The Attic

About the Book

The Attic is the story of two young couples who are tormented in their homes. Both couples live in separate towns. All they have in common, with each other, is the type of homes they live in. Both couples live in terraced houses in older districts of their towns. Their aims are simple, buy small, renovate and sell on. Then when circumstances, such as the arrival of a family, deem it necessary they will upgrade to a bigger more suitable property. A ruthless property developer has targeted both couples. He wants their homes for two very different reasons. Mandy and John Downing are his first target. He wants their home as part of his twisted plan to gain revenge on his grandfather, a man he has never met. Alice and Raymond Dunbar are the other target. This home is located in an area where vast amounts of money are involved. Their home is the prime target. He will do anything, legal or otherwise, to get what he wants.

About the Author

Murth Hogan was born in Wexford, Ireland in March 1952. He was educated in the Christian Brothers primary and secondary level schools. He left school at fifteen and went to work in the construction industry serving a five year apprenticeship in carpentry. He remained working in construction for a further six years after his apprenticeship was completed. During that time he did a third level course in Interior Design and Construction as a mature student. In 1981 he left Wexford and moved to Cork city on the south coast of ireland where he started a design consultancy business. The business was successful for a couple of years but the recession of the mid eighties virtually wiped out the need for his professional services. In September 1986 he emigrated to Canada living and working in Toronto for three years and then the small city of St. Catherines for three and a half years. It was during his time in St. Catherines that he developed his interest in writing. This interest was very important to him at the time as a means of lessening the lonliness he felt as his young family remained in Ireland. He worked on a number of stories which he wrote in the form of screenplays. He quickly realised the difficulties of getting work in this area and for a long time lost interest in his projects. He returned to Ireland in December 1992 and once again faced the prospect of unemployment. He worked mainly doing odd jobs and some casual work for a building company over the next two years. In January 1995 he was successful in his application for full time employment in a Community based project in his home town. He has worked in this job to the present day. In 2011 he decided once again to work on his ideas only this time to write them as books. The Attic is the first of these stories.