Just To Help Him Out and To Help Him On His Way

Stuck in a marriage that has brought nothing but misery and his business lying in ruins around him after becoming a victim of embezzlement, alcoholic Derek Spencer, a self-employed builder has decided to end his life. But before he does, he wants to change his will so that his wife, Doreen, does not receive all his assets. Instead he wants to leave what he can to his daughter, Lorraine, from his first marriage.

“Well, at the moment if I die it all goes to Doreen and I don’t think that’s fair. My daughter, Lorraine, should get some – I’ve worked hard enough and she is my flesh and blood even if we haven’t always seen eye to eye.”

Enter Jim Hunt.

Jim Hunt, Derek and Doreen Spencer’s solicitor. Caught between the two since he introduced them, Jim has witnessed the decay of the marriage, Derek’s sobriety and the failing business. Soon Jim finds not only himself but all those that surround Derek are dragged down by the selfish ambition and obsession with killing himself.

“Despite not wanting to get involved in any way, shape or form, Derek had involved him He liked Derek, but Derek had dropped him in it. He had been unable to refuse the man what seemed to him at the time to be a perfectly reasonable request, namely to be able to leave his estate, created after all by him, to whomever he chose.”

From Derek’s point of view, life has been incredibly unfair to him. A failed marriage that ended in divorce, two businesses left ruined – one through his drinking, the other through the embezzlement of his business manage, Oliver Arkwright. Arkwright is a womanising trouble maker that has to support his expensive hobby of seducing using the money from Derek’s company.

“Behind this bland and unexceptional exterior, however, there lurked a rake whose main interest in life was to knob as many women as he could get hold of, laying siege to them until from flattery or weariness they succumbed. Having succeeded, he would knock them up in short order and be on to the next one before the baby was born.”

So many people have seemingly wronged him that when Lorraine phones Jim to tell him that Derek is dead it unleashes a hell upon those that had surrounded the suicidal business man. Caught in an investigation into Derek’s death, Doreen and Lorraine battling over Derek’s changed will, Jim finds himself in the place he so dearly wished to avoid.

Can any of them survive Derek Spencer’s single-minded determination to end his life?

Amazon Reviews:

"Just to Help Him Out and To Help Him On His Way is a cheerful murder mystery that kept me intrigued with subtle wit, gentle humour and amusing anecdotes. A twisting plot line and a rather affable protagonist ensured that this book was an enjoyable read.”

“The latest book is about the death of an alcoholic self-employed construction worker who had major issues with his younger relationship partner and one of his employees who embezzled his business profits. The businessman tries to change his will to prevent his partner from inheriting his valuable property before he dies of what seems to be suicide. All three are stories which revolve around the legal system and at the heart of each is a young solicitor who struggles to confirm and belong but cannot escape alienation and disenchantment.”

“As a story about the repercussions of people’s actions, Jim doesn’t seem to make the most of his opportunity for revenge, but then again that just makes it a little truer to life. Each of the main characters are unusual and undoubtedly interesting and overall this is a great premise for a book.”

“The prologue sets an interesting backdrop for the rest of the story, bringing the reader in at the end of the book and leaves you waiting for an explanation of how this happened. The variety of language used is wonderful to see in modern literature "soporific cooing" is one of my favourite phrase from the book and just highlights how well the English language is used by the author.”