It’s a big announcements day here on WALKING IN THE DARK, most of it concerning forthcoming Finch publications. Those in the know will remember that I forecast three new books for 2025, and now at last I’m able to publicise the cover-art and publication details for two of them, the two that are most imminent, so imminent in fact that they’re both now available for pre-order (one of them less than a month away!).
However, before we talk about the new books, I’d like to apologise for my tardiness of late. Regular readers will note that I haven’t written anything on this blog since January. Alas, there are very sad reasons for that. I’ve recently lost a dearly loved one.
She finally left this world on March 26, but only after a typically tough battle against what, in the end, was nothing more than Old Age itself. That was a kind of consolation: that she wasn’t actually ill and made it right to the end. It was also a consolation that she passed away very peacefully in her sleep.
I hope people will forgive me this personal interlude in the normal run of business, but it’s actually quite relevant. Some may remember that my father, Brian, who died at the age of 70 in 2007, was a screenwriter of considerable note, and obviously a key inspiration in terms of the career I eventually chose for myself. However, my mum played her part too.
I hope people will forgive me this personal interlude in the normal run of business, but it’s actually quite relevant. Some may remember that my father, Brian, who died at the age of 70 in 2007, was a screenwriter of considerable note, and obviously a key inspiration in terms of the career I eventually chose for myself. However, my mum played her part too.
RIP, Mum. At least you’re now with Dad in that great script room in the sky.
Now, onto those ...
Forthcoming publications
First of all, if you look topside, you’ll see the front cover for the 9th novel in the Mark Heckenburg series, NO QUARTER. I know that I’ve teased people about this for a while, but at last the book is done and dusted, and due for publication in both ebook and paperback on May 1st this year.
NOTE: If you go racing over there right now, you’ll see that it’s available for pre-order already on Kindle, but it isn’t on paperback. But never fear, the paperback will also be out on May 1st, so you can purchase it then.
If anyone is looking to acquire NO QUARTER on Audible, the good news is that it will be published in that format later this year. The not-so-good news is that I haven’t got a date for that yet, though I guarantee it will happen. It’s all been agreed. Just keep watching this space.
(Those awaiting the Audible of ROGUE - Heckenburg 8 - will also need to be patient a little bit longer, I’m afraid. Audible publication is a slightly slow-moving beast, but that title too will be out at some point in 2025).
But suffice to say that yet again, it picks up fairly quickly where the last Heck novel, ROGUE, left off. As always, though, it's a free-standing, action-packed crime thriller, which you can enjoy without having read any of the Heck books before.
You should enjoy it particularly if gritty urban realism is your thing.
Meanwhile, I’d like to say thanks again to all those Heck fans who kept the flame burning during his years of enforced absence from the bookshelves. It’s common knowledge now that this resulted from my change of publisher coinciding with the Covid crisis. It was the perfect storm and had a knock-on effect that would last several years. Now at last that crisis is over, but again to those fans - if you had not kept contacting me about it, I possibly might have concluded that all interest in the character and his stories had dwindled. It’s so gratifying to see these two new books in the series prove that it hasn’t.
Next up
Excited as I am about the next title in the Heck series, I’m equally excited about my second forthcoming novel for 2025. This one, THE ISLAND, is a free-stander and will be my first book with Thomas & Mercer.
Here’s the official blurb:
A dream holiday. You’d die to be there.
You are offered the getaway of a lifetime on a remote island with a group of strangers. Things have been difficult recently, so you jump at the chance to swim under the summer sun, explore the peaceful woodlands and return to an elegant hotel for a glorious dinner.
As the boat pulls into the harbour, you’re surrounded by crystal-clear water and soon you are alone. Just the peace and quiet you were promised. No phone signal, no internet… no way to call for help. But nothing will go wrong in paradise, right?
As a huge summer storm rolls towards the island, everyone is starting to realise the secrets they’ve been hiding for years seem to have followed them here. And you are no different.
Then one of your group disappears. His body washes up in the picture-postcard harbour, and it’s clearly no accident. Can you get out alive?
Roll on September, eh? I can’t wait for this one.
Final thoughts
So ... 2025 has been a year of contradictions thus far. It started off in the saddest possible way, catastrophically even, and yet it’s always had the potential to be an unusually successful year. With NO QUARTER and THE ISLAND both scheduled for publication long before my mother became unwell, it looked very promising indeed. And let’s be honest, that promise remains. In fact, there’s a promise of even better to come, because the eagle-eyed among you will have noticed that I also mentioned a third novel slated for publication this year. This one will be another of my medieval adventures from Canelo (an imprint of Penguin), and though not quite a follow-up to the previous two, USURPER and BATTLE LORD, it won’t be overly different in terms of epic action. This one is due out in the late autumn, which obviously is way ahead of us yet, so I won’t give too much more away at this stage.
Look, none of us can be sure what the months and years ahead will bring, except that most of us will experience sadness and gladness in more or less equal measures. If you’re afflicted by the former, you have my full sympathy, and I hope these forthcoming titles of mine may go some way towards alleviating it.
Happy reading.
THRILLERS, CHILLERS, SHOCKERS AND KILLERS
Works of dark literature that I have recently read, thoroughly enjoyed and heartily recommend (sometimes with a few lighter ones mixed in).
DAS REICH
by Max Hastings (2009)
After D-Day, Hitler’s elite 22nd SS Panzer Division marches north from the Garonne, meeting constant opposition from Resistance fighters and Allied commandoes, and responding with brutal atrocity. The ultimate factual assessment of some of the darkest days on WW2’s Western Front. Hastings is a voice of vast authority as he assesses the savagery from all perspectives, juxtaposing ethics and military expediency, courage and cruelty. Objective, balanced and meticulously researched.
WOLF OF WESSEX
After D-Day, Hitler’s elite 22nd SS Panzer Division marches north from the Garonne, meeting constant opposition from Resistance fighters and Allied commandoes, and responding with brutal atrocity. The ultimate factual assessment of some of the darkest days on WW2’s Western Front. Hastings is a voice of vast authority as he assesses the savagery from all perspectives, juxtaposing ethics and military expediency, courage and cruelty. Objective, balanced and meticulously researched.
WOLF OF WESSEX
by Matthew Harffy (2019)
In the Wessex of 838 AD, a hoary old warrior must clear his name of an unjust murder charge, and in so undoing uncovers a plot to overturn the kingdom. Strong characters sit at the heart of this small canvas but nevertheless rollicking adventure set at the dawn of the Viking Age. Rich in atmosphere, packed with intense combat, and beautifully evocative of Saxon England. Built into real historical events but a mini saga all of its own. Great escapist fun in the best axe-wielding tradition.
HORRORWEEN
In the Wessex of 838 AD, a hoary old warrior must clear his name of an unjust murder charge, and in so undoing uncovers a plot to overturn the kingdom. Strong characters sit at the heart of this small canvas but nevertheless rollicking adventure set at the dawn of the Viking Age. Rich in atmosphere, packed with intense combat, and beautifully evocative of Saxon England. Built into real historical events but a mini saga all of its own. Great escapist fun in the best axe-wielding tradition.
HORRORWEEN
by Al Sarrantonio (2012)
When evil Samhain returns to Orangefield, pumpkin capital of upstate New York, for Halloween, murder and madness ensue. Sarrantonio pulls out all the stops in this smoothly woven mesh of horror stories, creating a lively all-in-one novel filled with memorable characters and rich in All Hallows lore. Hints of Bradbury, hints of King, and a tone reminiscent of YA though this one is strictly for grownups. An excellent, eerie ride with which to start the Ghosting Season.
GOMORRAH
When evil Samhain returns to Orangefield, pumpkin capital of upstate New York, for Halloween, murder and madness ensue. Sarrantonio pulls out all the stops in this smoothly woven mesh of horror stories, creating a lively all-in-one novel filled with memorable characters and rich in All Hallows lore. Hints of Bradbury, hints of King, and a tone reminiscent of YA though this one is strictly for grownups. An excellent, eerie ride with which to start the Ghosting Season.
GOMORRAH
by Roberto Saviano (2006)
An investigative journalist’s penetration of the Camorra’s criminal activities in Southern Italy. Multi prize-winning True Crime exposé, which has resulted in the author needing a permanent police escort ever since. Fearless documentation of organised crime’s crushing grip on the Neapolitan region, and the terrible repercussions it has for every part of that society. A courageous and honourable piece of work, excellently translated by Virginia Jewiss.
THE HOUSE THAT JACK BUILT by Graham Masterton (1996)
A badly injured lawyer seeks solace in a crumbling Hudson Valley mansion, unaware of the latent evil lurking in its dingy passages. More than just another haunted house chiller, the author really cuts loose in this one with some wild stuff indeed, but also packs it with his trademark scariness and gore. Solid horror from one of the modern maestros.
THE CORMORANT
An investigative journalist’s penetration of the Camorra’s criminal activities in Southern Italy. Multi prize-winning True Crime exposé, which has resulted in the author needing a permanent police escort ever since. Fearless documentation of organised crime’s crushing grip on the Neapolitan region, and the terrible repercussions it has for every part of that society. A courageous and honourable piece of work, excellently translated by Virginia Jewiss.
THE HOUSE THAT JACK BUILT by Graham Masterton (1996)
A badly injured lawyer seeks solace in a crumbling Hudson Valley mansion, unaware of the latent evil lurking in its dingy passages. More than just another haunted house chiller, the author really cuts loose in this one with some wild stuff indeed, but also packs it with his trademark scariness and gore. Solid horror from one of the modern maestros.
THE CORMORANT
by Stephen Gregory (1986)
A young writer and his family inherit an idyllic cottage in North Wales but also a large, aggressive cormorant, on whose survival their ongoing good fortune rests. A beautiful oddity of a horror novella from an author who left us too soon. A strange tale by any standards, but so elegantly written that you are seduced from the start. Ambiguous about the presence of supernatural evil, but finally rising to a weird and horrific climax.
THE ANGLO-SAXONS
A young writer and his family inherit an idyllic cottage in North Wales but also a large, aggressive cormorant, on whose survival their ongoing good fortune rests. A beautiful oddity of a horror novella from an author who left us too soon. A strange tale by any standards, but so elegantly written that you are seduced from the start. Ambiguous about the presence of supernatural evil, but finally rising to a weird and horrific climax.
THE ANGLO-SAXONS
by Marc Morris (2021)
Between the Romans’ departure and the Norman invasion, much of Britain lay under pagan invaders, the Saxons, though they soon Christianised and founded the kingdom of England. This is their saga, as told by a personable historian who writes accessibly and entertainingly, covering all aspects of the Dark Ages era, social, political, military, describing kings and their battles but also the fundamentals of daily life, tying it all together with vivid clarity. History on both an epic and a human scale.
BILLY SUMMERS
Between the Romans’ departure and the Norman invasion, much of Britain lay under pagan invaders, the Saxons, though they soon Christianised and founded the kingdom of England. This is their saga, as told by a personable historian who writes accessibly and entertainingly, covering all aspects of the Dark Ages era, social, political, military, describing kings and their battles but also the fundamentals of daily life, tying it all together with vivid clarity. History on both an epic and a human scale.
BILLY SUMMERS
by Stephen King (2021)
An ex-military sniper turned writer is offered staggering money to take out an LA hitman currently seeking a plea-bargain, but late in the day he smells a rat. Leisurely paced but always compelling chunk of neo-noir, which gets neatly into the head of the professional killer while also building a complex and convincing mystery-thriller. As always with King, the interplay of deep and likeable characters ups the stakes dramatically. Taut, tense and involving.
LEGION
An ex-military sniper turned writer is offered staggering money to take out an LA hitman currently seeking a plea-bargain, but late in the day he smells a rat. Leisurely paced but always compelling chunk of neo-noir, which gets neatly into the head of the professional killer while also building a complex and convincing mystery-thriller. As always with King, the interplay of deep and likeable characters ups the stakes dramatically. Taut, tense and involving.
LEGION
by William Peter Blatty (1983)
A Georgetown detective investigates a child-crucifixion and links it to a serial killer shot by fellow cops ten years earlier. Quite simply, one of the best horror novels ever written, Blatty providing a hugely satisfying sequel to his bestseller, The Exorcist, at the same time pondering deeply on matters of life, death, religion and philosophy and yet continuing to terrify us with nightmarish scenarios and an opponent from the depths of Hell. An exceptional achievement in the realms of dark fiction.
A KESTREL FOR A KNAVE
A Georgetown detective investigates a child-crucifixion and links it to a serial killer shot by fellow cops ten years earlier. Quite simply, one of the best horror novels ever written, Blatty providing a hugely satisfying sequel to his bestseller, The Exorcist, at the same time pondering deeply on matters of life, death, religion and philosophy and yet continuing to terrify us with nightmarish scenarios and an opponent from the depths of Hell. An exceptional achievement in the realms of dark fiction.
A KESTREL FOR A KNAVE
by Barry Hines (1968)
In the late 1960s, a Barnsley council house lad escapes the drabness of his everyday life by catching and training a young hawk. There aren’t enough accolades one can heap on this seminal work. Tough and insightful, poetically written, witty as well as tragic, social realism woven thick into the lyrical descriptions of town and country. Hines asks searching questions of the self-satisfied establishment, and presents the working-class struggle in clear-headed, non-sentimental fashion.
THE OTHER PASSENGER
In the late 1960s, a Barnsley council house lad escapes the drabness of his everyday life by catching and training a young hawk. There aren’t enough accolades one can heap on this seminal work. Tough and insightful, poetically written, witty as well as tragic, social realism woven thick into the lyrical descriptions of town and country. Hines asks searching questions of the self-satisfied establishment, and presents the working-class struggle in clear-headed, non-sentimental fashion.
THE OTHER PASSENGER
by John Keir Cross (1944)
The not so romantic date with the ventriloquist and his dummy. The madman whose wife’s severed head talks to him constantly. The hideous reason behind the terribly cold bed. The doppelganger torment that leads to an ordeal by fire. In the immediate post-war years, British horror authors penned some seriously twisted stuff, and JKC was no exception. Another resurrected classic from @Valancourt_B.
THE BERESFORD
The not so romantic date with the ventriloquist and his dummy. The madman whose wife’s severed head talks to him constantly. The hideous reason behind the terribly cold bed. The doppelganger torment that leads to an ordeal by fire. In the immediate post-war years, British horror authors penned some seriously twisted stuff, and JKC was no exception. Another resurrected classic from @Valancourt_B.
THE BERESFORD
by Will Carver (2021)
In an unnamed city, a matronly lady presides over a venerable old apartment house where lost souls wash up on a regular basis, and all-too-often turn to murder. Strange but hugely readable tale, sitting somewhere between horror, mystery and surrealist dark comedy. Will Carver ties it up neatly at the end, but it’s a twisty, intriguing journey. A fun but grisly ride. Not for the faint-hearted.
THE WOLF’S HOUR
In an unnamed city, a matronly lady presides over a venerable old apartment house where lost souls wash up on a regular basis, and all-too-often turn to murder. Strange but hugely readable tale, sitting somewhere between horror, mystery and surrealist dark comedy. Will Carver ties it up neatly at the end, but it’s a twisty, intriguing journey. A fun but grisly ride. Not for the faint-hearted.
THE WOLF’S HOUR
by Robert McCammon (1989)
An Allied spy infiltrates German-occupied France in the months leading up to D-Day, his mission to scope out a proposed countermeasure called Iron Fist. The Gestapo are soon onto him, but he has one key advantage: he’s a werewolf. Blood and thunder wartime horror thriller, packed with hair-raising terror and rivers of gore. The Nazis have never been more evil, the lycanthrope never more ferocious. Unbelievably tense and readable. One of those books you reach for every spare second.
BEST NEW HORROR #30
An Allied spy infiltrates German-occupied France in the months leading up to D-Day, his mission to scope out a proposed countermeasure called Iron Fist. The Gestapo are soon onto him, but he has one key advantage: he’s a werewolf. Blood and thunder wartime horror thriller, packed with hair-raising terror and rivers of gore. The Nazis have never been more evil, the lycanthrope never more ferocious. Unbelievably tense and readable. One of those books you reach for every spare second.
BEST NEW HORROR #30
edited by Stephen Jones (2020)
The academics who sought out a missing ghost story and became part of it. The tape-recorded sounds that created real, living nightmares. The deep-sea diving suit with a life of its own. The schoolkids terrified by faces in tree bark. Another selection of topline horror from antho maestro, Stephen Jones. 2018 is the year in focus, and on this evidence, it hit us with a chill a minute. I still mourn the closure of this terrific annual showcase for all that’s best in shortform scariness.
SILVERWEED ROAD
The academics who sought out a missing ghost story and became part of it. The tape-recorded sounds that created real, living nightmares. The deep-sea diving suit with a life of its own. The schoolkids terrified by faces in tree bark. Another selection of topline horror from antho maestro, Stephen Jones. 2018 is the year in focus, and on this evidence, it hit us with a chill a minute. I still mourn the closure of this terrific annual showcase for all that’s best in shortform scariness.
SILVERWEED ROAD
by Simon Crook (2022)
A weary cop recounts the bizarre series of crimes he investigated on the same suburban road in 2019, resulting in ten interconnected horror stories. The gardener whose war with the local jackdaws gets totally out of hand. The mysterious entity in the luxury swimming pool. The Saxon ring and the ancient evil it invokes. The quiet house that turns into Hell’s aquarium. A top-notch portmanteau horror, hitting us with a wide range of terrors. Vividly and stylishly written.
THINGS GET UGLY
A weary cop recounts the bizarre series of crimes he investigated on the same suburban road in 2019, resulting in ten interconnected horror stories. The gardener whose war with the local jackdaws gets totally out of hand. The mysterious entity in the luxury swimming pool. The Saxon ring and the ancient evil it invokes. The quiet house that turns into Hell’s aquarium. A top-notch portmanteau horror, hitting us with a wide range of terrors. Vividly and stylishly written.
THINGS GET UGLY
by Joe R Lansdale (2023)
The sports star lover facing death by dog. The kids sent to bring their uncle’s corpse home despite the summer heat. The wannabe who could only prove himself by committing the most atrocious deed. Crime meets horror meets comedy in another outrageous collection of iron-hard tales hammered out on the anvil of Joe Lansdale’s unforgiving imagination. Two-fisted stories packed with JL’s signature grit and violence. As the title says, it often gets ugly.
WICKED JENNY
The sports star lover facing death by dog. The kids sent to bring their uncle’s corpse home despite the summer heat. The wannabe who could only prove himself by committing the most atrocious deed. Crime meets horror meets comedy in another outrageous collection of iron-hard tales hammered out on the anvil of Joe Lansdale’s unforgiving imagination. Two-fisted stories packed with JL’s signature grit and violence. As the title says, it often gets ugly.
WICKED JENNY
by Matt Hilton (2025)
In 2020s Cumbria, a group of middle-aged men lose a friend to a hammer attack, are reminded of a terrible incident when they were kids and come to suspect the presence of a ghastly female predator. A tightly written bone chiller, with feet both in the ‘folk horror’ and ‘murder mystery’ camps. Local legends interchange with regret, guilt and other psychological tortures as our hapless everymen struggle with their past. Unsettling throughout, building steadily to an horrific crescendo.
JOE by Larry Brown (1991)
In sun-parched Mississippi, a tough, troublesome redneck befriends a hillbilly kid from a woe-begotten family and tries to help him build a more normal life. Hints of Steinbeck, hints of Faulkner, and lashings of Southern Gothic as two rebels without causes make the best they can of a dang-cussed situation. Gritty, unromantic portrayal of life in trailer park country. Coarse, whiskey-soaked and short on good guys, yet exquisitely written and deep in character.
In 2020s Cumbria, a group of middle-aged men lose a friend to a hammer attack, are reminded of a terrible incident when they were kids and come to suspect the presence of a ghastly female predator. A tightly written bone chiller, with feet both in the ‘folk horror’ and ‘murder mystery’ camps. Local legends interchange with regret, guilt and other psychological tortures as our hapless everymen struggle with their past. Unsettling throughout, building steadily to an horrific crescendo.
JOE by Larry Brown (1991)
In sun-parched Mississippi, a tough, troublesome redneck befriends a hillbilly kid from a woe-begotten family and tries to help him build a more normal life. Hints of Steinbeck, hints of Faulkner, and lashings of Southern Gothic as two rebels without causes make the best they can of a dang-cussed situation. Gritty, unromantic portrayal of life in trailer park country. Coarse, whiskey-soaked and short on good guys, yet exquisitely written and deep in character.
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