6 Squadron RAF, Ma'Asker & Habbaniya War Cemeteries
Seven Days in April - a Story of 1917
In response to feedback from readers of my first book, For God, England and Ethel (the true story of three men who served with 6 Squadron during WW1), I decided to take a break from my other projects and write a factual historical novel with a difference. Seven Days in April is a murder/mystery novel set on the Western Front in Belgium during 1917, modelled on 6 Squadron's WW1 operations. Though the story is fictional, I have taken great pains to ensure the authenticity of both the setting and the flying sequences.
In the Spring of 1917, a Royal Flying Corps squadron is having more than its fair share of action in the skies over the Western Front. To complicate matters, vital spare parts have mysteriously gone missing and the commanding officer is worried that if it gets out there’s a thief in their midst, it will adversely affect squadron morale. When a senior officer apparently commits suicide, with his death linked to the latest theft, the major knows that the time has come to solve the crimes quickly and discretely. To do this, he enlists the help of one of his senior pilots who was a detective before the war, charging him with the responsibility of investigating the death as well as the thefts. What appears to be an open-and-shut case quickly develops into something more sinister, leading the ex-detective to the realisation that there is more to the crimes than meets the eye. But how can he prove what his instinct tells him to be the truth?
Note: Though the story is set on a real air force aerodrome at Abeele in Belgium and is modelled on 6 Squadron, the characters and plot are fictional. The aerial fighting and artillery co-operation missions contain factual details rarely seen in print.
The ISBN number of Seven Days in April is:
978-1-7829-9974-4
and you can buy a copy of the paperback version from the publisher, Feed-a-Read or through any of the larger on-line book stores or Ebay.