The Risk Taker

A body in the cellar. A gang on the rise. A detective running out of time.

DI Joe Hogarth thought exile in Clacton would mean peace — a backwater posting after the chaos in Southend.
He was wrong.

When a man’s body is found in the cellar of a derelict pub, Hogarth recognises the method. This wasn’t random. It was an execution.

The victim was a foot soldier in Clacton’s underworld — silenced with precision.
And the message is unmistakable: someone new is taking control.
Rumours point to Gillespie — a shadowy kingpin with money, muscle, and ambitions that reach back to Southend.

As Hogarth hunts the killer, Acting DI Sue Palmer follows the cash: shell companies, fake charities, and dirty property
deals.

Each step brings them closer to the heart of a criminal empire built on fear and corruption.
But the deeper they dig, the more dangerous it gets. Allies turn. Evidence vanishes. And killers move faster than the law.
Every lead drags Hogarth closer to a reckoning — and this time, survival might not be enough.

Perfect for fans of Ian Rankin, Mark Billingham, and Peter James, The Risk Taker is a gripping British crime thriller packed with tension, betrayal, and a detective who refuses to give up.

‘Gripping, dark, and impossible to put down.’
‘Hogarth at his finest.’

Start reading today — and plunge into the case that changes everything.