PRESS RELEASE
Publication Date: MARCH 2011
Contact: Rose Carrano 646.638.2181 (NYC)
rosecarrano@earthlink.net
“A brilliant new cop duo with a plot to die for and a killer that will terrify you."
--Sheila Quigley, author of Thorn In My Side.
"Engrossing, exquisite, and extra-scary. Richard Godwin has accomplished a rare literary achievement with his full-length debut novel, Apostle Rising. It is at times by the numbers cop procedural, at other times horror so disturbing but beautifully and uniquely written, I could almost feel the cold sharp steel blade slowly entering my own flesh. Inspector Frank Castle and his partner Jacki Stone speak to every man or woman who is both fallible but determined to uncover the truth and to right a grave wrong, even if that determination becomes an obsession so profound, they lose all that is dear to them in the process. Including their sanity. Apostle Rising is not just another detective novel. It is also not for the faint of heart. It is noir tour-de-force that will leave you breathless and teary-eyed."
--Vincent Zandri, best-selling author of The Remains and The Innocent
"Richard Godwin's 'Apostle Rising' is a police procedural and psychological thriller of the first order. If you love Ken Bruen and John Connolly, Godwin's the man you'll be following next."
--Scott Phillips, author of The Ice Harvest, The Walkaway and Cottonwood
APOSTLE RISING
by
Richard Godwin
A serial killer is targeting British politicians and the crime scenes are signature replicas of the Woodland Killings that took place twenty-eight years earlier. The case became an obsession for Chief Inspector Frank Castle, a case he was never able to solve and which led to his nervous breakdown, his vilification by the press and the end of his marriage.
As Castle and his partner Detective Inspector Jacki Stone start their investigation, they run into the eerie figure of Karl Black, Castle’s nemesis and the man he still believes is responsible for The Woodland Killings. In the years since the original Woodland Killings, Black took up residence in an ancient parish on the outskirts of London where he trains “recruits” in the teachings of The Last Brotherhood, a sinister and mysterious cult that is out to change the world, as we know it.
Now years later, again mauled by the press, and traumatized by nightmares, Castle is faced with a copycat killer with detailed inside knowledge of the original case. They call in a profiler who tells them they are dealing with a religiously motivated psychopath with an obsession about politicians and who is working along with someone else.
As they work with this profile, the killer changes direction and kills one of Castle’s colleagues, placing the Met under great strain. With the aid of their colleagues on the force they begin to dig into the original case for clues. A second serial killer now emerges, leaving mutilated bodies of prostitutes in Richmond Park and another series of killings is soon underway that are even more brutal and torturous.
The killer starts to play dark mind games with the police. The profiler digs deeper into the killer’s psyche as Castle and Stone try to figure out whom he will target next.
In a race against time they try to catch him before he can kill another high profile figure and a huge shock awaits Castle when they do.
# # #
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Richard Godwin is a novelist and playwright. He writes dark crime fiction and his stories have been published in A Twist of Noir, Pulp Metal Magazine, Danse Macabre, Disenthralled, South Jersey and Gloom Cupboard among others.
His play ‘The Cure-All’ has been produced on the London stage. It is a dark satire about a group of confidence tricksters using the New Age to rip off their greedy venal customers. His works in print include ‘Chemical’, in the Anthology ‘Back In 5 Minutes’, published by Little Episodes Publishing in February 2010, and ‘Doll’, in ‘Howl: Tales Of The Feral And Infernal’ by Lame Goat Press in March 2010 and ‘Face Off’ in Crime Factory Issue #5, by CreateSpace in October 2010.
Richard Godwin received his B.A. at King’s College London University and went on to receive his M.A. there with distinction in American and English Literature. King’s College awarded him a teaching scholarship and a stipend for lecturing. He continued lecturing and obtained an MPhil in English and American literature. He taught in and then ran the English department at Davies’s College.
He lives in London and APOSTLE RISING is his first crime novel.
Richard Godwin's Chin Wags At The Slaughterhouse are interviews he has conducted with other crime and horror writers and can be found at his blog on his website here http://richardgodwin.net/ where you can find a full list of his works.
APOSTLE RISING
Richard Godwin
MARCH 2011
$14.95 – Trade Paperback Original
ISBN: 978-0-9567113-0-4
Published by: Black Jackal Books, 143 Kingston Road, London SW19 1LJ
Distributed by: Book Masters/Atlas Books
