TWELVE years after his untimely death, a Knutsford man’s ‘legacy’ is finally being shared with the world thanks to the unwavering determination of his family.

Tony Phibbs, 50, died unexpectedly after suffering a heart attack whilst cycling through the lanes of Plumley in 2002 and shortly after his death his family discovered a secret manuscript he had written.

The closely-guarded gem, which was completed in full, was revealed to be a meticulously researched-crime thriller set in Knutsford and the North West.

For over a decade, the IT consultant’s family have held an long-standing desire to see the book published but it was only after Tony’s publisher brother-in-law Garry Manning established The Self-Publishing Partnership that this ambition could finally be realised.

Now, Ladykiller has hit the bookshelves and an official launch will take place at Waterstones on King Street this Saturday, November 22, at 6pm.

Garry said: “He would have been chuffed with the book being published; he worked very hard on it and would have wanted to tell the story.

“We all have a book inside us and very few get around to it – but Tony did. It must have taken him a long time to do and we are all very proud of him.”

Garry said that they chose to hold the book launch in Knutsford due to the family’s strong ties to the town.

Tony’s late mum Barbara ran the Domino gift shop in King Street for over 25 years and was a long-standing Knutsford councillor as well as town mayor from 1985/86.

“And the characters are based on people he knew so those at the launch will see themselves in the story,” he added.

Garry thanked Waterstones for opening late in support of the event and he is encouraging old friends and interested Knutsfordians to pop along on Saturday and get their hands on a copy of the page-turner.

“This is part of his legacy and I do think people will be absolutely gob-smacked,” he added. “He didn’t tell anybody what he was doing and it is a superb piece of storytelling.”

To order a copy of Ladykiller from Amazon, click here.