An award-winning new mystery thriller has been released by Taunton-born journalist and writer Jason Mann.

The novel, entitled The Echoing Shore, was inspired by epic sea stories of heroism and sacrifice.

It tells the story of Kate Tregillis, an editor at a small Cornish newspaper, who becomes obsessed with solving the mystery of a local lifeboat lost 10 years ago.

Her quest for truth leads to threats, violence, and the revelation of deep-seated grudges and ancient pagan beliefs.

Mr Mann, who now lives in Torquay and writes under the name J.H Mann, said: "The Echoing Shore is, of course, completely fictitious but it was inspired by real-life stories of the sea which have fired my imagination since I was a boy and also my own experiences as a local journalist.

"Amazing tales told by my parents remain strong in my memory.

"My dad was one of Cornwall’s early lifeguards, at Bude, and I’m a shore-based volunteer for the lifeboat service at Teignmouth.

"He was offered the job after an astonishing tragedy in which his predecessor was killed by a strike of lightning during a rescue."

The Echoing Shore, while a work of fiction, includes real Cornish locations such as the seaside town of Perranporth and the ancient stone circle at Bowcawen-un.

It was an award winner at the international 2023 Yeovil Literary Prize, one of the UK’s longest running novel competitions, and is available on Amazon in e-book and paperback formats.

The book cover was produced by MiblArt, a Ukrainian company based in Lvov.

Mr Mann’s first novel, Hidden Depths, published last year, was an award winner in a major American competition and one of seven novels shortlisted for a UK adult fiction award.

He is now working on a 19th-century Cornish historical mystery called The Silver Tide.

It is set in the same fictitious Cornish fishing town as The Echoing Shore, albeit more than a century earlier.

Once again, it was inspired by a variety of true stories, including the astonishing tale of a young woman called Margaret Brown who saw her fisherman father and three brothers die in a summer storm and then went on to help establish the local community’s first lifeboat.

Mr Mann was born just outside Taunton in the village of Bishop’s Hull when his parents were landlords of The Old Inn.