Burnham-On-Sea bestselling crime author Damien Boyd will today (Saturday January 3rd) hold a book signing session for his new novel, Blast from the Past.
The session at 10am at GW Hurley Toy Store in Burnham High Street will mark the launch of the second publication in his new series featuring Detective Inspector Mungo “Bob” Willis — with part of the story set on the former Somerset & Dorset Railway line to Burnham.
Damien, best known for his hugely successful DI Nick Dixon series, says he has long wanted to feature the historic Somerset & Dorset Railway in a novel.
“I have been intending to feature the Somerset and Dorset Railway in a novel for some time and Bob investigating a cold case presented the ideal opportunity,” he said.
“I am pleased to report that I am too young to remember the old railway line, but walking it is fascinating — the section at Ashcott now part of the Ham Wall Nature Reserve.”
The new series follows DI Bob Willis, a veteran officer nearing the end of his career. In Blast from the Past, the story moves between 1962 and 1986, revisiting the disappearance of nine‑year‑old Paul Bromfield, who was abducted from one of the last steam trains travelling from Evercreech Junction to Burnham-On-Sea.
Boyd admits he has taken “a few liberties” with the layout of the excursion train and its timetable, adding with a smile that he allowed “a little more steam and smoke swirling on the platform than might have been the case in reality.”
He explains: “It is 1986. Assigned to a new cold case unit, retired Detective Inspector Mungo ‘Bob’ Willis has reopened the investigation into the 1962 disappearance of a nine-year-old boy.
Paul Bromfield was snatched from one of the last steam trains from Evercreech Junction to Burnham-on-Sea and later found dead in an abandoned bunker.
A day at the seaside turned to tragedy — and a child’s name everyone remembers.”
In the new thriller, another child goes missing and chilling messages begin to surface, drawing Bob into a dangerous game as he races to uncover clues hidden in plain sight for decades. “The truth is still out there,” Boyd says. “And it’s not finished with him yet.”
Local readers will have the chance to meet the author when he holds an exclusive pre‑launch signing at GW Hurley in Burnham-On-Sea on Saturday 3rd January, from 10am to midday.
Blast from the Past will be officially released on Tuesday 6th January in ebook, paperback and audio formats.
Damien Boyd’s DI Nick Dixon series has sold more than three million copies worldwide and has been translated into several languages. His debut novel, As the Crow Flies, became an international Kindle #1 bestseller, with several sequels also topping the charts.
