Wellingborough man publishes debut novel partly set in the town

Philip Holmes' book, The Queen of Downtown, is available on Amazon
Philip Holmes with his debut novel, The Queen of Downtown, which is partially set in his hometown WellingboroughPhilip Holmes with his debut novel, The Queen of Downtown, which is partially set in his hometown Wellingborough
Philip Holmes with his debut novel, The Queen of Downtown, which is partially set in his hometown Wellingborough

A man from Wellingborough has published his debut novel, which is partly set in the town, on Amazon.

Philip Holmes, 58, has lived in Wellingborough his whole life and wrote a few short stories in the 1990s and decided to have a go at writing a novel a few years ago.

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He said: "A few years ago, I got the idea for this story after watching a documentary on TV about a serial killer, and this detective said nobody could ever commit that number of murders again because of advances in forensic science and because there are cameras on every corner and social media.

"It got me thinking, could someone completely disappear and get completely off the radar if they needed to?"

These thoughts inspired Philip's novel, The Queen of Downtown.

The main character, Gemma, accidentally kills the son of a businessman in self defence and has to run away.

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Philip said: "How would she do it? (The businessman) has got all the means to track her.

"It starts off in London and she has got to get out of the capital immediately and lay low for a few days.

"She goes to St Pancras and literally runs her finger down the (destinations) list and picks Wellingborough."

Philip said when he was thinking of where to take the story, he thought: "Why not take it to Wellingborough? It's got a direct link to London.

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"She's not looking for any specific place, she's just getting away from London, it's as good a place as anywhere."

When Gemma arrives in Wellingborough, it is just before Christmas and she books into a hotel. Philip said: "I haven't named any specific places in Wellingborough, but she spends about two or three days here before moving on."

Philip describes the book as a thriller and said it took him about three years to write from start to finish, including all his research and editing.

The debut author said he is an avid reader and has always wanted to write, but it can be hard to find the time alongside work and everyday life. Philip has worked at Bushboard in Wellingborough for almost 10 years.

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Philip hopes to carry on writing and has lots more ideas. The Queen of Downtown has been self-published on Amazon and Philip said: "Look at EL James, she started out self-publishing!"

You can find The Queen of Downtown on Amazon here.

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