Oldham, Nick 1956-

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OLDHAM, Nick 1956-

PERSONAL:

Born 1956, in Blackburn, Lancashire, England; married; children: one son.

ADDRESSES:

Agent—c/o Author Mail, Severn House Publishers Ltd., 9-15 High St., Sutton, Surrey SM1 1DF, England.

CAREER:

Writer and career police officer.

WRITINGS:

A Time for Justice, Headline (London, England), 1996.

Nightmare City, Headline (London, England), 1997.

One Dead Witness, Headline (London, England), 1998.

The Last Big Job, Headline (London, England), 1999.

Backlash, Severn House (Sutton, England), 2001.

Substantial Threat, Severn House (Sutton, England), 2002.

Dead Heat, Severn House (Sutton, England), 2004.

SIDELIGHTS:

British crime-fiction writer Nick Oldham has been a police officer since the age of nineteen. His second book, Nightmare City, takes place in Blackpool, where Detective Inspector Henry Christie is caught up in the investigations of several seemingly unrelated crimes, including the murder of a prostitute, the shooting of a policewoman, and the killing of Boris, the zoo's gorilla; all, it turns out, are actually linked.

At the opening of Backlash, released in 2001, Christie, who has just recovered from a nervous breakdown, and with his rank reduced to uniformed inspector, is faced with a number of explosive situations: a race riot, a junkie with a knife, a neo-Nazi militia, and a serial killer with unusual abilities. A Publishers Weekly reviewer noted that "a fast-paced, old-fashioned shoot'em-up is hard to find. Fortunately we have Oldham's latest novel to remind us what it's all about."

Christie has been promoted to detective chief inspector in Substantial Threat and is now based in Lancashire, but before the story ends, he is suspended for poor judgement. The plot includes the murders of drug dealers and others involved in secret alliances, including an American undercover agent attempting to infiltrate a Spanish gang. Throughout, Christie's plans at reconciliation with his former wife are hindered by his involvement with Detective Inspector Jane Roscoe. Reviewing the novel, a Kirkus Reviews contributor wrote that "Oldham, whose writing career … dovetails nicely with his twenty-five-year stint in police operations, believes in a bloody good time … and several dandy plot twists."