Testimonials
From Professional Law Enforcement Officers
From Professional Law Enforcement Officers
As a writer, I strive to create believable characters and scenarios for my readers, and pay particular attention to the psychological elements that spur the criminal behaviour of my villainous psychopaths. Positive feedback from readers is always appreciated, and especially from professionals who have spent their lives dealing with such criminals.
Over the last couple of years, a number of police officers from the UK, US and Australia, have contacted me to compliment my depiction of said psychos and three of them have very kindly allowed me to share their comments. Scott M is on active duty and has asked to remain semi-anonymous (see the final testimonial below):
Over the last couple of years, a number of police officers from the UK, US and Australia, have contacted me to compliment my depiction of said psychos and three of them have very kindly allowed me to share their comments. Scott M is on active duty and has asked to remain semi-anonymous (see the final testimonial below):
Rick Asker
Rick tells me he had a varied career starting as street bobby, through safer neighbourhood officer, area support team member, prison liaison officer, prison intelligence officer, ('your portrayal of life inside prison is scarily accurate'), and finished his career as an Anti-Social Behaviour officer. Below, he offers some very relevant insights for readers of The Remorseless Trilogy:
Rick tells me he had a varied career starting as street bobby, through safer neighbourhood officer, area support team member, prison liaison officer, prison intelligence officer, ('your portrayal of life inside prison is scarily accurate'), and finished his career as an Anti-Social Behaviour officer. Below, he offers some very relevant insights for readers of The Remorseless Trilogy:
Having spent 30 years as a police officer I don't often read crime novels because feel they lack realism and generally don't reflect the experience of real life policing. However by chance while browsing I came across the novel 'Remorseless' by a new author called Will Patching.
Having never heard of him I must confess I was not expecting much but I fancied something light to read, a little relaxed escapism with some 'one dimensional' characters and a predictable plot.
How wrong was I?
Will Patching spectacularly shattered my expectation of 'relaxed escapism' and instead gave me a very dark, chilling novel which gave me a compelling insight into the human mind using the unique perspectives of the multi faceted characters his imagination has produced.
Rather than relaxing I found myself tense yet compelled to delve deeper into the book and explore the characters further. This book sometimes made uncomfortable reading due to the subject matter, but I found I could not put it down until I reached the nail biting finale.
So as soon as I'd finished reading Remorseless I downloaded the second book in the series, Mutilated which didn't disappoint either, it is another fantastic book which I could not put down until I reached the end. In my opinion Mr Patching is an extremely talented author who writes books which explore the darker side of the human mind and he has quickly become a firm favourite of mine and he deserves to be a best-selling author.
His books are extremely fascinating and realistic and they give the reader a stark and somewhat chilling insight into the minds of criminals and psychopaths. The plots twist and turn and he manages to weave real life events and true unsolved crimes into his novels which gives an extra layer or realism and he clearly understands his chosen subject matter.
Having spent 30 years as a serving police officer I appreciate the effort he has made to create such realistic believable characters whom I can identify with. During my career I have obviously met many many different people, fortunately the majority of them were good people, decent people, the victims, the witnesses, even the majority of the criminals I've met showed a certain amount of morals and scruples (even if they were somewhat skewed from the norm).
I have also had the dubious pleasure of meeting some who had no apparent moral compass, no empathy for anyone or anything and the insights I have gleaned from these books suggest they may well have fallen into the category of 'functioning psychopath'.
Had I read Will Patching’s novels while still a serving officer I'm sure his insights into the workings of their minds would have helped me understand the motives and actions of these people.
Thank you Rick - who now has time to read as he is currently sailing round the world with his wife, enjoying his well-earnt retirement.
Having never heard of him I must confess I was not expecting much but I fancied something light to read, a little relaxed escapism with some 'one dimensional' characters and a predictable plot.
How wrong was I?
Will Patching spectacularly shattered my expectation of 'relaxed escapism' and instead gave me a very dark, chilling novel which gave me a compelling insight into the human mind using the unique perspectives of the multi faceted characters his imagination has produced.
Rather than relaxing I found myself tense yet compelled to delve deeper into the book and explore the characters further. This book sometimes made uncomfortable reading due to the subject matter, but I found I could not put it down until I reached the nail biting finale.
So as soon as I'd finished reading Remorseless I downloaded the second book in the series, Mutilated which didn't disappoint either, it is another fantastic book which I could not put down until I reached the end. In my opinion Mr Patching is an extremely talented author who writes books which explore the darker side of the human mind and he has quickly become a firm favourite of mine and he deserves to be a best-selling author.
His books are extremely fascinating and realistic and they give the reader a stark and somewhat chilling insight into the minds of criminals and psychopaths. The plots twist and turn and he manages to weave real life events and true unsolved crimes into his novels which gives an extra layer or realism and he clearly understands his chosen subject matter.
Having spent 30 years as a serving police officer I appreciate the effort he has made to create such realistic believable characters whom I can identify with. During my career I have obviously met many many different people, fortunately the majority of them were good people, decent people, the victims, the witnesses, even the majority of the criminals I've met showed a certain amount of morals and scruples (even if they were somewhat skewed from the norm).
I have also had the dubious pleasure of meeting some who had no apparent moral compass, no empathy for anyone or anything and the insights I have gleaned from these books suggest they may well have fallen into the category of 'functioning psychopath'.
Had I read Will Patching’s novels while still a serving officer I'm sure his insights into the workings of their minds would have helped me understand the motives and actions of these people.
Thank you Rick - who now has time to read as he is currently sailing round the world with his wife, enjoying his well-earnt retirement.
This next testimonial is from a US veteran of military policing who has most recently worked as a consultant to 'civilian' police forces in Asia, and he is happy for his comments to be attributed in full.
Joseph Romero Jr.
Joe contacted me after reading The Hack, my international crime thriller, and has since also commented on the Remorseless Brit-grit crime novels with similar enthusiasm:
Mr. Patching is a crime fiction writer who guides the reader into the shadows, but draws you back out into the light with the help of “ultimate justice”.
“The Hack” is a work of fiction that deals with non-fictional issues - a novel that brought back memories of similar investigations I have experienced throughout my career, including those undertaken in cooperation with the Asian law enforcement family.
The author asks of the reader:
Is the character “Hunter” an evil killer or is he a devoted advocate? Is he truly good or purely evil?
Are his actions, by any definition - legally, morally, emotionally, and/or spiritually - justified?
Who are the real evil ones?
Those with a warped sense of perceived power, privilege, and perversion, who believe they rule the planet... or... those who strongly believe in the concepts of truth, honor and justice?
"The Hack" is a thoroughly enjoyable novel and very difficult to put down. The writer is an excellent, highly talented author, in my humble opinion. I look forward to reading more from Mr. Patching.
JOSEPH ROMERO JR.
Life Member of the United States Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association (FLEOA) since the 1980s and a former United States Marine, who also served in Vietnam.
Thank you Joe for your kind words and encouragement.
Joseph Romero Jr.
Joe contacted me after reading The Hack, my international crime thriller, and has since also commented on the Remorseless Brit-grit crime novels with similar enthusiasm:
Mr. Patching is a crime fiction writer who guides the reader into the shadows, but draws you back out into the light with the help of “ultimate justice”.
“The Hack” is a work of fiction that deals with non-fictional issues - a novel that brought back memories of similar investigations I have experienced throughout my career, including those undertaken in cooperation with the Asian law enforcement family.
The author asks of the reader:
Is the character “Hunter” an evil killer or is he a devoted advocate? Is he truly good or purely evil?
Are his actions, by any definition - legally, morally, emotionally, and/or spiritually - justified?
Who are the real evil ones?
Those with a warped sense of perceived power, privilege, and perversion, who believe they rule the planet... or... those who strongly believe in the concepts of truth, honor and justice?
"The Hack" is a thoroughly enjoyable novel and very difficult to put down. The writer is an excellent, highly talented author, in my humble opinion. I look forward to reading more from Mr. Patching.
JOSEPH ROMERO JR.
Life Member of the United States Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association (FLEOA) since the 1980s and a former United States Marine, who also served in Vietnam.
Thank you Joe for your kind words and encouragement.
Scott M
Scott is an active detective working in the UK who first contacted me on Twitter to say that Remorseless was 'the best book I've ever read' - which totally blew me away:
Scott is an active detective working in the UK who first contacted me on Twitter to say that Remorseless was 'the best book I've ever read' - which totally blew me away:
At the time, I did not know he was a police officer, although when he replied and said the book 'helped me understand my clients better', I guessed he might be. So I sent a private message to ask him. This was his response:
I replied to tell him his comment had put a huge smile on my face, and got this back:
We had several more communications and, as a result, Scott offered to assist me with research etc for my future crime thrillers:
Naturally the offer will always stand if you need any research conversations to assist you, my line of work is one which has only a fine line between believable and 'no way'.
He then went on to 'beta read' an early version of Mutilated (the sequel to Remorseless) before publication to check I had not made any criminal faux pas. He had this to say about that novel:
The style with which you write intrigues me, the overlapping sub plot and change in perspective from character to character makes your novels very hard to put down. My endeavours to read speedily yet efficiently was assisted by this in all honesty, it meant the flow of story, in the most part overlapping to give perspective and change of emphasis actually reinforced the plot making it more understandable.
I do not blow smoke up anyone's 'ass', it is not something I do, however I do offer praise where it is due and Will, this is by far the best novel to date. The development in characters, the level of detail and the true likeness of ‘personnel’ who would not be out of place in my own working environment are a joy to walk along with.
I have recommended your work to others, to those who are close to me and I know would appreciate your style or writing. I look forward to the next project and flipping through those plots throughout!
My heartfelt thanks go to Scott for his advice and assistance with Mutilated, and for his ongoing support.
Naturally the offer will always stand if you need any research conversations to assist you, my line of work is one which has only a fine line between believable and 'no way'.
He then went on to 'beta read' an early version of Mutilated (the sequel to Remorseless) before publication to check I had not made any criminal faux pas. He had this to say about that novel:
The style with which you write intrigues me, the overlapping sub plot and change in perspective from character to character makes your novels very hard to put down. My endeavours to read speedily yet efficiently was assisted by this in all honesty, it meant the flow of story, in the most part overlapping to give perspective and change of emphasis actually reinforced the plot making it more understandable.
I do not blow smoke up anyone's 'ass', it is not something I do, however I do offer praise where it is due and Will, this is by far the best novel to date. The development in characters, the level of detail and the true likeness of ‘personnel’ who would not be out of place in my own working environment are a joy to walk along with.
I have recommended your work to others, to those who are close to me and I know would appreciate your style or writing. I look forward to the next project and flipping through those plots throughout!
My heartfelt thanks go to Scott for his advice and assistance with Mutilated, and for his ongoing support.