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The Private Life Of A Public Servant Volume 1: The Gritty Beginning
London, 1960. The city is changing — but the streets are darker than ever.
Ricky Hunter has just joined the Metropolitan Police. Young, ambitious, and reckless, he steps into a world of gangland crime, smoky backstreet clubs, and quiet corruption. Inside Scotland Yard, power and politics pull the strings. Outside, the temptations of sex and money test his resolve. One wrong move could ruin his career. One right move might cost him his life.
This is not a cosy whodunnit. It is raw, unapologetic British noir — a gritty police procedural written by a man who knew the job from the inside.
The Private Life of a Public Servant is a ten-volume epic by Colin Whitfield Dawson, a career Metropolitan Policeman. Hand-written more than thirty years ago and illustrated with nearly 100 of his own sketches, these books are more than crime fiction. They are a time a candid look at the police service, told with the detail only someone who lived it could bring.
Across almost a million words, this saga follows Ricky Hunter from the 1960s to the 1990s — four turbulent decades of London’s underworld, shifting morality, and the high personal cost of wearing the badge. Each volume builds the a flawed anti-hero battling his conscience as much as the criminals he chases.
Volume 1: The Gritty Beginning sets the stage. In the alleys and pubs of 1960s London, Ricky learns his first lessons in loyalty, betrayal, and survival. Every case leaves a mark. Every temptation drags him closer to the edge.
From here the story only deepens — affairs uncovered, loyalties tested, resilience and heartbreak, unfinished legacies. Ten books in total, each one pulling Ricky further into the shadows of crime, corruption, and desire.
Written more than three decades ago, untouched by modern polish, these novels carry the authentic voice of their era. They are as unfiltered and relentless as the life they describe.
If you enjoy Ian Rankin, Lynda La Plante, Stuart MacBride or M.W. Craven — step into Ricky Hunter’s world. But be once you start, you won’t stop.
Content explicit sexual content, adult themes, strong language, violence. 18+.
Ricky Hunter has just joined the Metropolitan Police. Young, ambitious, and reckless, he steps into a world of gangland crime, smoky backstreet clubs, and quiet corruption. Inside Scotland Yard, power and politics pull the strings. Outside, the temptations of sex and money test his resolve. One wrong move could ruin his career. One right move might cost him his life.
This is not a cosy whodunnit. It is raw, unapologetic British noir — a gritty police procedural written by a man who knew the job from the inside.
The Private Life of a Public Servant is a ten-volume epic by Colin Whitfield Dawson, a career Metropolitan Policeman. Hand-written more than thirty years ago and illustrated with nearly 100 of his own sketches, these books are more than crime fiction. They are a time a candid look at the police service, told with the detail only someone who lived it could bring.
Across almost a million words, this saga follows Ricky Hunter from the 1960s to the 1990s — four turbulent decades of London’s underworld, shifting morality, and the high personal cost of wearing the badge. Each volume builds the a flawed anti-hero battling his conscience as much as the criminals he chases.
Volume 1: The Gritty Beginning sets the stage. In the alleys and pubs of 1960s London, Ricky learns his first lessons in loyalty, betrayal, and survival. Every case leaves a mark. Every temptation drags him closer to the edge.
From here the story only deepens — affairs uncovered, loyalties tested, resilience and heartbreak, unfinished legacies. Ten books in total, each one pulling Ricky further into the shadows of crime, corruption, and desire.
Written more than three decades ago, untouched by modern polish, these novels carry the authentic voice of their era. They are as unfiltered and relentless as the life they describe.
If you enjoy Ian Rankin, Lynda La Plante, Stuart MacBride or M.W. Craven — step into Ricky Hunter’s world. But be once you start, you won’t stop.
Content explicit sexual content, adult themes, strong language, violence. 18+.
370 pages, Kindle Edition
Published September 20, 2025
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