The King’s Prerogative by Iain Colvin
Scotland, 1983.
Craig Dunlop is bored. Bored of his job, his town, his life.
After a family bereavement, Craig inherits an old heirloom; a wallet given to his grandfather during the war by none other than the deputy leader of Nazi Germany, Rudolf Hess.
The wallet has hidden a secret for forty years, and when Craig stumbles upon it, a chain of events is set in motion that lead to him becoming a hunted man.
Finding himself in a race to unravel a mystery that could shake the very foundations of the British establishment, Craig must find answers before the police catch up with him, or worse still, he is made to disappear forever, along with the secret of The King’s Prerogative.
Information about the Book
Title: The King’s Prerogative
Author: Iain Colvin
Release Date: 30th July 2019
Genre: Thriller
Page Count:
Publisher: Clink Street Publishing
Amazon Link: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/1913136248
Read an Extract
Saturday 10th May, 1941
The Messerschmitt Bf 110 night fighter continued to fly westward, no more than a few hundred feet off the ground. The pilot had flown over Alnwick Castle more than half an hour before and he knew he had to be close to his destination by now. He became more anxious with each minute that passed, straining to see through the darkness, willing the landing lights to come into view.
Finally, he saw them. He climbed to ensure he cleared a group of hills he had memorized from his map, and as the plane leveled out he could see the landing strip in the distance. A faint double line of lights marked the RAF emergency landing ground, and the pilot breathed out again. Almost there. The plan was for him to approach from the west to provide a safer landing for the twin-engined aeroplane. He overflew Dungavel House and headed towards the coast. A few minutes later he crossed the Clyde coast over West Kilbride. The plane circled above the wide estuary and released its two 900-litre drop-in fuel tanks which had provided the extra capacity needed for the flight from Bavaria. The pilot then turned east once more, flying over the southern outskirts of Glasgow on the approach to the landing strip.
Except the landing strip had gone. He couldn’t see the lights. Were they obscured by trees? He strained every sinew as he willed them to come back into view. He had to think fast. Should he abort the mission? It was too late for that, he had already gone beyond the point of no return. With the drop tanks gone there was no guarantee, he’d have enough fuel to reach Aldergrove. There was nothing else to do, he had to continue as planned. The lights had definitely been there before, perhaps there was a fault in the electrics? He had to take the gamble that they were still waiting for him. But he couldn’t risk a landing in pitch dark. Not only would it be impossible to gauge the height from the ground on approach, there was every chance of hitting a tree.
The pilot came to a grim decision. He pulled the column back and climbed into the night sky. Once the plane leveled out again, he opened the cockpit canopy. He undid his harness and tried to pull himself out of his seat but the air pressure prevented him from doing so. He realized that there was no alternative but to turn the plane upside down and literally fall out of the plane.
He rolled the plane onto its back and this time gravity overcame the air pressure and he fell out of the cockpit. As he cleared the fuselage, his ankle caught the tail of the Messerschmitt and a searing pain shot through his foot. He pulled his parachute cord and briefly lost consciousness. The cold night air quickly caused him to regain his senses and he heard the explosion as his plane crashed into the countryside below. He could make out the dark outline of the ground rushing to meet him and several seconds later he hit the earth hard and tumbled over and over.
It was shortly before midnight and Rudolf Hess, deputy leader of Germany’s Nazi party, had arrived in Scotland.
Author Information
Born and raised in Glasgow, despite now residing in Edinburgh, Iain Colvin will always consider himself a Glaswegian. He started his career by working at his local bank in Stranraer. He now works full time as an IT specialist in Edinburgh. He is a father to four children, who help to remind him of what is important in life and helped him while he was writing this novel. Outside of work and family, he enjoys watching football (yes, Scottish football!), and has been trying to play more tennis. He is also very competitive when it comes to the local pub quiz and if you’re buying, he’ll have an IPA or a glass of chilled Chenin Blanc, please.
Twitter: http://twitter.com/IainColvin
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