The Ritual

About the Book

The Ritual is a fictional story that focuses on the relationships between three teenagers living in an isolated community on the rugged west coast of the Scottish Highlands. David is the fifteen-year-old son of the local doctor. He is innovative, adventurous, and keen on sports (especially shinty). He also leads the 'Crew'- an unusual village youth group organised by the youngsters themselves without adult supervision. David's latest passion is sea kayaking, and he has started up a summer grocery service where he uses his sea kayak to carry supplies to isolated houses situated on the shores of the loch.

Shona is the same age as David and desperately wants to go out with him, but she hasn't yet plucked up the courage to make her feelings known. Shona shares the responsibility of running the house with her mother and helps to keep her younger brother, Mark, in check.

Mark is an energetic ten-year-old, capable of saying and doing the most unpredictable things. He is David's 'aide-de-camp' in the 'Crew' and is fiercely loyal to him. However, he has also sworn an oath of secrecy to Shona about her feelings towards David. As a result, Mark is caught between two loyalties and has to navigate the potential pitfalls laid unintentionally in his path by both David and Shona.

Throughout the plot, the reader is exposed to a complex mixture of emotions. There are frequent humorous incidents involving the main characters, but these are interspersed with moments of sadness, tension, mystery and danger. David, in particular, endures a series of incidents and personal confrontations that seriously threaten his physical and mental wellbeing and force him to rely on the friendship, loyalty and courage of those he trusts most.

There is also an element of mystery surrounding Mark. Every morning, he performs a daily ritual which he refuses to explain to anybody. At the end of the story, Mark finally reveals the secret behind his ritual.

About the Author :
Dr. Graham L Patrick is from Greenock, Scotland, and was educated at Greenock Academy. He studied at Glasgow University and the Open University, gaining a BSc Honours in Chemistry and a BA Honours in History. At Glasgow University, he won the Organon and Mackay Smith Prizes for chemistry, and a Carnegie Scholarship that funded research leading to a PhD in organic chemistry. He continued working in research with pharmaceutical companies and academic institutions such as Beecham's, Glaxo, the Australian National University, and the Universities of Leeds and Strathclyde before taking up a lecturing position at the University of West of Scotland. He is currently an Associate Lecturer with the Open University (OU).Since the 1990s, GLP has established an international reputation as a scientific author, having written successful academic textbooks covering organic chemistry and medicinal chemistry. However, he has also written several fictional novels focusing on young people placed in adventurous and challenging situations. He is well qualified to write about such topics as he has extensive experience of outdoor pursuits involving mountaineering, sea kayaking, caving, skiing, hiking, and remote camping. He has also gained leadership awards in skiing and mountaineering and led groups of teenagers on adventurous activities within Britain, and to Australia, Canada, USA, South Africa, Kenya and Tanzania. Other experience includes personal expeditions to Morocco, Nepal, France, Switzerland and New Zealand.GLPs novels were originally written as a hobby but are now being published to a wider audience. The storylines will appeal to anyone interested in adventure, challenge, and survival, but they will also appeal to readers who value 'old-fashioned' virtues, such as friendship, respect, loyalty, honour, duty, and trust. He currently lives in Greenock and has a spectacular view of the River Clyde and the Scottish Highlands - a view that provides ample inspiration for his writing. He is a Member of the Royal Society of Chemistry and the Society of Authors.