Ro: Breaking The Chain

A Brand New Novel From the Author of ‘The King of Gravesend’ Series Peter Draper

Peter Draper, the man who pushed the concept of endlessly typing on a keyboard to a totally new level, is back with another spin-off of ‘The King of Gravesend’ saga!

Chuds Douglas has, unfortunately, passed away, leaving a hole in the lives of all the people who met him. Meanwhile, Ro, his wife, is doing her best to hold on and move on with her life. Chuds would have wanted that for sure. She is a business owner, can count on the support of her friends and has a wife too, called Angel. Life is being generous with her, she really has nothing to complain about. Everything is running smoothly, her days plain-sailing. Right? Kinda.
When Marvin tells her during a Zoom call that she has been selected to run for the position of Councillor at the local elections, Ro’s life is about to take a totally different turn. While Ro and Angel are busy checking on their businesses and friends, they stop at Lorraine’s for a drink and notice a man in a business suit and leather gloves leaving quickly, too quickly to feel right, given he has been staring at Ro for a very long time. The incident is creepy and concerning in equal measure so Ro sends the CCTV recording to Marvin. Better safe than sorry, that’s what they say.
In the meantime, Trevor is introduced to Ernesto, who works for the Philippine National Police. Ernesto’s nephew, Lando, went to England to work as a nurse to support his family, but has been missing since landing at Heathrow, so Ernesto is looking for Chuds to get help and find him. Ernesto knew Chuds, as he was the Lead Officer when Chuds was kidnapped by Abu Sayyaf and worked closely with his attorney to free him. He trusts Chuds, he knows he’s a good guy. Unfortunately, it is Trevor who needs to deliver the bad news of Chuds’s death to Ernesto. Being the selfless person she is, Ro decides to take matters into her own hands and help. This is when things take a very dark turn. Will Lando be found? How will this delicate matter end?

This book is simply impressive, from beginning to end. Besides the fact that it kept me glued until the very last page, its content is an absolute delight – even though you can hardly consider human trafficking delightful. The themes discussed are, unfortunately, current, but dealt with delicately and kindly, with the narrative never slipping into the patronising or the overdramatic. There is a perfect balance of seriousness and humour, there are old characters that are always a welcome presence and new ones that are introduced with a few, simple brushes.
Draper’s style is always impeccable, straight to the point, with a crafty balance of description and dialogue. While he avoids beating around the bush, he is capable of dragging you into the story like no one else. His control over the story production process is incredibly tight and it shows, something that allowed him to write and publish this book in less than two months.
‘Ro: Breaking The Chain’ is definitely his best work so far.

For more information about Peter’s work, visit his website or his Author Page on Amazon.