For Mee

Charlie Glover has spent a lifetime surviving by one rule: trust no one.

Working in the shadows of London's criminal underworld, he keeps people at arm's length and emotions locked away. It is a life built on routine, discipline, and the certainty that nothing lasts forever.

Then Mee arrives.

Quiet, perceptive and endlessly curious, she begins to dismantle Charlie's carefully ordered world one cup of tea, one impossible conversation and one summer afternoon at a time. Against every instinct he possesses, Charlie discovers that some people don't simply enter your life - they change it.

But Mee is hiding a past that reaches far beyond London. As old loyalties awaken and a ruthless Russian crime boss closes in, Charlie is forced to confront a truth more dangerous than anything he has faced before.

Sometimes the hardest battle isn't staying alive.

It's finding a reason to die.

Author-Poet-Versifier. Born in Harlesden on the outskirts of London in 1943, Peter Barns grew up with the scenic backdrop of Regent's Park. After attending a secondary modern school, Peter embarked on a varied career path before finding his footing in the construction industry. As an electrician, he earned a City & Guilds qualification and spent two decades working on building sites. Peter's life journey has been marked by rich personal experiences, including the joy of being a father to two, a grandfather to five, and a great-grandfather to two. In the late 1980s, he sought a quieter life in the Highlands of Scotland, where he transitioned into counselling, helping individuals with alcohol and drug issues, and later managing a charitable organisation that repurposed computers for community use. Now retired, Peter channels his creativity into writing.