A gritty British police procedural with a fierce female detective at its heart, Bad Trip plunges readers into the violent world of the Essex drug gangs controlling the ecstasy trade. When a young informant is found tortured, Detective Angel Guthrie is pulled into a dark, hard-boiled hunt through Britain’s criminal underworld - where every lead exposes new dangers and every secret can kill.

Detective Angella “Angel” Guthrie is no stranger to danger - but this case hits harder than anything she’s faced. A young dealer, brutally tortured, mutilated, then pumped full of heroin. A terrified girlfriend who won’t speak. A coded message pointing to a possible ambush. And a violent criminal network run by Gary Hobbs, an ex-army enforcer whose reputation for brutality is legendary. With Hobbs and his henchman “Animal” running the ecstasy distribution racket like a military operation, fear keeps the streets silent… and keeps the bodies coming.

As the summer heat builds, so does the pressure. Witnesses vanish. A burned corpse surfaces in a derelict WWII pillbox. A chilling threat arrives at Angel’s home. The gang grows increasingly reckless - smashing into homes, torturing suspects, and silencing anyone who even whispers the wrong name. And their attention is turning squarely towards Angel herself.

Working alongside fellow officer Ted Guthrie, Angel must navigate a world of organised crime, coded pager messages, violent reprisals, and a community paralysed by fear. But with every step closer to the truth, she risks becoming the gang’s next target. And when Angel realises that Hobbs is deliberately baiting her, pushing her into the open, she must confront a terrible question:

How far will she go to stop him =and what will it cost her?

Dark, gripping and unflinchingly realistic, Bad Trip blends the intensity of Ian Rankin, Val McDermid, Mark Billingham, Martina Cole, and Peter James with a powerful, character-driven British noir voice all of its own. This is crime fiction that cuts deep = filled with tension, authentic police work, moral dilemmas and unforgettable moments.

If you love gritty British crime thrillers, hard-boiled police procedurals, female-led detective fiction, and stories of organised crime, drugs, violence and deadly secrets, Bad Trip will keep you turning pages long into the night.

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Athol E Varley