DCI Craig Gillard Crime Thrillers Series

A woman goes missing – and for the detective, this time it's personal. Criminologist Martin Knight lives a gilded life. But then his wife Liz disappears. There is no good explanation and Martin goes on the run. To make things worse, Liz is the ex-girlfriend of DCI Craig Gillard who finds himself drawn into the investigation. Is this a missing-person case or something more sinister? How dark can the truth be? Utterly gripping and full of twists, this is a compulsive thriller from master Nick Louth for fans of Robert Bryndza, Patricia Gibney and Carole Wyer. Praise for Nick Louth 'This splendid, chilling crime tale gripped me from the first page' Fresh Fiction ‘A fast-paced and explosive thriller about a subject that really matters’ Reader review ‘This was up there with the best thrillers I have ever read' Reader review

A killer is at work in the commuter belt. DCI Gillard needs answers, fast... Promising architect Peter Young is shot dead at his desk. DCI Craig Gillard is quickly on the scene, looking at what appears to be a brutal and highly professional hit. Two weeks later, on the Lincolnshire coast, another body is found on a windswept beach. The man cannot be identified, but sports a curious brand, burned into his neck. Gillard is plunged into a case without answers, finding himself up against dark and mysterious forces. This time lives are on the line, children's lives - and his own. Written at breakneck pace with a jaw-dropping twist you won’t see coming, The Body on the Shore is perfect for fans of Robert Bryndza and Mark Billingham.

A brutal murder hints at a terrifying mystery, and this time it’s personal. A body is found on a quiet lane in Exmoor, victim of a hit and run. He has no ID, no wallet, no phone, and – after being dragged along the road – no recognisable face. Meanwhile, fresh from his last case, DCI Craig Gillard is unexpectedly called away to Devon on family business. Gillard is soon embroiled when the car in question is traced to his aunt. As he delves deeper, a dark mystery reveals itself, haunted by family secrets, with repercussions Gillard could never have imagined.   The past has never been deadlier. From master storyteller Nick Louth comes the third instalment in the DCI Craig Gillard series. Compelling, fast-paced and endlessly enjoyable, The Body in the Mist is a triumph, perfect for fans of Robert Bryndza, Angela Marsons and Faith Martin What readers are saying about Nick Louth ‘An unputdownable, heart-thudder of a read’ Carol Wyer, author of Little Girl Lost ‘This was up there with the best thrillers I have ever read.’ ‘Had me hooked from the start! I would definitely recommend this book.’ ‘It grips you from the first page to the last. Excellent.’

He was never truly gone, only biding his time... Late on midsummer’s night there is a splash in the river Thames. A body is found on an island, asphyxiated and laced with strange markings. For DCI Craig Gillard it’s a baffling case. The victim’s identity is elusive, clues are scarce and every witness has something to hide. Meanwhile one of Britain’s deadliest serial killers is finally up for parole after a deal to reveal the location of two missing bodies. The felon has his own plans to get even with witnesses, accusers and the officer who caught him thirty years before. And who was that? A young trainee, by the name of Gillard. Don’t miss the new explosive crime thriller from master storyteller Nick Louth, perfect for fans of Mark Billingham, Cara Hunter and Robert Bryndza.

DCI Craig Gillard will be pushed to his limits… But will he break? It seems like a routine disappearance, a case of musician’s stage fright. As a senior detective, Craig Gillard isn’t sure why he’s even involved. Until it turns out the woman’s father is the German Minister of Justice, and the British Home Secretary is on the case too. But nothing about the case is simple. How does a woman on a train simply vanish? What do you do when a trail runs cold and the pressure is on? Before long the perpetrator has another target: DCI Gillard himself. What if the detective isn’t just running the case, but is part of it? The victim merely a lure for a bigger fish. The answer is under the bridge. The chilling setting for the biggest challenge of his life. The latest DCI Gillard Crime Thriller is a knockout: fast and completely gripping, perfect for fans of Stuart Macbride, Mark Billingham and Robert Bryndza. Readers are hooked on The Body Under the Bridge ‘I couldn’t turn the pages quickly enough, firstly to find out who’d committed the crimes and then if they’d be brought to justice. It’s a cracker of a book and I thoroughly enjoyed it.’ Reader review ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘I say this every time but this hands down is my favourite book in the series so far. I was glued from the beginning and kept finding ways to squeeze in one more chapter until I’d reached the end.’ Reader review ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘This is book #5 in the DCI Craig Gillard series and, dare I say this - it is THE best yet! Wow! the content of this plot is absolutely mind-boggling; so intricately woven through the fast-paced investigation, the reader is right there alongside Craig and his team as they navigate all the twists and turns of this cleverly constructed story. Excellent writing, dialogue and characterisation. You just don’t know what’s going to happen next: there really are some extremely harrowing and heart-stopping moments.’ Reader review ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘The Body Under the Bridge sets a pace few can match. I devoured it.’ Reader review ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘Another book in the Craig Gillard series that gets better as the series evolves. There are many surprises and twists in this book making it difficult to put down. A really enjoyable read.’ Reader review ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

You can never escape the past. Especially on the moors... After the National Crime Agency cracks a major drug gang, junior barrister Julia McGann finds herself defending the violent enforcer Terrence Bonner. This high-profile case is a coup for her, but almost immediately things start to go wrong. Intruders break into her house and then a young girl turns up at her door with a horrifying story to tell. Three months later, DCI Craig Gillard and his team struggle with the shocking murder of a much respected local headmaster, found dead in his own car. The baffling crime fills the newspapers but yields few clues. As Gillard sifts the evidence, a pair of blood-spattered gloves seems important. Why were they used for both the murder, and for the burglary at Julia’s house? What secrets is the barrister hiding... and what happened on the Derbyshire Moors two decades ago that could be the key to these shocking events? A story of deceit, vengeance and blackmail, bestseller Nick Louth will leave you reeling in this unputdownable, unpredictable crime thriller.

You can run. You can hide. But you can’t escape… Jonathan Hale is terrified. The wealthy property lawyer and money launderer is back home in Surrey after a nightmare experience in a U.S. jail. The police have him under secret surveillance. But Hales’s fears lie elsewhere. His plea bargain has earned him the enmity of The Reptile, a notoriously cold-hearted gangster, now confined for life in a maximum-security jail in Arizona thanks to Hale. He’s taken precautions, moved house, hidden his identity and installed security for his wife and family. But still… what if The Reptile escapes? For DCI Gillard it should be just another week at work. But before long he is involved in a desperate manhunt that will test him to his very limits. Be prepared. Strap yourself in for an intense and unforgettable crime thriller that won’t let go, perfect for fans of Karin Slaughter, Cara Hunter and Mark Billingham.

It’s not only secrets that are buried by the water… A gripping crime thriller from bestseller master Nick Louth On the tree-lined banks of Surrey’s River Wey, a decaying corpse is dug up by workmen in the middle of an Anglo-Saxon burial site. His modern dental fillings show that this is no Dark Age corpse... DCI Craig Gillard is called in, but the body’s condition makes identification difficult. One man, however, seems to fit the bill: Ozzy Blanchard, a contractor employed by the same water firm doing the digging who disappeared six months ago, his crashed company car found nearby. But then an X-ray of the corpse throws the investigation into turmoil. A shard of metal lodged in his neck turns out to be part of an Anglo-Saxon dagger unknown to archaeologists. Who wielded this mystery weapon and why? Does the answer lie in a murderous feud between two local families? The deeper Gillard digs, the more shocking truths he will uncover. A totally original crime mystery that will keep you guessing until the very end, The Body Amongst the Willows is an absolute thrill-ride, perfect for fans of Michael Connelly, Ann Cleeves and Mark Billingham.

For DCI Gillard, sometimes old sins cast long shadows… Under a motorway flyover lies the body of a young man. Days earlier, he had been involved in an altercation with DCI Craig Gillard’s pregnant partner Sam. Now he’s dead… Meanwhile, something is brewing in the criminal underworld. Whispers of a big job have reached the Met’s Flying Squad. Something is going to be stolen, and soon. Something worth £500m. But what? And where? And how does it relate to the body under the overpass? It should be a simple case: stop the burglary, crack the gang, find the murderer – but for Gillard, once again it’s personal… Fast-paced and utterly unputdownable, the next instalment of the DCI Gillard series is perfect for fans of Robert Bryndza, Stuart Macbride and Faith Martin.

Another impossible case for DCI Gillard, but this time the answers are very close to home… With a baby on the way, a pregnant wife to take care of and a new home to settle into, DCI Craig Gillard seems to have found a life of domestic bliss. But when retired police sergeant Ken Stapleford is found stabbed to death in front of his own TV while watching Saturday afternoon football, Gillard’s peace is once again disturbed. Only a day later, just a short walk from his new home, Gillard is himself witness to the killing of a jogger in Nightingale Park. A strange forensic connection emerges between the two killings, something that seems impossible. As he digs into the evidence, Gillard uncovers two more attacks, and any chance of taking time off for the birth of his child disappears. And all the time the killer is circling closer and closer... The final instalment of the DCI Gillard Crime Thrillers is a knockout, perfect for fans of Stuart Macbride, Mark Billingham and Robert Bryndza.