Nostalgia Man Trilogy
Henley-on-Thames
An intricate and psychologically complex page-turner. BookLife Prize review.
Determined to confront the hazy memories of his troubled youth, Oliver Matthews, a retired detective and confirmed bachelor, returns to the picturesque town of Henley-on-Thames for the first time in years.
An unexpected encounter rekindles the possibility of a lost love. However, this joyful chance is jeopardised when old friends remind him of a mystery that has personal implications.
As Oliver delves deeper into the case, he uncovers the disturbing truth behind why he abandoned his dearest friends.
The weight and shame of his past mistakes create profound turmoil within him. He grapples with the haunting question: Is he the hero of his own story or the villain?
This journey of self-discovery explores the relevance of nostalgia.
Without memory, we are nothing.
Bookshops buy from Ingrams or Gardners
Market Harborough
Fresh from cracking the mystery of his youth in Henley on the Thames, retired Detective Chief Superintendent Oliver Matthews is asked by a former colleague in Market Harborough, Leicestershire, for help. An unstable inmate in nearby high-security Gartree Prison wishes to confess to unsolved murders from the 1970s, but only to the man who put him there, the young DC Matthews. Was the prisoner’s memory playing tricks? Perhaps he thirsted for revenge, or could it be a genuine attempt to show remorse and provide closure to the victims’ families? Despite the potential danger and imminent marriage to the recently rediscovered love of his life, Matthews can’t resist yet another challenge to the misty recollections of his youth.
To be published in 2026
Isle of Wight
Isle of Wight
Inspired by his successes resolving confused memories in Henley and Market Harborough, Oliver Matthews is invited by MI5 to the Isle of Wight to talk with the son of a former British spy.
The son is about to publish a book about his father that contains unheard-of revelations that could turn the history of espionage upside down.
Is this a question of false memory, or could the allegations be true? It proves more challenging and dangerous than any case during his long police career.
To be published in 2027