The DCI Robert Kett Thrillers
Quick link: Paper Girls - Bad Dog - Three Little Pigs - Whip Crack - Run Rabbit Run - Stone Cold Dead - Every Mother’s Son - Sweet Briar Rose - Jaw Breaker - Knock Knock - King Rat - Knuckle Bones - Lucky Number Seven - Unholy Saints - Truly Madly Deadly - Every Last Devil - Red Line
PAPER GIRLS
The one case he couldn't crack was the one that finally broke him.
Haunted by his inability to track down and save his missing wife, DCI Robert Kett leaves the Metropolitan Police behind and moves to Norwich with his three young children, hoping to heal their broken family.
But his newfound peace doesn’t last. Two newspaper delivery girls have gone missing in the city, and the clues point to a serial kidnapper.
Kett is dragged into the centre of one of the darkest cases of his career — a case that pits him head to head against a horrifying evil.
And a case that might uncover the terrible truth of what happened to his wife.
Terrifying and unputdownable, the first crime novel from million-selling author Alex Smith is officially “a gripping debut” (J. D. Kirk).
To READ, click here!
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BAD DOG
Some legends can kill you.
When a young woman is brutally murdered in the Norfolk countryside, the locals blame Black Shuck—a legendary wild dog.
There’s only one problem: the wounds weren’t made by an animal.
DCI Robert Kett is battling a black dog of his own. With his wife still missing, and the injuries from his last case leaving him in constant pain, everything seems impossible—not least looking after his three young children.
But when a second body appears, even bloodier than the last, Kett finds himself on a hunt for one of the most ruthless serial killers the country has ever seen.
A killer who may be hunting him too.
Full of death and dark humour, you won't be able to put down this fast-paced British crime thriller from million-selling author Alex Smith.
To READ, click here!
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THREE LITTLE PIGS
He will find the truth. Even if it kills him.
Five months ago, DCI Robert Kett’s wife Billie was snatched from a London street.
Five months of no leads, no evidence, and no suspects.
Until now.
When a routine police search uncovers a chamber of horrors beneath one of the city’s most expensive houses, detectives find a clue that points to Billie’s fate, and to the identity of her kidnapper—an enigmatic killer known as the Pig Man.
Desperate for closure, and still reeling from his last investigation, Kett returns to London for his most personal and most dangerous case yet—a case that pits him against a terrifying evil.
He doesn’t know if Billie is alive or dead. He doesn’t know if he’s too late to save her. All he knows is that he swore he’d go to hell and back to find out what happened.
And now, he's about to.
"Utterly terrifying and unbeatably exciting, this is one of the best crime thrillers of the year so far." Thrilling Fiction. You won't be able to put down this fast-paced British crime thriller from million-selling author Alex Smith.
To READ, click here!
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WHIP CRACK
Every time you hear his voice, another child will die.
DCI Robert Kett’s family may be whole again, but he is a broken man.
Suspended from duty, he takes his girls out of the city for a much-needed holiday on the Norfolk Coast.
Instead of the peace he desperately needs, however, Kett finds a community in chaos. Four teenagers are missing, and time is running out before they meet a horrific fate.
Kett must follow a deadly trail of clues left by the man who took them, the only person who knows where they are.
There’s only one problem.
The kidnapper is already dead.
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RUN RABBIT RUN
He has always been the hunter. He is about to become the prey.
For years, DCI Robert Kett has tracked down the country’s most dangerous kidnappers and serial killers, earning a reputation as the best man to call to catch the bad guys.
The tables are about to turn.
When somebody starts brutally murdering the criminals that Kett has put behind bars—and the ones that he wasn’t able to catch—it seems as if there is a vigilante on the loose.
Tasked with keeping one of these criminals alive, Kett starts to understand that something far more dangerous is going on.
And the killer isn’t just coming after the bad guys. He’s coming after Kett, too.
To READ, click here!
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STONE COLD DEAD
Getting blood from these stones will be all too easy.
In the middle of one of Norfolk’s most brutal winters a frozen body is discovered on the legendary Stone of Lyng. With Robert Kett out of action the case falls to DC Kate Savage and DI Pete Porter, and it quickly becomes clear to them that the young man wasn’t just killed, he was sacrificed.
And he isn’t alone. Within a week, another dead man is found on one of Norfolk’s ancient stones with the same unthinkable mutilations. Somebody is acting out a ritual, and if Savage and Porter can’t stop them then many more people will die.
Because if the stories of the stones are to be believed, the Hateful Man is coming—a killer whose thirst for murder and mayhem knows no bounds.
The sixth book in the DCI Kett series presents Savage and Porter as you’ve never seen them before, in one of the most brutal cases they have ever faced—a case so horrific that not even Kett can escape it.
To READ, click here!
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EVERY MOTHER’S SON
It's the Mother of All Crimes.
DCI Robert Kett’s efforts to return to a normal life are dashed after he receives a phone call from his mother, Mary—a woman he hasn’t spoken to in almost two decades. When she invites him and the girls to visit her in the isolated village where she has been staying, Kett sees an opportunity to heal their fractured relationship.
But this is no family reunion.
Mary Kett needs his help. A young couple have been brutally murdered and their newborn son is missing—a note left in his crib saying that the baby will die if the police are called.
Forced to go undercover with Porter and Savage, Kett discovers that somebody here has everything to hide and nothing to lose. And with time running out fast—not just for the missing child, but for an entire community—Kett must solve one of the darkest and most terrifying mysteries of his life.
A mystery that threatens to tear his own family apart.
TO READ, CLICK HERE!
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SWEET BRIAR ROSE
Extreme Crime Needs Extreme Measures.
DCI Kett is back, heading Norfolk Constabulary’s brand-new Extreme Crime Task Force.
And it’s just in time.
The body of a woman bound in thorns has been discovered in Norwich’s historic Cow Tower. In her mouth is a severed finger wrapped in a scrap of red cloth, and the first few lines of a fairy tale.
“Once upon a time, a young maiden waited to be saved from a hideous monster.”
The finger belongs to another missing woman, and if Kett, Porter and Savage want to find her alive they must follow a chain of blood-drenched riddles, each victim leading to the next and each crime more horrific than the last.
Because this killer is telling a story, and he’ll do anything to stop it from having a happy ending.
TO READ, CLICK HERE!
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JAW BREAKER
The Good Times Always End
After the horrors of their last case, DCI Kett and the rest of Norfolk Constabulary’s Extreme Crime Task Force are in need of a break.
And that’s just what they think they’re getting when Superintendent Clare takes them on a team building exercise in the middle of a quiet Norfolk village.
But what was supposed to be a weekend of recovery and fun soon becomes something much more sinister, when two local men turn up dead—poisoned by a horrific new designer drug nicknamed Jaw Breaker.
Kett and the team find themselves dragged into the middle of a bloody civil war between gangs, cultists, coppers and some very angry locals.
Not to mention a ghost...
And they learn that R&R doesn’t always stand for Rest and Relaxation. Sometimes it’s all about Revenge and Retribution.
TO READ, CLICK HERE!
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KNOCK KNOCK
Whatever you do, don’t open the door…
When a severed foot is delivered to the unsuspecting residents of a student house in Norwich, DCI Kett’s Extreme Crime Task Force begins one of the most gruesome investigations of its career.
And it’s not just a foot. More packages begin to appear at random on people’s doorsteps, all of them containing body parts that have been surgically removed and meticulously wrapped.
Kett, Porter, Savage and PC Duke find themselves in a race against the clock to identify the victims and their killer, who shows no sign of stopping.
And it soon becomes clear that this monster isn’t just delivering corpses.
He's sending a message.
TO READ, CLICK HERE!
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KING RAT
When you find yourself in hell, it pays to be a Devil.
DCI Kett’s worst nightmares have finally come true, the mysterious group known as Hollenbeck have resurfaced. After being violently abducted, Kett wakes inside a labyrinthine warehouse with no apparent way out—a warehouse rigged with deadly traps.
And he’s not alone in here.
Forced to become a rat in a maze, Kett must use every skill he has if he wants to escape. But there is a far greater price to pay if he ever wants to see his family again.
On the outside, DI Porter, DC Savage and PC Aaron Duke face a race against time to locate Kett before it’s too late. But Hollenbeck are smart, and this case may prove too much even for the Extreme Crime Task Force.
Because Kett is in hell, and he’s about to come face to face with the greatest evil of them all...
TO READ, CLICK HERE…
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KNUCKLE BONES
Some cases cut right to the bone.
When a chamber of horrors is revealed during building work at Norfolk’s County Hall, dozens of bones arranged in an arcane pattern inside a long-forgotten cellar, everybody expects the worst—until a forensic team discovers that the human remains are decades old.
After the horror of his kidnapping at the hands of Hollenbeck, DCI Kett isn’t in a hurry to return to work. But Superintendent Clare thinks these historic crimes are the perfect way to ease him back into the job.
The case isn’t as cold as it looks, though. Soon Kett finds himself on the trail of a ruthless and obsessive killer, and caught in a century-old struggle between some of the most powerful families in the city.
Occult rituals, cold-hearted revenge and bloody retribution—it falls once again to the Extreme Crime Task Force to solve a case that cuts right to the bone.
TO READ, CLICK HERE…
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Lucky Number Seven
Sometimes You Win. Sometimes You Die.
When seven packages are delivered to the staff of an insurance company in Norwich, the unthinkable happens: one of the packages explodes.
Six people survive, the seventh does not.
As the fire rages and the city reels, DCI Kett and the Extreme Crime Task Force are brought in to try to figure out why anybody would murder an innocent woman in such a violent manner.
But the killer has only just started. Seven more people are targeted, seemingly at random, and it soon becomes clear that somebody is playing a deadly game of chance—if you lose, you lose everything.
The hunt is on for one of the most sadistic criminals the team has ever faced.
Sometimes you beat the odds. Sometimes you don’t.
And Kett knows that sooner or later, everybody’s luck runs out…
TO READ, CLICK HERE…
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UNHOLY SAINTS
Evil waits in the dead of winter…
Christmas is just days away, and DCI Kett and the Extreme Crime Task Force are preparing to celebrate the festive season with some well-earned peace and quiet.
But all hopes of a restful holiday are crushed when a man dressed as Santa Claus is found dead in the chimney of an old cabin.
And he’s just the first.
The hunt for a monster begins, but standing in the way is a cutthroat family of thieves, a bloody vendetta and a sinister cult led by a man known only as Saint Nick.
In a town full of secrets, somebody knows the truth. But they’re willing to kill to keep it buried.
And in this bleakest of midwinters, nobody is guaranteed to wake up on Christmas morning…
TO READ, CLICK HERE…
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Truly madly deadly
Love can be murder…
It’s Valentine’s Day, and DCI Robert Kett and the Extreme Crime Task Force are preparing to join in the romantic celebrations when a shocking confession throws the city into chaos.
A man walks into the police station and admits to brutally murdering his wife.
And he claims somebody else forced him to do it.
Nobody believes his story, but when two more innocent victims vanish, the blood-drenched evidence starts pointing to a killer who gets his kicks by putting devoted couples through an unimaginable trial of terror and torture—turning them against each other in the name of an unsettling local tradition.
Love may be in the air, but this Valentine’s Day it is death that stalks the streets.
TO READ, CLICK HERE…
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EVERY LAST DEVIL
Hell is empty, and all the devils are here...
While filming a school project inside a ruined church, three teenagers make a horrific discovery: a severed head, left as part of a demonic ritual.
Before they can call the police, they are brutally attacked—and one of the teenagers is taken.
DCI Kett and the Extreme Crime Task Force know it's only a matter of time before the missing girl meets a terrifying fate. But as they hunt for her they find themselves caught up in one of the most dangerous cases of their careers—a living nightmare of conspiracy, sacrifice and cold-blooded murder.
Kett must explore the darkest parts of the country, the human soul, and himself to get to the heart of this unholy mystery.
But how can he catch a killer who might be the Devil himself?
TO READ, CLICK HERE…
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RED LINE
Some lines should never be crossed…
On a cold November morning, the body of a teenage boy is discovered in a remote playground—not just murdered, but butchered.
For DCI Kett and the Extreme Crime Task Force, it looks like an open and shut case. The boy was connected to a County Lines drug operation notorious for its violence and brutality, and all evidence points to him being the latest in a long line of unfortunate victims.
But the deeper they look into his death, the more disturbing the case becomes. And as the bloodshed continues, Kett and his team find themselves pulled into the dark heart of one of the country’s most terrifying urban legends: the Red Line.
Here, Kett begins to understand that the price of crossing some lines is death.
And the price of crossing others is far worse.
THE SOFTLEY SOFTLEY THRILLERS
THE HARDER THEY FALL
Would you start a war to avenge your brother’s murder?
Ian Softley is a killer. He’s the man governments call when they want somebody dead. His is a life of intimidation and brutality, of beatings and executions—including, ultimately, his own.
Jack Softley’s life is a world away from his brother’s. A high school English teacher, devoted father, and all-round nice guy, Jack tries to stay as far from trouble as possible. But when he receives word that Ian has been murdered, he finds himself dragged into a storm of violence and danger.
Because the same people who killed his brother want him dead too.
Hunted by government agents and brutal assassins, Jack must discover the truth about Ian’s dark past if he wants to stay alive. But Ian isn’t the only Softley to have secrets. Jack hasn’t always been a teacher. He hasn’t always been a nice guy.
And when push comes to shove, he doesn’t do things softly.
The first book in Alex Smith’s unputdownable Softley Softley series. If you like brutal action, pulse-pounding suspense, and stories that never stop for breath, you’re going to love this electrifying thriller. Featuring a guest appearance by DCI Robbie Kett, from Alex Smith's internationally bestselling crime thrillers!
TO READ, CLICK HERE!
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OTHER BOOKS
SIX DAYS, SIX HOURS, SIX MINUTES
"In six days, six hours, and six minutes, I will come back and kill you.
Tell anyone, and your wife and child will die. Call the police, and your wife and child will die. Try to run, or hide, or trick me in any way, and your wife and child will die. And they will not die quickly, Blake. Theirs will not be a good death. It will be slow, and it will be bloody, and they will know the full horror of hell before I end them."
When Blake Barton opens the door to a stranger one morning, he comes face to face with an unimaginable evil. Because this stranger claims to be the devil, and he promises to kill Blake—not now, but in six days, six hours, and six minutes exactly.
Plunged into a nightmare race to save his wife and young son, Blake finds himself fighting not only the stranger but an army of young men who call themselves the devil's disciples—men who will do anything to please their master.
As time runs out, Blake realises that in order to fight evil, he must find the devil inside himself.
And in doing so, all hell will break loose.
The brand new thriller from the author that James Patterson called "Fresh and ferocious!"—Six Days, Six Hours, Six Minutes is one of the most compelling and terrifying novels of the year.
TO READ, CLICK HERE!
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Foreign Editions
The DCI Kett books have been translated into a number languages, including Czech, Spanish, Italian, Finnish, Estonian, Lithuanian, German and Russian! Here are a selection of covers.
