A surveyor from the Birmingham office of property consultants CBRE has turned author with the publication of his novel, ‘The Ringer’.
Greg Hunt, an associate director in the property asset management team, wrote the adventure thriller over eight months during his daily train commute from his home in Barnt Green.
The page-turner tells the story of Greg’s alter ego Archie Malcolm, a bell ringer working for the navy tasked with busting a drugs ring.
The novel brings together Greg’s twin love of the Alps, where the action is centred, and campanology. A bell ringer at St Laurence Church, Alvechurch, the father-of-two claims the campanology angle gives a fresh twist to the traditional action thriller.
To date, 330 copies of the self-published book have sold, following an initial print run of 500.
By day, Greg, 35, manages a mixed portfolio of more than 40 commercial properties across the Midlands, for a range of pension funds and institutional investors.
He says the book was inspired by the easy-reading, fast-paced adventures and gripping plots of his favourite authors James Patterson, Dan Brown and Jeffrey Archer.
“None of the above have featured the surveying profession in their plotlines, so there may be a bit of a niche there. I’m planning a follow up to ‘The Ringer’, and there will more than likely be some surveyors in it,” he said.
In the event that his prose gets snapped up by Hollywood, Greg says he sees Jude Law as his series hero Archie.
‘The Ringer’ is available in paperback or as an e-book at www.amazon.co.uk or www.troubador.co.uk, with a cover price of £6.99.
