John Dean – Crime Writer

He’s back! One of the fictional world’s most unusual killers has returned in the sequel to the novella Koki, by thriller writer Malcolm Beadle.

The first book in the series by Malcolm, of Darlington, County Durham, which was published in 2025, introduced readers to former rodeo clown/turned Army sniper Trent Blane.

Blane has been a hunter since he was aged eight and moved on from hunting animals to hunting human beings when he enlisted in the American Army and became a sniper in the Vietnam War.

Blane is no ordinary sniper. Having left behind his family and abandoned the only job he has ever known, working as a clown called Koki in Rodeo shows across the United States, he paints his face as a clown before he goes out hunting the enemy in the steamy jungles of Vietnam.

The sequel, Koki’s Last Dance, which is a full-length novel, follows him into Civvy Street where, having worked for the CIA, he transfers to rival agency the FBI.

In the novel, Koki, whose complex all-action character will appeal to fans of Jack Reacher, the creation of global best-selling thriller author Lee Child, finds himself in trouble when, having solved a case involving missing children, he makes an innocent comment to his beautiful neighbour and he and his friends become the targets of dangerous people seeking to extract revenge.

What their pursuers do not know is that Koki will do anything to protect his friends, who he regards as family, and that, just because he has hung up his sniper’s rifle, it does not mean that he is not prepared to kill to defend those people whom he cherishes.

The series can be traced back twenty years to when Malcolm, now 65, who works in a recycling centre, took screenwriting classes at Darlington Arts Centre in the South Durham town, followed by writing classes run at the centre by crime writer John Dean, now a best-selling crime novelist living in South West Scotland, and one of a number of authors who have continued to work with Malcolm down the years.

Malcom said: “The first book took twenty years to be published so I am delighted that there are now two of them. For the cover designed by Mark Etherington for Koki’s Last Dance, I wanted an image depicting a couple having a slow dance. Maybe if they were doing a quick-step, I might have finished it faster!”

John said: “The most impressive thing about Mally as a writer is the sheer variety of ideas that pour out of his fertile imagination and onto the page. In the early days of his writing career, he had trouble concentrating on just one book but he gradually the learned the author’s art of ‘focus’ and, clearly, Koki has captured his imagination, as he has with readers.”

The sequel has a stunning front cover, created by book designer Mark Etherington, who has provided an equally striking image to replace the one used in the first book.

Both titles can be purchased in ebook and paperback formats on Amazon at http://www.amazon.co.uk.