Solicitor William publishes first novel - 35 years after winning national writing prize

William won the prize - a trip round Europe  - when he was at Sedbergh School in Cumbria.

It also earned William an introduction to  Philip Ziegler, the then editor in chief at Collins, and he was invited to dinner at the Savile Club in Mayfair.

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The Savile Club was established in 1868 by a group of the most distinguished writers and artists of the time.

Ziegler said William “had an obvious talent for writing but needed more experience of life".

William then qualified as a solicitor and for the past 35 years has not had much free time to devote to writing.

Two years ago, he stepped down as a partner of Harrogate law firm Raworths in Harrogate and joined the family business as a director and legal counsel.

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"Although full time, it has given me  more time to think – hence the book," he said

The plot involves a young lawyer Ian Sutherland who is asked to write a death-bed will. He has no idea that the dying man, John Field, had been a Royal Marine sniper in  World War Two.

Having shot an SS officer, Manfred Fuchs, during the Battle of the Bulge, Field removed a Luger, a Rolex  and a wallet from his corpse. Field’s dying wish is that Sutherland returns the watch and the wallet to Fuchs’s family.

His journey takes him to Munich, brings him into contact with MI6, Nazi links with British banking establishment and leads to a love affair.

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"The book has been published under a commercial contract and is a legal thriller and Sedbergh, and its annual Wilson Run is mentioned," he said.

He has been asked to write a trilogy but a sequel will depend on sales of Luger.

Luger is published by Fisher King Publishing and costs £9.99.

The book is being stocked by the Little Ripon Bookshop and Waterstones in Harrogate.

The book is also selling well on Amazon and has some good reviews.

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