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Rachel  James 

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The home of author and writer Ken J. Davey

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 WHAT do you do?

 

I write complex psychological thrillers.

 

HOW do you do it?

 

I break down powerful story themes into a compendium of theme components, to create intricate plots and subplots, that give birth to interesting characters, organisations and settings; that generate the plot scenes and plot elements, used to construct each chapter and drive the story.

 

WHY do you do it?

 

I believe that by drawing on my experience and meticulous research, I can offer readers compelling insights and stories, that can expand a reader's knowledge and awareness.

FICTION BOOKS

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Hidden off the busy streets of Islington, ‘The Bar on the Corner’ is no ordinary bar, playing host to intimate betrayal, blackmail and boardroom collusion in the realm of international charity and finance – a complicit and conspiratorial world plagued by money laundering and crime. Unaware of their familial connections to notorious crime syndicates, international businessman James Marshall and charity businesswoman Marcia Clements meet at the exclusive Caudwell Children Butterfly Charity Ball. Little do they know how their fortuitous meeting will inadvertently lead to a perfect opportunity for international organised crime.


The Bar in the Corner is a suspense thriller where, in setting up a new charity, ‘Act Now’, the founder, Marcia, and her business partner, James, unwittingly trigger the start of a desperate journey of family secrets, jealousy, duplicity, cheating, coercion and intimidation – exposing them to a dangerous environment where people are not always what they seem and where only one emotion might keep them safe... FEAR!

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Michael Davidson is rich and powerful and has the perfect life. Each day, his private helicopter transports him to and from the City of London, where he is the chairman and chief executive of MicDav Groupware - a software company he founded in the early 1990s. He shares his magnificent Victorian stone-built mansion, Grey Lodge - situated in a small estate on the banks of the River Dart in Devon - with his loving wife, Catherine, his stepson, Philip, and his beautiful and devoted daughter, Keres. But things are not quite as they seem in the Davidson family where the unfolding of a father and daughter’s treachery will cause their ultimate ruin.


Niobium is a psychological tale of infidelity and family secrets that spawn an atmosphere of envy and malevolence. As the re-emergence of the pain of past infidelities and the revelation of family secrets take their toll, a daughter’s self-harm sets in motion a chain of events that will lead to the destruction of a father and daughter’s caring relationship and the collapse of a multi-million-pound business empire.

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A local woman is married and provides a range of therapeutic massage services to clients in private homes, offices and hotel rooms throughout Dartmoor. But when her car is found abandoned on a remote road on the Moors, the local police issue an urgent appeal to help find her. As the police start their investigation, six people have reason to deny or downplay their connection with the woman... each with a dark secret. As each character’s narrative unfolds, spinning the story towards a riveting and powerful climax, hidden truths and dark secrets become woven together, with an inevitable crossing of paths and a telling connection to the woman.


The Family at Gibbet Hill Farm is a non-linear psychological thriller, told from multiple perspectives, about how a dysfunctional family and their closest relationships are implicit in the development of two mysteries that need to be solved: the suspicious disappearance of a local woman and why do loneliness and a profound need to be loved, lead people to seek solace in other relationships, often at a high emotional cost.

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Gillian Lander is a crime novelist recovering from a breakdown. Having recently been in the wrong place at the wrong time, she is now being pursued because of what she has seen and knows. Forced to flee her home, Gillian eventually rents a room in a back street seaside guest house. Concealing her true identity, Gillian is keen to protect her newfound anonymity. But as she is gradually drawn into the lives of her fellow guests, she begins to question who they really are and... what they want of her. As Gillian seeks to maintain her self-esteem, each stranger has a profound effect on her and her increasingly fragile state of mind.


The Last Guest at 357 is a psychological thriller that takes place over one month. It follows the life of a young female novelist and the overlapping lives of the strangers she meets: enigmatic men, suspicious women and a mysterious landlady - all telling highly dubious tales and inquisitive about her past. As each of these strangers chips away at her façade, she becomes increasingly fearful until, finally, her paranoia meets reality.

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The first story in this collection of twelve strange and unconventional short stories is The Locked Room, where the reader is transported into a perplexing scenario where five individuals are confined within a room devoid of windows or any possible means of escape. The only items in this room are a round table surrounded by six chairs and a solitary telephone. As the anthology progresses, a ruthless criminal’s uncharacteristic demeanour will send shivers down your spine, and an eerie tale of love and helplessness on the haunting landscapes of Dartmoor will leave you with bone-chilling anxiety.


The Locked Room is a collection of gripping and enigmatic short stories that will leave readers captivated and hungry for more. These enthralling narratives stretch the boundaries of reality, transporting readers to uncharted territories of imagination and curiosity. With each turn of the page, the anticipation builds, making it impossible to resist the urge to uncover the dark secrets hidden within these unconventional narratives.

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Frederick Molina still occasionally struggles with his past demons but has managed to maintain enough control in recent years to build a good life with his wife and their two young twin girls. His decision to move back to his childhood home on Dartmoor seemed uncharacteristic at the time, as was his acceptance of an appointment as A-level photography teacher at the local private school where he was once a pupil. But when a series of threatening letters start to arrive at his home, his life is thrown into turmoil. And then, just when things seemingly could not get any worse, an eight-year-old girl goes missing.


The Undoing at Gibbet Hill Farm is a psychological thriller that demonstrates that no matter how far you run, the past will always catch up with you. Centred on the downfall of Frederick Molina, a recovering schizophrenic, his true personality and a web of dark secrets gradually unravel in the months leading up to Christmas and, become a magnet for five unrelated people’s anger, which has been fuelled by their past pain and anguish.

NON FICTION BOOKS

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Change Your Label is a practical, easy-to-read book that offers actionable solutions for change that can influence how people are perceived – for who they really are. In each chapter are stories and anecdotes that will ensure that the reader will not only take away some valuable insights but also a frame of reference to revise their self-perception.

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Written from a British context, each chapter starts with a quote to support the theme of the chapter and ends with a summary of the key points raised. Therefore, the step-by-step approach in this book is based on robust research and draws on the author’s extensive personal and business experience in large and small businesses.

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Svetlana is a book about two very strong characters who, despite their love for each other, broke up on several occasions. But relationships don’t end when couples break up; they only end if they don’t get back together again… and they always got back together. In 2016, they broke up again, but this time Svetlana left London and moved back to Helsinki. Within a few weeks, she was diagnosed with ovarian cancer. It wasn’t long before they realised the reasons for their latest break up – Ken with stress from a business downturn and Svetlana with the onset of cancer. So, once again reunited, they did everything they could over the next three years to fight this brutal disease.

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Moorland Hall is a book about how the Davey family - Ken, a twenty-three-year-old corporate accountant and his wife, Kath, a junior school teacher, together with Ken’s mother, Cath, a school-meals cook and his father, Jack, a marker-maker (a person who determines the most efficient layout of pattern pieces for a style, fabric and distribution of sizes of ladies clothing) all quit their jobs, sold their homes in Essex and stepped out of their comfort zone to combine their skills, experience and passion for hospitality, to take up the mantle of first-time hotel proprietors at Moorland Hall - a historic, but run-down, Victorian county house hotel on Dartmoor in Devon.

JOURNAL ARTICLES

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HOW AND WHERE IT ALL BEGAN . . . 

How Jericho Writers helped Ken J. Davey


With a passion for telling stories, developed in his schooldays, Ken J. Davey was destined to author a novel at some point. That day came in 2018, when he completed his first thriller novel, “The Bar on the Corner”.


Ken’s focus on writing, which he thoroughly enjoys, stems from his own practical experience and research and, influence from such writers as Robert Harris, John Grisham and Agatha Christie.


Ken realised from the beginning that research would be critical to becoming a successful writer. Not only in terms  content, but also in the process of getting published.


So, it was not too long before Ken found the Jericho Writers website – a goldmine of information dedicated to helping writers improve their craft and publish, or self-publish, more successfully. At every stage in the process, Jericho Writers helped Ken with the best in editorial advice, courses and events.


Ken’s earlier career, after obtaining a master’s degree, included several senior management roles and nearly twenty years international business experience. Ken lives in London, where he  regularly works as a mentor with the British Library and University College London.

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