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THE RED BARON

PEN AND SWORD DVD

The Red Baron - The true story of Manfred von Richthofen (2DVDs) This documentary tells the true story of Manfred von Richthofen, using sensational original footage shot during the 1st world war. It covers his life from his birth in Schlesien through to the flying exploits of this German hero, including the dog fights which began in June 1917 in Flandern. In the air, the Allies maintained air superiority. All available German hunter squadrons were thrown into the battle in order to subdue their opponent. Richthofen and his fellow pilots mastered the tasks given to them brilliantly. The four hunter squadrons of the JG 1 took over the airspace within an incredibly short two weeks - achieving 40 air victories. Then catastrophe struck and Richthofen did not return after an enemy flight! What happened? The answer to that question, which has been asked for almost a century, is finally revealed in this stunning documentary about one of the greatest German air force heroes. This two-DVD set is a magnificent documentary (with extras) about one of the true legends of WW1. The Red Baron is an extraordinary larger-than-life figure whose exploits have gone down in history; whilst millions of men were being slaughtered on the western front as the politicians played their grim chess games, the "gentlemen of the air" were fighting an entirely different war, a war in the air. Richtofen came into the war to counter the supremacy of the allied pilots, and for a while he was invincible. This magnificent documentary is well made and presented, and the extras on the second DVD are truly fascinating, and will appeal both to historians and anyone with a passing interest in von Richtofen himself. Staggering.

VOICES OF THE BATTLE OF BRITAIN

Pen and Sword DVD

It is 70 years since the Battle of Britain, arguably the most important victory in Britain's long history. And of the men who flew and fought to defend Britain that summer of 1940, just a few survive today. This landmark production features exclusive interviews with many of the last survivors of the Battle of Britain along with newly shot material and classic film archive. Many of these men were barely 20 when they flew their Spitfires and Hurricanes against German bomber formations and braved dogfights with enemy fighters. 70 years later those sights and experiences stay bright and vivid in their memories. Many of their stories are told here for the first time. These brave men tell of their inspiration to fly and join the RAF even as the war clouds were gathering; their first experiences of contact with the enemy; their own skill, or luck as many call it, in dogfighting with German fighters; the shock and terror of being shot at, and in many cases shot down; the stress of daily life, being on readiness at dawn day after day and coping with the loss of colleagues. Made by the producers of the highly-acclaimed Battle for the Skies, this programme gets right to the heart of the conflict, telling the famous story of the battle in the words of the pilots for the first time ever. This programme could not have been made without considerable help from 3 charitable organizations - The RAF Charitable Trust, the Battle of Britain Fighter Association and the Battle of Britain Historical Society. The producers would like to thank them all. Truly inspirational. The second world war is beginning to fade from the collective memory as other conflicts and social events from more recent times take priority, and documentaries such as this one are vital if we are to keep alive the memory of those who lived and fought on our behalf during the terrible early years of the 1940s. This excellent DVD focuses the mind and brings to life the men who took on the awesome task of flying the fighter planes and bombers during the Battle of Britain. Well-made and inspirational.

PAUL NORMAN: DAYLIGHTS

Available from the Amazon Kindle eBook store priced £1.43

Genre: Horror [Read the first few pages here...]

A group of Satan-worshippers are in the habit of practising their rituals at a ruined churchyard in their small village, Sharringford, in the North Norfolk countryside. Unknown to them, one of the tombs also seals the prison of a Daemon, incarcerated there over four thousand years previously, during the time of the Iceni. A small earth tremor centering near the village disturbs the ancient burial place. Sensing freedom, the entity moves out of the graveyard and into the village where it finds and latches onto the kindred spirits of the Satanists, people lusting after power, people who have done evil things in the past. Chief Inspector Thompson, who lives nearby, is detailed to investigate the death of the young girl and becomes trapped in the village when the creature creates a poisonous mist. One by one, the satanists are caught and slaughtered by the creature, which grows stronger with every killing... Can Thompson determine the truth, find the girl's murderer and a way out through the mist before the creature catches him too?

PAUL NORMAN: THE SILENT THREE

Available from the Amazon Kindle eBook store priced £1.43

Genre: Detective Mystery

Brenda McLaren is dead. Raped twice, by two different men, and left for dead in a copse next to the derelict Morgan’s Farm. Someone was watching and saw who killed her, using his powerful birdwatching binoculars as he sat on the top of Cheeseroll Hill. Who was it, and why doesn’t he come forward to tell the police what he knows?
How is Brenda’s former boyfriend from primary school involved? And where does his uncle, DS John Kimber, fit in? Is he also hiding something or protecting someone? This fascinating murder mystery is set in 1963, evoking nostalgic memories of a bygone age, when there were no mobile phones, no personal computers, and very few people even had a telephone or a car. How will the local police cope without the resources we take for granted in the 21st century?
Follow the exploits of a small group of villagers as they piece together the events that led to the death of the young schoolgirl and could lead to the death of a second unless the authorities and Michael Thompson can get there in time to save her!

PAUL NORMAN: DEATH OF A PRIME SUSPECT

Available from the Amazon Kindle eBook store priced £1.79

Genre: Detective mystery

Set in coastal North Norfolk, it is the brutal, callous murder of a teenaged girl that brings DCI Mike Thompson to his senses. He has been off work following a catastrophic fire some weeks earlier, in which he had to deal with the horrifying deaths of a number of villagers, and the experience has left him exhausted, confused, and determined to hand in his notice. Remembering little of what happened in Sharringford, he has alienated his colleagues and family. But the rape and murder of Kim Catchpole sees him once again working, though this time independently. He knows the identity of the killer, a man he’d helped apprehend many years earlier for similar offences, murders the killer had personalised with gruesome little details that only Mike Thompson knows about. David Mason had only the day before escaped from Norwich Prison. Mike is convinced he has killed again, and sets out to catch him. The only problem is, Mason, whose body is discovered in the ruins of a Norfolk village church, died before Kim Catchpole had been attacked and murdered.
A series of bizarre discoveries by Mike Thompson and the two detectives drafted in from Norwich Police HQ to help solve the crime, leads to an astonishing web of deceit and lies. Prominent townsfolk are implicated, and Mike Thompson, with his superior local knowledge, is always one step ahead of the police.
The terrifying denouement leads to a truly unexpected revelation, the implication of one of Mike’s oldest friends, and the final unravelling of the mystery is a race against time to stop the real killer from murdering again, and this time it’s personal.

PAUL NORMAN: DREAD OF DEATH

Available from the Amazon Kindle eBook store priced £1.43

Genre: Detective mystery

Terry Grant returns to the UK having spent around seven years in an Australian jail for manslaughter. He has been gathering information about the people who were involved in the death of his brother Phillip in 2003. These include: Chief Inspector Mike Thompson and Sergeant Ken Hargreaves; Susannah Harris, who was a special constable at the time, but has since moved on to a variety of local clerical and administrative posts. She now works as personal assistant to Sir James Aldhouse at Olney Hall; and “Tosh” Macintosh, a police informer instrumental in bringing the Phillip Grant gang to justice. Macintosh is now manager of Atlantic Crossing, a rock band, and still an occasional drug dealer himself.

Terry Grant decides that these four people must die for their involvement in the death of his brother, but decides also that to throw the police off the scent, so that they do not make connections too early, he must also kill two or maybe three random victims. He decides that at least one of these other victims should be a person who needs to be punished for having committed some heinous crime or other.

Grant murders Susannah Harris, leaving her naked body in the lake at Olney Hall for Sir James to discover early the following morning. He watches from the cover of the trees, hoping to see Mike Thompson, whom he intends to be his last victim, but Thompson has been on leave, and instead DC Jackie Morris arrives to make preliminary enquiries. Back in Fakenham, Grant asks the café owner about some of the people involved in his brother’s death.
Thompson is informed of the murder and starts his investigations with his assistant, DS Jack Keene, a savvy young Met. Officer who has decided to make his home in North Norfolk and to work with Thompson.

Thompson remembers the name of Susannah Harris, and immediately wonders if her death is connected with the death of Phillip Grant. Two days later, the horrifically mutilated body of Julian Stewart is found in a copse near to the cliffs between Sheringham and West Runton. Stewart is a known paedophile and this triggers a reaction from Thompson, who was himself sexually abused by a homosexual as a child, and consequently has no love for them. He defends his stance against homosexuals as being not “homophobic” – he is not afraid of them, he is repulsed by them, and finds them disgusting, as some of his more outspoken colleagues, including Jack Keene, also do. The murderer sends Thompson a note similar to those sent by Jack the Ripper, along with one of Stewart’s severed hands .
Thompson is hauled over the coals by his superintendent for concentrating on Grant as a suspect when the alibis he has presented involve high-powered businessmen and councillors, and orders him to leave Grant alone and find someone else to put in the frame. Thompson officially agrees to this, but unofficially continues to investigate Grant.

TOM SHARP: UNFAMILIAR COUNTRY - A SHORT STORY

Available from the Amazon Kindle eBook store priced £0.86p

A short story about the grisly work of a hired killer whose work finally catches up with him. A contract killer's work is complicated by an unwelcome visitation from his most recent job. Boyd's task was simple. Kill the man and bury the body. That was the easy part. Now Boyd has to grapple with his conscience, driving him to extreme measures deep in the Welsh countryside.

Praise for Unfamiliar Country

"Crisp writing and real insight into characterisation, it's all here. The author is a novelist in waiting, that wait will be well worth it." Jake Barton, bestselling author of Burn, Baby, Burn and Blood.

"If this is a taste of the author's style, then I will look out for any future work he produces. " Declan Conner, author of Survival Instinct (The dark side of dating).

"Concise and atmospheric - a real sense of stomach-churning unease..." (Books Monthly)

KERRY WILKINSON: LOCKED IN

Most people who get promoted at work are pleased but for Detective Sergeant Jessica Daniel it comes with the knowledge she is replacing her mentor who was stabbed in a bar fight. She barely has time to start doubting her abilities though before a body is found in a locked house with seemingly no way in or out. DS Daniel not only has to prepare for a court date against the scourge of the force, barrister Peter Hunt, she also has to hold off a journalist who seems to know more than she does about her case. With a car that even junior officers joke about, an investigation with no leads and a best mate whose love life is finally settling down, the detective thinks she has enough on her plate and that's before a second body turns up in identical circumstances to the first. How can a murderer get to victims in seemingly impossible situations and what, if anything, links the bodies? This is Book One in the Jessica Daniel series of detective novels.

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