Jackie Keswick's Blog: Musings & Meanderings - Posts Tagged "mouse-hunt"

Sometimes, the best way to get back into a world is to step through a side door. I’ve been procrastinating the next Jack & Gareth book—A Simple Mistake—for a few years now, variously blaming time constraints, the lockdowns, a non-cooperative Muse, the weather… you name it. The real reason is that writing A Simple Mistake will hurt because it touches on topics that make me profoundly uncomfortable.

But is that a good enough reason to leave Jack and Gareth’s journey unfinished?

I’ve decided that, no, it isn’t.

And to get back into the grove to write in the Power of Zero world, I’ve assembled a bunch of unfinished short stories and novellas.

They’re snippets I’ve written to clarify character backstories. They’re chunks I’ve lifted from the published books because they would have led the main characters too far off track. A couple are brand-new plot bunnies that I’ve not yet had time to look at.

And the first of these to be released is Mouse Hunt – a village murder mystery featuring Jack Horwood.

Once upon a time, a friend tossed me a challenge: write a murder mystery featuring Jack. Since I was waiting for a reply to my submission and was at loose ends, I accepted. And promptly came up with another glance into Jack’s past.

A sideways one, this time, since Jack is happily settled with Gareth and the boys. It’s a phone call in the early hours that kicks off the story, a phone call that heralds bad news.

Jonathan Briggs, Rio’s long-time mentor, and the man who made Jack accept a job with MI6 has been found dead. And since Rio’s abroad, Jack is needed to help make sure that he hasn’t been killed because of his job.

Staying in Jon’s home without Jon present challenges Jack on many levels, and keeping old memories out of his head isn’t always easy. Then there are strange noises at night, unexpected gifts left on Jack’s doorstep, and conversations that are cut short as soon as Jack comes into earshot.

Holton Wick, the village where Jon Briggs lived, has secrets and Jack looks to solve them.

Mouse Hunt is a mix of village murder mystery, exploration of grief, and celebration of supportive families. I was seriously tempted to change the name, but then decided against it, because Jack’s mouse hunt is such an integral part of the story… even as it’s entirely spurious.

I had fun writing Mouse Hunt, but I also recall one morning when I was dictating while out for a walk and ended up sobbing my way home, caught up in one particular part of the story. Jack has a knack for making me emotional and/or uncomfortable, but—as I mentioned earlier—it shouldn’t stop me writing or publishing Jack’s story.

Mouse Hunt is the first book in a series of novellas and long short stories, all featuring the characters from the Power of Zero universe. Here you’ll find Jack solving a murder, Gareth helping a friend, Aidan & Alex’s first meeting, and Julian Nancarrow changing the way he works to protect his mining company from his rapacious family. You’ll get the chance to judge Aidan’s parenting skills, and you can follow Raf Gallant and Skylar Payne as they tackle a case of a plot gone wrong.

Right now, though, I’m raising a glass in Jon Briggs’ memory, and to toast Jack’s latest story on its way. Thank you for being here with me.