September is always meant to be a month where I get my shit together. A natural lull between the chaos of the kids being off school and the run up to Christmas. Usually the day job is a little slower. It kicks into a nice gear towards the end of the month. One of the main shows I work on begins it’s run which gives me at least three days a week till Christmas. Which means I spend the rest of the week writing.

Thing is, the last couple of years in my industry have been terrible. There’s not a lot of work out there. I’ve been relatively insulated from it by working on a number of returning series, but they don’t pay enough to cover a whole year. So when the offer for extra work came along in September I jumped at it. Just a couple of weeks, but a nice difference maker.

Being a freelancer you learn never to turn down work if you can find a way to fit it in. So when another job landed on my desk for two months worth of work that needed turning around in six weeks, I couldn’t say no.

Part of me massively regrets that now.

The last few weeks have been chaotic. They’ve been full on. I have a certain baking shows theme tune and incidental music on constant loop in my head. But it’s all good. Making hay whilst the sun shines and all that.

It’s meant that the writing has taken a back seat. Not left at the side of the road, thankfully. It’s still come along for the ride. But progress is slow. The main thrust of my work is slowing down now so more writing will be done. Starting with this newsletter. Which is here. So I must be coming out the other side of it all.

The chaos has meant that I’ve barely had time to take in the feedback from my book tour in support of Dead Men Don’t Pay. I’ve had some amazing reviews, the highlights of which I’ve pulled out for you here…

“Cribbs and Walsh make a great team, and the story moves fast to its conclusion. I loved the secondary characters too especially Dziko, Walsh’s wife.”  Jo’s Literary Adventures.

“A well-constructed intelligent plot, highlighting the policing of the time… Dead Men Don’t Pay is a thought-provoking police procedural that really captures its sense of time and place.” Pete Turns The Page

“A wonderful new historical police procedure series… This book is well written and true to the 1960s we have various topics covered such as sexism and racism.” Books Covered

I enjoyed Dead Men Don’t Pay much more than I expected. From the beginning, it is clear that Ben Bruce is a talented writer, and his descriptions of London took me right into the centre of the investigation. As the novel is set in the 1960s, the author has done extensive research. Despite the 1960s setting, there were several issues raised in Dead Men Don’t Pay that are still relevant to modern society, particularly immigration and racism. I felt that Ben Bruce explored these issues with great sensitivity and showed the issues from a number of different perspectives. Portable Magic

I really enjoyed his writing. It was packed with 60s references, and showed the setting and time period wonderfully… The plot is fast paced and really interesting. It’s well plotted as the readers try and solve the crimes as we are drip fed the clues! Curling Up With A Coffee And A Kindle

I give Dead Men Don’t Pay an excellent full marks score of 5 ⭐, a gritty cop drama / thriller that captivates from the very beginning. Definitely one of the best books I’ve read this year. If you don’t pick this up you’ll be missing out. Dave Chats Games

So yeah, some very lovely things from some very lovely people and I’m extremely grateful that they took the time out to read and post their thoughts.

Anyway, I’m off to crack on with Regulators 4. Still no name, but I feel we’re getting closer. I know the colours I’m using for the cover. Not sure why I can work that out before I can work out a name, but there we go. The mind works in wonderful ways.