Books / crime fiction
Bristol novelist Bryan J Mason launches first book in a black comedy crime series
Bryan J Mason is a Bristol author whose debut novel, Shaking Hands With The Devil, was longlisted for two awards at CrimeFest 2022.
Between first and last drafts of that book, there was a 30 year gap, during which Mason turned his hand away from writing, and towards a variety of other pursuits including theatre, radio sound effects and sales.
Now, with his feet firmly back in the land of novels, he is launching the first in a black comedy crime series set in Belfast during the Troubles.
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An Old Tin Can, published by SpellBound Books on May 30, will be followed by two further books in the same realm. Mason joined Bristol24/7 to discuss the origins of the series, and the choices he has made in finding an appropriate tone for the unfolding story.
Bryan J Mason – photo: Jonathan Mason
What inspired you to write the novel?
“I am attracted to crime novels with a particular historical or political backdrop and Belfast has fascinated me ever since I first visited the city. The Troubles were an especially brutal and painful period, and one where we are only now uncovering all the details. I wondered what would happen if I were to place an outsider, Harry, into this environment as the chief detective.
“I also wanted to add a heavy dose of humour and post Harry into a unit where they have no work to do. They are only allowed to work criminal cases, but there is no crime, only terrorism and they aren’t allowed to work terrorism. But then Harry discovers that there is a serial killer on the loose.”
How did you first get to know, and to shape, your key characters?
“My main character, Chief Inspector Harry Burnard, is a loner and, although there are a few similarities with me, he has grown and become a real person. Like many others in the book, he has a very definite belief in his own identity, but this becomes diluted as the story develops. His team, The Squad, are eccentric in their own way and I have enjoyed weaving them together as they become more professional as they try to find the killer.
“Other characters, including the killer, are a mixture of the bizarre, tragic or just plain nasty. All of them are fun to write, and, hopefully, to read.”
Photo: Spellbound Books
How do you relate to them, personally?
“Every single one of my characters is a real person to me. Some share a few idiosyncrasies of my own, while others are completely fictitious, but they are all people I can relate to, if not like. It’s important for me to see them as living, breathing, thinking people otherwise they don’t exist.
“One of the nastiest characters in An Old Tin Can is one of my favourites, but you wouldn’t want to invite him round for a cup of tea.”
Stylistically, what are the challenges of writing a genre novel – in this case black comedy crime?
“The main thing is to preserve the integrity of the period and reflect the horror of what people were living through while injecting humour. It is a difficult balance as I bring comic elements into a story which is still very real to many people affected by the Troubles.
“I have focused on identity, and deluded identity, which drives people to act in a way that others expect them to. Trying to be funny on purpose is the hardest thing to write, but I hope that my personality has come through in a way that people recognise which bits are meant to be funny and which are not.”
Photo: Jonathan Mason
This is the first in a series of novels. To what extent have you mapped out the story arc of the subsequent books?
“I have the titles of the next two, which is a good start! I am writing the second Harry and the Squad novel, Dead On. I don’t like to meticulously plan everything since characters and situations take on a life of their own and the story sometimes veers off in an unexpected direction. I know who my main characters are, including those who weren’t bumped off in An Old Tin Can, but a few more will inevitably pop up. I always know what my last page is and how I want to leave the story, but the final third is still blank.
“As for the third book in the series, Never A Happy Ending, all I have is an idea of which characters will live another day along with a major new character, who surprise, surprise, is a callous multiple murderer. The timeline will move on, from 1990 to 1992, so there is plenty of time to go.”
Bryan J Mason: An Old Tin Can is available to preorder now, from Amazon’s Kindle Store. To find out more about the author’s previous and future books, visit www.bryanjmason.com.
Main photo: Keith Hicks
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