Summerabbacat

I have to agree with the following comments made by @centexhairysub, comments which perhaps conflict with the comments of a number of our fellow readers: "Cunningham should have reported this, I will bet that even back when this took place and in Australia; that there was a statute about responsibility to report anything like this, of course, the school board/board of governors were always won't to ignore that. Cunningham is probably a good guy that had his hands tied by those above him. But this will haunt him, the other deaths, if it turns out to be Corcoran" . Cunningham should certainly have reported the attack on Cory, but in the course of doing so he would likely have had his employment terminated and his reputation sullied, such that he would not have been able to get another job. Even if he had reported it to the police, there is no guarantee they would have done anything about it. The school board, and to a greater extent the diocese, would no doubt have applied extreme pressure to the police to sweep it under the carpet. Subliminal threats and bribery work wonders in the hands of experts, and these organisations have practiced this for centuries. I never underestimate the corruption, deceit and evil of at least some of those with the power in organised religion. If anyone is to blame it is the diocese, protecting their fucking reputation (and wealth) was more important than protecting their students. And it is certainly not beyond belief there may have been an element of homophobia which influenced their behaviour. A known gay student is murdered, and a likely known gay student is attacked and possibly would have been murdered too. Oh well, they were asking for it, dirty sinful poofters. I believe Mr Cunningham will be haunted by Rick's revelation of further murders, as for the diocese, I doubt they will give a flying fuck. They will hold their pious heads high and deny any liability, as has happened time and time again. I am still suspicious of Joshua Bell too. I have not ruled out he has some involvement in the murders, even if only enabling the murders to be committed. Riveting chapter @Mark Ponyboy Peters, painting a sordid and realistic picture of religious-based schools, schools to which my hard-earned taxes contribute without me having any right to object to it being so.

Welcome back to the "family by choice", at least in part, just in time for the festive season. The journey to France was uneventful, apart from the snooty border patrol woman who was determined to find fault with Slav's papers which indicated he was in the UK legally. The arrival of the family in France rattled the chains of Madame Marie Antoinette who initially refused to accept they were a family. Fortunately foresight on the part of Audra and Jock was enough to persuade Madame they were indeed a family; second bitch sorted, and without the need for a guillotine (damn). The accommodations have not been particularly salubrious to the English quintet, but in the eyes of Slav they appear to have been grand, palatial almost. Clearly Slav has led a far more ordinary life. If I remember correctly, he is from a small village in the Czech Republic, which may account for this. The promise of new accommodations when they return to the UK will no doubt result in entertaining forthcoming chapters @Robert Hugill.

I suspect many involved will start turning on each other, and if Uncle Phil and Horse were the "ring leaders" they may get the most heat of all. Perhaps they may both be gelded in prison, without the benefit of anaesthetic or clean instruments. Perhaps Uncle Phil could pay to have those "procedures" filmed for distribution on the "dark web".

Madison "Maddy" O'Brien may not be the stupid ho she appears to be. She may be what my late maternal grandmother would refer to as "cunning as a shithouse rat". I am still suspicious of the timing or her running off to Ireland to marry her boyfriend. How do we know she was not in cahoots with Uncle Phil, fully aware of what illegal activities he was involved in? She may be fishing to find out any information she can as to the whereabouts of Joshua and now Daniel, information she could pass on to Uncle Phil so a hit can be arranged on them. She may be involved in the international pornography ring just as much as "poor innocent" Uncle Phil and Aunty Mary. Her venomous dislike of Joshua appears to be deep-rooted. I suspect there has been bad blood between the two for some time. I don't trust her and I sure as hell don't like her. Ireland can keep her, Ireland's loss is Australia's gain.

I don't know about the "little gray cells", in my case it is more the "little gray hair", although in reality it is more accurately described as the "little white hair".

Detective Sergeant Joss (Josquin) Burgess (JB) and Padmanaban Jeganathan (PJ) will I am sure prove to be an interesting couple. Burly and petite, gruff and mild-mannered. No surprises Kelsey dumped Charlie like yesterday's rubbish. Kelsey's loss is Charlie's gain. I don't believe Louis has seen the last of Thomas Englert. Hopefully Louis will make the acquaintance of Joss Burgess and soon as he may prove to be very useful in thwarting any threats, real or otherwise, from Thomas Englert. 'Jocks 'N' Boots'. Sounds like a "sniffies" night @Robert Hugill. Let's hope JB is able to contain his sixth sense for recognising trouble and enjoy himself, unless the trouble is such that attendees of the party are in physical danger. Keep up with the great storytelling Sir Robert Hugill (has a pleasant ring to it). Just so long as you don't get referred to as Sir Bob Hugill.

There are so many unknowns, so many clues which may be nothing other than red mullets (red mullets rather than red herrings in Australia I think @Mark Ponyboy Peters). Is there perhaps more than one murderer? Two murderers working together, one stalking Rick and the other committing the murders. Rick appears to be the only link between the three murders so far, but why is he being targeted? Did he spurn a sexual advance from the murderer(s)? If this is the case, then Adam could be in serious trouble too. And as several readers have commented, including @centexhairysub after this chapter, why kill two people Rick had only met for the first time the day before. Rick’s observations of the way both Joshua Bell and Mr Corcoran were looking at Martin in the photograph taken in the art class, appears to be too pronounced to be a coincidence. Was Joshua Bell’s invitation to Rick to enjoy some fun time with him, really an attempt to lure Rick into some kind of dangerous sex games he was involved in with Mr Corcoran, or was Joshua Ghislaine Maxwell to Mr Corcoran’s Jeffrey Epstein? Was the report from the year after, one in which Joshua Bell and Mr Corcoran were exposed as having had sex with underage students, with or without their consent? I still have it in the back of my mind AC Barrett is somehow involved in the murders. I don't know why or how though. Could he be the one who influenced the Police Commissioner, whom he may have dirt on, to have Rick transferred into his current position? Was Rick's off-the-cuff remark he may be being set up as a fall guy have real merit? Frustratingly good chapter @Mark Ponyboy Peters aka Marple Poirot Peters or MPP for short.

Theo's resolve to not find Jack in particular, and Vince to a lesser extent, attractive, appears to be weakening, But what is wrong with this man/wolfshifter; he does not like kissing? Take note from the spectacularly beautiful and mega-talented Deborah Harry, Theo. A very amusing chapter @Laura S. Fox; particularly the "insufferable" Jack's innate ability to confound and annoy the "unapproachable" Theo.

That knighthood might be closer than you think.

It looks like you have another fan in @pickuptoy.

😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭 It is harder to assess which is the more damaged, Adam's body or his mind. I daresay his body will improve over time, but I imagine his mind will continue to deteriorate. A deeply distressing story so lovingly penned @ChromedOutCortex.

It still made sense @ChromedOutCortex, I am just a nosey bitch and like to know who everyone is upfront, LOL. It was her genuine concern for Liam which impressed me most.

Robert usually mentions if the town or location is fictitious, but also invariably mentions it is inspired by a real-life town or location. His stories are often quite educational too, with a liberal sprinkling of Hugillisms, which are most often region-specific colloquialisms or sayings from yesteryear. Robert also has a wry sense of humour and some delightful ways to euphemistically describe characters, places or objects which are less than attractive.

None of the characters from No Going Back appear in any of the Parborough Chronicles, of which Brian: Taking Courage is the first in the series. You don't therefore "need" to read it as it is a completely separate story, but if you are enjoying this story, I recommend you read any and/or all of @Robert Hugill's stories as all are an enjoyable read. I think you will find he has quite a few Hugillites (fans) who have enjoyed, and continue to enjoy and comment, on all his stories, all of which are set in the Hugillverse (mostly northern England if I am not mistaken, although in a more recently published one, Russ takes a trip to Ireland).

They are characters in No Going Back, @Robert Hugill's second story published on GA. The two stories were being published concurrently for some time.

Another profoundly moving and very believable chapter @ChromedOutCortex, but I have to ask, who is Maria? Is she Kevin's sister or Liam's sister or a friend of both? I revisited chapters 1 and 2, but she was not mentioned in either. Whoever she is, she was a tremendous help to Liam for some time offering words of comfort and encouragement rather than trite platitudes. I assume she lives close by as she continued to visit.

"It is better to keep your mouth closed and let people think you are a fool than to open it and remove all doubt" is attributed to Mark Twain according to Google @kajean. My favourite quote attributed to him is “If a man could be crossed with a cat it would improve man but it would deteriorate the cat.”, and I am rather amused by "Suppose you were an idiot, and suppose you were a member of Congress; but I repeat myself."

Ethan - safe and predictable; Dean - rough and unpredictable, but exciting. Learning to Stay - who is it that is learning to stay or is it more than one person? Is "stay" a location or a state of mind? You have certainly mastered intrigue @ChromedOutCortex, but not in a brash or grandiose manner. There have been no violent murders or other crimes committed, no political shenanigans or the airing of their dirty laundry by well known persons in the public arena, which is what one commonly thinks of as intriguing. This is small-scale intrigue, intrigue in the day-to-day lives of ordinary people, which to some extent I think, makes it even more intriguing.

That is certainly possible @drsawzall. Tom worked in a high-powered job in "financial services". Perhaps he invested heavily in some high risk investments and lost equally heavily. This would explain his plea to Louis he be allowed to project manage the upgrade of the "outhouses" in lieu of paying rent, which struck me as very odd if he had been as successful as Louis believed. It could also explain his gaunt appearance and his comment about Ian suffering from depression, something I daresay he might be suffering from himself. Between your comments and those of @pvtguy, I think the "mystery" about Tom's appearance and reason for an extended visit may have been resolved, although @Robert Hugill may still have a little surprise or two up his sleeve.

Aunt Daphne made quite an impression on Louis and it was not a positive one. It appeared she was a distant relative of Rumpole’s wife, she who must be obeyed. She was all knowing and very displeased Louis did not kiss her arse. After a horrid day of superior mammas and their spawn of pestilence, the last thing he needed was another battle-axe with an overinflated ego. We learned the truth, or at least something closer to the truth from Tom regarding the reason for, and the intended length of, his visit. Excellent chapter @Robert Hugill. I can totally relate to Louis.

Triplets! I had the same thought regarding Casey @Philippe. Tom is clearly relishing a second chance at "fatherhood". I won't be at all surprised if he and Beth formalise their caring for Jimmy and Shane before the story's end. "What did you tell them?’ ‘To fuck off! What else would you think I’d tell them?’ she laughed. " A welcome moment of comic relief, with Helen leaving no doubt in the minds of Azzopardi and Ryan what she thinks of them. They are either incredibly stupid to ask such questions, or incredibly brazen, believing themselves to be untouchable because they are protected by the "big wigs". I have little doubt said big wigs would not bat an eyelid if either one or both has their services "terminated" because they become a liability to whomever they are working for and protecting. The "real" Police Academy is at Goulburn in NSW @weinerdog, a town between Sydney and Canberra. I assume @Mark Ponyboy Peters had Rick in training there as all the places mentioned in this story have been real. Riveting @Mark Ponyboy Peters.

My original comment was "Stevie exclusive" @Paqman, but in the spirit of @weinerdog's comment, I responded with "perfect" songs from the Songbird and one from Trouble. The few times I have seen Christine interviewed she always presented as humble and gracious, unlike her American colleagues. I personally think Christine was very underrated, overshadowed by Stevie's "wild child" persona and Lindsay's reported production expertise.

The combination of love/lust and a good old fashioned shooting has done wonders for Stephen's confidence. Whilst I do not usually advocate gun violence, in the case of Leon and Stephen's Uncle Mark, shooting him was the only thing which was likely to stop him raping and probably killing Leon. Although it was traumatic for Stephen to have shot him, it has perhaps strengthened his resolve to not cower to those who insult him by calling him a freak, and who insult both Michael and himself with homophobic taunts. If Max is not the intended bully, then it only leaves Paul, Tim, Ellis or Jim as the candidate for tosser extraordinaire, unless Dennis does an about face, which appears unlikely, but then anything can happen in Wilsonlandia. Perhaps it might be Tim, motivated by jealousy. .

Oh you Sugar Daddy, seducing everyone Everywhere with your Brown Eyes and your Warm Ways. Always quick with a Say You Love Me or Isn't It Midnight, I am told You Make Loving Fun because you wrote the Book Of Love.

Another fine instalment in the Killian Kendall series. Killian's little quirks come to the fore again, quirks which he is lucky have not resulted in his own death, or at least serious injury. The motivation for his occasional, some may say more frequent than occasional, lapses of sound judgment, is almost always his desire for justice, particularly if there is an underdog amongst the "cast" and they are being mistreated or unfairly treated. There are the usual school of red herrings that one @Josh Aterovis, the Baltimore bamboozler, encourages to swim in the Maryland maelstrom. Sit back, speculate and enjoy another trip into the world of Aterovisian wonders.