Nostalgia Man Trilogy

  An intricate and psychologically complex page-turner. BookLife Prize review.

  In the picturesque town of Henley-on-Thames, one man’s memories of the 1960s flow like a river: deep, dark, and full of secrets. Once a promising Detective Chief Superintendent, Oliver Matthews spent decades in emotional turmoil fathoming what drove him to flee his place of birth and never see old friends again. A disturbing vision is a constant reminder of the shame he felt. What had he done?

Desperate to find answers before the years run out, he returns to Henley, where an encounter with a mysterious stranger raises more questions.

Reconnecting with old friends, each holding pieces of the puzzle, Oliver navigates a labyrinth of lost love, regret and guilt. Delving deeper, he uncovers the intricate web of the infamous yet unsolved Henley Stalker case, intertwining his youth with a mystery too stubborn to fade.

With every painful revelation, Oliver grapples with the same haunting questions: is he the hero of his own story or the villain? Will the answers lead to redemption or prove too heavy to bear?

Without memory, we are nothing. 

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Nostalgia Man in Market Harborough is the second novel by Paul S Bradley in the trilogy exploring memory. Without memory, we are nothing.

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.

Nostalgia Man in The Isle of Wight is the final novel by Paul S. Bradley in the trilogy, which explores memory. Without memory, we are nothing.

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.