by Robert Coon

Nine delinquent youths go missing from Cumbria's industrial towns and villages during an escalation of crime and disorder-all on Saturday nights.

Exactly a year after his first unforgettable visit, a journalist returns to a luxury Lake District hotel to find it closed. He is searching for the beautiful woman who came to his bedroom late at night while her husband lay in a drunken stupor.

The couple is reunited at the hotel but find themselves prisoners in a luxurious cell which they recognize as one of the bedrooms, guarded by warders wearing 1950's uniforms, whom they recognize as the hotel staff. They have been caught up in a fiendish conspiracy between the wealthy owner and his staff to capture and punish car thieves- the 'scum'.

In the ensuing days they are forced to witness the sadistic treatment of the 'scum'. After their capture and imprisonment in the adjoining cells they are birched by the warders before being faced with a bleak choice: either undergo a rigorous training course designed to turn them into civilized human beings- or be executed by the traditional British method. The bedroom at the end of the corridor, 'The Langdales', had been converted into an authentic 1950's execution suite.

As well as being an exciting read, Surprise View touches on some serious social and economic issues affecting Cumbria.