The theme of immigration is “very much at the heart” of a new novel by Fermanagh author Paul Breen.

‘Bones of a Season’ is the second offering from the Brookeborough man who now lives in Greenwich, where he teaches language and writing courses in The University of Westminster.

His first novel ‘The Charlton Men’ featured Fergus, an Irishman, who comes to London to get a fresh start on life and falls in love with the Charlton Athletic Club and a mysterious ‘English rose’.

This new book is a sequel to ‘The Charlton Men’ but is also a story that could stand alone in its own right. 

Read about Paul breen's debut novel 

Outlining the plot, Paul said: “To affirm the love of his team, Fergus decides to get a tattoo of the club badge, but this causes friction between Fergus and Katy and sets in motion the gradual decaying of their romance during the course of the football season. When Katy leaves for the coast, Fergus becomes embroiled in a relationship with the tattoo artist Dyana, whose young friend, a grime musician, has recently been gunned down in the street in broad daylight.

“Set against the backdrop of Charlton Athletic’s football fortunes, and a crime network that lurks on the horizon, Fergus tries to uncover the answers to the musician’s murder as well as the layers of his decaying romance.”

He continued: “This is very much a product of wanting to continue the story of the original book but of looking at the story from a whole new angle. In this story the romance at the heart of the first book has decayed and the characters are looking for new meaning in life. This search for meaning leads them into the heart of a criminal enterprise that is connected to the very contemporary thorny issues of people smuggling, and the topic of migration in general."

Mr. Breen would like to arrange a book signing in Enniskillen. His email address is thecharltonman@gmail.com.

‘Bones of a Season’ has been published by Open Books and is on sale from their website and on Amazon. It is also available on Kindle.