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Debut novels of 2025: discover the year’s breakthrough new voices

Death At The White Hart

The Sunday Times bestseller Waterstones Thriller of the MonthSoon to be a major ITV series 
Discover the must-read mystery everyone’s talking about, from the showrunner of Broadchurch and Netflix's smash-hit new series, SEVEN DIALS 
‘A masterclass whodunnit’ Gillian McAllister 
‘Everything I love in a crime novel’ Jennie Godfrey 
‘As unputdownable as you'd expect from the writer of Broadchurch’ Jenny Colgan 
 -- 
The body is found abandoned on the A35 in Dorset – tied to a chair, stag antlers on his head. 
It's Jim Tiernan, landlord of Fleetcombe’s The White Hart pub – and now a murder victim. 
Newly arrived DS Nicola Bridge has her work cut out. Fleetcombe is a picture-postcard village. Murder is the last thing on anyone’s mind. 
Except that here Nicola finds whispers, rumours, resentments and lie after lie. 
Because the smaller the village, the darker its hidden secrets . . . 
-- 
More praise for Death at The White Hart: 
‘Layered, human, suspenseful and surprising - this guy knows how to tell a story, that's for sure’ Lee Child 
‘I loved it. A murder mystery that feels like it’s set right now, packed with vivid characters and a detective I adored – and I didn’t guess who did it. A wonderful book’ Russell T Davies 
‘Snappy dialogue, confident. Turns expectations of village life on their head’ Joan Smith, Sunday Times 
‘Literally unputdownable. SO pacy and delicious…Just a huge treat to read’ Marian Keyes

Layered, human, suspenseful and surprising - this guy knows how to tell a story, that's for sure.

I loved it. A murder mystery that feels like it’s set right now, packed with vivid characters and a detective I adored – and I didn’t guess who did it. A wonderful book

Snappy dialogue, confident. Turns expectations of village life on their head

A craftily plotted mystery, full of memorable characters. A fine start to a highly promising new series

A strong pace, good characterisation and an excellent sense of place get this projected series off to a flying start

A promising start to a crime career – old ideas with a fresh spin, and a great ending

A disturbing murder, a village with a gruesome past and a new detective determined to uncover the truth. With Death at the White Hart, Chris Chibnall distils his talent for blockbusting screen drama into a deliciously gritty and well-written police procedural. A searing debut crime fans will love!

Literally unputdownable. SO pacy and delicious, I loved the stream of new reveals, the plot kept me guessing and the excellent characterisation was my favourite bit. Just a huge treat to read

Fans of Broadchurch are going to LOVE Death at the White Hart! With its compelling pair of detectives and tense, creepy atmosphere, once you start reading, I defy you to stop.

A masterclass whodunnit from the creator of Broadchurch - moody, immersive, and surprising too. I didn’t dare hope it would be better than Broadchurch, but it is

With a confounding crime and a stellar cast of characters, Death at the White Hart is everything I love in a crime novel, with a community set-up that I hope means this will become a much-loved series

Jennie Godfrey, bestselling author of The List of Suspicious Things

Brilliant characterisation and fabulous suspense - as unputdownable as you'd expect from the writer of Broadchurch

A sleek and sinister debut that grips you from the first page and doesn't let go

Celia Walden, Richard and Judy bestselling author of Payday

A tremendous page-turner. Chris Chibnall marries a cool, sleek police drama with a warm, lived-in sense of his characters' inner lives. The result is exuberant, compassionate, and bewitching

Flynn Berry, author of Reese Witherspoon pick Northern Spy

My kind of story! It grabs you by the throat from the start and doesn't let you breathe easy until the final page.

Tami Hoag, New York Times bestselling author of Bad Liar

A small town, big heart mystery full of deep dark secrets and cleverly breadcrumbed clues – authentic, pacy, rich and extremely satisfying.

Absolutely brilliant! Death at the White Hart is one of those oh-so-rare crime novels offering up both a palm-sweating switchback of a plot and a richly nuanced psychological glimpse into the hearts and minds of the multi-layered characters who populate its pages. And the cherry atop the sundae? The author’s assured and compelling voice, which is by turns gripping, wry and—dare I say?—literary. Bravo!

Jeffery Deaver, New York Times bestselling author of the Colter Shaw series

Chibnall flexes his talents for characterization and complex plotting in his engrossing first novel. . .As in his TV work, Chibnall gives equal depth to his supporting cast, making the potentially familiar premise feel lived-in and consequential. This deserves a sequel.

From the creator of Broadchurch comes this page-turning debut crime thriller...a twisty, made-for-TV novel

Chris Chibnall is a BAFTA, Royal Television Society, Broadcasting Press Guild and Peabody award-winning screenwriter, executive producer, and playwright whose work has been seen, translated and remade all around the world. He is the recipient of the prestigious FIPA Prix D’Honneur, and honorary doctorates from Edge Hill University and Sheffield Hallam University. His television work includes Broadchurch – remade as Gracepoint in the US and Malaterra in France – The Great Train Robbery, Doctor Who, Torchwood and Life on Mars. Death at the White Hart is his debut novel.

When Detective Nicola Bridge moves back to Dorset from the big city, the last thing she expects is for the picturesque village of Fleetcombe to become a grisly crime scene. 
 
Jim Tiernan, pub landlord, is dead, the body staged with macabre relish on an isolated country road. Nicola soon realises everyone in the village has something to hide. 
 
The hairdresser. The delivery driver. The farmer. And even the little girl, hidden at the top of the playground slide. 
 
Whispers. Rumours. Lies. And somewhere among them, a killer hiding in plain sight. 
 
Because sometimes the smallest villages hide the darkest secrets...

Doctor Who: Adventures in Lockdown

Darkness Never Prevails. 
 
 While staying home was a vital safety measure in 2020, the freedom of the TARDIS remained a dream that drew many - allowing them to roam the cosmos in search of distraction, reassurance and adventure. Now some of the finest TV Doctor Who writers come together with gifted illustrators in this very special short story collection in support of BBC Children in Need. 
 
 Current and former showrunners - Chris Chibnall Russell T Davies and Steven Moffat - present exciting adventures for the Doctor conceived in confinement, alongside brand new fiction from Neil Gaiman, Mark Gatiss and Vinay Patel. Also featuring work from Chris Riddell, Joy Wilkinson, Paul Cornell, Sonia Leong, Sophie Cowdrey, Mike Collins and many more, Adventures in Lockdown is a book for any Doctor Who fan in your life, stories that will send your heart spinning wildly through time and space... 
 
 £2.25 from every copy sold in the UK of Doctor Who: Adventures in Lockdown will benefit Children in Need (registered charity number 802052 in England &amp; Wales and SC039557 in Scotland)

Chris Chibnall

For its loyal guests, Parkwood Holiday Village in west Dorset is a haven: woodland walks, a tranquil lake, service around the clock.Until, just after midsummer, a body is found floating in the swimming pool.Detective Nicola Bridge, exhausted by worries about her troubled teenage son, faces a resort full of suspects: a husband lying about his whereabouts, a high ropes instructor hiding unexplained scars, and a polished new manager with a dangerous secret.With hundreds of guests and staff on site, Nicola must race to uncover a web of lies before the killer disappears.Or strikes again...

Chris Chibnall

Books by Chris Chibnall

Articles featuring Chris Chibnall

Debut novels of 2025: discover the year’s breakthrough new voices

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