“You may die laughing”: Rochdale-born author returns to roots with first novel

Nick Burrill

A budding author is hoping to launch his career with his first full-length novel, centred on ‘the mean streets’ of Rochdale.

Nick Burrill, 39, was born in Littleborough but now lives in County Mayo, Republic of Ireland.

His comedy thriller, the police procedural NRPD: The mean streets is available on Kindle through Amazon and Nick explained his subject was born from a taste for old television programmes.

“My interest in police procedurals come from my love of the old American police shows like Magnum, Cagney and Lacey, Hill Street Blues and the like,” he said.

“I often wondered what it would be like if the British police were more like the police departments from the seventies shows.

“NRPD: The mean streets is a comedy thriller in a kind of parallel universe where the town of Rochdale is a bit like New York - New Rochdale, The Big Banana.”

Nick lived in Littleborough until the age of 17 before moving to Liverpool to train as a nurse, returning to work at Birch Hill Hospital.

He moved to Ireland with Angelique in 2001, and the couple have since married and have two children - Jacob and Aoife.

Although he still works in nursing, Nick said his writing - which he has done since he was 16 - is beginning to get more serious.

Described as ‘a twisted plot with gruesome murders, a creepy secret prison cell, a doner kebab and an ice cream van’, NRPD: The mean streets ¬was 11 years in the making.

He has also had a short story, The Boatman, published in e-magazine Darkfire and is working on several other ideas, all drawing on a horror theme.

“All of my stories are on the edge of horror - it makes one appreciate the safety of reality,” he explained.

“I am in the planning stage of a second NRPD book.

“I also have a few other short stories that I'm preparing to publish, maybe on the kindle as well, and a serial killer thriller based in America in the pipeline called The Last Hand.