A Traitor in the Family

FROM THE BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF THE GOOD LIAR, SOON TO BE A MAJOR FILM 
 
'Unbearably tense' Daily Telegraph 
 
'While her husband prepared to murder a young man he had never met, Bridget O'Neill completed her packing for Christmas with her in-laws.' 
 
Francis O'Neill is a terrorist, trained to kill for his cause. Bridget is his wife, expected to be loyal and stand by her husband. She has learned not to hope for much more, until the day she glimpses, for the first time, the chance of a new life. A life without violence, without secrets, and without knocks on the door in the dead of night. A life without her husband. 
 
But what if freedom for Bridget means grave danger for Francis? 
 
In A Traitor in the Family, bestselling author, Nicholas Searle, tells a story of shocking, intimate betrayal. Can a treacherous act of the most personal kind ever be, in this darkly violent world, an act of mercy? 
 
'It reminded me strongly of John le Carre ... this is high praise' Daily Mail 
 
"The Good Liar was excellent ... this is even better' Sunday Express

In its subtlety it reminded me strongly of John le Carré's wonderful A Small Town in Germany, which also brought home the delicate confusions that lie at the heart of those who work in the shadow of treachery. This is high praise

Unbearably tense... this is a snapshot of the real world from a man who has lived it

The follow-up to Searle's acclaimed 2015 debut The Good Liar, and the technical aspects of thriller writing are well handled as the tension builds on both sides

[A] tale of sordid compromises and agonising choices ... beneath the betrayals and violence Searle's antihero's dilemma unleashes lies a moral message: even the hardest heart is made vulnerable by love'

The Good Liar was excellent but this book feels more personal and is even better

This is one of those thrillers whose thrills come not just from a fast-paced plot, but also from the fact that we're being given privileged access to a hidden world

A taut, compulsive thriller with a dark, intriguing heart. A Mr Ripley for our time

A part-thriller, part-human condition novel that packs a tremendous punch

Added to the fiendishly clever plot, Searle's writing is both drily amusing and elegantly crafted. An absolute treat of a book

An incredibly dark, taut thriller... Think of Ruth Rendell morphing into John le Carré

Searle shows a gift for complex plotting

Nicholas Searle drew on his own background in intelligence to portray an IRA terrorist and his wife forced into different types of betrayal

'While her husband prepared to murder a young man he had never met, Bridget O'Neill completed her packing for Christmas with her in-laws.' 
 
Francis O'Neill is a terrorist, trained to kill for his cause. Bridget is his wife, expected to be loyal and stand by her husband. She has learned not to hope for much more, until the day she glimpses, for the first time, the chance of a new life. A life without violence, without secrets, and without knocks on the door in the dead of night. A life without her husband. 
 
 But what if freedom for Bridget means grave danger for Francis? 
 
 In A Traitor in the Family, bestselling author, Nicholas Searle, tells a story of shocking, intimate betrayal. Can a treacherous act of the most personal kind ever be, in this darkly violent world, an act of mercy?

Nicholas Searle is the author of three novels. His first novel, The Good Liar, was a Sunday Times bestseller and was shortlisted for the CWA John Creasey New Blood Dagger for the best debut crime novel. Before becoming a writer, Nicholas worked in British intelligence for more than twenty-five years. He lives in Yorkshire.

Francis O'Neill is an IRA terrorist - and he will kill for the cause. 
 
 Gentleman Joe is his boss - and he wants power. 
 
 Liam is his brother - and he wants money. 
 
 Richard is the British intelligence officer - and he wants to recruit him. 
 
Bridget is his wife - and she wants to get out. 
 
A Traitor in the Family is the story of a man who remains devoted to a cause, while everyone around him gives in to temptation...

The Good Liar

Now a Major Film Starring Helen Mirren and Ian McKellen

NOW A SUNDAY TIMES TOP 10 BESTSELLER 
 
This is a life told back to front. 
 
This is a man who has lied all his life. 
 
Roy is a conman living in a small English town, about to pull off his final con. He is going to meet and woo a beautiful woman. He will swiftly move in with her and together they will live the seemingly calm life of a retired couple - evenings in front of the television, a little holiday in Berlin. Then he will slip away with her life savings. 
 
But who is the man behind the con and what has he had to do to survive this life of lies? 
 
And why is this beautiful woman so willing to be his next victim?

An assured thriller debut in the footsteps of le Carré, Highsmith and Rendell...The Good Liar makes you want to experience Nicholas Searle's next trick

This is set to be one of the books of the year that will get everyone talking....If you go in with absolutely no preconceptions, you will have your socks knocked, nay, blown off

The Good Liar is a taut, compulsive thriller with a dark, intriguing heart. A Mr Ripley for our time

All the ingredients are in this book...You're in safe hands with Searle's elegant writing

An incredibly dark, taut thriller...it deserves to be a bestseller. Think of Ruth Rendell morphing into John le Carré

Searle shows a gift for complex plotting. The Good Liar is packed with secrets and surprises, bluffs and double-bluffs

A perfectly entertaining way to spend a few hours

A confident debut...an easy page-turner

What a clever and menacing novel The Good Liar is. I was gripped and horrified in equal measure and the ending knocked me sideways! I can't wait for everyone to read the book so I can talk about it

Nina Stibbe, bestselling author of 'Love, Nina' and 'Man at the Helm'

This is a life told back to front. 
 
This is a man who has lied all his life. 
 
Roy is a conman living in a small English town, about to pull off his final con. He is going to meet and woo a beautiful woman and slip away with her life savings. 
 
But who is the man behind the con and what has he had to do to survive this life of lies? 
 
And why is this beautiful woman so willing to be his next victim?

Nicholas Searle

Searle has fun with the office politics of the intelligence world, and is thoughtful about the ethics of espionage . . . it seems something akin to poetry can be the best medium for expressing the practicalities of the hard-nosed business of espionage.

– The Telegraph, The 31 best thrillers and crime novels of 2019 so far

Meticulously plotted, with wonderfully drawn characters and an elegant prose style that makes this every bit as compelling as Searle's stirring debut

A thought-provoking read that bursts with tension

A spy thriller with extra authority

Former intelligence officer turned crime writer Searle is stepping into the gap left by John le Carré

An assured thriller debut in the footsteps of le Carré, Highsmith and Rendell

This is set to be one of the books of the year that will get everyone talking ... you will have your socks knocked, nay, blown off

'It reminded me strongly of John le Carré ... this is high praise'

The railway station is heaving with rush-hour commuters when the bomb goes off. 
 
In the subsequent enquiry, Jake Winter, the British Intelligence Officer responsible for preventing the attack, comes under fire. Especially when it transpires that the bomber was his agent. With his conscience - and his career - in tatters, Jake's hopes rest on his new recruit, a young British-Asian man named Rashid. Recently returned disillusioned from the Middle East, and now enlisted into a new terrorist plot, Rashid seems to be the answer Jake, and MI5, have been waiting for. 
 
But how can Jake know for certain when Rashid is his only source? Is history about to repeat itself or has Jake lost his nerve, haunted by his last mistake? After all, who can you trust, when you no longer trust yourself?

Nicholas Searle

Praise for A Fatal Game

Searle has fun with the office politics of the intelligence world, and is thoughtful about the ethics of espionage . . . it seems something akin to poetry can be the best medium for expressing the practicalities ...

Meticulously plotted, with wonderfully drawn characters and an elegant prose style that makes this every bit as compelling as Searle's stirring debut

A thought-provoking read that bursts with tension

Searle has fun with the office politics of the intelligence world, and is thoughtful about the ethics of espionage . . . it seems something akin to poetry can be the best medium for expressing the practicalities ...

Meticulously plotted, with wonderfully drawn characters and an elegant prose style that makes this every bit as compelling as Searle's stirring debut

A thought-provoking read that bursts with tension

Searle has fun with the office politics of the intelligence world, and is thoughtful about the ethics of espionage . . . it seems something akin to poetry can be the best medium for expressing the practicalities ...

Meticulously plotted, with wonderfully drawn characters and an elegant prose style that makes this every bit as compelling as Searle's stirring debut

A thought-provoking read that bursts with tension

Books by Nicholas Searle

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