Canton Askew: Mickey Starts, #9

By Mike Scantlebury

Manchester may be the Queen of all cities in the north of England, but it's down on its luck and starting to show its age. The place failed to get any traction in its efforts to become the site of the next Olympic Games and jobs and industry are being lost in their droves. The only hope in the darkness of this disaster seems to be the bright young hopeful, the new Member of Parliament for North Manchester, yes, it's Bill Cantion, a man who is hanging his hat on an attempt to get guns outlawed.

Meanwhile Mickey has been asked to help an old pal with his battle against ruthless property developers. This seems at first to be a completely different battle, but then, to Mickey's surprise, he realises that all the forces at work in the city of Manchester are linked. Despite himself, he can't help but become involved, and this leads him into direct conflict with an old adversary, the Leader of Manchester City Council.

If only Mickey could keep out of romantic entanglements, but a girl he used to know called Loreanne comes back into his life, as well as a youngster he would rather avoid. It means Mickey has no emotional support in the crises that develop, no reliable friends, no helpers he can count on. As Manchester hots up, and it becomes increasingly difficult for a man of honour to make an honest living in the febrile atmosphere, Mickey finds himself absolutely and alarmingly alone.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Mickey Starts
• Release date: Jun 2, 2019
• ISBN: 9781393259343

Mike Scantlebury

Mike Scantlebury is my author name, which I chose once I'd decided to use my real name on the outside of books. I was born in the South West of England, but after a lot of roaming, found a new billet in the North West, across the river from Manchester (England). I've written dozens of books and you can find them on the shelves of online bookstores everywhere. They're mostly in the world of Romance and the smaller world of Crime Fiction and Mysteries. Mostly, the novels are like the great Colossus and straddle both sides of the stream. The thing that makes me interesting is that I also sing and write songs and you can find them on social media and the corners of The Web. Which is pretty good. I'm a bit old for the internet, really. Happier with an abacus

Book preview

Canton Askew

Mickey Starts, Volume 9

Mike Scantlebury

Published by Mickey Starts, 2019.

This is a work of fiction. Similarities to real people, places, or events are entirely coincidental.

CANTON ASKEW

First edition. June 2, 2019.

Copyright © 2019 Mike Scantlebury.

ISBN: 978-1393259343

Written by Mike Scantlebury.

Table of Contents

Title Page

Copyright Page

IT BEGINS

SYNOPSIS

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About the Author

About the Publisher

IT BEGINS

The night that Bill Canton got shot in Manchester, I was half a mile away from the crime, in front of the old Town Hall, listening to quite another politician rant. That's my alibi, and I'm sticking to it.

You can't blame me.

You see, Manchester is the Queen of North West England and has a tradition of local heroes addressing the populace. They've got a nice big space in front of Manchester Town Hall called Albert Square, where the crowd gathers. Then the dignitaries come out on a balcony, appearing above the rabble's heads, like the Royal Family does sometimes, down at Buckingham Palace in London.

It had been a difficult time. Loreanne had insisted on taking me to see the Leader of the City Council make his little speech. It wasn't easy for him. Of course, he'd been a politician long enough to spin a yarn or two to any old audience, but the tricky part was getting him up there on the Town Hall balcony, in front of the people in the first place. Especially as they chose to bring his iron lung with him.

Loreanne was a real treat. She'd always been a looker; I've known her for three years and she constantly manages to warm my juices. Not that it's ever done me any good: she's never been so much