Bøker av David John Wiles

Sergeant Penny was a jovial 40-something policeman in Cornwall. Dedicated to upholding the law, he took his position very seriously, but only up to a point. His one failing was that he sympathized with the wrecking gangs, who earned their living plundering wrecks around local beaches in spells of rough weather.Penny's mentor and lifelong friend was Doctor Mays. Kate Kessell was another of Penny's associates. Kate was pregnant with her seventh child when she survived the cholera pandemic of 1849 that took her six children and her husband. It was Kate who discovered the body of a young woman one foggy night as she was on her way home after visiting her pregnant daughter.The victim's half-naked body was sprawled on the low wall of a bridge over the River Amble - with a fisherman's knife protruding from her chest. This was Penny's first serious case since becoming a policeman, one that would take all his detection skills to unravel a seemingly perfect crime.About the Author: David John Wiles grew up a short walk from the River Thames and a beautiful centuries-old public park near London. He has lived the last 30 years in Cornwall. His first job followed the family tradition of boat building at major boatyards along the Thames. "My two brothers joined the RAF when they were 18, but I fancied the Royal Marines, and became a commando serving in the Far East." Then the author worked in the film industry at three of Britain's major studios until the industry began to wind down due the popularity of television. He then worked at three TV studios. This is his 13th book.

Petrov Madiski, Polish by birth, fled Poland at the start of World War II. After lying about his age, he joined the Royal Air Force at the age of 15 and became a fighter pilot. On D-Day, he was part of Operation Overlord, flying sorties across the Channel to support the Allied landings along the Normandy coastline.Following the advance into Europe, Petrov (Peter) is based in France, and it is here that he becomes firm friends with an American officer, Donald (Taffy) Welch, who gives him a letter of introduction to his brother in America. But Taffy is then killed. Peter survives the war, but his fiancé, Ellie, dies in an air raid. Peter decides to take up Taffy''s offer and go to America. The journey to Tuscaloosa, Alabama, proves more difficult than he imagined, and after several mishaps, Peter finally arrives on the doorstep of Taffy''s brother, Elliott Welch. He is welcomed into the family and begins working for Elliott''s construction company, which specializes in building trestle bridges. Peter''s knowledge of lumber, his willingness to learn, and his appetite for hard work, soon gain him promotion within the company. While on a business trip, Peter meets a second Ellie, whom he later marries. But then disaster strikes. Peter is arrested for murder, and his pregnant wife is named as his accomplice.Author David J Wiles began writing in 1990, soon after he retired from the television industry. He lives in Cornwall, England, with his wife of 55 years. This is his first published novel.

At the start of World War II, the British government determined the railway in East London would be vulnerable to heavy bombing by Germany. Children in the area were evacuated into the countryside to save their lives. Among the children sent to the West Country for the duration of the war were Tom and Billy Hedge. Their train journey to Cornwall was long and tiring. When the brothers finally arrived at the Applegate Farm in Netherton, where they were to be fostered, Billy stated, "I don't like it here, Tom," and that night, they silently cried themselves to sleep. The Applegates had two children: a son, Joshua, who at thirteen was a year older than Tom, and a daughter, Queenie, aged nine and a half, just six months younger than Billy. Tom found farm work to be hard and tedious, while Billy relished looking after the chickens, and later, the horses. Billy and Queenie bonded right from the start and became inseparable. They shared numerous adventures in the small village, including meeting a local ghost and helping an army deserter. After the war, and just before Christmas 1949, the two married. "I enjoyed being transported back in time and the story was like a finely woven tapestry," wrote an Amazon reviewer.Author Bio: David John Wiles' journey through life has been nothing if not exciting and full of interest. He worked with three film studios as a stagehand and camera grip, and then at three major television companies, in England and Australia. Initially a prop hand, then production buyer, and finally a senior production buyer, he took early retirement at the end of 1989.