Tuesday 04 December 2012
Local Author Explores Margate’s Role In The Global Financial Crisis
Ask a random sample to name the people and places they associate with the world's present financial difficulties and the chances are Lehman Brothers and the City of London will be high on the list.
Which makes The Fix — a new crime novel by Broadstairs writer Keith Nixon — a pretty original interpretation of events in 2007 and 2008, featuring as it does a central character who’s a humble City bank worker and who lives in the equally humble surroundings of Margate.
Add in an ex-KGB beggar-stroke-tramp whose pitch is outside Margate station, a mysterious contract killer, and a sociopathic financial high-flyer, and you have a refreshing, quirky take on the origins of the crisis whose consequences we’re all still living through.
The Fix charts the rapid implosion of Margate resident Josh Dedman’s rather dull but predictable life.
In a matter of days he not only loses his girlfriend, his job and his flat, but also ends up as the Number One suspect when his boss is murdered.
It’s a tightly-plotted, often funny, helter-skelter trip from the corridors of financial power to the hostelries of Margate’s Old Town, with a passing nod to the adult entertainment industry.
The Fix is Keith Nixon’s first published novel, though he’s been writing since the age of nine:
“I’ve tried my hand at everything from drama to comedy screenplays to historical fiction,” he says, adding that he also has “a nice sideline in technical articles for my employer, a leading international manufacturer of high-technology printing equipment!”
For The Fix Keith drew on a variety of experiences, not least his affection for Margate and the Thanet coast.
“People often move to the coast to get away from something, so coastal resorts tend to be full of unusual characters. And Margate has a very distinct character. Yes, it’s seen better days but it’s on the way back.
"Writers draw on what they know best, and I didn’t see why I shouldn’t incorporate the town into a story about the financial crisis.
"In every extraordinary event there are ordinary people just going about their daily lives, and I hope the Margate setting reinforces that.”
“The online reviews so far are very positive,” says Keith, “and word’s getting around that it’s an entertaining read.”
The Fix is initially available as an eBook download from Amazon for £1.99.
by: Mike Cobley
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