A gripping psychological crime novel that follows the success of his first, Outside the White Lines.Rubble lives in a caravan and works on a battery farm. Totally oblivious to the outside world, he spends his days disposing of the sick and injured chickens. One day a mysterious visitor arrives and sees Rubble’s childlike naivete combined with an ability to kill without compunction. Soon Rubble is employed on a sinister secret project.Rubble’s only chance of realizing how he’s being cruelly used lies with the one person he confides in: a phone-line fortune-teller. But just how disturbing must her caller’s revelations become before she is prepared to take action? In this chilling thriller, Chris Simms plunges once again into the darkest reaches of human psychology: what it is that drives one person to kill another.From the Hardcover edition.

Pecking Order

CHRIS SIMMS

Mystery, Thriller & Suspense

Hutchinson, London, United Kingdom

"A gritty, suspense-filled first novel . . . here is a new crime writer who really knows his stuff—a compulsive and compelling read."--Publishing News “Simms’ fresh approach, and the way the story weaves between three viewpoints, makes this one of the most promising debuts in crime for some time.”—City Life (Manchester) “Anyone reading this will do so in one sitting . . . Simms is really a name to watch out for . . . a potential classic.”—Deadly Pleasures There’s a killer on the roads masquerading as a breakdown rescuer who strikes without warning, killing brutally with no remorse. Roaming the motorways looking for his next victim, even he doesn’t know where and when his next murder will be. Andy, a young recruit to the traffic police, is determined to hunt the killer down, jeopardizing his own police career in the process. After the third victim is found, he believes he’s seen something crucial—but his more senior partner won’t believe him. Increasingly alienated from his colleagues, Andy becomes obsessed with finding the murderer. The searcher is an outcast from society: Lonely and misunderstood, he unwittingly links Andy and the killer through his midnight searches of the motorway. As the police fail in their search for the killer and the murders continue, increasingly savage and unprovoked, Andy is determined to bring them to a halt. The action he takes brings all three together in a chilling finale.

Outside the White Lines (SIGNED)

Literature & Fiction

Genre Fiction

Hutchinson

Killing the Beasts (Detective Jon Spicer Thrillers)

Manchester, 2002. The Commonwealth Games are coming to town and the city is alive with possibilities. Caught up in the commercial feeding frenzy is Tom Benwell, account manager at an advertising firm. The pressure is getting to Tom - too many deals to make and lies to tell, and the passion for his job is waning. Meanwhile his friend, DI Jon Spicer, is on the fast track, showing a commitment to the job that borders on obsession, or so his girlfriend Alice tells him. Then, in the aftermath of the Games, a series of brutal killings shatters the city's new found spirit. Jon Spicer gets the case. Each victim has been murdered in the same bizarre and grotesque manner, yet the lack of motive leaves the police utterly baffled. With the race on to catch the killer, both men find themselves caught up in a nightmare where the most innocent action can cost the highest price. In this nail-biting crime thriller, Chris Simms draws us into the shadows that lurk behind the city's shiny new exterior, then plunges us into the mind of a madman.

Killing the Beasts

Action & Adventure

Orion (an Imprint of The Orion

"The Butcher of Belle Vue" has struck again. Like the first two victims, the third has been partially skinned, her muscles, tendons, and ligaments exposed to view. But this time her face has also been removed. Jon Spicer and his new partner, Rick Saville, are on the investigating team. The case is waiting for its first breakthrough when a woman approaches Jon insisting that she heard the Butcher claim his third victim in the room of a run-down hotel in Belle Vue. All she has to back up her story is a business card found in the room from a local escort agency with a name scribbled on the back. Jon's investigation takes him into the world of Manchester's escort agencies and the unscrupulous cosmetic surgery industry, and brings him face-to-face with the human propensity for violence.

Shifting Skin

Contemporary

Orion an Imprint of The Orion Publishing Group Ltd

"A persuasive, original plot. Realism about the underside of modern life is combined with psychological insight in an excellent thriller."―Jessica Mann, Literary Review The deliberate torching of a church creates outrages across Manchester, and when a charred corpse and satanic symbols are found in the smoking ruins, detective Jon Spicer and the city’s Major Incident Team are called in. Spicer quickly finds himself drawn into the depths of a horrifying religious underworld he didn’t know existed. Soon, fresh killings bring the realization that those responsible for the burnings are prepared to commit even more brutal crimes in their twisted homage to God. As emotions and paranoia flare throughout Manchester, Spicer fears for those closest to him as he struggles to halt the continuing atrocities.

Hell's Fire

Savage Moon

Mystery

orion#

Third book in the critically-acclaimed Jon Spicer series, also includes the opening of the fourth novel in the series, Hell’s Fire. Reviews 
'I'll be downloading more of Chris Simms' books ASAP. I feel like I've found a hidden gem.' (Amazon Reader Review – Pecking Order) Chris Simms has been quietly building one of the best police procedural series in this country. (CATHOLIC HERALD) Pacy, gripping and original storytelling (YORKSHIRE POST) This highly polished study of madness and murder shows how well Simms’ talent is maturing. (SHOTS MAGAZINE) A must-read for those who like their crime fiction psychological (DEADLY PLEASURES MAGAZINE) The story’s dramatic events are drawn out, gradually building to a page-turning, heart-stopping – and totally unexpected – ending. (THE BOOK PLACE) The novel’s high-quality storytelling has an authentic, documentary feel’ (CITY LIFE MAGAZINE) Book description The body of a woman with her throat ripped out is found on Saddleworth Moor, near Manchester. She is discovered in an area where several sightings of a large black cat have been made. When analysis shows that hairs caught under the victim's nails are those of a panther, it’s assumed the animal has killed its first human prey. Then a man DI Jon Spicer is investigating as part of an entirely different case is murdered in exactly the same way. Only this time the body is found in a secluded car park far closer to the city centre. Spicer is soon on the trail of a killer dubbed ‘The Monster of the Moor’, a creature whose stealth and savagery strikes terror into the hearts of men and women alike. About the Author Chris Simms' acclaimed first novel in the DI Spicer series, KILLING THE BEASTS was selected as a Best Crime book for 2005 by SHOTS magazine. He was then selected as a Waterstone's Author for the Future, one of 25 writers tipped by publishers, editors and agents, to produce the most impressive body of work over the next quarter century. Since then he has been nominated several times for the THEAKSTON'S CRIME NOVEL OF THE YEAR and for CRIME WRITERS’ ASSOCIATION DAGGERS. Chris lives in Manchester. Find out more on his official web site, www.chrissimms.info or, for regular postings, see his Facebook page at www.facebook.com/AuthorChrisSimms

Untitled Simms 2 of 2

Third book in the critically-acclaimed Jon Spicer series, also includes the opening of the fourth novel in the series, Hell’s Fire.  Reviews  'I'll be downloading more of Chris Simms' books ASAP. I feel like I've found a hidden gem.' (Amazon Reader Review – Pecking Order)   Chris Simms has been quietly building one of the best police procedural series in this country. (CATHOLIC HERALD)   Pacy, gripping and original storytelling (YORKSHIRE POST)   This highly polished study of madness and murder shows how well Simms’ talent is maturing. (SHOTS MAGAZINE)   A must-read for those who like their crime fiction psychological (DEADLY PLEASURES MAGAZINE)   The story’s dramatic events are drawn out, gradually building to a page-turning, heart-stopping – and totally unexpected – ending. (THE BOOK PLACE)   The novel’s high-quality storytelling has an authentic, documentary feel’ (CITY LIFE MAGAZINE)   Book description  The body of a woman with her throat ripped out is found on Saddleworth Moor, near Manchester. She is discovered in an area where several sightings of a large black cat have been made.   When analysis shows that hairs caught under the victim's nails are those of a panther, it’s assumed the animal has killed its first human prey.   Then a man DI Jon Spicer is investigating as part of an entirely different case is murdered in exactly the same way. Only this time the body is found in a secluded car park far closer to the city centre.   Spicer is soon on the trail of a killer dubbed ‘The Monster of the Moor’, a creature whose stealth and savagery strikes terror into the hearts of men and women alike.   About the Author  Chris Simms' acclaimed first novel in the DI Spicer series, KILLING THE BEASTS was selected as a Best Crime book for 2005 by SHOTS magazine. He was then selected as a Waterstone's Author for the Future, one of 25 writers tipped by publishers, editors and agents, to produce the most impressive body of work over the next quarter century. Since then he has been nominated several times for the THEAKSTON'S CRIME NOVEL OF THE YEAR and for CRIME WRITERS’ ASSOCIATION DAGGERS. Chris lives in Manchester.   Find out more on his official web site, www.chrissimms.info or, for regular postings, see his Facebook page at www.facebook.com/AuthorChrisSimms

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Books by CHRIS SIMMS

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by CHRIS SIMMS. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Pecking Order

Outside the White Lines (SIGNED)

Killing the Beasts

Shifting Skin

Hell's Fire

Savage Moon

Savage Moon

Untitled Simms 2 of 2

Hell's Fire

Savage Moon