British Dark

'A fantastic writer.' Donald Ray Pollock 'Nigel Bird is fast becoming one of the top writers in his genre.' Luca Veste DIRTY OLD TOWN is the debut collection from the prize-winning writer Nigel Bird. His brilliantly observed slices of life allow us to visit places we may not normally choose to enter and to walk a few miles in the shoes of others. Though his tales have darkness at their core, they are also full of a heart and spirit that one rarely finds in the world or ‘noir’ or ‘crime-writing’. There are 9 stories here: Drinking Wine (Spo-Dee-Oh-Dee); Dirty Old Town; Sea Minor; ...

Philip Chambers is a normal man with a normal job, living a normal life in a normal house. He has a normal wife, two normal children and three normal grandchildren. His life is perfect - Or so it appears. Philip however, is not as normal as everyone thinks he is and the book title ‘HOW TO KILL YOUR WIFE’ says it all - Or does it? This is a most unusual murder thriller, full of dark humour that will have the reader turning pages, wondering how much worse things could get, what could possibly happen next and how will it all end.

Book Two (Can also be read as a standalone novel) From the author of The Incident in the Orchard At Aldwen Hall, life has finally settled down for Isabella and Hereward. Then Vincentia Cannon arrives. Vincentia is everything society admires: affluent, stylish and self assured. But behind her dazzling, carefully cultivated persona lies something sinister and disquieting. By day she sows discord with unnerving audacity. By night she creeps through the shadows like a predator stalking its prey. As her infatuation with Hereward grows, her tactics turn evermore extreme and outlandish. Then when ...

Nobody's supposed to see the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee before her Silver, yet Ben and Georgie do exactly that. Who in their right mind would agree to move into a mansion with their narcissistic ex-boss after stealing his job? Ben, apparently. When he joins Isaac’s Dungeons and Dragons party, the adventures begin in the cellar, but get disturbingly real when the players find a space-age capsule in the attic filled with vintage clothes and artefacts. The gang's first foray into the hermetically-sealed space ends in a mad scramble to escape before the computer initiates evacuation protocols...

Lady Blake was convinced that the mere thought of aging was more terrifying than any horror scene she had ever witnessed. Every wrinkle, every gray hair, every achy joint felt like a countdown to the end of her youth. One day, as she sat in her fancy dressing room, surrounded by expensive anti-aging creams and potions, Lady Blake couldn't help but let out a dramatic sigh..."I've got wrinkles!" Thus, the idea to keep her youthful appearance became an obsession, with Lady Blake thinking of various ways to preserve her fleeting beauty. However, despite her fears of losing her looks, Lady Blake...

There will be no escape this Christmas... They’re out there again. My heart pounds as I look out of the kitchen window. For weeks now, they’ve been harassing us, vandalising our property and intimidating our children. It’s been relentless. The police don’t take them seriously because they’re teenagers. But they don’t know what it’s like to live like this. Those girls are running rings around us, and it’s got to the point where they're there every time we leave the house, mocking us. Following wherever we go. We’ve had as much as we can take. So in the middle of the night, ...

Caravan of Nightmares and Other Short Stories is my second collection of short stories. As with my first collection, Her Demonic Angel, there is no specific theme, but most stories are dark. Stories in this collection are: Caravan of Nightmares; Wonky Trolley; Friends and Neighbours; Barry and Jack; The Writing Group; Inappropriate Adult; The Faraway Park; Gone Fishing; Instafamous; Fairy Tales and Nightmares; Beneath the Sand; Fakes; Sins of the Son; and Sitting Ducks.

**Special Notice: This romance is of the darker variety. The hero is flawed and dirty. Consider yourself warned.** Insomniac. Narcissist. Sex addict. The only description sex therapist, Vanessa Ferris, was given of her newest patient, a fellow psychologist, Dr. Zander Hale. From the moment he entered her office, she knew he’d be trouble—possibly the good kind. What she wasn’t prepared for was how he’d blindside her; how he would challenge everything she thought she knew about her profession, about herself. There are certain lines a doctor is warned never to cross with their patients...

When 89-year-old Emyr Isaac is found dead in his home, Drake and his team initially suspect a burglary gone wrong. Isaac was old, and his death was a tragedy, but it’s not a murder case...is it? But as the investigation develops, Drake uncovers more suspicious deaths, but with one connection: Each victim received care from the same healthcare professional. Drake must do all he can to ensure no more lives are lost...even if it means putting members of his own team in harm’s way.

Winner of Literary Titan 'Gold Award' Winner of Reader Ready Award 2025 'Top Pick' Dying was just the start of his problems... David Harris was murdered—shot in the head after unveiling INCARNEX, a compound that defies death. Eight years later, he wakes up in a new body, resurrected by the very creation that cost him everything. But INCARNEX is failing. Every revived person, including David, is on borrowed time. As society teeters on collapse, he has one chance to fix his mistake—before millions, himself included, shut down for good. Hunted by a ruthless CEO, underground rebels, and the...

Department 12: Dirty. Deniable. Deadly. Allegra Page is found dead from an overdose of fentanyl-spiked cocaine, trafficked into Britain by the ruthless Albanian shqiptare. But Allegra’s mother is Olivia Page, the Home Secretary of a failing, bankrupted government. Wracked by grief, Page learns of a secret unit. Department 12. Half-forgotten. A relic from Britain’s murky past. Department 12 is sanctioned perform the unthinkable - extrajudicial killing. And, if Olivia Page so chooses, she can unleash them on organised crime. If she dares. Department 12 is the latest book from author of ...

It's a double mystery: Two young men have vanished, and the investigation leads to two troubling clues in two different locations - a scorched van and a peculiar bloodstain in an abandoned airport hangar.

'In the gritty streets of '90s Bristol, a former SAS soldier drowns his sorrows in alcohol, haunted by a past he can't escape. But when a cryptic message leads him to a chance at redemption, he must navigate a dangerous web of deceit and violence to find a missing girl and start over as a private investigator. With echoes of Bukowski and Chandler, John Bowie's Untethered is a dark and moody crime noir that will leave you breathless. Buy now before the price changes and get lost in this twisted, intoxicating world. If you enjoyed this book, you will also love James Ellroy's L.A. Confidential...

The making of a serial killer! 6 friends, 2 die! Who, when, where, why? Find out in the sixth instalment of The Adulterer Series. (This book can also be read as a standalone). Three married couples and their children go on holiday together and meet regularly for social gatherings. At first their lives seem idyllic, but beneath the surface, all is not what it seems. Within a year, two of the adults will be dead! ... and a serial killer will be created! Praise for Sam Anthony: If Stephen King were to write a psychological thriller romance, this would be it. ★★★★★ Not my usual read ...

The Messiah is back… and he’s not thrilled about it. Jesus 2.0 just woke up in Manhattan—with a craving for pizza, a vague sense of doom, and zero enthusiasm for saving the world. He swears, drinks beer, questions everything, and would really prefer not to fulfill a prophecy no one remembers writing. But time is running out, the angels are unionizing, and the end of days is ahead of schedule. If you enjoy: Satirical fiction with bite Dark comedy in the spirit of Good Omens or Lamb Twisted takes on religion, redemption, and divine bureaucracy Then The Reluctant Jesus is your next ...

"Life is a beautiful, chaotic mess - a fact that John Bowie captures flawlessly in his stunning third poetry collection." The pages of this book are filled with raw, unfiltered emotions that will take readers on a journey through the human experience. From the highs of love and life to the lows of inescapable death, each poem is a window into the complexity of our existence. Bowie is a master poet, weaving together words that will tug at your heartstrings and make you see the world in a whole new light. With an unapologetic and soulful writing style, he invites readers to embrace the ...

‘When you hide the truth from yourself, you keep the Devil’s secret...’ Sarah Kingsmoor has built a successful career as a family doctor in an idyllic market town. She lives in the cottage of her dreams, enjoys rewarding friendships, and leads the life she’s always wanted for herself. She’s convinced of this. One spring evening, Sarah stumbles upon a brutal mugging. Her intervention saves the victim’s life. And a series of events is set in motion which will jar Sarah loose from her comfortable existence, and change her forever. As she finds herself drawn increasingly closer to ...

An action-packed finale to The Chronicles of Robin Hood.AD 1203. Plantagenet England: The mighty overlords of Sherwood Forest wage war against the poor and desperate. The Sheriff of Nottingham and Guy of Gisborne impose a vicious tyranny across the shire.Where is Robin Hood, the leader of the outlaws and rebels? Has he abandoned the persecuted folk of the Forest? As the darkness of winter falls across Sherwood, nobody is sure whether Robin Hood lives or not…Has the revolt against the cruel and powerful overlords been put down at last?This retelling of the Robin Hood legend takes the tale ...

A quaint English town, a body, and a headline that reads: “Citizens of Delby Rish Not Safe In Their Beds. Police Clueless.” The latest case for Detective Inspector Andrew Manson and his pathologically stylish partner, Detective Eric Steinway, has more twists than a contortionist at a Delby Rish parish fete. Juggling a homicidal wife on fertility treatment and the unwelcomed advances of the local pathologist’s lovely assistant, Manson must bring this crime and his domestic affairs to a speedy resolution. Because if this case doesn’t kill him, there’s a very good chance his wife will.

How cold is cold? How deep is despair? At what temperature does your heart finally… shatter? Minus. Two. Hundred. Degrees. Cryonics. The practice of freezing the human body in the hope of bringing it back to life. It’s a voluntary procedure. Usually. Stefan Anderson thought selling immortality for Scarrax BioCryptz would be a scream. He was right. Just not in the way he expected. When a client dies after a car crash, the freezing process doesn’t go quite to plan. Stefan’s about to discover a horrifying truth. The cold, hard way. Bodyfreeze invites you on a gripping journey through a...