User:Mark Charlton Kings/Mark charlton kings
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Mark Charlton-Kings ...
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[edit]Mark Charlton-Kings is the nom de plume of Hugh Atkinson, the author of the crime mystery novel SMOKE WITHOUT FIRE.
The action begins in Ian (and Wilbur) Smith's Rhodesia in the mid 1970's where the vicious Bush War is being fought: it concludes today in Robert Mugabe's Zimbabwe. However, most of the story unfolds in Bristol where a serial killer is murdering young prostitutes from St Pauls, the city's red light district. The novel culminates in Bristol Crown Court and on the iconic Clifton Suspension Bridge.
The main character, Craig Dalton, is a successful English vet, an accomplished polo player and an inveterate womaniser. He enjoys an enviable lifestyle in Africa, where he falls in love with Laurie, a young American girl he meets on safari. However, everything begins to disintegrate when events in his past re-emerge to haunt him. Distraught, he returns to England where he becomes involved in the police investigation into the Bristol Beast murders. Sarah, a brutalised Rhodesian girl re-enters the story and plays a pivotal role in Craig's traumatic life.
Seemingly unconnected events finally entwine into a complex plot involving rejected lovers, obsessed policemen, teenage prostitutes, a brilliant barrister, an American philanthropist and a Scottish journalist with a sinster past.
The author, Hugh Atkinson, was born and educated in England but went abroad after graduation. Successful careers in education, the oil industry and international business took him to Africa, the Middle East and America. His intimate knowledge of the locations where his thriller is set ensures considerable realism.
Smoke without Fire is available in bookshops and on line from Amazon UK.