situations that people have their own stereotypes about and crush them.
“I’ve had feedback saying the book has qualities of classic novels of yesteryear at the same time being wholly unique and unpredictable.”
A Brush With Death from 3P Publishing, is available at amzn. to/29VqvmD.