Veronica Britton: Chronic Detective: Episode Four: An Everlasting Cold

by Niall Boyce (contributor)

The fourth and final instalment -- A Victorian private detective, Veronica Britton specialises in tricky situations that occur in time as well as space. Working alongside her young apprentice, the brilliant time-sensitive Gabrielle Pendleton, she's very much in demand. If a necklace goes missing and you suspect that someone is selling it off in the future as a valuable antique, or you find yourself being blackmailed by someone who knows a little too much about your past, she's your woman. Smart, efficient and (almost) always discreet, Veronica is the best chronic detective in London. Time travel is an open secret in the city; it operates under the supervision of the Ministry, an obscure branch of the British government that has taken a sudden interest in Veronica. She's never liked them very much and done her best to avoid them. But somehow they have recently developed a habit of cropping up wherever and whenever she finds herself. Navigating the timepools - corridors that join the various time zones of London - Veronica uncovers a series of mysteries that are all strangely interconnected. She soon finds out she has stumbled on a fiendish plot hatched by a powerful enemy - one that threatens not just the city she loves, but the whole world. Only by facing up to the secrets of her past can Veronica Britton save the future.

120 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 20, 2012

About the author

N.P. Boyce is a writer and editor based in London. He’s previously published short stories in magazines including Litro and Dark Horizons, and with Big Finish’s Doctor Who and Bernice Summerfield ranges. He has also provided non-fiction material for Classic Doctor Who DVDs. Other related work includes journal articles on artists such as the cartoonist Ronald Searle and the Victorian painter Richard Dadd.

Reviews

[Lady Entropy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've been looking for a long time for someone who can write high-concept stories like Kim Newman.

And that person was finally found. It's Niall Boyce.

The ideas and concepts are amazing. The fact that he dances all over timelines and still makes sense at the end, is even more amazing. The fact that he goes meta at the end -- LOVED IT!

I read a review or two where his writing was said to be a little disjointed and frustrating, but I love how very cinematic it is -- in a matter of a few paragraphs, he paints a quick, heartwrenching scene and moves on without lingering.

Now I am sad, because this author never wrote any other books with this character (I know he did some stuff for Doctor Who), nor does he seem to have a facebook\good reads account. Goddamnit. It's a waste of awesome author.