Novellas

The Harry Osborne Adventures

This series of novellas (at least two are shortish novels at around 50k words a piece) mark a new direction, for Leslie, and are currently being considered for traditional publishing.

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(WWII Historical Fiction, Crime)

Life & Death in the Blitz

The first of the Harry Osborne series.
London Eastenders Harry Osborne and his wife Doris struggle with financial hardships during WWII. Harry’s discovery of an easy fix opens a whole can of worms.
Both Harry and his wife know he’s making a mistake by working for their old pal Jack Myers, and not only because he was Doris’s old flame. Still, he can give up when Doris lands a factory job. But where did those silk stockings come from? And why the anonymous note about Doris learning new tricks from their ex-prostitute lodger? When Harry discovers he’s under surveillance, the only way he can redeem himself is to do another job for the shady Jack Myers.
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(WWII Historical Fiction, Crime, Supernatural)

The Trennick House Affair

The 2nd Harry Osborne Adventure
Now an affiliated member of the Home Front Crime Unit, Harry Osborne tackles a case of insurance fraud, while Doris struggles to cope with some uninvited guests.

1941: When insurance magnet Victor Randell’s young wife Amelia is found dead, Harry Osborne’s fraud investigation escalates to one involving murder. After landing a job with Randell, he begins his investigation, reporting to his boss in the Home Front Crime Unit.

Meanwhile, Harry’s wife Doris feels increasingly uncomfortable when home alone. Is it guilt that’s haunting her, or can ghosts really exist?

As more victims are found, Harry, Doris and their lodger Nora become involved in an investigation that astonishes them all.

AVAILABLE SOON

(WWII Historical Fiction, Crime)

The Tawney Common Murders

The 3rd Harry Osborne Adventure

Harry takes charge of his very own murder investigation, while Doris takes on voluntary work at a lost women’s home.

Harry’s investigations for the Home Front Crime Unit take him to a shallow grave near Epping.

Harry’s wife Doris, now five months pregnant and still working at Plessey’s factory, takes on voluntary work in a public institution for disadvantaged women.

Separated after a bomb blast, Harry and Doris each fear for the saftey of the other.

Furthermore, the mysterious disappearance of their long-term lodger, Nora, makes them fear the worst.

While Harry’s investigation takes him to Lowestoft and Southampton, Doris undergoes a personal trauma which forces her to revise her priorities.

AVAILABLE SOON

(WWII Historical Fiction, Espionage)

Nora’s Story

A Tale affiliated to the Harry Osborne Series

Recruited by the Special Operations Executive in London, Nora Bačová returns to her native Czechoslovakia to take part in one of the most notorious of that country’s anti-Nazi undercover operations.

Nora Bačová, a Czech national who fled her native country after the Nazi invasion, has impressed the British Special Operations Executive with her involvement in the celebrated Trennick House Affair. Recruited for a top-secret operation in her homeland, Nora – now Hana – undergoes training in secret SOE locations and is dropped by parachute to play her part in the most celebrated operation of Czech resistance of WWII.
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Historical Fiction, supernatural

Trial & Error – The Life & Afterlife of John Horwood

Historical Fiction based on the astonishing story of John Horwood (1803-1821)

A reimagining of Bristol-born John Horwood’s short life, and how he was unjustly hanged in 1821.for the murder of his former girlfriend. As  narrated by John’s dead brother, James..

AVAILABLE SOON

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