Rees and Khan thriller - Dead Water (Rees and Khan thriller, Book 3)

By Simon Toyne

A gripping new police procedural thriller from Simon Toyne featuring criminologist Dr Laughton Rees and DCI Tannahill Khan

A brutal murder

When a headless corpse washes up on the bank of the Thames, DCI Tannahill Khan knows this wasn’t accidental – the killer wanted the body found. This is just the beginning.

A deadly warning

The post mortem reveals a shocking discovery. Written on the dead man’s arm is Forensic Criminologist Dr Laughton Rees’ home address.

A fatal game

With her life in danger and more bodies washing up along the river, Laughton and Tannahill are in a race against time to stop the killer before Laughton’s own name reaches the top of his list

Format: Paperback
Release Date: 22 May 2025
Pages: 400
ISBN: 978-0-00-755172-9
Price: £14.99, £14.99 (Export Price) , €None

Simon Toyne is the bestselling author of the Sanctus trilogy: Sanctus, The Key and The Tower. He wrote Sanctus after quitting his job as a TV executive to focus on writing. It was the biggest-selling debut thriller of 2011 in the UK and an international bestseller. His books have been translated into 27 languages and published in over 50 countries. Dark Objects is the first book in a new series featuring forensic criminologist Laughton Rees and DCI Tannahill Khan. Simon lives with his family in Brighton and the South of France.

Praise for Simon Toyne -

Nail-biting and as haunting as the forest itself -

Beginning with a creepy abduction that unnerved me to my core, The Clearing follows an unsettling case where old myths and new greed collide. A welcome return for Laughton Rees and DCI Tannahill, getting to know them again as they reach the next stage of their budding relationship -

Everything you would expect from a thriller and then some’ -

Scared the bloody daylights out of me. The very definition of haunting. Toyne is a guru of suspense writing, and this is him at the top of his craft. Makes for a breath-taking read -

Simon Toyne is one of the best storytellers writing today, but even by his high standards, The Clearing is something really special … The pacing is frantic but not rushed, the tension is almost unbearable, and the ending is genuinely one of the most jaw-dropping ones I’ve read in a long time. Absolutely superb -

In the spirit of Patricia Cornwell’s Kay Scarpetta… Toyne makes the most of her creepy setting, and effectively conceals the truth behind the legend of the Cinderman until she’s ready to reveal it. Everything here suggests that Rees merits a long series run -

A spine-chilling, creepy-suspenseful mystery masterpiece! … This book had me hooked right to the end. I loved it! -