Having not read much crime fiction before, I was unsure of what to expect from Bright Spark by Lincoln author Gavin Smith. I was pleasantly surprised by the very picaresque start to the novel.
I expected it to be action-packed and harsh, gritty descriptions of not so pleasant things. As the novel moves from the protagonist’s childhood of the 1970s to the present day mean streets of Lincoln this does begin to happen.
Ex Lincoln policeman Gavin Smith has combined his experience of being on the force with his knowledge of the streets of Lincoln to write a crime novel that will have readers wondering what really happens behind their neighbour’s closed door.
Gavin Smith released Bright Spark, set in Lincoln, in 2012.
The action is set in modern day Lincoln with an arson attack resulting in the death of a mother and her two children. The prime suspect, the father Dale Murphy, is missing.
Has he run guiltily from the crime scene or is there something more sinister in his disappearance? That is the question the reader tries to uncover throughout the novel.
The main protagonist of the novel is Detective Inspector Rob Harkness. He views his recent promotion to be validation of this unique way solving cases. He is a heavy drinker and womaniser and often seems to bunk off work to ‘think’ about cases while napping on a sofa in the basement of the police station.
Harkness’ methods seem to come from an era when the police were less accountable for their actions and did what it took to get the case solved. Despite his faults it becomes apparent that Harkness really does care about solving the case and seeing that justice is done to the right person – Think a less violent or respected Gene Hunt from Life on Mars.
Interspersed between Harkness’ narration of the case are chapters narrated by those linked to the arson attack. These include Firth, an ex-con who had a grudge with Dale Murphy, Sharon, the lawyer who is defending him, and Sharon’s mother, Marjorie, who coincidentally lived next door to the Murphys.
There are also sections where we are given viewpoints from other minor characters linked to the story. Although these chapters provide some interesting background information on the main players in the case, there are so many of them that it can leave the reader confused as to where they are in the main storyline. They also detract from the action of the story, which in some parts is few and far between.
The action of the story does seem to slow down towards the middle of the novel when it becomes more concentrated on the back stories of the characters.
For me this part did seem a bit slow. But by then I was hooked into finding out who really did start the fire. Once you make it past this middle section you are rewarded with an action-packed ending. There are a couple of good twists did not leave me disappointed.
Although set in Lincoln, this does not become a very big feature of the novel and the story could be set in any small, northern city. Most of the action seems to take place in the residential part of Burton Road and a fictional pub uphill somewhere.
Overall I enjoyed this novel. Although, at 456 pages long, it could have done with a reduction in the number of characters and their lives introduced to the reader and was a bit thin on action in some parts.
But at 99p it is great value for money and a nice easy read for the approaching holiday season. It is a good first crime for anyone more used to reading lighted fiction than gritty crime as the novel switches from blunt, factual descriptions to characters musings on their lives and relationships.
It is currently only available in Kindle format and would recommend it for over 18s only, as it does have a couple of gruesome descriptions of murder and autopsies.
Jen Marchant is a lifelong Lincoln resistant and literature enthusiast. After graduating from Bishop Groseteste University she set up and co-chairs Lincoln Book Group which meets once a month in the Bailgate area. She is a regular blogger and spends most of her free time baking or crocheting.
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Nominations are open for schools and education settings to be recognised in the 2022 Lincolnshire Education Excellence Awards.
The event is organised by Stonebow Media, publishers of The Lincolnite, to celebrate the best school and teachers in Greater Lincolnshire.
The headline sponsors making the awards possible are Lincoln College Group.
Twelve categories are now open for nominations. The deadline for nominations is June 3, with a judging lunch scheduled for June 7.
Nominations are open from parents, carers, friends, families or education settings themselves, so if you know someone who deserving of winning now is the time to vote!
The awards ceremony will be held at the Engine Shed on July 7.
It’s been a week since the controversial statue of Margaret Thatcher was installed in Grantham’s St Peter’s Hill.
The £300,000 bronze monument immediately caused a stir and debate from both supporters and opponents of the first female Prime Minister of the UK.
Within hours of its 7am installation last Sunday, it had already been egged by a man later revealed to be 59-year-old Jeremy Webster, a deputy director at the Attenborough Arts Centre at the University of Leicester.
Mr Webster’s mother-in-law recently described his actions as “childish”.
Quoted in the MailOnline she said: “Margaret Thatcher lasted a long time in power. She was a trailblazer as the first woman prime minister and she had such energy, even though I know she slept very little.
“I’m very surprised to hear about all of this [egg throwing]. I’m going to have to call my daughter. I wouldn’t have thought Jeremy would be the sort of person to do this. It seems very childish to me – he has a responsible job.”
There have been reports of other antisocial behaviour taking place including people urinating up the statue, but investigations into these are yet to be confirmed by officials.
Away from the statue itself, others took to social media to react to the new monument.
Twitterer @BolsoverBeast thought Mr Webster’s actions should be expanded as a way to… get more people involved?
I think it would be a good idea to put Thatcher’s statue on a low loader and tow it slowly around the country so that we all have a chance to throw something at it. pic.twitter.com/uftMqr0LgR
— Chloe Schlosberg (@ChloeSchlosberg) May 19, 2022
Some called back to the fate of other statues
@Irritatedllama called back to the fate of slave trader Edward Colston who was thrown into the Bristol Harby in June 2020.
It's absolutely disgraceful that people are throwing eggs at the Margaret Thatcher statue in Grantham! We need to deploy a taskforce to give it jolly good wash!#Granthampic.twitter.com/RKftKUls4u
It wasn’t long before a parody account of the statue was set up on Twitter – nor before “she” was interacting with other parody accounts.
It was awful. I could see almost all of Grantham
— That Statue of Thatcher (@thatcher_statue) May 18, 2022
A… positive view?
There were supporters of the statue, however, Darren Grimes from GBNews was one of the few popular posts calling on people not to “give in to threats of petty vandalism”. He later posted the statue should be in parliament – where it was previously rejected from.
I honestly think Margaret Thatcher would have found this first round of petty vandalism of her statue to be utterly hilarious.
The statue looks absolutely glorious.
Almost a decade on from her passing, she’s still winding them up!
Some, like @Jonnyhibberd were more measured in their response.
I don't see a problem with a Thatcher statue and I also don't see a problem with people throwing eggs at it. Thatcher is an important part of our history, and so is what a lot of people thought about her.
— Jonathan Hibberd 🇺🇦 (@Jonnyhibberd) May 18, 2022