Three Monkeys
(DCI Jack Callum Mysteries Book 1)
By Len Maynard
1958.
A girl’s body is found in Hertfordshire.
Her eyes and mouth have been sewn shut. Candle wax has been poured into her ears to seal them.
DCI Jack Callum, policeman and dedicated family man, who cut his teeth walking the beat on the violent streets of London, before moving his family away from the city, to a safer, more restful life in the country, leads the investigation into this gruesome crime that shatters the peace of the sleepy English town.
Images of three monkeys are sent to the police to taunt them: see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil. Something more sinister than a mere isolated murder seems to be going on as more victims come to light.
Who is doing this and why?
At the insistence of the first victim’s father, a local dignitary, officers from Scotland Yard are brought in to bring about a speedy conclusion to the case, side-lining Jack’s own investigation.
In a nail-biting climax, one of Jack’s daughters is snatched. Before she can become the next victim, Jack has to go against the orders of his superiors that have constantly hampered his investigation, and risk his own career in an attempted rescue at the killer’s own home.
Publication Date: 22nd July 2020
Publisher: Sharpe Books
Page Length: 270 Pages
Genre: Historical Crime
An interview with Len Maynard
Good Morning, Len and welcome to Candlelight Reading. Your book, Three Monkeys, sounds amazing. Why did you choose to write a crime series in the late 1950s?
Len: My father died in 1958 when I was five years old and I found, when I was growing up, the memories of those first five years did not diminish. If anything, they grew stronger as I fought to hold onto the memories of my father. So when I had the idea of writing an historical crime novel 1958 was a natural time in which to set it, because the research I undertook only bolstered the memories of the period – the sights and sounds, the films, TV programs and the music – that I already had.
I am so sorry you lost your dad at such a young age. That must have been really hard.
What is the most surprising thing you discovered while you were researching this era?
Len: I think the most surprising thing I discovered about the period was how prevalent recreational drug use was in that period. Having spent my teenage years in the 1960’s I had always thought that pot smoking and the use of harder drugs was borne out of the hippie generation. After scratching the surface, I soon found out that it was a problem that could be traced back to the opium dens of the nineteenth century and beyond. And the in 1950’s drug abuse was quite common, from the seedier jazz clubs to the drugs being used a currency in gangland Britain. I had no idea.
I had forgot about the opium dens of the nineteenth century. Can you share something about the book that isn’t covered in the blurb?
Len: The blurb concerns itself with presenting pointers to an exciting, page-turning read, but for me, the writer, it was always about so much more. Jack Callum’s family life and the part he plays within it, is of equal importance, and equally his wife, Annie and his three children all play vital roles in the six book (soon to be seven book) story arc. In my head I’m just writing one long, epic novel about the people I’ve come to care deeply about.
If you had to describe your protagonist, DCI Jack Callum, in three words, what would those three words be?
Len: Strength, integrity, and a finely tuned moral compass.
Can you give us some insight into what makes DCI Jack Callum tick?
Len: I suppose it’s all three of the above, as well as a cast-iron belief in himself and the decisions he takes as a policeman. Also, it can’t be stressed enough that he derives much of his strength from his wife, Annie. The pair have a deep love for each other which enables them to deal with the number of stresses caused by work and family alike.
What are you currently working on?
Len: The current book is called The Gilded Cage and is the seventh book in the Jack Callum series. I’ll keep writing them until people tell me to stop because I love immersing myself in their world. (I’m also a little bit in love with Annie Callum, but don’t tell anyone.)
I want to come away from your book for a moment and concentrate on you! What do you like to do when you are not writing?
Len: Listening to music, watching old black and white films and TV series, reading (biographies mostly)
What did you want to be when you grew up?
Len: When I was very young, I wanted to be a footballer, but I lacked the skill. And then, much like Jack’s son Eric, in the books, I fell in love with the guitar and played in various local groups until I got married and had a son at the age of twenty, and travelling in the back of a Ford Transit, jostling for space with heavy amplifiers and drum kits as we went from gig to gig lost its appeal. It was then that I started writing as some kind of creative outlet.
What’s for dinner tonight? What would you rather be eating?
Len: Steak, new potatoes and mushrooms. I’d rather be eating a slap-up roast dinner with all the trimmings, but I live on my own so I can’t justify the preparation time…or the washing up for that matter.
What’s your favourite food?
Len: I’d be lying if I didn’t say chocolate, as my waistline will attest.
What is the best part of your day?
The middle of the night. It’s when the ideas run freely and when most of my plots come to me. It’s useful that I’m an insomniac.
Now for some fun either or questions!!
Tea or coffee : Tea
Hot or cold: Hot
Movie or book: Book
Morning person or Night owl: Night owl
City or country: Country
Social Media or book: Book
Paperback or ebook: E-book
Thank you so much for taking the time out of your day to chat with me. It has been so much fun, and I wish you all the best with the rest of the tour.
If, like me, you love the sound of Len Maynard book then grab yourself a copy
Len Maynard
Len Maynard was born in North London in 1953.
In 1978, a book of short ghost stories, written in collaboration with Michael Sims, was published by London publisher William Kimber. For the following forty years the pair wrote ten more collections of ghost stories before moving into novels in 2006, completing over thirty more books, including the successful Department 18 series of supernatural/crime crossover novels as well as several standalone novels and novellas in the supernatural and crime genres.
Always a keen reader of crime novels, and with a passion for the social history of the twentieth century it was fairly inevitable that, when he decided to branch out and write under his own name, some kind of combination of these two interests would occur.
The six DCI Jack Callum Mysteries were the result of several years of total immersion in the world he created for Jack Callum, his family, his friends (and enemies) and his work colleagues.
He has also written a trilogy of adventure thrillers set in the Bahamas (also available from Sharpe Books)
He is currently at work on the seventh book in the DCI Jack Callum series.
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