A retired university professor who spent 30 years working in chemical engineering at Cambridge University, has written his second novel drawing on inspiration from a lifetime of scientific research and his love of Salcombe.

Malcolm Mackley 79, retired to the South Hams in 2011 and has since written his second book, ‘Super Salcombe’ following his debut novel ‘Daymouth’.

With a background in engineering and 50 years experience at a several universities, Malcolm believes his career has prepared him to write fiction.

He said he found Salcombe an inspiring place, with similarities to Cambridge in its concentration of interesting and intelligent people.

“Salcombe is full of very clever people, which is great and it also has very interesting people,” he said.

Malcolm's academic career began at Bristol University, where he was inspired by leading physicists, before he spent three years in the materials science department at Sussex University.

There, he collaborated with a control engineer on a fluid mechanics experiment, an experience which helped lead to his 30-year stint at Cambridge.

Malcolm said: “It taught me so many things whilst at the same time I was surrounded in every direction by seriously clever people.”

“My attention was focused on supervising and inventing challenging experimental research projects for students, postgraduates and postdoctoral researchers,” he added.

In 1999, Malcolm was awarded a university professorship and was required to name his field of study, choosing the title Professor of Process Innovation.

His latest novel, Super Salcombe, brings together elements of science, mystery and adventure against the backdrop of Salcombe.

The story follows protagonist Adam Ranworth, who becomes entangled in the mysterious activities of Headland House, a local farming estate owned by the Sandon sisters.

The estate is home to three disruptive businesses: Super H, a green energy invention capable of transforming water into low cost hydrogen; Super Skin, a cosmetic discovery by a French couple which reverses facial ageing by decades; and Devon Data, a clandestine spying operation threatening local peace and international security.

What begins as an idyllic rural venture develops into a web of personal conflicts, dramatic lifeboat rescues and dangerous global interests disrupting the peace of Salcombe’s waters.

Malcolm said writing fiction had provided an opportunity to move beyond the constraints of his scientific career saying it had been a “liberating opportunity”.

“Choosing Salcombe as the basis for the book was easy,” he said. “The estuary is and amazing place, and all those who live or sail nearby will know it is an intensely beautiful and very special part of the world.”

“I do hope that I have been able to convey that sort of atmosphere in this book,” he added.

Malcolm spent two years writing the book, completing it at the end of 2025, during a period where artificial intelligence was emerging as a powerful technology with the potential to affect many aspects of life.

Malcolm is now working on the third instalment of his trilogy called Sensational Salcombe.

Super Salcombe is available from Salcombe Yacht Club, Salcombe RNLI and Ashbys.