Aidan Waits
by 3 books in this series
Detective Aidan Waits is a troubled junior detective haunted by his past. Facing an uncertain future, and disconnected from his history, DC Waits and his partner, Detective Inspector Peter 'Sutty' Sutcliffe work on Manchester's streets to uncover the city's worst criminals among the grime of the underworld.
The Sleepwalker
‘He said he didn’t remember killing them…’
As a series of rolling blackouts plunge the city into darkness, Detective Aidan Waits sits on an abandoned hospital ward, watching a mass murderer slowly die. Transferred from his usual night shift duties and onto protective custody, he has just one job…
To extract the location of Martin Wick’s final victim before the notorious mass murderer passes away.
Wick has spent over a decade in prison, in near-total silence, having confessed to an unspeakable crime that shocked the nation and earned him the nickname of The Sleepwalker.
But when a daring premeditated attack leaves one police officer dead and another one fighting for his life, Wick’s whispered last words will send Waits on a journey into the heart of darkness…
Manipulated by a reticent psychopath from his past, and under investigation from his new partner, Detective Constable Naomi Black, Waits realises too late that a remorseless contract killer is at work.
Can Aidan Waits solve his last case before fleeing justice?
Or will his name be next on the hit list?
As a series of rolling blackouts plunge the city into darkness, Detective Aidan Waits sits on an abandoned hospital ward, watching a mass murderer slowly die. Transferred from his usual night shift duties and onto protective custody, he has just one job…
To extract the location of Martin Wick’s final victim before the notorious mass murderer passes away.
Wick has spent over a decade in prison, in near-total silence, having confessed to an unspeakable crime that shocked the nation and earned him the nickname of The Sleepwalker.
But when a daring premeditated attack leaves one police officer dead and another one fighting for his life, Wick’s whispered last words will send Waits on a journey into the heart of darkness…
Manipulated by a reticent psychopath from his past, and under investigation from his new partner, Detective Constable Naomi Black, Waits realises too late that a remorseless contract killer is at work.
Can Aidan Waits solve his last case before fleeing justice?
Or will his name be next on the hit list?
The Smiling Man
________
‘Gritty as hell. I loved it. A great urban cop thriller’ Ian Rankin
As heard on BBC Radio 5 Live Phil Williams Show
From the bestselling author of Sirens, Detective Aidan Waits is on the hunt to find the identity of The Smiling Man.
________
A body has been found on the fourth floor of Manchester’s vast and empty Palace Hotel. The man is dead. And he is smiling.
The tags have been removed from his clothes. His teeth have been replaced. Even his fingertips are not his own. Only a patch sewn into his trousers offers any information about him.
Detective Aidan Waits and his unwilling partner, DI Sutcliffe, must piece together the scant clues to identify the stranger. But as they do, Aidan realises that a ghost from his past haunts the investigation. He soon recognises that to discover who the smiling man really is, he must first confront the scattered debris of his own life . . .
________
'Talents such as Knox rarely emerge more than once in a generation. A crime fiction masterpiece' ***** Metro
'Packing a punch from the very first page. You will love The Smiling Man' Jane Harper, author of The Dry
‘Gritty as hell. I loved it. A great urban cop thriller’ Ian Rankin
As heard on BBC Radio 5 Live Phil Williams Show
From the bestselling author of Sirens, Detective Aidan Waits is on the hunt to find the identity of The Smiling Man.
________
A body has been found on the fourth floor of Manchester’s vast and empty Palace Hotel. The man is dead. And he is smiling.
The tags have been removed from his clothes. His teeth have been replaced. Even his fingertips are not his own. Only a patch sewn into his trousers offers any information about him.
Detective Aidan Waits and his unwilling partner, DI Sutcliffe, must piece together the scant clues to identify the stranger. But as they do, Aidan realises that a ghost from his past haunts the investigation. He soon recognises that to discover who the smiling man really is, he must first confront the scattered debris of his own life . . .
________
'Talents such as Knox rarely emerge more than once in a generation. A crime fiction masterpiece' ***** Metro
'Packing a punch from the very first page. You will love The Smiling Man' Jane Harper, author of The Dry
Sirens
‘Brooding, blistering. Sirens is a remarkable literary thriller, perfect for fans of Ian Rankin and James Lee Burke’ AJ Finn, author of The Woman in the Window
WATERSTONES THRILLER OF THE MONTH
I stopped going to work. I went missing. We still live in a world where you can disappear if you want to. Or even if you don't.
Detective Aidan Waits is in trouble
After a career-ending mistake, he’s forced into a nightmare undercover operation that his superiors don’t expect him to survive.
Isabelle Rossiter has run away again
When the teenage daughter of a prominent MP joins Zain Carver, the enigmatic criminal who Waits is investigating, everything changes.
A single mother, missing for a decade
Carver is a mesmerising figure who lures young women into his orbit – young women who have a bad habit of disappearing. Soon Waits is cut loose by the police, stalked by an unseen killer and dangerously attracted to the wrong woman.
How can he save the girl, when he can’t even save himself?
*
Reader reviews:
'It is an utterly brilliant debut novel; dark, gritty, menacing and meaningful.' *****
'Compulsive reading, so well written that even the gruesome cruelty and sense of helplessness in a dark world seemed right.'*****
'Knox is always one-step ahead, deceiving the reader and creating a sexy, stylish world always with danger around every corner.' *****
*
The bestselling debut from the winner of the Sky Arts Writer of the Year Award, the next big name in crime fiction - Joseph Knox.
WATERSTONES THRILLER OF THE MONTH
I stopped going to work. I went missing. We still live in a world where you can disappear if you want to. Or even if you don't.
Detective Aidan Waits is in trouble
After a career-ending mistake, he’s forced into a nightmare undercover operation that his superiors don’t expect him to survive.
Isabelle Rossiter has run away again
When the teenage daughter of a prominent MP joins Zain Carver, the enigmatic criminal who Waits is investigating, everything changes.
A single mother, missing for a decade
Carver is a mesmerising figure who lures young women into his orbit – young women who have a bad habit of disappearing. Soon Waits is cut loose by the police, stalked by an unseen killer and dangerously attracted to the wrong woman.
How can he save the girl, when he can’t even save himself?
*
Reader reviews:
'It is an utterly brilliant debut novel; dark, gritty, menacing and meaningful.' *****
'Compulsive reading, so well written that even the gruesome cruelty and sense of helplessness in a dark world seemed right.'*****
'Knox is always one-step ahead, deceiving the reader and creating a sexy, stylish world always with danger around every corner.' *****
*
The bestselling debut from the winner of the Sky Arts Writer of the Year Award, the next big name in crime fiction - Joseph Knox.