Gothic mystery set in the Dales

Bradford-based artist Steve Manthorp is best known as one half of creative duo ADEPT, but his latest venture has taken him in a new direction.

Steve put his art equipment aside to take to the laptop – and the result is Jackdaw, his first novel, which is described as a gothic period mystery set in the Yorkshire Dales.

The story revolves around paranormal investigator James D’Orr, who is more at home exposing fraudulent mediums in Edwardian London than racing across the windswept moors of the Dales.

But when the young heiress of Arkengarth engages him to investigate a family curse that threatens both her sanity and her life, James is plunged into a deadly adventure from which even his extraordinary abilities may not be able to save him.

The first in a series of Jackdaw adventures – Steve is already well under way with the sequel – this is an impressive debut.

If you like a generous serving of intrigue, action and fantasy with your page-turners, this is the book for you. Right from the first page, you’re keen to find out more about the five people sitting, pale and ghostly, around a table in the middle of a warehouse floor. “Each held the hand of his neighbour, forming a silent, unbroken circle”... “The darkness that engulfed them was absolute and as suffocating as a woollen blanket. For several seconds nothing could be heard but the sound of their breathing. Then a voice – grating, harsh and suggestive of unimaginable age – broke the silence. ‘Who summons Robert Fludd from his rest?’”

I didn’t care for the uninspiring cover, but Steve’s lively prose, coupled with a nicely-paced sense of period adventure and rising tension, makes this quite a gripping read. The reader is left wanting more of James D’Orr.

“D’Orr (or is it d’Orr – it’s spelled both ways) clambered to his feet, supporting himself with a hand on the wet cave wall. He had landed beside the middle archway through which his quarry had just fled”... “He stumbled through the archway. Just yards ahead, the trespasser slowed to an odd, almost mincing, walk; then stopped dead and turned to face his pursuer. At last, D’Orr saw the figure at close quarters. It was indeed a demon.”... “The trespasser had crossed the chasm on a single, bare plank bridge. As D’Orr hurtled towards the edge of the precipice, the demon-headed figure almost casually nudged the plank with his foot. It tumbled silently into the darkness.”

Steve has lived in Keighley since 1971. He attended Hartington and Greenhead schools and was an exhibitions officer for Bradford Art Galleries and Museums for nine years.

Since 2004 he has worked with artist Shanaz Gulzar on art project ADEPT, based in Bradford, which specialises in digital artists and public projection specialists, exhibiting work nationally and internationally.

With Jackdaw Steve says he “set out to write the sort of book I enjoy myself; an escapist yarn”.

“It has an intriguing hero, an evocative setting, mystery, adventure, a hint of the supernatural and a dash of romance,” he says. “I’ve been really surprised by how well it’s sold, just on word of mouth and social media. It had only been out in print and download for about six weeks and it had already sold in the hundreds.”

• Jackdaw is available in Kindle format from Amazon and Kobu and can be ordered direct from the publishers at Lulu.com.