SHADOW OVER THE FENS a gripping crime thriller full of suspense (25 page)

AVAILABLE NOW

DI Nikki Galena Book 1

CRIME ON THE FENS

https://www.amazon.co.uk/CRIME-gripping-detective-thriller-suspense-ebook/dp/B01H98SG5G/

https://www.amazon.com/CRIME-gripping-detective-thriller-suspense-ebook/dp/B01H98SG5G/

A NEW CRIME THRILLER WITH A COMPELLING DETECTIVE WHO WILL STOP AT NOTHING TO AVENGE HER DAUGHTER

Character List

Detective Inspector Nikki Galena

Nikki is a brave, honest and dedicated police officer who started at the bottom and clawed her way up through the ranks. Although once a loner, hardened by personal tragedy and some of the terrible cases that she has dealt with, the formation of a new, close-knit team has given her drive and enthusiasm.

She is based in the Lincolnshire Fens and her ‘patch’ includes miles of agricultural farmland, massive stretches of dangerous marshes and Greenborough, a big market town with as many criminals as some urban areas. Nikki is divorced, with one daughter.

Detective Sergeant Joseph Easter

Joseph had a middle-class upbringing, good education, went to university then left to join the military. He keeps this fact a secret from his colleagues as he became bitterly disillusioned after an operation went wrong and innocent people died.

He has a quiet way and a calm, reasonable attitude, and he is completely unaware that he a very attractive man. After a dramatic first case with Nikki Galena, he is asked to join her team permanently, and he looks forward to a new life in Greenborough. He is divorced with one daughter Tamsin, a girl who hated the thought of her father being a soldier and killing people, and who lives with her mother in the States. Joseph is desperate to win back her affections and hopes that one day she will see just how much he has changed.

DC Caitlin ‘Cat’ Cullen

Age 27, Cat is tough and shrewd and the most streetwise copper on the team. Since joining Nikki’s team she had redeemed a failing career and is becoming an excellent detective. Cat is a chameleon and works brilliantly undercover. Nikki recognises her skills and knows that she can trust her. One of Cat’s strengths is that once she gets her teeth into a problem she never gives up. Another is her keen interest in technology. She is fiercely loyal to her team and works closely with her older working partner, Dave.

DC Dave Harris

Dave is good old cop and a proud man who chose to hide serious family problems in order to cope alone. Nikki found out about his background, and does her best to help and protect him. He repays her by committing wholeheartedly to her team and brings with him a wealth of local knowledge and old-style intuitive policing.

Superintendent Rick Bainbridge.

Rick is an officer who has earned his reputation of being fair, and is generally respected by both lower and higher ranks. He likes Nikki and is the only man at the station who knows about some of her darker secrets. He has been out on a limb for her many times and his trust in her has always paid dividends. Now Rick is approaching retirement, but he is not having an easy ride.

Glossary of English Slang for US readers

A & E:
Accident and emergency department in a hospital

Aggro:
Violent behaviour, aggression

A Level:
exams taken between 16 and 18

Barm:
bread roll

Barney:
argument

Beaker:
glass or cup for holding liquids

Benefits:
social security

Bent:
corrupt

Bin:
wastebasket (noun), or throw in rubbish (verb)

Bloke:
guy

Blow:
cocaine

Bob:
money

Burger bar:
hamburger fast-food restaurant

Buy-to-let:
Buying a house/apartment to rent it out for profit

Charity Shop:
thrift store

Carrier bag:
plastic bag from supermarket

Care Home:
an institution where old people are cared for

Car park:
parking lot

Chat-up:
flirt, trying to pick up someone with witty banter or compliments

Chemist:
pharmacy

Chinwag:
conversation

CID:
Criminal Investigation Department

Civvy Street:
civilian life (as opposed to army)

Clock:
punch

Cock up:
mess up, make a mistake

Common:
an area of park land/ or lower class

Comprehensive School (Comp.):
High school

Cop hold of:
grab

Copper:
police officer

Coverall:
coveralls, or boiler suit

CPS:
Crown Prosecution Service, decide whether police cases go forward

Childminder:
someone who looks after children for money

Council
: local government

Deck:
one of the landings on a floor of a tower block

Deck:
hit (verb)

Desperate Dan:
very strong comic book character

DI:
detective inspector

Do a runner:
disappear

Do one:
go away

Doc Martens:
Heavy boots with an air-cushioned sole

DS:
detective sergeant

ED:
accident and emergency department of hospital

Early dart:
to leave work early

Eggy soldiers:
strips of toast with a boiled egg

Estate:
/files/09/96/12/f099612/public/social housing estate (similar to housing projects)

Estate agent:
realtor (US)

Fag:
cigarette

FMO
: Force medical officer

Geordie:
from Newcastle

Garden Centre:
a business where plants and gardening equipment are sold

GP:
general practitioner, a doctor based in the community

Graft:
hard work

Hancock:
Tony Hancock, English comedian popular in 1950s

Hard nut:
tough person

HOLMES:
UK police computer system used during investigation of major incidents

Home:
care home for elderly or sick people

Inne:
isn’t he

Into care:
a child taken away from their family by the social services

Lad:
young man

Lass:
young woman

Lift:
elevator

Lord Lucan:
famous aristocrat who allegedly killed his children’s nanny and disappeared in 1974. Has never been found.

Lorry:
a truck

MOD:
ministry of defence

Mobile phone:
cell phone

MP:
Member of Parliament, politician representing an area

Naff:
lame, not good

National Service:
compulsory UK military service, ended in 60s

Net curtains:
a type of semi-transparent curtain

NHS:
National Health Service, public health service of UK

Nick:
police station (as verb: to arrest)

Nowt:
nothing

Nutter:
insane person

Nursery:
a place which grows plants, shrubs and trees for sale (often wholesale)

Old Bill:
police

Owt:
anything

Pants:
noun: underwear adjective: bad/rubbish/terrible

Para:
paratrooper

Pay-as-you-go:
a cell phone you pay for calls in advance

PC:
police constable

Petrol
: gasoline

Piss off:
as exclamation, go away (rude). Also can mean annoy.

Pissing down:
raining

Playing field:
sports field

Pleb:
ordinary person (often insulting)

Portakabin:
portable building used as temporary office etc.

Post:
mail

Planning Department
: the local authority department which issues licences to build and develop property

Prat
: silly idiot

Premier League:
top English soccer division

Public Analyst:
scientists who perform chemical analysis for public protection purposes

Rag
: newspaper

Ram-raiding:
robbery where a vehicle is rammed through a shop window

Randy:
horny

Right state:
messy

Ring:
telephone (verb)

Roadworks:
repairs done to roads

RTC:
road traffic collision

Rugger:
rugby (posh American football)

Sarge:
sergeant

Scrote:
low life

Semi:
Semi-detached house, house with another house joined to it on one side only

Shedload:
a large amount

Shout the odds:
talk in a loud bossy way

Sixth-form college:
school for high school students in final two years.

SIO:
senior investigating officer

Skip:
a large open container used for building waste

Slapper:
slag

SOCO:
scene-of-crime officer

Sod:
an annoying person

Sort:
to do or make

Solicitor:
lawyer

Spook:
spy

Squaddie:
a soldier of low rank

Stunner:
beautiful woman

Super:
superintendent (police rank)

Sweeting:
endearment, like sweetheart

Tabloid:
newspaper

Tea:
Dinner (Northern English)

Till:
cash register

Tipsy
: a bit drunk

Top himself:
commit suicide

Torch:
flashlight

Tutor:
university teacher

Tower block:
tall building containing apartments (usually social housing)

Upmarket:
affluent or fancy

Wacky baccy
: cannabis

Wally:
silly person

War Cry:
Salvation Army magazine

Wash:
the washing machine

Water board:
company supplying water to an area
White van man:
typical working-class man who drives a small truck
Widow’s weeds:
black clothes worn by a widow in mourning

Wilco:
will comply i.e. yes

Yellowbelly:
native of Lincolnshire

Yob:
a rude or aggressive youth or person