A man who became a cricket umpire, stage actor and author after retiring to Petersfield has published his third novel.
Poor Table Manners, the third instalment in Steve Sheppard’s Dawson and Lucy Series, came out on Wednesday, April 18.
Published by Claret Press, it is now available online or locally at One Tree Books.
Other than writing, Steve is an active member of the Winton Players and 1st XI umpire for Petersfield Cricket Club.
Steve said: “I am writing a fourth book in the series and have two other non-Dawson and Lucy drafts currently awaiting further attention.
“It’s never too late to start.
“I was 66 when my first book came out and am now I’m almost 71!”
His new book follows Dawson and Lucy in South Africa after their new employer is killed in a road accident while his brother disappears in Cape Town.
Both are recalled to MI6 and must work with South African State Security to find the missing lawyer.
However, the security representative is suddenly kidnapped while a general election looms over the country – and a Chinese assassin is lurking around.
Poor Table Manners has been described as “a curiously magical thriller with suburban subterfuge and sparkle” by comedy author and actress Helen Lederer.
Steve’s other books in the series A Very Important Teapot and Bored to Death in the Baltics are currently featured in Petersfield Library, One Tree Books and other local bookshops.