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Death Squad
For Danny Lancaster - ex-paratrooper turned private detective – it should have been a simple job.
His client - the breathtakingly beautiful Countess Camilla D’Allessi - hires Afghanistan veteran Danny for a covert surveillance, watch Seventies rock star Mickey “Tattoo” Carpenter, see what he does, who he meets.
But Danny’s nosey nature gets the better of him. Camilla’s “simple” surveillance job leads him to a grisly discovery at a remote Cornish farmhouse.
Then the bodies start to pile up. A young girl is dead from a drug overdose, another lies in a coma. Someone is out to take revenge on the dinosaur rock band Death Squad.
Suddenly police raid his flat and office in Brighton. Danny is on the run, wanted for murder. All he has going for him is supreme fitness, a talent to duck and dive and an unshakeable belief that, “something’ll turn up”.
Only he can prove his innocence. And to do that he has got to stay out of a prison cell.
Nothing will stop Danny hunting down the two murderous maniacs and their mystery backer for a final high-octane showdown of mud and fire.
His client - the breathtakingly beautiful Countess Camilla D’Allessi - hires Afghanistan veteran Danny for a covert surveillance, watch Seventies rock star Mickey “Tattoo” Carpenter, see what he does, who he meets.
But Danny’s nosey nature gets the better of him. Camilla’s “simple” surveillance job leads him to a grisly discovery at a remote Cornish farmhouse.
Then the bodies start to pile up. A young girl is dead from a drug overdose, another lies in a coma. Someone is out to take revenge on the dinosaur rock band Death Squad.
Suddenly police raid his flat and office in Brighton. Danny is on the run, wanted for murder. All he has going for him is supreme fitness, a talent to duck and dive and an unshakeable belief that, “something’ll turn up”.
Only he can prove his innocence. And to do that he has got to stay out of a prison cell.
Nothing will stop Danny hunting down the two murderous maniacs and their mystery backer for a final high-octane showdown of mud and fire.
393 pages, Kindle Edition
First published May 23, 2012
1 person is currently reading
2 people want to read
About the author
Bill Todd
11 books14 followersI’ve spent most of my working life as a journalist on local and national newspapers.
You meet a lot of people, see things, learn stuff. For a crime writer, it’s a plot factory.
One treasured memory was lunching with colleagues when the bar filled with agitated policemen.
“Who’s he?” said a CID man, pointing.
A good friend didn’t like his tone and announced in her best Lady Bracknell voice, “He’s the editor of the local paper!”
The copper said, “I don’t care who the hell he is. He looks like the guy who just did the bank up the road. How long’s he been here?”
Luckily, the barman provided my alibi.
Before journalism I tried my hand at odd jobs including furniture removals (watch out for the flat-packs, they tend to pack flat when lifted!), photography, teaching and running a magazine group.
I’ve done quite a bit of travel writing. It’s not all cocktails under the palm trees but it is a fantastic job that’s taken me to more than 40 countries, from the white wastes of Arctic Finland to the deserts of Namibia.
People often ask my favourite place. In an age of globalisation, many destinations look the same but Iceland and Namibia are like stepping onto another planet. Go if you can.
I’ve enjoyed a long love affair with Western Crete. The mountains, coastline, food and people make me wonder if I lived there in some previous life. I just have to watch the waxed wings on a hot day.
I was delighted and surprised to receive the Ed Lacy travel award in 2007.
Another interest is my family tree. I’ve traced the ancestors back to William of Byfield, a farmer in 1600s Northamptonshire, just down the road from Shakespeare.
I love maps. They might seem old fashioned in the age of GPS but they tell stories, make promises. I have a ragbag collection of more than 2,000.
I’m also a fan of interesting cheeses, good beer and wilderness. They’re like Marmite, you’re an empty place person or you’re not.
I have written four full-length crime thrillers and a book of short stories featuring Danny Lancaster, a wounded Afghan veteran turned private investigator. They are:
The Wreck Of The Margherita
Death Squad
Rough Diamond
Rock Hard
Gargoyle Pixie Dog
My sixth Danny Lancaster - GODLEFE'S CUCKOO - will be published in March 2018.
I’ve also written three non-fiction books. GUNNER is based on my father's World War Two diary, photos and postcards from Normandy to Hamburg.
PIGTAIL PILOT is the tragic story of Barbara Gubbins, a talented young woman who was nearly the RAF’s first female pilot.
A CROCUS FROM JERUSALEM is the story of a country lad soldiering in 1917 Palestine.
If you fancy a chat I’m easy to find.
You meet a lot of people, see things, learn stuff. For a crime writer, it’s a plot factory.
One treasured memory was lunching with colleagues when the bar filled with agitated policemen.
“Who’s he?” said a CID man, pointing.
A good friend didn’t like his tone and announced in her best Lady Bracknell voice, “He’s the editor of the local paper!”
The copper said, “I don’t care who the hell he is. He looks like the guy who just did the bank up the road. How long’s he been here?”
Luckily, the barman provided my alibi.
Before journalism I tried my hand at odd jobs including furniture removals (watch out for the flat-packs, they tend to pack flat when lifted!), photography, teaching and running a magazine group.
I’ve done quite a bit of travel writing. It’s not all cocktails under the palm trees but it is a fantastic job that’s taken me to more than 40 countries, from the white wastes of Arctic Finland to the deserts of Namibia.
People often ask my favourite place. In an age of globalisation, many destinations look the same but Iceland and Namibia are like stepping onto another planet. Go if you can.
I’ve enjoyed a long love affair with Western Crete. The mountains, coastline, food and people make me wonder if I lived there in some previous life. I just have to watch the waxed wings on a hot day.
I was delighted and surprised to receive the Ed Lacy travel award in 2007.
Another interest is my family tree. I’ve traced the ancestors back to William of Byfield, a farmer in 1600s Northamptonshire, just down the road from Shakespeare.
I love maps. They might seem old fashioned in the age of GPS but they tell stories, make promises. I have a ragbag collection of more than 2,000.
I’m also a fan of interesting cheeses, good beer and wilderness. They’re like Marmite, you’re an empty place person or you’re not.
I have written four full-length crime thrillers and a book of short stories featuring Danny Lancaster, a wounded Afghan veteran turned private investigator. They are:
The Wreck Of The Margherita
Death Squad
Rough Diamond
Rock Hard
Gargoyle Pixie Dog
My sixth Danny Lancaster - GODLEFE'S CUCKOO - will be published in March 2018.
I’ve also written three non-fiction books. GUNNER is based on my father's World War Two diary, photos and postcards from Normandy to Hamburg.
PIGTAIL PILOT is the tragic story of Barbara Gubbins, a talented young woman who was nearly the RAF’s first female pilot.
A CROCUS FROM JERUSALEM is the story of a country lad soldiering in 1917 Palestine.
If you fancy a chat I’m easy to find.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
August 28, 2015
The title is the name of a 1970s rock band and after a come-back they die one by one under inexplicable circumstances. You can only believe in so much coincidence. Danny Lancaster Investigates! Danny seems superficially to be a bit of a Jack-the-lad but his charisma and character are such that his friends willingly put themselves in danger to help him. In this case, he finds he’s been invited to investigate a case which then sets him up as the major suspect in a multiple murder. How is he going to get out of this one?
Bill Todd’s stories are always complex and, if you pay attention, they are a gripping read. They move fast, there are many characters and nasty things happen to people. If you’re a devotee of the murder, mystery, detective and/or thriller categories, these books will really hook you.
Bill Todd’s stories are always complex and, if you pay attention, they are a gripping read. They move fast, there are many characters and nasty things happen to people. If you’re a devotee of the murder, mystery, detective and/or thriller categories, these books will really hook you.
May 28, 2022
Danny is a refreshing protagonist a pi and ex soldier who is a very real person, not just an action hero but someone with thoughts and feelings who lives with the effects of the things he has done. This story features Danny getting drawn into investigating the mysterious deaths of aging rock band members. There’s a good thread of humour throughout and the plot has the right amount of action and character development 4.5* from me
February 14, 2020
Fast paced action thriller with the lovable but sometimes ruthless Danny Lancaster.
He’s certainly grown on me as he investigates the murders of the rock band Death Squad.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews