Papercuts 6: The Eagle Has Crash Landed

By Colin Bateman

Through world wars and civil strife, the Bangor Express has never missed an issue, but now it is losing money hand-over-fist and Rob Cullen, fresh off the plane from his London news desk, has absolutely no idea that he's the man to save it. Lured back to Northern Ireland for the first time in 20 years by the demise of his one-time mentor, the Bangor Express makes Rob an offer he can't refuse and the Guardian reporter can't resist sticking around. After all, it has been a long time since Rob had a real story to get his teeth in to... and with the Bangor Express, that's just what he's going to get.

Rob is standing outside a local carwash, when a young woman jumps out of a van stopped at a red light and is knocked unconscious. Rob rushes to her rescue and calls her an ambulance. When Alix goes to visit her in hospital, he discovers she is a prostitute who has been trafficked into Ireland from the Czech Republic. Marja has managed to escape her kidnappers, but her friend Anna is still captive at a local brothel. The Bangor Express take matters into their own hands to set her free...

• Language: English
• Publisher: Head of Zeus
• Release date: Feb 1, 2016
• ISBN: 9781784973759

Colin Bateman

Colin Bateman is an author, screenwriter and playwright. He is the creator of the BBC series Murphy's Law and was listed by the Daily Telegraph as one of the Top 50 crime writers of all time. Find out more at colinbateman.com

Reviews for Papercuts 6

[debbiemccauley-2 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The one-hundred-year-old Bangor Express is in trouble, having never missed an issue during World Wars and civil strife, financial difficulties and the digital age may just shut it's doors. London-based journalist Rob Cullen has arrived back in the Northern Irish town for the funeral of the Bangor Express editor, his one time mentor. Plyed during a great night out with alcohol and money, paper owner Gerry talks Rob into staying and having a go at saving the paper - after all it appears he is suspended from this London job for some shadowy reason and has nothing better to do! Rob discovers that the employees work like a highly dysfunctional family, with at least two journalists chasing the editors job and all the strife that entails. An entertaining read - would read more by this author but the ending left me hanging - I wanted some answers!