The Dark Place by Damian Vargas

THE DARK PLACE

A Spanish police inspector, just days from retirement, is ordered to find a missing boy and to catch whoever had taken him, but quickly discovers that there are secrets that must be kept, a history that cannot be told, and that evil hides in dark places.

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Málaga province, Spain. 1970.

Captain Jesus Garcia of the Spanish Guardia Civil had never entirely believed that he would live to see this day. After experiencing the worst of humanity, a quiet retirement and a comfortable state pension were just days away for the man, affectionately known by the younger police officers, as ‘The Inspector’.

But when the son of one of the most influential members of his remote town’s secretive community of German nationals goes missing, Garcia finds his tenure extended, and he is ordered to direct his suspicion toward a recently arrived resident to the town, a retired British businessman and WW2 veteran. With the feared secret police on their way from Madrid, the pressure is on to find a culprit. Any culprit.

He had survived the brutality of the Spanish civil war and the difficult years which followed by steering clear of situations such as this one, but Garcia must now confront not only the legacy of his own past, but that of his troubled nation if he is to save the boy.

Available in hardback, paperback and eBook now.

Six Hard Days in Andalusia, and action thriller by Damian Vargas

SIX HARD DAYS IN ANDALUSIA

A debut novel by Damian Vargas.

A worn-out gangster who seeks redemption before he meets his maker.

When an old-time British villain and his crew meet their end in a bloody shoot-out on the Costa del Sol, it’s of little concern to most. After all, gangsters get killed. It’s what happens in their line of work. Allegiances change. Men die. It’s the way of things.

However, when Mary Lawson a.k.a. ‘The Accountant’, a former MI6 agent turned independent contractor to the mob, is instructed by her shady bosses to investigate, things quickly get a lot more complicated. Hardened by her years in British military intelligence and ruthlessly professional, the woman who is no stranger to death and suffering, sets out to find who is responsible.

The ‘Costa del Crime’ with its regular influx of millions of tourists, a history of political corruption, and a diverse and thriving criminal underworld, nothing is ever simple.

Available in paperback and eBook now.

Den of Snakes by Damian Vargas

DEN OF SNAKES

The prequel to ‘Six Hard Days in Andalusia’

MARBELLA, 1985. A time of excess and greed. A place of corruption, betrayal and violence. Former paratrooper, Eddie Lawson, had done many things in his life of which he was not proud. Still, the tormented Falklands war veteran had always kept the promise he had made to his devoted mother on her death bed – don’t ever be a criminal.

Estranged from his wife and daughter, and destitute, he hitchhikes his way to southern Spain to find the brother he has not seen for a decade. All he wants is to borrow some travel money so that he can join up with a mercenary unit in Africa. It’s the closest he can get to being a real soldier again. When he arrives, he finds his brother living the high-life. Charlie has a luxury villa, fast cars, and throws lavish parties – the product, he says, of his “multiple business ventures”. But all is not as it seems.

Eddie quickly learns that his brother is a villain on the run from the British police. He is living on his ill-gotten gains with the rest of his crew, but all too aware that the heavy hand of justice is but one misstep away. And his money is running out.

Torn between a rekindled kinship with his brother and the promise that he made to his mother, can Eddie navigate the dark temptations of ‘The Costa del Crime’ or will he follow his brother’s descent into the criminal underworld?

Available in paperback and eBook now.

But She Smiled At Me, a psychological short story by Damian Vargas

BUT SHE SMILED AT ME

When she smiled at him as she walked past on that wet Berlin street, Jon Quennell fell instantly, madly in love. Sometimes, however, being ‘crazy in love’ with someone doesn’t end in a beautiful romance. Sometimes people get hurt. And sometimes, people die.

Available as an eBook now

Over The Hill Backwards, a comedy novel by Damian VAagas

OVER THE HILL BACKWARDS

Some rock stars retire with grace after a life in the limelight. Some don’t

Fame: it’s the worst drug of all

Sid strange had been something of a punk rock icon in his day. Unfortunately, his day was twenty-five years ago. The former singer-songwriter of English new wave punk band Tactical Chunder had always been a slave to the adulation of fans and the thrill of live audiences. Now at the age of 50, he has a shedload of money but no recording contract

The only remaining clue to his once prestigious talent; a reality TV show that makes the appalling dross on other TV networks look like Oscar-winning material. Worse still, an old enemy is out for revenge, intent on ending the Englishman’s career once and for all.

But then, an old film surfaces with incriminating footage. It could change everything. The only problem is that to get the film Sid must persuade the old band to get back together, and given that he dumped them 25 years ago to go solo, they hate his f***ing guts!

Available in Hardback, paperback and eBook now.