Burning Secret by R. J. Lloyd

Blurb

In 1844 Enoch Price was born into poverty. An ambitious youth, he becomes a bare-knuckle fighter amongst London’s underworld. In debt to a violent and unscrupulous moneylender and facing ruin and imprisonment, he escapes to Jacksonville, Florida, abandoning his wife and three young daughters, a decision that will haunt him for the rest of his life. By the time he arrives in Florida, Enoch Price has become Harry Mason.

Through a series of thrilling and risky escapades, he plays an important role in the development and history of Jacksonville, building an extraordinary new life of political and financial notoriety, the shooting of a rival, and the concealment of a murder. Despite imploring his wife to join him, she declines, exhausted by his lies. Tormented by loneliness and guilt, Harry seeks solace through a bigamous marriage, leading him into a web of deceit as he tries to conceal his true identity and past.

Meanwhile, lauded and enjoying popular success, Harry is elected in 1903 to the Florida State House of Representatives with the prospect of becoming State Governor. He advances his business interests through a series of corrupt practices, becoming a wealthy and successful politician. However, success brings neither happiness nor contentment, and, seeking redemption, Harry plans to return home – but life is rarely that simple as the First World War breaks out, the Spanish flu pandemic takes its toll, and the American government introduces prohibition.

Will there be a good end for Harry, or will his secrets prove to be the death of him?

Excerpt 1 Burning Secret

Like the word of the Almighty, the command thundered down, echoing off the high-domed ceiling which dominated proceedings.

‘The defendant will stand. State your name, age and business.’

The court’s commotion died away. A man in his late thirties, of above-average height and stocky build, shuffled to his feet. He hadn’t shaved in several days, and his heavy, dark moustache was unkempt. He looked drawn and tired, yet his hazel-green eyes were alert and intelligent. Stepping forward, he took hold of the wide brass railing surrounding the dock, revealing the size and strength of his hands. He cleared his throat. ‘Enoch Thomas Price. Born Bristol 1844. Manufacturer of corset stays and…’ His voice faded, weakening to a dry whisper.

‘Is it Mr Rosenthal who represents you in your case of bankruptcy?’ asked the court clerk, one hand cupped behind an ear in exaggerated theatrical condescension. ‘Well, sir, speak up.’

Price nodded. His lips parted to form words, but none came. The judge impatiently waved him to be seated.

In black gown and stockings, the prosecutor, with the appearance of a crow in search of carrion, pointed an accusatory finger. ‘You, sir, are nothing more than a scoundrel. A common cheat, conducting your nefarious business in broad daylight, and you do so as proud as any peacock. Am I wrong, sir? No, sir, I am not.’

Price, shaken by the condemnation, looked to the floor. His public humiliation was not yet complete, and the loss of his liberty seemed assured.

I'm the great-great-grandson of Enoch Price, the main character in the historical fiction, Burning Secret.

After retiring as a senior police officer, I turned my detective skills to genealogy, tracing my family history to the 16th century. However, after 15 years of extensive research, I couldn’t track down my great-great-grandfather, Enoch Price, whose wife, Eliza, had, in living memory, helped raise my mother.

It was my cousin Gillian who, after several more dead-ends, called one day to say that she had found him through a fluke encounter. Susan Sperry from California, who had recently retired, decided to explore the box of documents given to her thirty years before by her mother, which she had never opened. In the box, she found some references to her great grandfather, Harry Mason, a wealthy hotel owner from Florida who had died in 1919. It soon transpired that Susan’s great grandfather, Harry Mason, was, in fact, Enoch Price. From this single thread, the extraordinary story of Harry Mason began to unravel, leading me to visit the States to meet my American cousins, and it was Susan Sperry and Kimberly Mason, direct descendants, who persuaded me to write Burning Secret - where fact and fiction become a compelling tale.

I graduated from Warwick with a joint in Philosophy and Psychology and a Masters in Marketing from UWE. Since leaving a thirty-year career in policing, I’ve been a non-executive director with the NHS, social housing, and other charities. I live with my wife in Bristol, spending my time travelling, writing and producing delicious plum jam from the trees on my award-winning allotment.Follow the Tour