My new mystery thriller novel Death Nest is out now. I’ve been writing a lot about it recently, from many different angles. Here’s a summary of what I’ve been discussing, with links to the articles in question. First though, here’s a brief idea of what the novel is about.

A widower fears his young son is cursed when he shows disturbing behaviour akin to that of his younger brother, before he vanished without a trace twenty years previously. Gnawing dread that history will repeat itself is inherent throughout this modern gothic mystery novel. It’s also a coming-of-age romance with hints of the supernatural, exploring traumatic sibling relationships, parental worries, and the misleading nature of memory. 

After his young son Ben writes a disturbing story about murdering a boy in a forest, widower Nick Unwin is alarmed by eerie parallels between his son’s behaviour and that of Nick’s younger brother Jason, prior to his inexplicable disappearance twenty years previously. This tragic past returns to haunt Nick when he sees an image of his long-lost brother in a newly released film.

Fearing a repeat of history, Nick decides to investigate, along with Tanith, an old flame from his early teenage years, with dark secrets of her own connected to Jason’s disappearance. But as they delve deeper into the labyrinthine mysteries of their past, long-buried memories resurface. Nick is forced to face the terrible fear that has plagued him for decades: Was he responsible for the death of his brother?

The following articles explore different aspects of the novel and the making of it. I have worded them carefully to avoid plot spoilers.

Death Nest: Reflections on Writing My Most Personal Novel

This story is quite personal for me, as it has been informed (in broad metaphorical terms) by the sectioning of my youngest brother following drug abuse, as well as my own fears about the future of my autistic youngest son. The article above was slightly written through gritted teeth, as I’ve revealed a lot more of my personal life than I’m normally accustomed to, but I hope this provides some valuable insights.

Death Nest: Chapter 1 Excerpt

According to readers so far, this is an opening that immediately grips the reader. As an author that’s all very encouraging to hear.

Death Nest: Chapter 7 Excerpt

A second clip, this time from a flashback chapter, introducing a key supporting character.

Death Nest: Settings, Research, Revisions

Various locations in southwest England, as well as my home city of Oxford, were chosen as a setting. This article also touches on other research aspects, and some of the ways in which the novel was rewritten.

Death Nest: Inspiration and Influences

Here I discuss the initial idea for the novel, and how it evolved, including an abandoning of almost all the original premise, and the switching of the protagonist’s gender from female to male (my horror-thriller novel protagonists are usually female). I also mention other novels and a few films that informed the story.

Death Nest: Initial Reviews

The five-star raves are starting to trickle in! Check out some reader feedback here.

Death Nest is in paperback or on Kindle from Amazon (click here for the UK, and here for the US). It’s also available from Smashwords and its various outlets.

(All images designed by author in Canva.)

The first reviews for my latest novel, mystery thriller Death Nest, are starting to trickle in. I’m thrilled to tell you they are five-star raves! I’m extremely pleased readers are finding this book as gripping and entertaining as I had hoped. My fears that the story would prove too painfully personal (for reasons discussed here) seem to have been unfounded. I’m glad.

Let’s take a look at what people are saying.

“Once I started reading this, I couldn’t put it down. The mystique of the storyline drew me in and held my attention until the very end.” – Joseph M Zobel, Amazon.

“I couldn’t put it down because the twists and turns kept me on my toes. Dillon’s deep dives into characters, narrative, mystery, and intrigue kept me totally engaged. There were no lulls… I was sorry when it ended.” – Annabelle Colbert, Amazon.

“The perfect pre-Halloween read. A wonderful combination of dark and supernatural forces with moral dilemmas in life that we can all relate to, and a thread of romance that runs right through the story… Thoroughly enjoyable (if deeply disturbing at times) and hard to put down from start to finish.” – Saltram, Amazon.

The above reviews can be read in full here.

If you’ve read and enjoyed Death Nest, please do add a review to Amazon or Goodreads (or ideally both). It doesn’t have to be long or eloquent. A one-liner saying you enjoyed it is fine. I seek reviews not to massage my ego (though obviously good reviews are encouraging) but because they are absolutely vital for independent writers like yours truly. Reviews mean the algorithms show my books to more people who potentially buy them. As such, reviews literally put food on my table, so a huge thank you to all of you who take the time to write them. It is so, so appreciated.

If you’ve not read Death Nest, here’s the blurb from the back of the book to whet your appetite.

From the author of Spectre of Springwell Forest and The Irresistible Summons…

A nail-biting new mystery.

After his young son Ben writes a disturbing story about murdering a boy in a forest, widower Nick Unwin is alarmed by eerie parallels between his son’s behaviour and that of his younger brother Jason, prior to his inexplicable disappearance twenty years previously. This tragic past returns to haunt Nick when he sees an image of his long-lost brother in a newly released film.

Fearing history will repeat itself, Nick decides to investigate, along with Tanith, an old flame from his early teenage years, with dark secrets of her own connected to Jason’s disappearance. But as they delve deeper into the labyrinthine mysteries of their past, long buried memories resurface. Nick is forced to face the terrible fear that has plagued him for decades: Was he responsible for the death of his brother?

A riveting coming-of-age thriller exploring traumatic sibling relationships, parental fears, and the misleading nature of memory, Death Nest is Simon Dillon’s most gripping novel yet.

Death Nest is available in paperback or on Kindle from Amazon (click here for the UK, and here for the US). It’s also available from Smashwords and its various outlets.

My latest novel, the mystery thriller Death Nest, has recently been released. Lately, I’ve been exploring different aspects of this novel, which as well as dealing in page-turning suspense also features coming-of-age elements, a touch of romance, and the odd horror moment (especially in the latter stages). It’s also possibly my most “personal” novel to date (as I’ve discussed elsewhere), with a variety of influences and inspirations informing the book.

Here, I want to share a few insights into the settings, research, and revisions that went into the creation of the novel. Beginning with the settings, I should point out that the town of Corthpothan in the novel is fictional, but slightly based on the real Cornish village Porthcothan. I visited this lovely area on the north Cornwall coast a few years ago with the family, at the height of summer. 

If you drive past, it looks deceptively uninteresting, but if you walk the short distance along the sand of the small inlet next to the village, it widens out into a vast sandy beach. The sea has phenomenal waves, so it is great for surfers. The area is bordered by a spectacular rugged coastline that boasts caves and gorgeous rock pools. Some of the latter are great for children to swim in (if one is concerned about the ferociousness of the sea waves and strong currents).

We had a fantastic time here, but at the same time, the details of the area were carefully logged away in my mind, knowing they might one day make their way into a novel. As for other settings that wound up appearing in the novel, these include the lovely Bagley Woods on Boars Hill, Oxford. In fact, the opening movement of the novel features a variety of Oxford locations, including the King’s Arms pub; a real place, which used to be a regular watering hole of mine. The story also includes scenes in the Magdalen Street cinema (now sadly closed), and Port Meadow, which is another fabulous place to go for walks if you ever visit Oxford, especially if you’re a keen birdwatcher.

Beyond that, the sinister Darkfire Forest is inspired by a few different woodland areas in and around where I live in Devon. Of course, eerie, possibly haunted forests have cropped up before in my novels Spectre of Springwell Forest, but what takes place in Death Nest is a little different. Here’s a photograph I took a while ago that sets the tone for the Darkfire Forest.

Much of my research for this novel came about from simply checking details about places I already knew, making sure I either rendered them accurately, or deliberately changed them (as was the case with the name Porthcothan). The novel also dealt with certain subjects with which I am already greatly familiar (film production, for instance). However, some more in-depth research took place into dark subjects like human trafficking and brainwashing. I also had to research pagan folklore quite a bit, which is where I discovered and adopted the name Damara for the ancient spirit that may (or may not) influence events in the story. But I also made up a great deal too.

The initial draft had a lot more overtly supernatural stuff included. I cut or greatly reduced much of this, deciding a greater ambiguity over such incidents was preferable. There are still plenty of spooky edges in the final text, and one can read the supernatural into the events. But at the same time, there are enough doubts and questions to leave such matters up to the reader, rather than forcing them into a particular perspective.

Death Nest is available in paperback or on Kindle from Amazon (click here for the UK, and here for the US). It’s also available from Smashwords and its various outlets.