Hung Out to Dry

April 2018. Two and a half years have passed since the unsuccessful attempt to assassinate Barbados’ Prime Minister, Jeffrey Motby. His surprisingly quick and full recovery had enabled him, just eight months later, to lead his Barbados United Party (BUP) to a third successive general election victory. Policies and projects were working. The UK vehicle investment project he had directly masterminded had reduced unemployment to just over eight per cent. England’s Test cricket team was set to visit Barbados to play a resurgent West Indies. A royal visit to Barbados and St Vincent and the Grenadines was scheduled and the Prime Minister’s daughter planned to marry shortly. There were no known crises on the horizon.

But situations can change quickly. Major, unexpected actions disrupt the best laid plans of the government. A perfect storm? The Organisation comes to town; there is a mid-morning prisoners’ escape and the un-explained disappearance of a senior government official. A botched night robbery in a prime tourism nightspot is also witnessed by a top overseas journalist. A response by government is required as other scheduled sporting and entertainment events become part of the mix. Barbados’ long-established reputation for stability, hospitality and security is threatened by this convergence of events.

The Prime Minister, also the current CARICOM Chairman, demands rapid answers and an early return to normalcy. Events inadvertently connect a senior BIB operative who is hung out to dry. Nothing is what it seems. Can Barbados’ robust law enforcement agencies combine to save the country’s stellar reputation?

Hadford Howell was born in Barbados in 1956. He went to join his parents in England in 1968 before returning to Barbados in 1981. In UK and in Barbados, he worked both in the public service and in the private sector. Prior to his early retirement, he served for 33 years in a senior position at a diplomatic mission in Barbados.

He is continuing to fulfil a life-long ambition of writing novels. Hung Out to Dry is the follow-up to the successful publication of his first novel, Connect the Dots… Other novels in the Barbados Intelligence Bureau (BIB) series are in advanced stages of development. Hadford is a graduate of the University of the West Indies (Cave Hill Campus), has served on his local Church Council and School Boards and was awarded an MBE in 1998. He has been a Justice of the Peace for over 20 years. He currently sits on the Board of Directors of two Barbadian charities and is the appointed chairman of a national agency.