John Dean – Crime Writer

The other day, I was clicking idly through the worldwide web when I came a website listing the four types of clown (Whiteface, Character, Hobo, or Tramp, and Auguste, or Fool, should you be interested, and yes, you’re right, I should get out more) and it struck me that there was a glaring omission, the fifth category – the cold-blooded killer!

Author Malcolm Beadle has put that omission right with his debut novella Koki, which was twenty years in the writing and will only serve to confirm the fears of the many people who find clowns scary.

The novella tells the story of a Vietnam War sniper who paints his face as a clown before he goes hunting his VietCong victims in the jungle and has received glowing five-star reviews on Amazon, including from myself. I wrote: “Mix (together) a fast-moving plot, a compelling main character you are unlikely to forget and a powerful sense of place – the three main pillars of storytelling – as Malcolm takes the reader deep into the Vietnam forest and you have a remarkable debut novella”

Fellow reviewer, the author Tom Benson, wrote: “Through superb imagery, this author helps you to absorb the jungle environment. In graphic detail, he relates a believable darker side to a war of attrition that cost thousands of lives.”

And crime writer Jake Howard wrote: “A gritty, no-holds-barred  story of the brutality of war, love, revenge and a few surprises thrown in along the way. Very readable and thoroughly enjoyed it. Would definitely read this author again.”

The novella can be purchased in ebook and paperback formats, and now on Amazon Kindle Unlimited, all accessed through its page on Amazon, at https://www.amazon.co.uk