A Minister's Downfall
"Rules? They left those behind a long time ago."
Tom Kessler is still a police officer. That's what makes this unforgivable.
When a powerful MP assaults Pete Johnson's wife and walks away without consequence, Tom knows exactly how this works. Reporting it exposes Pete, the man who delivered Falstead, the one person outside the job Tom trusts completely. The system he's sworn to uphold has nothing useful to offer either of them.
So a serving detective and a cocaine dealer do the unthinkable.
They take him on themselves.
What begins as a targeted operation to bring one man to account spirals into something neither of them is equipped for. Because the MP they've been watching isn't just protected by power and money. Russian intelligence has been watching him too, for entirely different reasons, and the moment Tom and Pete step into that shadow, they stop being hunters.
They become targets.
Where they're going, rules don't apply. And witnesses don't last.
By the time it's over, Tom's warrant card means nothing. Going back was never really an option.
A Minister's Downfall is a razor-sharp British thriller about the moment a good officer crosses a line he always knew was there, and what's waiting on the other side.
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Peter J Charles
I write British crime and intelligence fiction with a procedural edge. The detail comes from having lived the work rather than researched it.
Before writing came service in the Royal Air Force, then nine years as a detective on the Surrey Drug Squad: surveillance both conventional and electronic, criminal intelligence, informant handling and undercover operations. The characters are complex and the operations are grounded, because I've done the work. The tension is never for show.
The Tom Kessler series now runs to five novels, beginning with A Detective's Dilemma, which introduces Detective Constable Tom Kessler on a Surrey drug squad. The series moves from street-level policing into intelligence and geopolitical territory, and a sixth book is in progress. The first four titles are published in Spanish, Brazilian Portuguese, Italian and German.
British thrillers for readers of Stephen Leather and Neil Lancaster.
Whether it's the patience of a long surveillance shift or the urgency of a high-stakes bust, I aim to capture the nuance of the work and the lives behind it.
When I'm not writing, you'll find me walking the countryside, fly fishing, or watching rugby with a pint in my hand. It's a slower pace than the one I used to live, but the stories haven't stopped.
The Tom Kessler Thrillers
The Tom Kessler Thrillers consists of five books and series is set to expand with the upcoming release of one more book. The current recommended reading order for the series is provided below.
