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Tow Away Zone
When a travelling salesman finds a town that’s not on the map, he must choose between romance and a long-held promise of untold riches.
Beckman Spiers is a grey man in a grey world—and he’s happy with that.
After 12 years of routine and grind, he’s again fighting to become Number One Salesman of the Year. Legend has it, Number Ones get so rich, they never work again. With a week to go, Beckman is gaining on his nemesis, smooth-talking Tyler Quittle.
When a chance blowout on a deserted Arizona highway leaves Beckman stranded, the mysterious Saul arrives, and tows him to the strange neon-lit town of Sunrise. Here, he meets the glamorous Lolita Milan and his fortunes change.
Yet, Sunrise’s small-town charms conceal secrets, and his world becomes one of private investigators and backstabbing business deals.
What will he have to do to reach Number One? And what will he do if he wins the race?
In this comedic, stylistic, and mysterious story, meet the most unique characters and get pulled into the colourful world of Sunrise.
Beckman Spiers is a grey man in a grey world—and he’s happy with that.
After 12 years of routine and grind, he’s again fighting to become Number One Salesman of the Year. Legend has it, Number Ones get so rich, they never work again. With a week to go, Beckman is gaining on his nemesis, smooth-talking Tyler Quittle.
When a chance blowout on a deserted Arizona highway leaves Beckman stranded, the mysterious Saul arrives, and tows him to the strange neon-lit town of Sunrise. Here, he meets the glamorous Lolita Milan and his fortunes change.
Yet, Sunrise’s small-town charms conceal secrets, and his world becomes one of private investigators and backstabbing business deals.
What will he have to do to reach Number One? And what will he do if he wins the race?
In this comedic, stylistic, and mysterious story, meet the most unique characters and get pulled into the colourful world of Sunrise.
261 pages, Paperback
Published June 1, 2021
About the author
Chris Towndrow
26 books18 followersChris Towndrow has been a writer since 1991.
He began writing science fiction, inspired by Asimov, Iain M Banks, and numerous film and TV canons. After a few years creating screenplays across several genres, in 2004 he branched out into playwriting and has had several productions professionally performed. This background is instrumental in his ability to produce realistic, compelling dialogue in his books.
His first published novel was 2012’s far-future, post-war space opera “Sacred Ground”. He then changed focus into near-future sci-fi adventures, and the Enna Dacourt pentalogy was completed in 2023. In a similar vein, “Nuclear Family” was a venture into post-apocalyptic fiction.
He has always drawn inspiration from the big screen, and 2019’s quirky romantic black comedy “Tow Away Zone” owes much to the films of the Coen Brothers. This spawned two sequels in what became the “Sunrise trilogy”.
His first historical fiction novel, “Signs Of Life”, was published by Valericain Press in 2023.
Chris then returned to his passion for writing accessible humour and is focussing on romantic comedies. Writing under the new pen name Chrissie Harrison, his rom-com debut, “Floored”, published in April 2024 to great reviews, and outsold his entire back catalogue in just 6 months.
May 2025 saw the publication of “Wicket Maiden”, a genre defining rom-com set in the world of women’s cricket.
Chris lives on the outskirts of London with his family. He is a member of the UK Society of Authors and the Romantic Novelists Association.
He began writing science fiction, inspired by Asimov, Iain M Banks, and numerous film and TV canons. After a few years creating screenplays across several genres, in 2004 he branched out into playwriting and has had several productions professionally performed. This background is instrumental in his ability to produce realistic, compelling dialogue in his books.
His first published novel was 2012’s far-future, post-war space opera “Sacred Ground”. He then changed focus into near-future sci-fi adventures, and the Enna Dacourt pentalogy was completed in 2023. In a similar vein, “Nuclear Family” was a venture into post-apocalyptic fiction.
He has always drawn inspiration from the big screen, and 2019’s quirky romantic black comedy “Tow Away Zone” owes much to the films of the Coen Brothers. This spawned two sequels in what became the “Sunrise trilogy”.
His first historical fiction novel, “Signs Of Life”, was published by Valericain Press in 2023.
Chris then returned to his passion for writing accessible humour and is focussing on romantic comedies. Writing under the new pen name Chrissie Harrison, his rom-com debut, “Floored”, published in April 2024 to great reviews, and outsold his entire back catalogue in just 6 months.
May 2025 saw the publication of “Wicket Maiden”, a genre defining rom-com set in the world of women’s cricket.
Chris lives on the outskirts of London with his family. He is a member of the UK Society of Authors and the Romantic Novelists Association.
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
January 25, 2022
I’m a little bit puzzled here. Why? Because Tow Away Zone is a brilliant book and at the same time, it makes my radar blip.
[Keep reading @ Bookshelves & Teacups]
[Keep reading @ Bookshelves & Teacups]
February 7, 2022
🌟🌟🌟🌟
#bookreview
#towawayzone #christowndrow
I was surprised by this book - it wasn’t what I expected at all.
The main character is living a boring salesman life, and happens upon a town where he seems to find everything he’s wanted - sales, sales, sales, and a vast array of such interesting characters.
The narrative of the story keeps you gripped and there is drama and comedic moments a-plenty!
An easy and pleasant read from start to finish.
I’m left wondering whether it’s all real or not 🤔!
Thank you 😊
#bookblog #bookreadersofinstagram #bookcommunity #bookaddict #bookworm #booksbooksbooks #nursesthatread #scottishreader #bookgeek #bookreviewer #bookreviewersofinstagram #bookobsessed #scottishbookstagrammer #bookaholic #whatiread #readerssupportingauthors #pageturners #booklife #bloggergirl #themagicofbooks #bookwormsunited #readinggoals #newreleasebooks #bookobsessed #bookishcommunity #bookaddicted #freebookreviews #fortheloveofliterature
#bookreview
#towawayzone #christowndrow
I was surprised by this book - it wasn’t what I expected at all.
The main character is living a boring salesman life, and happens upon a town where he seems to find everything he’s wanted - sales, sales, sales, and a vast array of such interesting characters.
The narrative of the story keeps you gripped and there is drama and comedic moments a-plenty!
An easy and pleasant read from start to finish.
I’m left wondering whether it’s all real or not 🤔!
Thank you 😊
#bookblog #bookreadersofinstagram #bookcommunity #bookaddict #bookworm #booksbooksbooks #nursesthatread #scottishreader #bookgeek #bookreviewer #bookreviewersofinstagram #bookobsessed #scottishbookstagrammer #bookaholic #whatiread #readerssupportingauthors #pageturners #booklife #bloggergirl #themagicofbooks #bookwormsunited #readinggoals #newreleasebooks #bookobsessed #bookishcommunity #bookaddicted #freebookreviews #fortheloveofliterature
December 29, 2021
I did have a good chuckle while reading this book, the characters are likeable, the twists and turns in the story are unpredictable and the plot itself is quite unusual.
Beckman is our main character, he’s a cheeky one with a great sense of humour and what I would call an overactive imagination. He is a travelling salesman who ends up in the strange town of Sunrise and that’s when things get a bit odd. I did find some parts of the story a bit confusing and felt certain parts dragged a little bit but that didn’t stop me from turning the pages.
I found myself spending a lot of time wondering if the town in the story was real or just a figment of the main character's imagination.
It’s a very relaxing and lighthearted read but definitely not something I could finish in one session or even two or three. If a story has me hooked I literally cannot put the book down - that didn’t happen with this one. It was fun and engaging but nothing special.
A solid 3 stars. ⭐️⭐️⭐️
I would like to thank Rachel’s Random Resources for providing me with a review copy of this book for free. Views and opinions are my own and have not been influenced by anyone.
Beckman is our main character, he’s a cheeky one with a great sense of humour and what I would call an overactive imagination. He is a travelling salesman who ends up in the strange town of Sunrise and that’s when things get a bit odd. I did find some parts of the story a bit confusing and felt certain parts dragged a little bit but that didn’t stop me from turning the pages.
I found myself spending a lot of time wondering if the town in the story was real or just a figment of the main character's imagination.
It’s a very relaxing and lighthearted read but definitely not something I could finish in one session or even two or three. If a story has me hooked I literally cannot put the book down - that didn’t happen with this one. It was fun and engaging but nothing special.
A solid 3 stars. ⭐️⭐️⭐️
I would like to thank Rachel’s Random Resources for providing me with a review copy of this book for free. Views and opinions are my own and have not been influenced by anyone.
January 21, 2022
I thought this was a fun read with quirky, likeable characters that kept me interested. While the writing was perfectly readable and well edited, it did occasionally slant a little too far toward trying so hard to be witty that it fell flat instead. Such as the times it read like this, for example:
Yeah, this is my *blank, un-amused stare.* I see what the author is doing there, but can we not? Similarly, I occasionally didn’t understand what the characters were actually trying to relay in some of their verbal byplay.
But more often than any of that, I chuckled along with the what on earth is going to happen next-ness of the book, appreciated how things wrapped back around on themselves, and I’d happily read another.
Mercifully, before long, a shape rose from the heat haze. A stationary shape. A building-shaped shape. A gas station-shaped building shape. (pg 15)
Yeah, this is my *blank, un-amused stare.* I see what the author is doing there, but can we not? Similarly, I occasionally didn’t understand what the characters were actually trying to relay in some of their verbal byplay.
But more often than any of that, I chuckled along with the what on earth is going to happen next-ness of the book, appreciated how things wrapped back around on themselves, and I’d happily read another.
Read
October 21, 2023The seeds of this book were sown about two decades ago after watching the Coen Brothers’ “O Brother Where Art Thou?”. As a fan of their work, I’m drawn to the quirky plots, curious character names, dark comedy and visual style.
A key takeaway of this film was the use of a motif - hair. Key characters have interesting haircuts, and a pot of hair gel regularly appears.
Another influence was the obscure Italian language comedy “The Icicle Thief”. The film mixes black & white and colour plot lines, with the two visuals cleverly merging at a couple of points. It triggered the idea of creating a story whose MC can only see in monochrome but somehow enters a world where he can experience colour.
This meant there had to be a slightly fantastical, fairy-tale element to the story.
I also felt the urge to homage the Odessa Steps sequence from “The Battleship Potemkin” - although frankly, I was inspired by the station steps scene in “The Untouchables”, which is itself a homage to the Eisenstein film. To do this, I needed to find a way to get an adult into something like a baby carriage, as there are no young children in my book. In the event, I used a laundry trolley.
“Tow Away Zone” was initially conceived as a film, and I wrote a treatment in anticipation of moving on to write a draft screenplay. (I’d written several screenplays around this time). I felt that the influences, the visuals, and certain scenes (especially the slo-mo trolley/gun battle) demanded that the story be told on screen.
As I’d only written sci-fi novels up to that point, plus being in the groove of writing screenplays in various genres, I never considered that the “Tow Away Zone” story belonged in a book.
The work has retained that title from the start, stemming from the inciting incident wherein the MC is rescued by a tow truck, albeit in a very remote location that is in no way signposted “TOW AWAY ZONE”. I liked the irony.
Soon after writing the treatment, my work and home lives underwent a significant shift, and the document sat unloved on my hard drive.
In around 2018, after a couple of years of reinvigorating my writing career, I sought old projects and ideas to develop. I’d retained an enthusiasm for this crazy, uncategorisable story, but my screenwriting days were past.
The question was whether it was possible to novelise something whose charm was predicated on a visual language, including the mixture of colour palettes and the ballet of the “Odessa Steps” chapter.
I was encouraged by my ability, some 15 years earlier, to leap from a very derivative pair of sci-fi books - with deeply mediocre prose - into writing a space opera which was catalysed by reading Iain M Banks, and a desire to write with more richness, flair and intelligence. I still don’t know how I ‘grew up’ so quickly, but it probably gave me confidence that I should at least try to do the “Tow Away Zone” idea justice.
After I fleshed the treatment into a detailed outline, adding backstories that created conflict and resonance, I set to work.
Writing a book almost entirely in one POV was unusual for me, but when I “found” Beckman’s voice and inner monologue, I didn’t see any real need to stray. His tone reflects his quirky manner, situation, visual handicap, and the odd journey he gets swept up in.
When I briefly used two other POVs, it was nice to show their character via interaction with someone that Beckman also met - in very similar circumstances, all three handle the guy differently.
Many of the character names in the book have a quirky, Coen Brothers - and even Carl Hiaasen - feel. I have no idea why the MC is called Beckman Spiers, nor what the source of Lolita Milan, Saul Paul, Walter Whack etc. are. These are lost in the mists of the crazy inspiration period two decades ago. A few minor characters are anchored by the names of current friends and colleagues. The only original name with any provenance is Amaryllis Broomhead, who was a girl I knew at college. This side character went on to play a more prominent role in the two sequels. (A sequel was never planned, but I enjoyed writing the book too much not to revisit the world I’d created.)
My favourite moniker is reserved for the cafe - Our Buck’s - which takes the proprietor’s name and uses it to create a pun. (Actually, not true. I came up with the pun and created Buck Travis from that. He’s envisaged as being played by John Goodman!).
The motif in the book is eyesight, with the MC suffering from monochromacy, which underscores his attitude to the world and provides the central theme - black & white versus colour. This encompasses everything from the wardrobe he wears to the slightly fantastical nature of the book.
Almost all the other characters have some kind of vision deficit or peculiarity.
Another key theme is the juxtaposition of a peripatetic life and a very static, stable life - and it underpins the central conflict. It shows as certainty versus uncertainty, routine versus change, and black & white versus colour.
Looking back, as I write this, there’s a small parallel with the central character in the wonderful book “The Rosie Project”. Both he and Beckman find other people’s quirks amusing whilst not seeing their own OCD-like traits as anything special.
One reader compared “Tow Away Zone” to the work of Carl Hiaasen, and I can see the offbeat plot lines, characters and names suggest that.
Chiefly, however, this story was always a homage to the Coen Brothers’ brand of black comedy. Other films which share common elements with “Tow Away Zone” are “Roxanne”, “Grosse Pointe Blank,” and especially “Doc Hollywood”, where a stranger winds up in a small town after a car accident and falls in love with the place.
In the end, when it came to getting this book out into the world, I realised it was hard to categorise and hence unlikely to attract agent or publisher interest. I did, however, invest in the services of a professional editor to cast their eye over the manuscript. Partly this was to seek validation that it was a decent story, humorously told - and not a crazy vanity project that only appealed to my sometimes offbeat sense of humour.
Mercifully, she enjoyed it - but also couldn’t liken it to anything else. Yes, it can be pitched, but it crosses many genres. A lovable mongrel, perhaps.
I feel like I bottled lightning - like randomly emptying the larder into a bowl and somehow coming up with a moreish chocolate cake.
So the book was published (though it’s been through two new covers and five re-issues to tidy the prose further), and the initial ten or so readers gave it 4 or 5 stars. My self-belief was seemingly well-placed. I was chuffed to also get a thumbs-up from an award-winning UK comedic writer.
In summary: whoever said, “write the book you want to read”, I think that box is ticked now.
Of course, if the Coens want to offer me the movie rights…
A key takeaway of this film was the use of a motif - hair. Key characters have interesting haircuts, and a pot of hair gel regularly appears.
Another influence was the obscure Italian language comedy “The Icicle Thief”. The film mixes black & white and colour plot lines, with the two visuals cleverly merging at a couple of points. It triggered the idea of creating a story whose MC can only see in monochrome but somehow enters a world where he can experience colour.
This meant there had to be a slightly fantastical, fairy-tale element to the story.
I also felt the urge to homage the Odessa Steps sequence from “The Battleship Potemkin” - although frankly, I was inspired by the station steps scene in “The Untouchables”, which is itself a homage to the Eisenstein film. To do this, I needed to find a way to get an adult into something like a baby carriage, as there are no young children in my book. In the event, I used a laundry trolley.
“Tow Away Zone” was initially conceived as a film, and I wrote a treatment in anticipation of moving on to write a draft screenplay. (I’d written several screenplays around this time). I felt that the influences, the visuals, and certain scenes (especially the slo-mo trolley/gun battle) demanded that the story be told on screen.
As I’d only written sci-fi novels up to that point, plus being in the groove of writing screenplays in various genres, I never considered that the “Tow Away Zone” story belonged in a book.
The work has retained that title from the start, stemming from the inciting incident wherein the MC is rescued by a tow truck, albeit in a very remote location that is in no way signposted “TOW AWAY ZONE”. I liked the irony.
Soon after writing the treatment, my work and home lives underwent a significant shift, and the document sat unloved on my hard drive.
In around 2018, after a couple of years of reinvigorating my writing career, I sought old projects and ideas to develop. I’d retained an enthusiasm for this crazy, uncategorisable story, but my screenwriting days were past.
The question was whether it was possible to novelise something whose charm was predicated on a visual language, including the mixture of colour palettes and the ballet of the “Odessa Steps” chapter.
I was encouraged by my ability, some 15 years earlier, to leap from a very derivative pair of sci-fi books - with deeply mediocre prose - into writing a space opera which was catalysed by reading Iain M Banks, and a desire to write with more richness, flair and intelligence. I still don’t know how I ‘grew up’ so quickly, but it probably gave me confidence that I should at least try to do the “Tow Away Zone” idea justice.
After I fleshed the treatment into a detailed outline, adding backstories that created conflict and resonance, I set to work.
Writing a book almost entirely in one POV was unusual for me, but when I “found” Beckman’s voice and inner monologue, I didn’t see any real need to stray. His tone reflects his quirky manner, situation, visual handicap, and the odd journey he gets swept up in.
When I briefly used two other POVs, it was nice to show their character via interaction with someone that Beckman also met - in very similar circumstances, all three handle the guy differently.
Many of the character names in the book have a quirky, Coen Brothers - and even Carl Hiaasen - feel. I have no idea why the MC is called Beckman Spiers, nor what the source of Lolita Milan, Saul Paul, Walter Whack etc. are. These are lost in the mists of the crazy inspiration period two decades ago. A few minor characters are anchored by the names of current friends and colleagues. The only original name with any provenance is Amaryllis Broomhead, who was a girl I knew at college. This side character went on to play a more prominent role in the two sequels. (A sequel was never planned, but I enjoyed writing the book too much not to revisit the world I’d created.)
My favourite moniker is reserved for the cafe - Our Buck’s - which takes the proprietor’s name and uses it to create a pun. (Actually, not true. I came up with the pun and created Buck Travis from that. He’s envisaged as being played by John Goodman!).
The motif in the book is eyesight, with the MC suffering from monochromacy, which underscores his attitude to the world and provides the central theme - black & white versus colour. This encompasses everything from the wardrobe he wears to the slightly fantastical nature of the book.
Almost all the other characters have some kind of vision deficit or peculiarity.
Another key theme is the juxtaposition of a peripatetic life and a very static, stable life - and it underpins the central conflict. It shows as certainty versus uncertainty, routine versus change, and black & white versus colour.
Looking back, as I write this, there’s a small parallel with the central character in the wonderful book “The Rosie Project”. Both he and Beckman find other people’s quirks amusing whilst not seeing their own OCD-like traits as anything special.
One reader compared “Tow Away Zone” to the work of Carl Hiaasen, and I can see the offbeat plot lines, characters and names suggest that.
Chiefly, however, this story was always a homage to the Coen Brothers’ brand of black comedy. Other films which share common elements with “Tow Away Zone” are “Roxanne”, “Grosse Pointe Blank,” and especially “Doc Hollywood”, where a stranger winds up in a small town after a car accident and falls in love with the place.
In the end, when it came to getting this book out into the world, I realised it was hard to categorise and hence unlikely to attract agent or publisher interest. I did, however, invest in the services of a professional editor to cast their eye over the manuscript. Partly this was to seek validation that it was a decent story, humorously told - and not a crazy vanity project that only appealed to my sometimes offbeat sense of humour.
Mercifully, she enjoyed it - but also couldn’t liken it to anything else. Yes, it can be pitched, but it crosses many genres. A lovable mongrel, perhaps.
I feel like I bottled lightning - like randomly emptying the larder into a bowl and somehow coming up with a moreish chocolate cake.
So the book was published (though it’s been through two new covers and five re-issues to tidy the prose further), and the initial ten or so readers gave it 4 or 5 stars. My self-belief was seemingly well-placed. I was chuffed to also get a thumbs-up from an award-winning UK comedic writer.
In summary: whoever said, “write the book you want to read”, I think that box is ticked now.
Of course, if the Coens want to offer me the movie rights…
July 23, 2026
So, I like the plot. I like the idea of this hidden town you can only get to Certain way. I didn't care for the writing. In fact, it annoyed me to no end.
"Beckman was a son of a gun. Possibly two sons. Or two guns. Or both. "
I mean 🤣 how cheesy.
It's set in Arizona, but written in British English. It's odd reading things like that.
The use of 'son of a gun' , 'shoot' were way over the top.
I feel like this is 2.5 stars. I think the main thing is the setting in AZ but seeing words like tyre, millimetres, trolley , Celsius etc just threw everything off. Of it were set in London this would be a different review.
"Beckman was a son of a gun. Possibly two sons. Or two guns. Or both. "
I mean 🤣 how cheesy.
It's set in Arizona, but written in British English. It's odd reading things like that.
The use of 'son of a gun' , 'shoot' were way over the top.
I feel like this is 2.5 stars. I think the main thing is the setting in AZ but seeing words like tyre, millimetres, trolley , Celsius etc just threw everything off. Of it were set in London this would be a different review.
September 11, 2022
You can see an interview with the writer about this book here: https://www.sarahtinsley.com/post/tow...
At times the book feels like a moral tale, at others we veer into magical realism and on other occasions we find ourselves almost in the middle of a thriller. With memorable characters and a light-hearted style, its a book that certainly has some unusual twists and turns.
At times the book feels like a moral tale, at others we veer into magical realism and on other occasions we find ourselves almost in the middle of a thriller. With memorable characters and a light-hearted style, its a book that certainly has some unusual twists and turns.
September 27, 2020
Off to the unknown!
In a surprising town a salesman finds everything he ever wanted. This is such an incredibly interesting story. I couldn't put it down. And I could never decide if the town was real or not. But the characters could have lived next door!
In a surprising town a salesman finds everything he ever wanted. This is such an incredibly interesting story. I couldn't put it down. And I could never decide if the town was real or not. But the characters could have lived next door!
April 11, 2022
This is a quirky, light-hearted read. It took me a while to get into it as the pace was a little slow at times but worth persevering. A great concept - very original. I loved the setting of Sunrise town and the characters Beckman meets there.
January 19, 2024
Quirky characters, humorous prose and a delightful story make this an enjoyable read. A tale of everyday folk, each with ambition, someone hard on their heels and a score to settle. Lighthearted and entertaining from start to finish.
May 5, 2026
Quirky is exactly right.
Creative story. Requires careful reading to get all nuances and cultural references, but worth the effort. Or you can fly through it just for the story.I recommend this book.
Creative story. Requires careful reading to get all nuances and cultural references, but worth the effort. Or you can fly through it just for the story.I recommend this book.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews