Accidents Will Happen.
Nothing is ever an accident — everything happens for a reason.
Accidents Will Happen
Did a talented classical violist jump or slip off a cliff? An inquest delivers a verdict of death by accident, but two friends of Lisa Wright believe she leapt and want somebody to blame other than themselves.
Mike Nicholls, a scarred ex-marine, and Sally Palmer, a conflicted nurse, confront the dark secrets of abuse, manipulation, and the moral complexities of revenge as they seek answers.
The antithesis of plot-driven suspense & resolution thrillers, Accidents Will Happen is a short, punchy bereavement & guilt noir.
Accidents Will Happen is a new departure for me as All Down the Line and After the Bridge were based in Manchester where I used to live and work. In Accidents, a congested urban underworld is replaced by Northumberland’s rugged cliffs and windswept coastal landscapes, although my grim noirish DNA runs throughout the novel.
I’ve only lived in Northumberland a short while, but I’ve noticed there is a unique sense of space, community, and resilience. Berwick is every bit as fascinating and glorious as Manchester was to me, but in very different ways.
Accidents is the antithesis of plot-driven suspense and resolution thrillers, a noirish exploration on guilt, bereavement and injustice. We like to think we’re in control of our destinies, but we’re not. Not even close. Everything can change in an instant, individually and collectively.
Although partly rooted in classic noir traditions, contemporary settings, social issues, and psychological realism are equally as important because my fiction aims to mirror real life to be relevant. Andrew J Field, August 2025
‘Stylish, witty & sharply defined. Its compressed tautness is just right for its length, barely a scene too long, the prose honed, intense & penetrating, with smart, attention-grabbing one liners.’
Martin Fletcher, Editor
