Manchester Murder
by Pat Whitaker
Price: $8.99 USD. 188860 words.
Published by Cooper's Press on October 25, 2011. Fiction.
A collection of four murder mystery novels, all set in the City of Manchester. These books, although sharing a common backdrop and even some supporting characters, are all independent stories and not a series.
They also share in having, to a greater or lesser extent, a science fiction element to them although the murder mystery is predominant.
Member Since: April 01, 2010
Pat Whitaker
Biography
Born in England in 1946, I moved to New Zealand with my parents and older brother at the age of four and, apart from five years in my late twenties spent traveling the globe, have lived here ever since. After a fairly rudimentary education, I found work as an Architectural Designer and this became a life-long occupation. I started writing late in 2006.
The books I write are intended in the first instance to tell a good story and secondly " once the tale is told " to leave the reader with something to ponder. To this end, all my stories attempt to provide an original take on some commonly held belief, be it cultural, social or scientific.
Being a fan of both science fiction and classic murder mysteries, these tend to be common themes, with elements of both often combined in a single story.
As a person who likes to read a book in a single sitting, I limit each work to around forty-five or fifty thousand words. Unfashionable I know, but it's what I prefer.
Two of my books were shortlisted for the 2009 Sir Julius Vogel Awards - Best Adult Novel for both Mindset & Antithesis, plus Best New Talent.
If you'd like to know more, please visit my website.
The books I write are intended in the first instance to tell a good story and secondly " once the tale is told " to leave the reader with something to ponder. To this end, all my stories attempt to provide an original take on some commonly held belief, be it cultural, social or scientific.
Being a fan of both science fiction and classic murder mysteries, these tend to be common themes, with elements of both often combined in a single story.
As a person who likes to read a book in a single sitting, I limit each work to around forty-five or fifty thousand words. Unfashionable I know, but it's what I prefer.
Two of my books were shortlisted for the 2009 Sir Julius Vogel Awards - Best Adult Novel for both Mindset & Antithesis, plus Best New Talent.
If you'd like to know more, please visit my website.
Where to find Pat Whitaker online
Where to buy in print
Books
Nmemesis
by Pat Whitaker
Price: $2.99 USD. 46410 words. Published by Cooper's Press on August 25, 2011. Fiction.
Humanity is under attack from an enemy within. An enemy unable to be seen or confronted. Nemesis tells how in a battle with no rules, each individual must find their own answers, their own way in which to protect themselves and those they love. The book also invites the reader to reconsider the nature of life itself and whether our current definitions are really adequate.
Price: $2.99 USD. 46410 words. Published by Cooper's Press on August 25, 2011. Fiction.
Humanity is under attack from an enemy within. An enemy unable to be seen or confronted. Nemesis tells how in a battle with no rules, each individual must find their own answers, their own way in which to protect themselves and those they love. The book also invites the reader to reconsider the nature of life itself and whether our current definitions are really adequate.
Antithesis
by Pat Whitaker
Price: $2.99 USD. 46820 words. Published by Cooper's Press on November 24, 2009. Fiction.
(4.00 from 2 reviews)
An entomologist seeking answers as to how ants communicate goes to Namibia searching of her long-lost mentor. She finds the answers, but is faced with a question she cannot answer. It's a story of one person’s hunt for the truth. An ‘old school’ work of science fiction, it questions our homocentric view of the universe and our place in it.
Price: $2.99 USD. 46820 words. Published by Cooper's Press on November 24, 2009. Fiction.
(4.00 from 2 reviews) An entomologist seeking answers as to how ants communicate goes to Namibia searching of her long-lost mentor. She finds the answers, but is faced with a question she cannot answer. It's a story of one person’s hunt for the truth. An ‘old school’ work of science fiction, it questions our homocentric view of the universe and our place in it.
Raw Spirit
by Pat Whitaker
Price: $2.99 USD. 46120 words. Published by Cooper's Press on November 24, 2009. Fiction.
A physicist, suspected of a murder, tries to answer two questions, who killed the woman in the next room, and how did he see a ghost? There is a rather strong romantic element to this story, but in essence it is a crime mystery. The principal characters, constrained by their connection to a murder investigation, become involved in another, more esoteric investigation of their own.
Price: $2.99 USD. 46120 words. Published by Cooper's Press on November 24, 2009. Fiction.
A physicist, suspected of a murder, tries to answer two questions, who killed the woman in the next room, and how did he see a ghost? There is a rather strong romantic element to this story, but in essence it is a crime mystery. The principal characters, constrained by their connection to a murder investigation, become involved in another, more esoteric investigation of their own.
Time Out
by Pat Whitaker
Price: $2.99 USD. 49880 words. Published by Cooper's Press on November 24, 2009. Fiction.
(5.00 from 1 review)
Reporting on so-called alien abductions, a newspaperman is caught up a mixture of drugs, murder and a truly extraordinary set of events. It intermingles crime with romance and Science Fiction, confronts what we may perceive to be true with logic, and asks us to reconsider.
Price: $2.99 USD. 49880 words. Published by Cooper's Press on November 24, 2009. Fiction.
(5.00 from 1 review) Reporting on so-called alien abductions, a newspaperman is caught up a mixture of drugs, murder and a truly extraordinary set of events. It intermingles crime with romance and Science Fiction, confronts what we may perceive to be true with logic, and asks us to reconsider.
Bad Blood
by Pat Whitaker
Price: $2.99 USD. 48240 words. Published by Cooper's Press on November 24, 2009. Fiction.
(4.50 from 2 reviews)
A serial killer is loose in Manchester masquerading as a vampire, and a forensic psychologist is tasked with creating a profile to help catch them, with unexpected results. The story takes popular myth and, reduced to its essentials, and asks what’s the most rational, scientifically plausible explanation for the phenomenon. Both the underlying myth and the science are very carefully researched
Price: $2.99 USD. 48240 words. Published by Cooper's Press on November 24, 2009. Fiction.
(4.50 from 2 reviews) A serial killer is loose in Manchester masquerading as a vampire, and a forensic psychologist is tasked with creating a profile to help catch them, with unexpected results. The story takes popular myth and, reduced to its essentials, and asks what’s the most rational, scientifically plausible explanation for the phenomenon. Both the underlying myth and the science are very carefully researched
Mindset
by Pat Whitaker
Price: $2.99 USD. 51090 words. Published by Cooper's Press on November 24, 2009. Fiction.
(5.00 from 1 review)
Mindset follows a group of outcasts who are abandoned in space and forced to survive anyway they can with the limited resources available. It examines both the technical and social problems that the survivors face and suggests real solutions based on actual science. It’s slightly unorthodox as the focus is, quite deliberately, on the collective rather than any particular individual.
Price: $2.99 USD. 51090 words. Published by Cooper's Press on November 24, 2009. Fiction.
(5.00 from 1 review) Mindset follows a group of outcasts who are abandoned in space and forced to survive anyway they can with the limited resources available. It examines both the technical and social problems that the survivors face and suggests real solutions based on actual science. It’s slightly unorthodox as the focus is, quite deliberately, on the collective rather than any particular individual.
Returning
by Pat Whitaker
Price: $2.99 USD. 48530 words. Published by Cooper's Press on November 24, 2009. Fiction.
(4.00 from 2 reviews)
Returning tells the story of an alien, exiled to Earth, trying first to survive in an unfamiliar world, and then to find a way to return to his own kind. In the process he learns as much about himself as he does about human kind. The nature of the alien provides an opportunity for the reader to look at our world and ourselves with an external and unprejudiced perspective.
Price: $2.99 USD. 48530 words. Published by Cooper's Press on November 24, 2009. Fiction.
(4.00 from 2 reviews) Returning tells the story of an alien, exiled to Earth, trying first to survive in an unfamiliar world, and then to find a way to return to his own kind. In the process he learns as much about himself as he does about human kind. The nature of the alien provides an opportunity for the reader to look at our world and ourselves with an external and unprejudiced perspective.