Beyond Redemption

When a wealthy German businessman mysteriously disappears without a trace and the Police discover the mutilated body of a wanted Bosnian war criminal, awkward questions are going to be asked. Awkward for who? Awkward for me, that’s who. And that, my friend, is just the tip of the iceberg. I never intended that my life would be a complicated one, but complicated it has turned out to be.After his release from prison, for a murder he did not commit, Stephen Caldwell worked hard to get his life back on track. It may appear that he is now a successful entrepreneur with a comfortable life, surrounded by family and friends but, beneath the charade lurks a world of lies, deception, criminality and intrigue. Stephen is plagued by his conscience and those who will stop at nothing to take what’s his, conspiring to drag him back to a time and a place where he no longer wants to be. The time has come when too many people know the truth and Stephen can feel that the walls are closing in. One way or another, he needs to escape from the life which he has made, but can he?

Born in Bexley, Kent, just before Christmas 1961, Richard found the newly emerging punk rock scene, in 1976/77, to be the perfect outlet for teenage angst. Education at an all-boys secondary modern school in Dartford ultimately led to him attaining a modest five O levels. After playing guitar in several bands, he shelved his personal dreams of attaining rock and roll stardom and put his life on hold to provide for, and raise, a family.

In the latter years, Richard turned his creative focus to photography and writing, having been inspired by his visits to Eastern European countries. Following a 32-year absence from live musical performances, Richard made a comeback as a guitarist with the East End Badoes in 2016 and has since played and recorded with Medway rock band, The Burntwick Smugglers, formed by four friends during the coronavirus lockdown.

Now living with his wife and muse, Liane, in Preston, Lancashire, he continues to write and play the music he loves. Following the cult status of his first novel, Room 13: Between Hell and Redemption, published in 2017, this is his second novel and the sequel which has been six years in the making.