Please, come and walk with me for a few minutes in Green Dragon Yard. I want to tell you a little story.

Another month and A Rage Of Souls will be published. It’s the eighth, and the final Simon Westow book.

A couple of people who’ve read it feel it’s the darkest in the series, going further into the shadows than The Scream of Sins. That surprised me; I hadn’t seen it that way. But maybe I’m too close to the book to have any objective view.

Yes, there is darkness, but it’s the creeping shade of death and loss – there’s plenty of that in the book – that forms the overall mood. Once again, it’s an exploration of privilege, wealth, greed and a sense of entitlement that money and position can bring.

The canvas is a little broader. Still resolutely Leeds, but ranging a little father, out to Kirkstall Abbey, Temple Newsam, with a passageway connecting the wings under the courtyard, and out to the lovely old church at Lead, close to the historic, deadly Towton battlefield. But all those places hold the past and dead…

When I wrote the book I had no intention of the being the last one. I had another in mind for that, featuring Jane (who’s been the linchpin of the books) after the death of Mrs Shields. The old woman has left her the house behind Green Dragon Yard plus a surprising amount of money. But the old woman’s great-nephew feels it ought to belong to him and is determined to have it, whatever that takes.

The Old Green Dragon Inn

The possibility of an epic battle, but the words simply wouldn’t catch fire. And without combustion, there’s no book worth reading. I tried several times but couldn’t make it work in the way I wanted.

Whatever the reason, it was a tale determined not to be told.

Simon, Rosie, Jane, Sally, Richard and Amos, they’ve given us their stories. Not always easy ones for them to tell, but they’ve certainly been a part of my life for several years.

Is the book as dark as people have claimed?

More to the point, is it everything I hoped it would be when I finished it?

The only way to know is to read it.

If you’re on NetGalley, you can find it here – all my publisher asks is an honest review (and they’ve been cracking so far).

Or you can pre-order it here for Kindle. But if you’re in the UK and going for the hardback, you’ll find the best price here, with free shipping.

With times being tough, you can always request that your library gets it in. That way, I get a royalty from the sale, plus a small amount ever time someone borrows one of my books.

I hope you like it, and I hope you think I’ve given all the characters hope for the future. That’s all we can ask, really.

And yes, I’d be very grateful if you bought it.