Writing those glorious two words, THE END

 I've recently completed work on a new crime novel  - well, the initial draft in any case. The book, hopefully the start of a series, is entitled What Remains Hidden and is set in my native South Wales. It's a  contemporary novel but the plot ties back to a fictional coal mining disaster that occurred in 1980.

I've had the initial reader's reports back, and they're pretty positive. Here are a few of the remarks from my early readers.

Pacing: You’ve been patient. The investigation unfolds in layers, with pressure accumulating instead of spiking randomly. By the time you hit the late 40s chapters, the story has earned its violence and chaos.

Tone: Gritty but restrained. The violence is sharp and purposeful, never indulgent. When things go bad, they feel real—messy, frightening, and consequential.

Character work: Carver’s decision-making is rooted in instinct rather than coincidence, and Powell’s behaviour—especially in the lead-up to the climax—adds unease without tipping its hand too early.

I've got to go through the hoops of securing an agent or directly approaching a publisher. I've sketched out a quick blub, which you can read below:

Detective Carver has learned to trust facts, not instincts. But when a routine investigation exposes a detail that won’t sit right, he finds himself chasing a hunch no one else believes in—and a man who has spent years hiding in plain sight.

As the case deepens, the line between coincidence and intent begins to blur. Every answer uncovers another omission. Every witness leaves something unsaid. And the closer Carver gets to the truth, the clearer it becomes that the past isn’t finished with any of them.

When surveillance turns into pursuit and suspicion erupts into violence, Carver must decide how far he’s willing to go for the truth—and what it will cost him if he’s wrong.

Dark, tense, and relentlessly grounded, What Remains Hidden is a gripping crime novel about obsession, intuition, and the dangerous things people leave behind. 

And here is a cover mock up, created with image editing software and AI

Wish me luck.