Edward Dantes, a product of his times. The first book; VAT 1, in the tale of a life most strange. It had to start somewhere and perhaps were it not for the bursting of bubbles, then it would never have been enough for even a single book. The bubble did burst, and it burst for an entire nation. But perhaps it was felt more in Essex than in other places, for the South of England and in particular Essex had benefited from Margaret Thatcher's dream more than other parts of the Kingdom. Those which rise higher fall further. Edward had risen fast, things were happening and he was all in. The dream...

The Edward Dantes Story continues. Ed to his friends, has dug himself out of the financial quagmire where honest shop keeping had got him when the UK economy fell off a cliff at the end of the eighties. He had pulled himself out from under the wheels of the bus Chancellor Nigel Lawson had driven through the High Streets of Britain. The way out for Ed was a life changing decision and he entered the murky world of international crime almost by accident. The banks and the creditors squeezed him out of his home, and with a young family he was in trouble. His financial salvation came from a...

The arrest in 1994 brought an abrupt end to a way of life Ed had learned to embrace. He had applied himself completely to the profession, into which circumstance had pushed him. A new character has evolved, with different faces, for different occasions. He had become a member of an international community of criminals. The bail and travel restrictions put an end to the businesses overseas. Customs had got it wrong this time. There were things going on, but they had missed them. They tried constructing something out of nothing, the defendants must have done something. The evidence wouldn't...

Vat Fraud was nothing new to Edward Dantes, Ed to his mates. He got caught up in almost by accident on his part; it was by careful design on another's. It had landed him in extreme difficulty for several years. Her Majesty's Customs & Excise had nicked him and then hashed together a case for two brutal super trials. Something had certainly gone on. Not what the revenue men had said, not even close. They'd missed the real extent of the stuff Ed had gotten himself mixed up in. Some was legitimate and some certainly wasn't. Whatever Ed was doing he was trying his best to make his own way in the...

A Triple murder in a quiet Essex village. Three of the County's most feared criminals are dead, it is December 1995. Six weeks earlier, an innocent girl dead by misadventure and a cruel turn of fate. These facts are undisputed, written in stone and intrinsically linked. As is the conviction of two innocent men. Once Upon a Time in Essex: An interesting and fast paced thriller, delivering an alternative explanation, with a plausible how and why. It answers difficult questions and deals with the facts as proven. The author does not seek to discredit any previous accounts or versions of events...