Lifelong Hatters fan turns New Year’s resolution into debut crime novel

A Luton Town season ticket holder who promised himself he would stop saying “one day” has published his first crime novel, and the sequel is already on its way.

Paul Armstrong, a marketing consultant from Hemel Hempstead and a lifelong Luton Town supporter, published The Blackthorn Pact under the name P. J. Armstrong on 14 October. It is available on Kindle and in paperback.

The book began as a New Year’s resolution in January 2025: to finally write the novel he had talked about for years. Twenty-five drafts later, it is out, and within days of publication it featured on Amazon UK’s Hot New Releases chart for Private Investigator Mysteries.

The story is set in Oxford and the Oxfordshire countryside. It follows Arthur Graves, a disgraced detective turned crime writer, who is drawn into the death of a woman found at the foot of a viaduct. The police have written it off as an accident. Graves is not so sure, and the more he looks, the closer he gets to a powerful local family with a secret to protect.

“Anyone who’s followed the Hatters knows a bit about persistence,” said Mr Armstrong. “I’d said ‘one day’ for so long that I decided the only way to stop was to put it in writing. Twenty-five drafts felt like a few seasons in the lower leagues, but it was worth it in the end.”

The book is for readers of Ian Rankin and Val McDermid and is the first in the Arthur Graves Mysteries series. The sequel, The Cowley Butcher, is out on 31 January 2027 and is available to pre-order now.

The Blackthorn Pact is available on Amazon in paperback (£9.99) and on Kindle (£2.99, or free with Kindle Unlimited). A limited number of signed copies are available for UK readers at pjarmstrong.com.

Mr Armstrong is happy to talk about the journey from resolution to finished book. A high-resolution photograph of him with the book and a cover image are available.