Belfast author, James Murphy, has released his second novel ‘The Terror Within’ following the critical success of his début book, ‘The Rise of Terror’.
The second part of his Terror trilogy ‘The Terror Within’ sees private investigator Mark Shaw faced with a series of family crises when he is hundreds of miles away and wondering just how will he can do to protect his loved ones.
The 42-year-old former head teacher explained how this book takes the Terror story to the next level of chilling tension.
The book, as with the first in the series, centres around a Private Investigator called Mark Shaw and his nemesis, a serial killer who has given himself the name, Terror,” he said.
“In the first book Shaw and his team at the West Belfast based, Farset Investigations, come up against Terror and a cult movement called, The Enlightenment. Although seemingly winners in their fight for justice, this book begins with Shaw stranded in New York whilst his family and friends find that the fight isn’t over yet. This book takes a much darker turn in that the events that happen, lead us to question just how far would we go to protect the ones we love.”
While in New York Shaw learns his wife is fighting for her life after being stabbed while she slept, and his elderly father has been arrested and accused of a murder in the 70s.
For those wanting to understand where this thriller comes from Murphy said: “The book could be categorised as Crime Fiction, though with a slightly paranormal twist”.
“It can also be described as being part of the increasingly popular sub-genre of Ulster Noir.”
With his first book drawing comparisons to authors such as John Connolly and Stuart Neville, as well as drawing a series of great reviews, he has also built a loyal audience following.
Not that he found this book easy to write.
“I definitely suffered the writers equivalent to the difficult second album that music artists often talk about,” he said.
“The other thing that I was up against was the fact the first book got so many excellent reviews and so many people had said such nice things about my work, that I felt pressured not to disappoint anyone.
“I also found the writing of this book incredibly difficult, for many reasons. I found the first book relatively easy and have since discovered from other writers, that many do.
As a teacher and Head of English in a Belfast school there was a further pressure on James.
“There was definitely pressure to make sure all the spellings and grammar were all okay. I had no excuses if they weren’t!”
‘The Terror Within’ is now available from Excalibur Press on https://excaliburpress.co.uk/book-shop or Amazon.co.uk