A Random Kill (was The Long Scream, and was Red Fury) 

A Random Kill is the first book in the DS Regan Carter series. I began writing it in March of 2023. Back then I had a choice to make: write another CSI Eddie Collins novel or challenge myself to write something I’ve never written before. I chose the latter, not because the former was too easy – it’s really not. I might be comfortable writing Eddie Collins (extremely comfortable, actually), but there’s still a lot of work involved. I’ve written seven Eddie novels so far, and each one is different not only from anything I’ve ever read, but different from each other. And that’s because I don’t use a formula or a plot device to write my books. I write them organically, as they occur to me. And yes, that’s quite dangerous sometimes because I run the risk of stalling halfway through or writing myself into an impossible situation. But that’s the beauty of it, you see; it’s spontaneous, it’s organic, as I’ve said, and it evolves as real life does.  

I have written a female lead character before (The End of Lies), and it was in first person. But I’ve never written a female lead in third person, nor have I written a detective story before. Two firsts, eh? There’s value for money for you. 

Was it hard to do? Yes.  

I had to put thoughts of Eddie Collins aside – even though he has a couple of cameo appearances in the trilogy. I had to put that other main character of mine aside: forensic science. This was a detective book, and though there are references to scene examinations and DNA results and the like, anything forensic takes a back seat. Here we rely on detective power, not CSI power, to achieve our goals, and it’s a lot harder than I’d imagined it would be. 

She wasn’t the perfect character right off the bat. No, there was a lot of bum-shuffling, a lot of head-scratching, and more than a few trips to the tailor to gets things tucked in or let out. But she eventually became coherent and believable. She became someone I was glad to spend time with, someone who I didn’t begrudge being with because I’d rather be with Eddie. He understood, and he waited patiently. Regan got it too, she knew Eddie was tapping his feet, and his author was keen to get back to a new story. But instead of rushing through all three books to climb back on the Eddie horse again, I took my time, and I sank into the stories and was completely absorbed by them. 

By the end of the third book, I had learned something new. It’s possible to have more than one best friend.