A THRILLER writer has written a new novel - and is planning his fifth to be set in Bury and Bolton.

The Blue Men is a political thriller, following on from Michael Knaggs' Hotel St Kilda trilogy, consisting of Catalyst, Heaven’s Door and Lost Souls.

They follow the adventures of London MP, Tom Brown as he navigates complex webs of political intrigue, crime, and terrorist conspiracies.

Originally from East Yorkshire, Michael, now living in Prestwich, said: “The idea for this book came to me over 60 years ago and has grown in my mind since then.

“There are a lot opinions about street violence in this book, many of them are my own, but spoken through the characters.

“This is easily my favourite of all the books I’ve written so far and I am very pleased to have written four books that can withstand comparison with other very successful writers.

“My lifelong ambition was always to be a writer and something I finally got round to in retirement, so I’m glad I have made a success out of it.

“It all started with a short story I wrote in school which got some acclaim from the rest of the classroom and my ambition has stayed with me ever since.”

Michael wrote Catalyst after retiring in 2006, saying: “I originally just intended for it to be its own standalone story and it was only as it got further into it that it spawned an entire trilogy.

“It’s been five years since I wrote my last book, Lost Souls, and people have been asking when I plan to publish another, which is great for me to hear that people enjoyed them enough to keep on reading.

“The original trilogy got tremendous feedback and I’m really happy to revisit these characters that I am now so familiar with.”

Before becoming an author, Mr Knaggs worked for thirty-five years for Kellogg Company, ending up human resources director. He lives with his wife, Carol, who designs the front covers of his books.

His latest book, The Blue Men, is available at Waterstones, WHSmith and Amazon.