Grim look into the future with euthanasia thriller from West Sussex author

The book is self-published and available in print and eBook on Amazon.

Benedict, aged 41, who was educated at Bishop Luffa in Chichester and now lives in Granada, Spain, explains: “In a search for control of the economy and natural resources, the British government found a drastic solution. Solution 65.

“To decrease the burden of the growing elderly population, from the age of 16, citizens could sign up to Solution 65 and would receive a £65,000, allowing debts to be paid, medical bills to be covered and new business to flourish. In return, they would agree to be peacefully euthanised at the age of 65. A noble sacrifice for future generations.

“But what if you changed your mind. Initially, contracts were broken and those who ran were hunted down with brutal efficiency until the idea of a successful escape was all but forgotten.

“Tom Kind tried to do a good deed, but he broke the law and got caught. With a choice between serious prison time and Solution 65, Tom and his loyal friend decide to run. Unaware of the consequences of their actions and the dangerous web that captures any and all who would help them defy the system. The hunt begins.”

Benedict said: “After watching my grandmother spend her final years in a nursing home in Bognor and having frank conversations with her as she gradually deteriorated, I started considering whether being fed pills to keep me alive and as she put it ‘waiting to die’ at 100 years old with a reducing quality of life and the expense of end of life care would be what I would want. The euthanasia conversation is a very current topic and while 65 is far too young, a seed of a book idea began to germinate. I think the question of would you sign up to solution 65 is an interesting one and certainly for the younger generation, 65 seems like a long way off and money is a great enticement in the consumerist world we live in.

“The novel took three years to complete as I was unable to give it my complete attention, but having honed my craft the sequel and potentially a third book will be completed much faster. I loved writing the book, creating characters and writing an original story was exciting.

“This is my first work of fiction. I self-published my first book Little Steps Around The World in 2012. It was a biographical family backpacking adventure following the experiences and adventures of a budget trip around the world with a three-year old child. We travelled through Africa, Asia and beyond. I wrote that to encourage other parents that it could be done and because as an avid reader, I had always wanted to write a book.

“My second book, self-published in 2016, was Mud, Sweat and Tear Gas, an account of my experiences volunteering in the Calais refugee camp known as The Jungle. After a year of sharing my time between running my furniture business in the UK and going to France building shelters and relationships with the displaced people there, I eventually needed to stop and recover emotionally from the experience but still wanted to help in some way. The money from book sales all went to helping the refugees through grass-roots charities that I knew I could trust and the people who read the book learned the truth about the camp, it´s inhabitants and their struggle.”