Bedford author turns to crime to raise charity cash

A Bedford author is turning to crime to raise cash for a cancer charity.

But fear not – it’s all perfectly above board as Frank Malley is hoping his new novel – The 13th Assassin – will boost funds for the Primrose Car Service.

Frank, who lives in Willington, drives an ambulance car as a volunteer for the service, transporting cancer patients free of charge from all over the county for life-saving radiotherapy treatment at Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Cambridge.

In his spare time, he writes books and The 13th Assassin combines a murder mystery with a spy thriller, the action sweeping from the English seaside to the university spires of Cambridge and on to the heart of Moscow.

All royalties will be donated to the Primrose Car Service – which has six cars, around 25 volunteer drivers and is funded by the Bedford Hospital and Friends Charity.

Frank – a former columnist with the Daily Express – said: “I got the idea for the book from a holiday on the south coast near Portland, where spies operated in the 1950s and 1960s.

“The main character is a Cambridge history professor, who finds himself pushed into a sinister world of ethical dilemmas with the lives of the royal family at stake. Think of it as Midsomer Murders meets John le Carré.”

*The 13th Assassin is published by Sharpe Books and is available as an ebook on Amazon The paperback is scheduled for release later this month.