To celebrate the news that all three of David Nolan’s Manc Noir novels are being developed for TV, we’ve brought them all together in one volume for the very first time, complete with a new introduction by the author.
The Mermaid’s Pool
Detective Inspector John Smithdown is a good man with some bad things to deal with.
It's 1988 and ecstasy is flooding the streets of Manchester. The Second Summer of Love is here. Tell that to the locals on DI Smithdown's patch.
Over one weekend, Smithdown is faced with a missing single mum, machete wielding gangs in Oldham, simmering racial tensions across communities and a mutilated body found at the edge of a remote lake with a mythical reputation.
People say bad things happen at the Mermaid's Pool. They're dead right.
Black Moss
In April 1990, as rioters took over Strangeways prison in Manchester, someone killed a little boy at Black Moss. And no one cared. No one except Danny Johnston, an inexperienced radio reporter trying to make a name for himself.
More than a quarter of a century later, Danny returns to his home city to revisit the murder that's always haunted him. If Danny can find out what really happened to the boy, maybe he can cure the emptiness he's felt inside since he too was a child. But finding out the truth might just be the worst idea Danny Johnston has ever had.
The Ballad Of Hanging Lees
In Manchester, vigilantes are setting traps online to expose sexual predators and once they have a suspect in their sights they’re taking the law into their own hands, acting as judge, jury and executioner.
When the suicide of a troubled woman near to Hanging Lees Reservoir implicates an old friend, reporter Danny Johnston has no choice but to investigate. As more bodies are discovered Danny finds himself being pulled deeper and deeper into a case whose roots date back decades, and as he tries to uncover the truth he begins to be haunted by horrifying dreams of his own.
A terrible secret, kept for than 40 years is about to change everything.
In the final act of David Nolan's Manc Noir trilogy, The Ballad of Hanging Lees will play us out... then fade to black.
Praise for the David Nolan
“The King Of Manc Noir” – Altricham Word Festival
“Perfectly placed amidst the bleakness of the 1990s Manchester and the dark, forbidding moors that Nolan describes so well.” – Ian Ayris
“Dark and compelling novels, very much rooted in fact.” – I Love Manchester
“David Nolan has used his memories of the 1990 Strangeways riots as a backdrop and channelled his anger about a Manchester murder that shocked the nation.” – Manchester Evening News
“Dark, brooding & angry. A compelling mystery with a social conscience.” – ItsAnIndieBookBlog.com
“Gripping from the outset. Absolutely stunning.” - The Irresponsible Reader
Genre: Thriller
The Mermaid’s Pool
Detective Inspector John Smithdown is a good man with some bad things to deal with.
It's 1988 and ecstasy is flooding the streets of Manchester. The Second Summer of Love is here. Tell that to the locals on DI Smithdown's patch.
Over one weekend, Smithdown is faced with a missing single mum, machete wielding gangs in Oldham, simmering racial tensions across communities and a mutilated body found at the edge of a remote lake with a mythical reputation.
People say bad things happen at the Mermaid's Pool. They're dead right.
Black Moss
In April 1990, as rioters took over Strangeways prison in Manchester, someone killed a little boy at Black Moss. And no one cared. No one except Danny Johnston, an inexperienced radio reporter trying to make a name for himself.
More than a quarter of a century later, Danny returns to his home city to revisit the murder that's always haunted him. If Danny can find out what really happened to the boy, maybe he can cure the emptiness he's felt inside since he too was a child. But finding out the truth might just be the worst idea Danny Johnston has ever had.
The Ballad Of Hanging Lees
In Manchester, vigilantes are setting traps online to expose sexual predators and once they have a suspect in their sights they’re taking the law into their own hands, acting as judge, jury and executioner.
When the suicide of a troubled woman near to Hanging Lees Reservoir implicates an old friend, reporter Danny Johnston has no choice but to investigate. As more bodies are discovered Danny finds himself being pulled deeper and deeper into a case whose roots date back decades, and as he tries to uncover the truth he begins to be haunted by horrifying dreams of his own.
A terrible secret, kept for than 40 years is about to change everything.
In the final act of David Nolan's Manc Noir trilogy, The Ballad of Hanging Lees will play us out... then fade to black.
Praise for the David Nolan
“The King Of Manc Noir” – Altricham Word Festival
“Perfectly placed amidst the bleakness of the 1990s Manchester and the dark, forbidding moors that Nolan describes so well.” – Ian Ayris
“Dark and compelling novels, very much rooted in fact.” – I Love Manchester
“David Nolan has used his memories of the 1990 Strangeways riots as a backdrop and channelled his anger about a Manchester murder that shocked the nation.” – Manchester Evening News
“Dark, brooding & angry. A compelling mystery with a social conscience.” – ItsAnIndieBookBlog.com
“Gripping from the outset. Absolutely stunning.” - The Irresponsible Reader
Genre: Thriller
Used availability for David Nolan's Rain Falls Hard