(Jan Fabel: book 5): an unmissable and unputdownable thriller that will haunt you long after you finish the last page…

The Valkyrie Song

Jan Fabel returns to the Hamburg murder squad to track down a horrifying killer.

Calling all fans of Stuart MacBride, James Oswald and Ian Rankin - this blood-curdling and hypnotically tense thriller from the pen of prizewinning and bestselling author Craig Russell with its devilishly cunning plot and mind-blowing maze of twists and turns is perfect for you. 
 
'This splendid thriller...The story races along with pace and verve' -- Daily Express 
'Very well written and a page-turner!........Craig Russell never lets his many fans down' -- ***** Reader review 
'One of the most disturbing but addictive reads I had for a long time' -- ***** Reader review 
'Really gripping yarn with twists and turns along the way' -- ***** Reader review 
'Fabel is in fine form and the plot is wonderfully twisted. A must for lovers of good crime novels' -- ***** Reader review 
'Gripping' -- ***** Reader review 
 
********************************************************************* 
ONE ASSASSIN. ONE SERIAL KILLER. TWO ANGELS OF DEATH. 
 
After a gap of ten years, a female serial killer - the Angel of St Pauli - again makes the headlines when an English pop star is found in Hamburg's red-light district, dying of the most savage knife wounds. Jan Fabel is called in to investigate. 
 
Links emerge with a series of apparently unrelated events. A journalist murdered in Norway. The death of a Serbian gangster. And a long-forgotten project by East Germany's Stasi conceived at the height of the Cold War, involving a highly-trained group of female assassins, known by the codename Valkyrie. 
 
Fabel's hunt for the truth will bring him up against the most terrifyingly efficient professional killer. The ultimate avenging angel.

Brilliant ... Crime writing par excellence

Sharp prose, believably drawn characters and a well-judged tension combine with the distinctive location to ensure a gripping, entertaining read

Splendid thriller ...the story races along with pace and verve ... Russell keeps the shocks and surprises coming until the final revelation which leaves the reader smacking his head with a satisfying, Homer-like "D'oh!"

If you are looking for a devilishly cunning plot, a truly gripping storyline and a mind-blowing maze of entertaining twists and turns then Chief Commissar Jan Fabel has just the case for you. ... With a superb cast of characters and a startling and totally unexpected denouement, this is another first-class thriller from the master of suspense

If you're looking for a distinctive and exciting new voice in crime fiction, then look no further than Craig Russell. This is gritty, authentic and disturbing stuff

A blood-curdlingly clever plot ... thoughtful and imaginative

Craig Russell was born in 1956, in Fife, Scotland. He served as a police officer and worked in the advertising industry as a copywriter and creative director. In 2007, his second novel, Brother Grimm, was shortlisted for the CWA Duncan Lawrie Dagger Russell and in the same year he was presented with a Polizeistern (Police Star) award by the Polizei Hamburg for raising public awareness of the work of the Hamburg police. In 2008 he won the CWA Dagger in the Library. For more information about Craig Russell and his books, please visit www.craigrussell.com

Calling all fans of Stuart MacBride, James Oswald and Ian Rankin - this blood-curdling and hypnotically tense thriller from the pen of prizewinning and bestselling author Craig Russell with its devilishly cunning plot and mind-blowing maze of twists and turns is perfect for you. 
 
'This splendid thriller...The story races along with pace and verve' -- Daily Express 
'Very well written and a page-turner!........Craig Russell never lets his many fans down' -- ***** Reader review 
'One of the most disturbing but addictive reads I had for a long time' -- ***** Reader review 
'Really gripping yarn with twists and turns along the way' -- ***** Reader review 
'Fabel is in fine form and the plot is wonderfully twisted. A must for lovers of good crime novels' -- ***** Reader review 
'Gripping' -- ***** Reader review 
 
********************************************************************* 
ONE ASSASSIN. ONE SERIAL KILLER. TWO ANGELS OF DEATH. 
 
After a gap of ten years, a female serial killer - the Angel of St Pauli - again makes the headlines when an English pop star is found in Hamburg's red-light district, dying of the most savage knife wounds. Jan Fabel is called in to investigate. 
 
Links emerge with a series of apparently unrelated events. A journalist murdered in Norway. The death of a Serbian gangster. And a long-forgotten project by East Germany's Stasi conceived at the height of the Cold War, involving a highly-trained group of female assassins, known by the codename Valkyrie. 
 
Fabel's hunt for the truth will bring him up against the most terrifyingly efficient professional killer. The ultimate avenging angel.

(Jan Fabel: book 4): a simply masterful and unforgettable thriller about vengeance, violence and victory…

The Carnival Master

Only one man can stop a horrifying serial killer from striking again.

Fans of Stuart MacBride, James Oswald and Ian Rankin will love this dangerously dark and utterly compelling thriller from the pen of prizewinning and bestselling author Craig Russell. You won't be able to put it down... 
 
'Absolutely loved it...The kind of thriller that made me wat to be a writer in the first place' - Christopher Brookmyre 
'Don't have any doubts just read. Craig Russell is an absolute master' -- ***** Reader review 
'Gripping and compelling' -- ***** Reader review 
'A gripping, clever and intelligently written crime novel' -- ***** Reader review 
'A truly superb thriller' -- ***** Reader review 
'A riveting read, full of complex twist and turns, a real page turner, you won't want to put down.' -- ***** Reader review 
************************************************* 
HE KNOWS WHAT HE'LL DO. AND THE POLICE KNOW WHEN HE'LL DO IT. 
 
The Cologne police know a woman is going to die. They know the day it will happen. 
And they're powerless to stop it. 
 
They call on an outside expert: Jan Fabel, head of Hamburg's Murder Squad and Germany's leading authority on serial killers. 
 
Fabel is on the point of leaving the police for good, but Carnival in Cologne is a time when the world goes crazy, and he is drawn into the hunt for the Carnival Cannibal. What he doesn't know is that he is on a collision course with a crack special forces unit from Ukraine and a disturbed colleague with a score to settle. 
 
Fabel finds himself on a trail of betrayal and vengeance, violence and death. And once more he faces his greatest enemy. The true Master of the Carnival.

Absolutely loved it ... The kind of thriller writing that made me want to be a writer in the first place

(Jan Fabel: book 3): a brutal and breathtakingly ingenious thriller you won’t be able to forget…

Eternal

This dark, atmospheric and spine-tingling crime thriller from the mind of prizewinning and bestselling author Craig Russell will get right under the skin. If you like Stuart MacBride, James Oswald and Ian Rankin, then this is perfect for you. 
 
'Gritty, authentic and disturbing stuff' - Mo Hayder 
'A bloodcurdlingly clever plot... thoughtful and imaginative' -- The Times 
'This really is the best crime thriller I've read in a very long time' -- ***** Reader review 
'There are books that immerse you from the beginning and stay with you long after you have finished them - Russell's work does just that'-- ***** Reader review 
'Riveting from the outset'-- ***** Reader review 
'Intelligent, intriguing and involving'-- ***** Reader review 
 
************************************************** 
ALL HIS LIVES HAVE BEEN LEADING TO THIS... 
 
Two high profile victims - a former Left-wing radical turned environmental campaigner and a prominent geneticist - are found murdered within 24 hours of each other. 
 
Both men have been scalped. 
 
Forensic tests reveal that single red hairs left at each scene belong to neither victim, but were cut from the same head - twenty years earlier. Jan Fabel and his murder team find themselves under political and media pressure to track down a killer whom the press has already christened 'The Hamburg Hairdresser'. 
 
Connections in the victims' pasts begin to emerge, but Fabel's team is working against the clock and he is caught in a web of intrigue, obsession and revenge that seemingly spans sixteen centuries. 
 
He must discover the crucial link between an ancient mummified body, a long-disbanded terrorist group and its infamous leader and a killer who believes he has been reincarnated to exact a terrible revenge on those who betrayed him in a previous life.

Craig Russell was born in 1956, in Fife, Scotland. He served as a police officer and worked in the advertising industry as a copywriter and creative director. Russell has a long-standing interest in the German language and in post-war German history. He has been a freelance writer for fifteen years. In 2007, Russell was presented with a Polizeistern (Police Star) award by the Polizei Hamburg for raising public awareness of the work of the Hamburg police. 
 
For more information about Craig Russell and his books, please visit www.craigrussell.com

(Jan Fabel: book 2): a grisly, gruesome and gripping crime thriller you won’t be able to put down. THIS IS NO FAIRY TALE.

Brother Grimm

A killer from the shadows... a monster we all learned to fear in childhood... 
THIS IS NO FAIRY TALE

From the pen of prizewinning and bestselling author Craig Russell, comes this exquisitely plotted, intelligent and blindingly original crime thriller that will have you on the edge of your seat. If you like Stuart MacBride, James Oswald and Ian Rankin, you won't be disappointed. 
 
'A blood-curdlingly clever plot...thoughtful and imaginative' - THE TIMES 
'A gorgeous, grisly serial-killer tale' - EXPRESS 
'I read this book in one sitting, sat on the edge of my seat and tapping my kindle like a demented wood pecker.' -- ***** Reader review 
'Addictive' -- ***** Reader review 
'An absolutely gripping read!' -- ***** Reader review 
'I really couldn't put this down and was disappointed every time I had to stop reading.' -- ***** Reader review 
 
************************************************** 
FAIRY TALES DON'T ALWAYS END WELL... 
 
A Hamburg beach: a girl's body lies, posed, on the pale sand, a message concealed in her hand. 'I have been underground, and now it is time for me to return home...' 
 
Jan Fabel, of the Hamburg murder squad, struggles to interpret the twisted imagery of a dark and brutal mind. Four days later, a man and a woman are found deep in woodland, their throats slashed, the names 'Hansel' and 'Gretel', rolled tight and pressed into their hands. 
 
As it becomes clear that each new crime is a grisly reference to folk stories collected by the Brothers Grimm, the hunt is on for a serial killer who is exploring our darkest, most fundamental fears. 
 
A predator who kills and then disappears into the shadows. A monster we all learned to fear in childhood.

A blood-curdlingly clever plot ... thoughtful and imaginative

Sympathetic cop characters and meticulous scattering of clues leading to an unnerving outcome ... Gripping

Exquisitely plotted, blindingly original

A gorgeous, grisly serial-killer tale that will have you on the edge of your seat

If you're looking for a distinctive and exciting new voice in crime fiction, then look no further than Craig Russell. This is gritty, authentic and disturbing stuff

Craig Russell was born in 1956, in Fife, Scotland. He served as a police officer and worked in the advertising industry as a copywriter and creative director. Russell, who speaks German and has a long-standing interest in post-war German history and society, has been a freelance writer for twelve years; Brother Grimm is his second novel. He now lives in the West of Scotland.

(Jan Fabel: book 1): a dark, compelling and absorbing crime thriller that will have you hooked!

Blood Eagle

'If you're looking for a distinctive and exciting new voice in crime fiction, then look no further than Craig Russell. This is gritty, authentic and disturbing stuff.' Mo Hayder

Fans of Stuart MacBride, James Oswald and Ian Rankin will love this violently exciting and spine-tingling thriller from bestselling and prizewinning author Craig Russell. 
 
'Gritty, authentic and disturbing stuff' - Mo Hayder 
'Intelligent, superbly paced and not a little gory' -- ***** Reader review 
'Real page Turner, which kept you enthralled to the very end'-- ***** Reader review 
'A must read'-- ***** Reader review 
'A cracking good thriller that keeps the reader enthralled'-- ***** Reader review 
 
******************************************** 
A RITUAL KILLER POISED TO STRIKE AGAIN... 
 
Hamburg: Two women are killed in the same horrific, ritualistic manner. It seems clear that a serial killer is at work, selecting victims at random and living out some twisted fantasy. 
 
The murderer taunts the police with e-mails - but, as Jan Fabel and his murder team investigate further, nothing is clear cut or as it first seems. They are drawn into a dark half-world of Viking myth and legend, of obscure religious cults, of political intrigue and of a violent struggle to seize control of the city. 
 
As Fabel desperately races to track down the killer before more killings take place, he and his team come face to face with a cold, brutal menace they could never have predicted. 
 
A greater evil than they could ever have imagined.

This is a gruesomely gripping tale introducing German detective Jan Fabel, who is hunting a ritualistic murderer. Violently exciting - it had me hooked

A solidly plotted policier with a vicious streak

Craig Russell was born in 1956, in Fife, Scotland. He served as a police officer and worked in the advertising industry as a copywriter and creative director. Russell, who speaks German and has a long-standing interest in post-war German history and society, has been a freelance writer for twelve years. He now lives in the West of Scotland. His second novel, Brother Grimm, publishes in June 2006.

Craig Russell

Russell scores equally highly with his atmospheric portrayal of Hamburg and its dark river Elbe, as well as with the intelligence of his plots.

(Jan Fabel: book 6): a chilling and achingly engrossing thriller that will get right under the skin…

Jan Fabel returns to the Hamburg murder squad to track down a horrifying killer... From the pen of prizewinning and bestselling author Craig Russell comes this darkly compelling and horribly prescient thriller full of spine-tingling moments and breathtaking tension. Perfect for fans of Stuart MacBride, James Oswald and Ian Rankin. 
 
'Russell scores equally highly with his atmospheric portrayal of Hamburg and its dark river Elbe, as well as with the intelligence of his plots' - The Times 
'A few chapters in and I'm hooked' -- ***** Reader review 
'A gritty, enthralling read' -- ***** Reader review 
'Couldn't put the book down' -- ***** Reader review 
'A cracking good read!' -- ***** Reader review 
********************************************************************* 
YOU NEVER KNOW WHAT LIES BENEATH THE SURFACE... 
 
Just as a major environmental summit is about to start in Hamburg, a massive storm hits the city. When the flood waters recede, a headless torso is found washed up. 
 
 Initially, Jan Fabel of the Murder Commission fears it may be another victim of a serial rapist and murderer. But the truth of the situation is far more complex and even more sinister. Fabel's investigations lead him to a secretive environmental Doomsday cult called 'Pharos', the brainchild of a reclusive, crippled billionaire, Dominik Korn. 
 
 Fabel's skills as a policeman are tested to their utmost as he finds himself drawn into an unfamiliar, high tech world of cyberspace, where anyone can be anybody or anything they want. 
 
And he quickly realises that he is no longer the hunter, but the hunted.

Craig Russell

Praise for A Fear of Dark Water

Russell scores equally highly with his atmospheric portrayal of Hamburg and its dark river Elbe, as well as with the intelligence of his plots.

Books by Craig Russell

Follow penguin

Follow ladybird

Follow puffin

Sign up to the Penguin newsletter