Page Me: Six of A Story: Conrad Jones and The Child Taker

Today on Six of A Story, I welcome Conrad Jones.

Conrad is the author of eight stand alone novels and a horror Thriller, Nine Angels. He is also the author of the biography of three time world champion, Russ Williams.

I asked Conrad for a quirky thing about him and he replied with,

"Quirky thing about me? Erm I wrote a horror novella this year Nine Angels where the heroine is my Staffordshire Bull Terrier, Evie Jones.....she`s a nutcase ha ha !!
Evie Jones is a rescue dog who loves people despite being abused and used to breed fighting dogs. Humans are fine however everything else that moves needs to be killed immediately ! She is difficult to manage but so cute and she is the perfect heroine for Nine Angels. https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0045OUOIA"
I asked Conrad about his newest release, THE CHILD TAKER

1. The Child Taker is a thriller that focuses on a pretty serious topic, the plight of abducted children. Why did you want to write a tale involving this serious issue?

The Child Taker is book six in the series but it was always the first one I wanted to write. In 2007 I set off on an 11 week tour of the USA. The day before we flew a little girl was taken from a hotel room and the news was full of the search for her. The coverage in the US was sparse but we watched it every day hoping for good news but it never came. I wrote the Child Taker for her I think, as it touched me. I am from Liverpool and there have been several high profile abductions or murders over the last few decades and they always stay with you.

2. Can you tell us a little bit about the characters that are in The Child Taker?

The characters in The Child Taker are varied. The main bad guy is a real bad guy. He takes children to order for a people trafficking ring run by the mafia in Morocco. They smuggle drugs and people to and from North Africa and human life has little value to them. The main focus is a family who leave their twins asleep in a tent and when they check on them they are gone.

The twins are the grandchildren of Major Stanley Timms, leader of a Special Forces unit and as the police investigation flounders, he sends his unit to find the twins and a desperate search for them begins. The Taskforce are headed up by John Tankersley, `Tank` and he is the main protagonist throughout the series.

3. The Child Taker, is about five year old twins being abducted. Is there a reason why you chose twins as the victims in this story?

I have a brother and sister who are twins and it was a difficult subject to write about but the fact that they were together and not alone made it easier to write somehow!!

4. Why would someone, who has never read a thriller, read this book?

It is more than just a thriller I think, it is a piece of the news we see every day. It could be taken from the television tomorrow. I write stories which are about the world we live in now, current and realistic and very close to the edge. They are graphic and cutting, but real. I think The Child Taker appeals to a broad spectrum of readers and it out sells the other books by far. It has been number one in the kindle thriller law charts for over 150 days now, fingers crossed those readers will move on through the series !!

5. From the product description on Amazon.co.uk, "Packed with action and twists..." Can you tell us one of the twists of this novel?

There are many but without giving the plot away, the twins are on holiday with their parents and the father`s brother and his wife. It transpires that the father has been having an affair with his brother`s wife and the family is torn apart by the abduction and the affair.

6. After someone has read this novel, What reaction do you hope for?

There have been several reactions to the ending, most love it, some hate it but it does provoke a reaction. There will be another book in the series soon, probably July time and it will be along a similar theme.