Into Darkness

A brilliantly original first crime thriller, with a wonderful cast of characters, opens with the baffling death of a world famous British actor.

[A] well-balanced combination of instruction, mystification and action ... a very promising debut

The highly descriptive passages and the way we are given insight into the mind of Ned and Kate remind me of Chandler and his world-weary detective heroes. By the end of the first page, I was hooked ... Lewis has a way of making his characters interesting and amusing and loveable ... I cared about these people and that is what will make me look out for another book, hopefully another story involving Ned and Kate, by this promising author ... The writing is careful; every word is needed and considered. It is witty without being slick. Not a book to skip through but one to be enjoyed and savoured. I enjoyed every word.

Jonathan Lewis made award-winning documentary films for thirty years. He, his wife and their dog now split their time between a cottage in Oxfordshire and an old motor yacht. Into Darkness is his first novel.

In the stinking mud of a great tidal river, a body lies half submerged. Sir Tommy Best, adored British actor, has fallen to his death through a hole in the walkway above. The saintly Sir Tommy was friend to the starving and penniless, to kings and stars. He was also totally blind and reliant on his brilliant guide dog, Suzy. But she is nowhere to be found. It seems unimaginable that Suzy would have led him into danger, so is it murder? And where is she? When she finally turns up, it is only to deepen the mystery. She is stressed and tense and soon Chief Superintendent 'Fatso' and Detective Chief Inspector Ned realise that only one person in the force can possibly help. Kate, police dog handler extraordinaire, known affectionately as the Dog Tart, suggests they find Nick Parsons, who trained Suzy, in the hope that he can get the dog to lead them to the truth. The search for Nick Parsons culminates in a highly unusual plan, in which Ned will become blind for one night and with Suzy the guide dog, re-enact Sir Tommy Best's last fateful walk. The truth which they uncover is utterly horrible.

Jonathan Lewis

The Minister for Defence is blown to smithereens in his car on a lonely road in the Brecon Beacons, where he has a weekend hideaway. DI Ned Bale is on the crime scene within seconds, but neither he nor forensics can work out how on earth the crime was committed, let alone who did it, or with what motive. 
 
That is until one fingerprint is found on one tiny fragment of the explosive timing device. The fingerprint of Ned Bale's closest ally in the Force, dog handler Kate Baker. But how on earth could her fingerprint be on a terrorist's bomb. Far away on bomb disposal duty in Afghanistan, Kate has to be questioned. 
 
But Kate herself has become involved with someone extremely plausible, attractive and dangerous. The mystery which unravels through this gripping thriller is completely unexpected.

Jonathan Lewis

Books by Jonathan Lewis

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