Please be aware that the free download offer is only available from March 11-12 2024.
Coal miners, mill workers and German prisoners of war in Salford – what to expect in Kerry Costello’s free downloadable novel.
A Salford born author Kerry Costello is offering a free download of his novel which is based around events in Salford, Swinton and Pendlebury, from WW2 through to 1990. Costello’s novel, The Long Game, is actually inspired by his own experience of growing up in Agecroft after the Second World War.
Costello, 77, said: “It was an interesting time after the war, the coal mines and the cotton mills really dominated, they were the two main industries.
“It would be a shame if all that was sort of lost but I’m not a historian, so I mix fact and fiction to try and make it an interesting book.”
Costello was born in 1947 and grew up on Deepdale Drive in Agecroft, Pendlebury. Below is an image of Costello in front of one of the miner’s house on Park Lane West.
Costello added: “There was a gap between the houses, where I was told a German bomber missed the railway line running behind the houses and accidently bombed a house.”
Salford towns like Swinton and Pendlebury relied largely on coal and cotton for their existence during this time. In fact, in the latter half of the nineteenth century, coal mining and cotton spinning thrived in the northwest of England.
The Long Game also mentions the German prisoners of war (POWs) Costello encountered, who used to work on local farms in Salford.
As late as 1946, after the end of WW2, nearly half a million German POW were still being held in Britain.
There were POW camps on the outskirts of most towns at that time. Up to one fifth of all farm work in Britain was being done by German POWs, in this post war period. After the war ended, some of them chose to stay in England.
The plot follows an elderly man who dies of natural causes, however Detective Sergeant Gibson “just doesn’t buy it.” Through using good old fashioned detective work to get to the truth, Gibson manages to piece together a complex puzzle of long-awaited retribution – its bitter roots in WW2.
Sam Lorek from Salford Online said: “This is a suspenseful and beguiling story of modern police work, past wartime hardships, friendships, loyalties, deceit and malevolence.
“That there are these diverse elements all intertwined; make this book eminently readable and captivating. Overall, this book has many twists and turns, relationships and intrigue that will keep the reader interested and entertained as books of this genre should.”
He wrote the novel in 2012 but wants to offer residents the chance to download the digital copy on amazon for free. However, this digital download is only available from today, March 11 until midnight on March 12.
Download a free copy here.
Costello has written eight novels since writing The Long Game but is especially proud of this one.
Costello said: “In my mind this one stands out because I suppose it’s very personal.
“People will invariably pick up a lot of old memories and really just from that perspective, it gives a sort of value to people, either the young ones who had no idea of that sort of existence or the older ones who might find it nostalgic.”
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