In the first three novels of the Breen & Tozer Investigations, an outcast detective fights crime and corruption in sixties London.
‘An outstanding storyteller’ Peter May
William Shaw grips the reader by the throat from page one, and never lets go’ Independent
‘Superb crime novels . . . combines nostalgic period detail with an emotional intensity found only in the very best crime fiction’ Sunday Times
A SONG FROM DEAD LIPS
The Runaway: A nameless young woman is found naked and strangled in an alley on Abbey Road.
The Reject: DS Cathal Breen, an outcast in the Marylebone CID, struggles to make sense of the case.
The Rookie: Until new recruit WPC Helen Tozer – the first woman to join the team – makes a breakthrough.
And as hippies slam doors in their face, and locals suspect the new African neighbours, Breen and Tozer tread down a perilous path, closing in on a cruel conspiracy that goes far beyond class, colour and creed.
A HOUSE OF KNIVES
The Black Sheep: The wayward son of a rising MP is mutilated and burnt in suspicious circumstances.
The Honest Detective: DS Cathal Breen dodges political embargo and death threats to pursue the case.
The Rolling Stone: Notorious art dealer Robert Fraser may provide the only clue – if only he will talk.
And as Breen slips deeper into London’s underground of hippies and heroin, he edges nearer to the secrets of those at the very top. Banished from a corrupt and fracturing system, he will finally be forced to fight fire with fire.
A BOOK OF SCARS
Never forgotten: Teenager Alexandra Tozer was murdered on her family’s farm. Five years later, her sister Helen will return.
Never suspected: As soon as DS Breen tracks down the original investigating sergeant, the man goes missing. And so does Helen.
Never revealed: The only connection between the suspects is the Kenya Emergency – a nightmare that Englishmen prefer to forget.
But others remember. Every bloody detail. And when another woman is taken, Breen fears that history – in all its shame and horror – is coming back to haunt them.
‘An outstanding storyteller’ Peter May
William Shaw grips the reader by the throat from page one, and never lets go’ Independent
‘Superb crime novels . . . combines nostalgic period detail with an emotional intensity found only in the very best crime fiction’ Sunday Times
A SONG FROM DEAD LIPS
The Runaway: A nameless young woman is found naked and strangled in an alley on Abbey Road.
The Reject: DS Cathal Breen, an outcast in the Marylebone CID, struggles to make sense of the case.
The Rookie: Until new recruit WPC Helen Tozer – the first woman to join the team – makes a breakthrough.
And as hippies slam doors in their face, and locals suspect the new African neighbours, Breen and Tozer tread down a perilous path, closing in on a cruel conspiracy that goes far beyond class, colour and creed.
A HOUSE OF KNIVES
The Black Sheep: The wayward son of a rising MP is mutilated and burnt in suspicious circumstances.
The Honest Detective: DS Cathal Breen dodges political embargo and death threats to pursue the case.
The Rolling Stone: Notorious art dealer Robert Fraser may provide the only clue – if only he will talk.
And as Breen slips deeper into London’s underground of hippies and heroin, he edges nearer to the secrets of those at the very top. Banished from a corrupt and fracturing system, he will finally be forced to fight fire with fire.
A BOOK OF SCARS
Never forgotten: Teenager Alexandra Tozer was murdered on her family’s farm. Five years later, her sister Helen will return.
Never suspected: As soon as DS Breen tracks down the original investigating sergeant, the man goes missing. And so does Helen.
Never revealed: The only connection between the suspects is the Kenya Emergency – a nightmare that Englishmen prefer to forget.
But others remember. Every bloody detail. And when another woman is taken, Breen fears that history – in all its shame and horror – is coming back to haunt them.
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Reviews
If you're not a fan yet, why not?
Grips the reader by the throat and never lets go
A contender for thriller of the year
A first-rate police thriller
A gripping story, impeccably researched
An elegy for an entire alienated generation
The question of why a killer kills is always central. William Shaw delivers a perfect motive
William Shaw makes his sentences sing
Astoundingly good
An emotional intensity found only in the very best crime fiction
Perhaps England's most adept at using dialogue to propel his always intelligent stories
The kind of writing - silky, seductive, unobtrusive - that carries one along
Shaw goes from strength to strength