Bill Kirton

Page Updated: 09/09/02

Bill Kirton

Rough Justice

Material Evidence

DIY Detectives

Email: WJSK@aol.com

WebPage: http://www.bill-kirton.co.uk

by Bill Kirton

About the Author (Photo by Bruce Milne)

Bibliography

First British Edition Piatkus (1996)

Rough Justice
Floyd Donnelly has already spent four of his twenty-six years in prison for robbery with violence. Foul-tempered and amoral, he's exhausted the patience of his fellow squatters in Forbeshill Road, Cairnburgh - he couldn't be less interested in their communal values. Still, although Floyd has a limitless capacity to anger those he encounters, everyone is surprised by the discovery of his dead body outside the only night club in Cairnburgh.
DCI Carston thinks he knows who's behind Floyd's death: David Burchill, consultant engineer, self-made man and Carston's personal bete noire. Burchill owns the house in which Floyd was squatting and admits to sending round the 'bailiffs' the day before the murder but has a cast-iron alibi for the night's activity.
Burchill is also a possible suspect in another of Carston's cases: a protection racket. Hilden, an unsuccessful antiques dealer from the poorer part of town, has been threatened on a number of occasions and has finally endured a vicious beating from a thug who also destroyed much of his stock. Carston desperately wants to nail Burchill - but his prey always seems one step ahead. And with Hilden reluctant to identify his attackers, Carston fears that both cases are destined to remain unsolved for a very long time....
From the author of the highly acclaimed Material Evidence, Rough Justice is a tough and gritty murder mystery set in the granite streets of Cairnburgh and Aberdeen.
"There is a brutal rape in Rough Justice by Bill Kirton. It isn't there to titillate, but to carry the story forward and ultimately bring about the climax to a thoughtful and thought provoking book. The detective leading the hunt for the killer of a young thug from a local squat is also after a local self-made man he believes to be behind various rackets and who is protected by fellow masons in the senior ranks of the police force. The book involves some very human, intelligent Scottish coppers and ought to bring Bill Kirton the attention he deserves." Susanna Yager, Sunday Telegraph (1.12.96)
"A downright rogue and social reject is found murdered in a Scottish city, but has he been murdered by an equally roguish tycoon, as seems obvious, or is the web a good deal more tangled and shocking than that? That's the simple premise of Bill Kirton's second crime novel set in Cairnburgh and Aberdeen and, although the premise is simple the structure and plotting - the core of any decent read are sound and compelling. Some of the Scots dialogue is a little suspect and inconsistent, but that doesn't spoil the pleasure in the plot twists, the flashes of humour and the denouement." Press and Journal, Aberdeen (21.12.96)

First British Edition Piatkus (1995)

Material Evidence
Material Evidence is set in the fictional town of Cairnburgh near Aberdeen and deals with a particularly brutal killing. DCI Carston finds that the various suspects are an unprepossessing bunch as far as morals are concerned. The victim herself is an enigma, with different people giving different versions of her personality. Her husband is the prime suspect but would he really be so stupid as to leave so many incriminating clues? The woman he's been having an affair with is a powerful, manipulative woman who's unwilling to let anything get in the way of her pleasures. And the dead woman had a lover who is callous, arrogant and careless of anyone but himself. It's up to Carston to unravel it all and, when he does get through to the truth, it proves to be even worse than he'd imagined.
The book reached number three in Waterstone's top ten the week after it was published.
"NOW here's a rare event: a nationally published crime novel set near Aberdeen. Bill Kirton, well known in Aberdeen drama and media circles, has put together a fine debut with intense plotting, strong characters and just the right touch of acid in the dialogue (particularly the female dialogue). The story concerns murder and adultery in the Aberdeen commuter town of Cairnburgh. But who did what to whom? That's what DCI Carston has to unravel. Fine Rendellian touches and a structure and depth that is rare in a first book make this a cracking page-turner. The denouement, when it comes, will shake you." Press and Journal, Aberdeen (4.11.95)

About The Author
Bill Kirton was born in Plymouth but has lived most of his life in Aberdeen. He came here as a lecturer in the French Department of Aberdeen University, specialising in nineteenth century literature and modern drama. His interest in the theatre extended to directing, acting and writing. His radio plays have been broadcast by the BBC and the Australian Broadcasting Corporation and his stage plays have been performed in Scotland and the USA. In the late seventies, he and his wife, Carolyn, performed revues at the Edinburgh festival. They were written by Bill and led to invitations to perform in the USA. The connection with the University of Rhode Island Theater Department is still strong. Sketches from the revues were also shown on BBC, ITV and French Television. Bill is a member of Equity and has presented programmes for Grampian Television and still records voice-overs for television, radio and video. Since taking early retirement from the university, Bill has concentrated on writing. He has written hundreds of video scripts on a wide variety of subjects and themes.
Bill's third Carston novel is at present with his agent and he's well advanced with research and sketches for the fourth.

Bibliography
N.B. dates and publishers in dark red indicate British First Editions. Dates and publishers in black indicate recent reprints.

Rough Justice (Piatkus, 1996) ( Carston)

Material Evidence (Piatkus, 1995) ( Carston)