Tip The Cleaner - A New Mystery and Suspense Novel
- Andy Bracken
- Oct 25
- 2 min read
Updated: 7 minutes ago
A man who sorts out other people’s lives must finally sort his own—through clutter, secrets, and the memory of a lost son.
Tip Turner cleans out the personal possessions people leave behind when they die.
After serving twelve years in prison following his son’s death, he’s lost everything he once cherished. Tip now finds unexpected solace in cleaning out the clutter of others.
When one assignment hints at secrets far larger than he imagined, Tip’s curiosity pulls him deeper. As he uncovers the truth, his own past ignites, bringing him closer to his deceased son in ways he struggles to comprehend and deal with.
Wry, often hilarious, and sometimes heartbreakingly poignant, join Tip and the vivid characters who accompany him, as they journey along a winding path through the messy beauty of human lives.
Limited Hardback includes extra short story titled 'In Essence'.
Also available on standard Paperback and eBook.
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Author Notes
I do like this novel. A lot of work went in to the editing. It’s as slick and pacy as any book I’ve written to date.
Prior to now, I was mildly concerned that I was becoming a little formulaic in my writing. Too much focus on vinyl record collecting, for starters. The truth is, I sell more if I include that.
But, then I remembered that it’s not about sales. It’s about writing. And I always weave music references into my tales, anyway.
When I watch television, mystery-crime-thriller-drama is where I go. UK, predominantly. If you pinned me to the floor, and made me pick a favourite, I might go ‘Morse’. It’s the characters, and their relationships that do it for me. ‘A Touch Of Frost’ is another good one from back in the day. More contemporary examples would be anything featuring Nicola Walker. ‘Unforgotten’, ‘River’ and ‘Annika’ for starters. She was in that Robson Green one years ago… ‘Wire In The Blood’? So, yes, that kind of thing.
It needed to hang off something, though - an angle. Having recently moved house, the notion of what happens to people’s possessions and assets was on my mind. More so, given my father died in 2024. Thus, that became the premise. There’s so much scope!
But… Really, it’s all about relationships. It’s what I do well, I hope - allow characters to evolve and be revealed.
It ticks a lot of boxes for me, this novel. I was very mindful of wishing to write something that was visual, and ideal for dramatisation, but wasn’t in any way a screenplay. This is, first and foremost, a novel.
So, that was my aim. A great premise, that hopefully features superb characters, in a bittersweet, funny, touching story. I guess reviews will determine whether I managed to achieve that.