In The Dark Alone

Someone Wants Rob Birchmore Dead. But Why?

Rob Birchmore has lost everything—his marriage, his business, and the future he once imagined. The only thing left is his brother David, locked in a catatonic state in an exclusive clinic. But when a new psychiatrist questions David’s condition and David vanishes without a trace, Rob is thrown into a nightmare of bullets, lies, and betrayal.

As Rob investigates, he’s targeted by a violent force determined to keep the truth buried. Partnering with the enigmatic psychiatrist Win and David’s fiercely determined fiancée Suzy, Rob uncovers a conspiracy linked to a shadowy organization called JANUS—an outfit willing to kill to protect its secrets.

Pushed to the edge and hunted at every turn, Rob must face deadly enemies, past regrets, and a shocking betrayal that cuts close to home. What begins as a desperate search for his brother becomes a battle for survival—and redemption.

IN THE DARK ALONE is a tense psychological thriller about loyalty, loss, and the lengths one man will go to protect his family.

Start reading In the Dark Alone now and uncover the truth hidden behind the silence.

Excerpt from the book

The last time I saw Jimmy Knowles was the day he disappeared with my money and my wife. The shock of seeing him on the television news that night was enough to make me tip my evening Chardonnay into my lap. But when a large policeman hauled him out of a police car, I was astonished to find I felt sorry for him. Until I remembered that was Jimmy’s stock-in-trade. I hoped the police were immune.

The newsreader announced that Steven Johnson – Jimmy had as many aliases as he’d had haircuts – had been arrested for the murder of his fiancée. My heart somersaulted. Not Marianna. Surely not Marianna.

A picture of the dead woman flashed on the screen. It wasn’t Marianna.

Pretty little Marianna. My nearly ex-wife. My surge of emotion at the thought of her death caught me by surprise. The pain of losing her had long since faded to mild regret. I felt guilty about that. Well, I did when I thought of her, which wasn’t often.

I tried, with less success, not to think of Jimmy either. I never really blamed her for running off with him. When he wanted to, Jimmy had the sort of charm that filled a room. If he asked you to sell your soul to the devil on Thursday and buy it back for three times the price on Friday, you would. And you’d probably beg him to take a cut in the middle.

Like most successful con men, he could seem as sincere and honest as a curate. When Jimmy focused on you, you could believe you owned the world. Then he’d smile, and at that moment you knew you would kill for Jimmy Knowles. It was only later that you found he’d stripped you of everything, including your self-respect.

Marianna never had a chance.

Back then, I’d wanted to kill Jimmy. I still wanted to kill Jimmy. Every time I visited my brother David, I wanted to kill Jimmy.

I stared at the television set, not seeing it, while a halo of tension tightened around my head. A year. Twelve months of hell. A bell rang. I was heading for the door before I realised it was the microwave. My frozen gourmet delight was no longer frozen. I poured three fingers of brandy to go with it. Better than wine. More kick.

Marianna and I met Jimmy when her business partner, Anthea Wilding, brought him to our first wedding anniversary party. We were still in that early flush of marital bliss at the time. Our lives were organised. Marianna’s art gallery and the business my brother and I had set up were looking good, and we had plenty of plans as soon as the profits began to roll in.

Then we met Jimmy.

At first glance, he was an ordinary-looking man. Average height, average weight, average everything. All I could remember was sandy hair, nondescript grey-blue eyes – not good-looking or bad-looking. Just ordinary. That first night I didn’t notice him at all until the extremely noticeable Anthea, with her fluttering bright fabrics and jangling jewellery, dragged him over to meet me. To this day, my first impression of Jimmy is an apologetic grin obscured by drapery.