Who is aboard a multi-million pound superyacht at Ryde?

That was the question posed by the Isle of Wight County Press and I can tell them.  It is millionaire Russell Glenn. Who? You might well ask because he doesn't exist not in real terms that is but he's very much alive and kicking in the DI Horton novel, A Killing Coast, number seven, in the series set in the Solent area on the South Coast of England.

The superyacht Amaryllis anchored off of Ryde. Picture by Jennifer Burton courtesy of the Isle of Wight County Press

 
Glenn owns a superyacht like the one moored off Ryde and which I took inspiration from when I saw it moored up at Portsmouth Gunwharf Quays (renamed Oyster Quays in the Horton novels) in November. The Queen stopped by to have lunch on board with its owner.  


Complete with its five-metre sundeck pool, sea spa, gym, steam and massage rooms, VIP suite it can accommodate up to twelve guests in the very lap of luxury. In A Killing Coast on board is Russell Glenn and Avril Glenn former girlfriend of DI Andy Horton.

A Killing Coast - DI Horton novel by Pauline Rowson 

When a body is found floating in the sea off Portsmouth harbour, Detective Inspector Horton initially judges it to be an accidental death. Soon though, to his dismay, he discovers he’s got it very wrong. Accused of being incompetent by his boss, and with the head of the Major Crime Team coming down heavily on him, Horton wonders if he’s allowed his ongoing investigation into the disappearance of his mother over thirty years ago to cloud his judgement. With no clear motive for the murder, Horton is sucked into a baffling investigation that he is determined to resolve despite the odds. Not only does he need to find a brutal killer, but Horton now has to prove to himself, and others, that he is still up to the job.