The "King of Manc Noir" says the region is the perfect backdrop for crime fiction as he brings his latest novel to Ramsbottom Library.
David Nolan, 57, will discuss the third instalment of the Manc Noir trilogy, The Ballad of Hanging Lees, at the library this month.
The trilogy, which also includes Black Moss and The Mermaid’s Pool, are inspired by real events the author experienced as a broadcast journalist.
Hanging Lees tackles the dark and sinister world of online grooming and children protection and follows a group of vigilantes as they take the law into their own hands.
David, who was bestowed with the title "King of Manc Noir" by the Altrincham Word Fest, lives in Stockport.
He says Manchester’s “foreboding” landscapes could rival any Scandinavian crime drama.
He said: “The hills around Oldham, Bury and Rochdale and along the Yorkshire boarder, that’s a bleak landscape.
“There’s no trees, it’s just moorland and the odd reservoir.
“Its much more foreboding and frightening and bleak than places in Scandinavia, and we’re got it right on our doorstep, these amazing vistas, amazing hills, as bleak as anything you’d get anywhere else.”
The author, who penned a number of successful music biographies before turning to novels, says the genre allows him greater creative freedom than non-fiction.
He said: [Before Black Moss] I’d never written fiction before, I’d never tried it, but I thought ‘actually, you can say a great deal of things in a fiction book that maybe you couldn’t get away with in a factual book.”
Hanging Lees also includes an illustrated map by Ramsbottom-based artist Lucy Milburn, which the author included, in part, to explain Manchester’s geography to international readers.
Lucy, 48, is a former colleague and friend of David’s who is preparing to launch her own illustration business.
She said the brooding illustration she made for the book are a little different to her usual style.
Lucy said: “It’s one big illustration, it’s a map of all the locations in his Manc Noir trilogy, it was absolutely delightful, a lovely thing to do.
“My style of drawing is quite whimsical so there’s a whimsical map at the start of the book now.”
“[drawing] has been a permanent presence in my life and it’s only now it feels like I’m blossoming into the artist I always wanted to be.”
Both David and Lucy will be visiting Ramsbottom Library on Thursday, September 22 at 6.30pm.
The event is free and you can book your place by calling Ramsbottom Library on 0161 253 5352.
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