A Detective's Dilemma
by Peter J Charles
Detective Constable Tom Kessler has spent his career hunting drug dealers, liars, and violent men. But nothing prepares him for John Falstead, a ruthless crime boss who threatens Tom’s wife and children after a surveillance job goes catastrophically wrong.
When Tom realises he can’t protect his family through the system, he turns to the last man anyone would expect: Pete Johnson, a sharp witted cocaine dealer with a talent for survival and a grudge of his own. Tom should arrest him. Instead, he warns him. And in that single decision, an unlikely alliance is born.
Pete becomes Tom’s covert informant. He's intelligent, smart, disciplined, and far more loyal than anyone on the squad would ever believe. Together, they navigate a world of encrypted phones, Irish suppliers, violent enforcers, and the constant threat of discovery. Every move brings them closer personally, closer to Falstead… and closer to disaster.
As the pressure builds, Tom must juggle a failing marriage, a damaged memory from a near fatal crash, and a police team who can never know the truth. Pete must stay alive long enough to deliver the evidence that will bring Falstead down.
But in the shadows of Surrey the backstreets of Holyhead and Dublin, one mistake means death….. For both of them.
Perfect for readers who enjoy Stephen Leather, Lee Child, Mick Herron, Henry Porter and gritty British crime thrillers with real-world authenticity.
More books by Peter J Charles
A Minister's Downfall
A Tom Kessler Operation - Book 2
When a straight‑edged undercover detective steps into the dark and a meticulous high‑end cocaine dealer make a pact and shake each other’s hands, they agree on one thing only: justice comes before rules.
Tom Kessler has spent sixteen years putting dangerous men behind bars. Pete Johnson has spent just as long staying one step ahead of them. Their friendship blossoms and the uneasy alliance works until a powerful MP assaults Pete’s wife and walks away untouched. Reporting it would expose Pete. Ignoring it would destroy Tom.
So they do the unthinkable. They take him on themselves.
What begins as a covert operation to expose a predator spirals into something far darker. As the stakes rise from personal revenge to international fallout, Tom and Pete are pulled into a world of surveillance, betrayal, and escalating violence. Every move drags them deeper into a game controlled by men far more dangerous than either imagined, where foreign intelligence services raise the stakes beyond anything they’ve faced.
They wanted justice. They triggered something far more complex.
A Minister’s Downfall is a razor‑sharp British crime thriller with international intrigue, written with the authenticity only an ex‑drug squad detective can deliver. Perfect for readers who crave procedural precision, moral complexity, and characters pushed far beyond the line.
For fans of Stephen Leather, Mick Herron, Mark Greaney, Henry Porter, and Daniel Silva.
A Hidden Enemy
A Tom Kessler Operation - Book 3
A covert British team. A ruthless Russian operation. A single mistake that could ignite a global crisis.
When disgraced Russian intelligence officer Dmitri Volkov resurfaces in the UK, MI5’s off‑the‑books unit is forced into a deadly race to stop him. His mission is simple: steal the guidance data for a next‑generation missile system—technology that could shift the balance of power in the Middle East and beyond.
Tom Kessler and his small, unconventional MI5 off the books team are the only ones standing in his way. Operating from the shadows, they must turn a compromised insider, outmanoeuvre a seasoned Russian illegal, and survive a brutal attack that leaves the team shattered.
But Volkov isn’t working alone. Moscow has sent someone far more dangerous—GRU Colonel Viktor Karpin, a man whose presence signals one thing: the Kremlin wants results, and they want them now.
As the Russians close in, the team is forced into a high‑risk deception operation that pushes them to their limits. One wrong move, one missed detail, and the fallout won’t just be political—it will be catastrophic.
Fast‑paced, tightly plotted, and unflinchingly authentic, A Hidden Enemy, delivers a gripping blend of espionage, betrayal, and modern geopolitics. Perfect for fans of Mark Greaney, Mick Herron, Henry Porter, and Daniel Silva.