The Lollipop Man by Daniel Sellers
Published by Allison & Busby
Publication Date: 20th February 2025
My thanks to Josie at Allison & Busby publishing team for the very early invitation to read this book ahead of publication. My thoughts and opinions are my own and unbiased.
Book Description:
When a young girl is snatched from a West Yorkshire town there are eerie similarities with a cold case from many years earlier. It can't be the same killer, can it?
Yorkshire, 1994. Eighteen-year-old Adrian spends his days working at the local newspaper, and his evenings in his local pub. But under this ordinary surface lies a haunting story. Aged ten, Adrian was kidnapped by a shadowy figure known as The Lollipop Man, who had abducted three children before. Adrian was the only one to escape.
The Lollipop Man might well have returned when another missing child whips up a media frenzy. Journalist Sheila Hargreaves, troubled with memories of her own involvement in the reporting of the previous abductions, is determined to dig deeper, atone for what she did nearly a decade ago and bring the Lollipop Man to justice.
My Thoughts:
Daniel Sellers has just earned his way on to my 'ones to watch' list with his new book The Lollipop Man. It's an intriguing story of what happened to 'the one who got away' from a kidnapper of young children some 8 years previously.
Adrian Brown is finding his feet as the newbie in the office of local newspaper. He's basically a dogsbody, watching and learning from the reporters and photographer who he's tasked with ferrying around. But a job comes in that takes him back to the worst time of his life, when everything changed including his name. A young girl has been taken from the garden of a house - surely the Lollipop Man can't be back? The local news team are despatched to find out what is going on.
Within hours Adrian finds himself to be the centre of a attention, not least from journalists digging into the past, the local constabulary and a random "crazy lady" named Edna Wormley who herself becomes headline news for all the wrong reasons.
Daniel Sellers has created some great characters in this book, with unlikely allegiances made and friendships tested to breaking point. I had all sorts of possibilities running through my head as the plot developed - even asking myself whether Adrian was closer to the Lollipop Man than could possibly be true.
Vivid descriptions of places and characters make this an engaging read, which earns itself a very strong 4 star rating from me.
About the Author:
Daniel Sellers is the author of the Kindle-bestselling Lola Harris Mysteries and is an obsessive fan of Agatha Christie. His crime thrillers are pacy and dark, with as much interest in whydunnit as who. He grew up in Yorkshire, and has lived and worked in Liverpool, Glasgow, Ireland and Finland. Sellers now lives in Argyll in Scotland.
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