When
Who
Why
Alan Johnson
talking To Lesley Dolphin
about his new book One of Our Ministers Is Missing
Sunday 20 November, 10.30-11.30, Lavenham Village Hall
A government minister in the Foreign Office has vanished into thin air while on holiday in Crete. Lord Bellingham had been solo trekking in the White Mountains when he mysteriously disappeared. The local police have no leads save for a mobile phone discarded on a cliff edge. Assistant Commissioner Louise Mangan of the Met Police is sent to assist in the investigation. A scandal is brewing back in London that could destroy the minister’s reputation for good. Under pressure from the powers that be, can Louise find the missing minister or will she discover something more sinister at play?
Alan Johnson, politician turned author, was a Labour MP for 20 years , serving in five cabinet positions including Education Secretary, Health Secretary and Home Secretary. He retired from politics ahead of the 2017 general election.
His childhood memoir This Boy was published in 2013 and won the Ondaatje Prize and the Orwell Prize, Britain’s top political writing award. Two further award-winning volumes of memoirs followed, then Alan turned to writing novels. One of Our Ministers is Missing is his second mystery thriller, published this September. The plot is inspired by his regular visits to Crete with his wife Carolyn where they heard how a body lay undiscovered in the White Mountains for ten years.