Charles P. Helmsville was a practising barrister for almost 40 years, before graduating in life to become an introspectionist and writer. His interest in philosophy, current world affairs, his three Canadian granddaughters and his American grandson, continues unabated. His travels have taken him to six continents.Born in rural England, then having lived in Perth and Melbourne, Australia for almost five years, Charles settled in Toronto, Canada with his Canadian wife. They have two married sons, one practising law in Toronto, the other in San Francisco.He holds a Bachelor of Laws degree from the University of London, and a Doctor of Jurisprudence degree from Osgoode Hall Law School of York University, Toronto.
A terrorist regime, The Following, has gained de facto control of Denmark by gradually imposing its religious radicalism on all the population. Eventually it becomes a questionable legal government: one that aims to rigorously enforce its harsh new powers with savagery if necessary.Billy Farrow and his pregnant wife Jenny attend a compulsory Assembly where a woman is to be executed. Jenny can not control a spasm, and accidentally causes her face to be exposed. A Revolutionary Guard sees this, and moves to arrest her for revealing it in a public place. She escapes, but is pursued by the state relentlessly. She requires assistance from husband Billy, devoted friends, the Underground, and an unlikely religious cleric and his wife. But help inevitably leads to ever more serious breaches of the laws of the new state. Her troubles become insurmountable. When, in time, the regime catches up with Jenny, now mother to a baby daughter, she faces a cruel and unusual death penalty; one in which husband Billy has played an unwitting and unwilling hand. She is to be publicly shamed. The European Union and elite British forces intervene and an unexpected family connection comes to Jenny’s aid, but there are dire consequences. Can Jenny be saved? Can Denmark be saved?
Stephanie Golding takes licentious advantage of men. Or so it seems. Is that why she is brutally murdered at the crest of a quiet ravine, and with a weapon suggesting more torture than passionate death? Her fiancé vehemently denies involvement, so does everyone else.
The murderer in this apparently vengeful killing is investigated relentlessly by Detective Chief Inspector Charles Merstowe and his team of police and medical experts. Voyeurs, opportunists, friends of the victim, a mysterious white-haired man, shadows: all are suspect. Secrets must be uncovered, foibles exposed and explanations ruthlessly delved. Merstowe knows this, but the case fast becomes a losing challenge. Not much adds up. And what about upsetting machinations and revelations closer to home? There are unwelcome surprises there too. Even the police are disturbed.
An eventual ownership of the crime raises more fog than it diffuses. Perhaps only another death will clear the air completely of jealousy, hatred, blame, retribution and revenge. In the meantime, the veteran Merstowe is forced to question his own skills as a detective. His protégé questions his morals as well. His own doubts cast shadows over himself. Is he remotely on the right track? Was the victim in fact an angel? Or was she instead a cunning devil, too clever by half? Who were really her friends, and who her enemies? Most importantly, what’s wrong with the evidence? Stephanie Golding suffered in death. But why? It needs to be sorted out.
Tales is a storybook of allegories where animals and humans confront and overcome hard decisions. The UNICORN is feared by other animals until a forest fire gives him the opportunity to show that he is not only one of them, but also their saviour. In NINE WILD PIGLETS, the runt of the litter, through cleverness and cunning, overcomes all odds and becomes the leader of all his siblings. In ONE HUNDRED SQUIRRELS, three armies, Red, Gray and Black, are set to fight to the death for a cottage-sized section of the Forest until four yellow squirrels convince them of the futility of war. In the last story, ONE MILLION BEETLES, all the animals of the Forest and their Hunters meet on the night of The Moon of Blood and, through the intervention of the light of these million fireflies, form an understanding for everlasting peace between them.
The lives of two teenage sisters and their cousin boyfriends are forever changed by the mores of their time, by separation to different parts of the world, by relationships with others and by a cruel tragedy. When, after seventeen years, there are reunions and liaisons over two decades, in furtive circumstances, none can imagine that the questionable and consequential actions of one of the lovers will lead to savage repercussions for all: repercussions that will bring on further catastrophic tragedies but more importantly, risk fulfillment of their enduring loves as a foursome.
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