![Cover for Dead Men Don't Pay by Ben Bruce. Tag line - Death doesn't care who you are. Murder does. Image of two men in front of images of 60s London and docklands.](https://benbruce.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/dmdp_1_v3-948x675.jpg)
Dead Men Don’t Pay Pre-Order
Death Doesn’t Care Who You Are. Murder Does.
Money. Love. Power. Hate. It doesn’t matter the era, the motivations for murder never change. Gerald Trainer is dead. His body abandoned at the dockside warehouse he worked at. The list of suspects is long and the motivations plentiful. But who was it who took his life?
Joseph Walsh & Ray Cribbs are tasked with investigating the crime. But who is telling the truth? The dock workers all seem to have their own stories to tell whilst gangland figures try to pull their strings from the shadows.
As pressure mounts from above, will they be able to find the voices that matter? Can Joseph overcome his own self-doubt? Will they catch the killer in a London set against itself, as the new and old world’s collide?
I’m delighted to finally reveal Dead Men Don’t Pay, the first novel in a brand news series that heads back to Sixties London.
This new novel heralds a new era in my work. I always wanted to ensure I was never seen as a one trick pony. I feel I’ve found my voice with The Regulators, but there are stories and issues that simply don’t work in action packed thrillers. I wanted to write a police procedural, a whodunnit, that examines a number of social issues and the Dead Men series is the perfect way to do that.
I did a lot of research into where the world was at the time, keeping in mind social injustices that people face today. I’ve tried to write an authentic and sympathetic story. Ultimately, I’m writing it from the viewpoint of a white, middle-aged, middle-class man, who doesn’t really understand the changing world he’s faced with. I made a conscious decision to not tell stories that aren’t mine to tell. But I hope from taking this approach I’ve created an accessibility for people who feel they don’t understand what’s happening, to hear about it from a character they can relate to and share in his journey.
With at least two more books to follow featuring the adventures of Walsh and Cribbs, I’ve got a busy slate on my cards over the next couple of years, with future Regulators books planned, as well as eyes on another series.
I’d like to pay huge thanks to my cover artist Sean Strong for once more knocking it out of the park when it comes to realising my vision. I couldn’t be happier with what he’s produced. Check out his work at www.Seanstrong.com
Dead Men Don’t Pay is released on July 25th and is available for pre-order on Amazon now.
Pre-order it here – https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0D87KN4TN