If I Should Die

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**WINNER of the 2014-2015 Waverton Good Read Award**If I Should Die is the astounding debut from British author Matthew Frank. ———-When a homeless man walks into Greenwich police station and confesses a killing, it should be the admission that cracks open a murder enquiry. Instead, he stumbles out on to the street and collapses, bleeding from a stab wound he’s attempted to repair himself . . . The newest member of the Met’s murder investigation team, twenty-five year-old Afghan veteran Joseph Stark, doesn’t believe the man’s story. Yet it becomes clear that Stark and the down-and-out share a connection. And that this could provide the key to unlocking the case. Soon, the young detective and his colleagues are drawn deeper into a dark, disturbing world as dangerous as anything Stark has known on the frontline. And where there’s enough at stake for a man to risk everything . . . If I Should Die is the first title in a new crime series, and outstanding characterization, pitch perfect dialogue and precision plotting mark out Matthew Frank as a debut writer to watch. With the introduction of series character and ex-soldier police detective Joseph Stark, fans of Ian Rankin’s Rebus novels will be hooked from the word go. Praise for If I Should Die:’Skilfully plotted, with a great clarity of style . . . such an original newcomer’ Alison Joseph, Chair of the Crime Writer’s Association’A gripping murder story … Frank brilliantly maintains a balance between the demands of a complex plot and his character’s difficulty in returning to civilian life … an accomplished first novel’ Sunday Times’Well researched and totally convincing, this is the first of several Stark books. Great news if they’re as good as this’ Sunday Mirror’A powerful debut … intensity, outstanding characterisation, passion, perfect dialogue and pinpoint plotting’ Crime Review

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