A Detective's Dilemma – A Tom Kessler Thriller – Book 1

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Detective Constable Tom Kessler knows exactly how dangerous his job is. What he doesn't expect is for it to follow him home.

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When a surveillance operation collapses and exposes him to John Falstead — a crime boss who doesn’t make empty threats — the rules change. Falstead wants leverage. And he already knows where Tom’s wife and children live.

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Cut off from official protection and facing a threat he can’t report, Tom makes a decision he can never take back. Instead of arresting Pete Johnson — a sharp-witted cocaine dealer with a grudge of his own — he warns him.

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In that moment, an unlikely alliance is born.

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As Pete feeds intelligence up the chain, Tom is pulled deeper into something he can’t control — a line crossed that shadows every decision he makes. The pressure builds at home: a damaged marriage, a memory fractured by a near-fatal crash, and a team who can never know the truth.

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The trail stretches from Surrey to the backstreets of Holyhead and Dublin.

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Because Pete is everything an informant shouldn’t be: reliable, disciplined… and indispensable.

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And if anyone discovers what they’ve built, it won’t just end the operation.

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It will destroy them both.

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A Detective’s Dilemma is a gritty, authentic British crime thriller about loyalty, compromise, and the cost of choosing the wrong side for the right reasons.

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Perfect for readers of Stephen Leather, Mick Herron, Daniel Silva and Mark Greaney.