Author
STAMPS HIS MARK Photo Wayne Martin
A shocking terrorist bombing plot at Auckland International Airport is the starting point for the latest book from former top cop and popular author, Ian Austin. It’s his fourth and, as he tells ANGELA KEMP, his best so far.
Ian Austin
While most of us have endured the Covid-19 lockdowns through gritted teeth, Ian Austin has used them to good effect, writing another gripping crime novel featuring ex-cop Dan Calder. Since featuring three years ago in sister magazine SOUTH on publication of his last book, Frozen Summer, UK-born Ian has been busy designing and building a new house while working on not one, but two new books. “I started my new book, Bonded and another during the first lockdown. Bonded was the one which took over as time went on and I finished it during this latest lockdown,” Ian says. “It has its roots entwined within a real-life story, almost too amazing to be true. “I wanted to find a subject which, from the outside, you’d struggle
to think had a dark side. When I found out a little about the Plate 77 Penny Red stamps, the whole subject opened up such brilliant possibilities I couldn’t resist. “Fiction and non-fiction are literally bound together and it’s that combination which means to me that Bonded is the best thing I’ve written.” For the non-philatelists among you, Plate 77 Penny Red stamps are considered some of the rarest and most sought after stamps in the world. Millions of Penny Reds dating from 1841 were printed but the Plate 77s printed in 1863 contained a fault in the printing and were scrapped. It’s thought one sheet of 240 stamps was circulated before the fault was noticed. Only 10 are known to exist today and five years ago one sold to a British collector
for the equivalent of $1million. Bonded follows ex-cop and careerdamaged Dan Calder, who readers have come to know through Ian’s previous novels, The Agency (2012), The Second Grave (2015) and Frozen Summer (2019). Calder is thrown in at the deep end to help police make sense of a terrorist bombing plot at Auckland Airport. After being dumped from the investigation, an aggrieved Calder is hell bent on solving the audacious crime. “I’ve worked so hard through the previous three books to create a character with personality, a moral code and a voice that demands attention,” says Ian. Drawing on his own experiences as a former police officer (trained as a tactical firearms officer), detective, covert specialist and
private investigator both in the UK and New Zealand, Ian’s natural storytelling ability transports his readers to the thrilling and unpredictable world he once was a part of. Subsequently, crime fiction fans can expect unrivalled authenticity in Bonded’s powerfully evocative plot and protagonists. With Calder’s investigations taking him to the USA, it could be Ian’s opportunity to break into the lucrative American market, perhaps becoming the next Lee Child. Bonded is available now and Ian is working diligently on its follow up. “The other book I started at the time I began Bonded is well under way now,” he confirms. “It’s Dan Calder again but a new story set in 2002. Readers of the previous Calder books will love the concept.”
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