book cover of Fighting the Dead
 

Fighting the Dead

(2026)
(The first book in the Dartmoor Noir Thriller series)
A novel by

 
 

A bleak moor. A brutal crime. A puzzle written in blood.

A dark regional UK psychological thriller perfect for fans of Ann Cleeves and J.M. Dalgliesh who crave atmospheric suspense, isolated landscapes, and deep secrets.

A brutal killing takes place on the windswept wilderness of Dartmoor: a landscape of treacherous bogs and a closed community built on ancient grudges.


A SUSPECT

Literature Lecturer Adrian Moody returns to his isolated home to find his wife, Beatrice, brutally murdered. For the working-class academic hiding behind university walls, he is instantly branded the prime suspect by detectives looking for a quick arrest.


A CLUE

The police are blind to the evidence, but Adrian notices the intricate details others miss. Using his years of decoding classic literature to parse the twisted text of a real-world killer.


A TRAP

As Adrian unpicks Beatrice’s past, dark secrets begin to surface. Soon, he must treat this deception as a masterpiece of malice before the shifting moorland fog buries the truth. And him with it.

Fighting the Dead is the gripping start to a dark, atmospheric new UK crime thriller series.


Genre: Mystery



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