The Price of Darkness (Di Joe Faraday) [Hardcover]

'Britain's finest and hardest-hitting series of police procedural novels.The Price of Darkness is Graham Hurley's best book yet and should put Pompey firmly on the literary map... Hurley presents a world that has lost its moral compass, where selfishness, betrayal and brutality prevail, and the rare instances of decency and kindness seem almost aberrant. Readers who enjoy convincing, well-crafted thrillers won't go wrong with this one.' (Laura Wilson GUARDIAN )

'[His] Portsmouth-based series gets better with each book... Hurley handles the two stories skilfully, with a particularly good murder mystery and, as always, vividly realised characters.' (SUNDAY TELEGRAPH )

'An outstandingly good novel... The theme is individual loyalty and collective betrayal but the subject is contemporary life and its increasing brutality.' (LITERARY REVIEW )

'Interesting characters and two strong storylines drive the book along at high speed.' (FINANCIAL TIMES )

'A thoroughly enjoyable read' (WATERSTONES BOOKS QUARTERLY )

'A study of the desperate measures some people take when their friends and their society let them down.' (DAILY SPORT )

'One of the most able proponents of the crime novel... Questions of loyalty and betrayal are handled with quite as much skill as the standard crime novel apparatus of violence and suspense.' (GOOD BOOK GUIDE )

'Dark, gritty, engrossing and totally believable' (REVIEWING THE EVIDENCE )

'A tale of betrayal and of vengeance, packed with action, often violent, but also one which reflects the often slow but meticulous work of police investigations' (LEICESTER MERCURY )

'The accomplished Hurley creates a terrific atmosphere as the investigation slowly builds, clue by clue and suspect by suspect. Fantastic value. ****' (COVENTRY EVENING TELEGRAPH )

'With a story that crackles with menace and is difficult to predict, this is probably Hurley's best book yet.' (WESTERN DAILY PRESS )

'With his customary flair for authenticity, Hurley plunges Winter and Faraday into thoughtful study of broken friendships and betrayals, wrapped up in a satisfyingly-complex mystery story.' (YORKSHIRE EVENING POST )

'If you don't know this superb British series set in Portsmouth, there is no better place to begin. The Prince of Darkness is vintage Hurley, with brilliant characters, a superb plot and a great story about loyalty and betrayal.' (TORONTO GLOBE AND MAIL )

'Britain's finest and hardest-hitting series of police procedural novels.The Price of Darkness is Graham Hurley's best book yet and should put Pompey firmly on the literary map... Hurley presents a world that has lost its moral compass, where selfishness, betrayal and brutality prevail, and the rare instances of decency and kindness seem almost aberrant. Readers who enjoy convincing, well-crafted thrillers won't go wrong with this one.'

'[His] Portsmouth-based series gets better with each book... Hurley handles the two stories skilfully, with a particularly good murder mystery and, as always, vividly realised characters.'

'An outstandingly good novel... The theme is individual loyalty and collective betrayal but the subject is contemporary life and its increasing brutality.'

'Interesting characters and two strong storylines drive the book along at high speed.'

'A thoroughly enjoyable read'

'A study of the desperate measures some people take when their friends and their society let them down.'

'One of the most able proponents of the crime novel... Questions of loyalty and betrayal are handled with quite as much skill as the standard crime novel apparatus of violence and suspense.'

'Dark, gritty, engrossing and totally believable'

'A tale of betrayal and of vengeance, packed with action, often violent, but also one which reflects the often slow but meticulous work of police investigations'

D/C Winter has gone undercover in an attempt to infiltrate the inner circle of the city's premier drug's lord Bazza McKenzie. Isolated from his colleagues, resenting the way his superiors have presented him the job as a fait accompli and abroad in a world where money is easy and respect is earned in brutally straightforward ways, DC Winter is in his element. Worryingly so. . . Concerns amongst his superiors that Winter may finally have had too much temptation put in his path are soon supplanted by two vicious murders. First a high-profile local property developer is shot, with clinical efficiency, in his own bed. A few days later a government minister, on a visit to the city, is assassinated by two helmeted motorcyclists while his car is stuck in a traffic jam. A fevered investigation begins with Winter's erstwhile boss, D/I Faraday, in charge. With clues hard to come by, the government panicking and the anti-terrorist branch circling Faraday is shoved off the case and left in charge just of the investigation into the property developer's murder. With more time on his hands Faraday is also tasked with keeping track of Winter and he soon discovers that Winter, the arch-conspirator, has been set up. As Winter begins to realize what his bosses had in mind for him and Faraday begins to put together the pieces of a heartbreaking story of personal and political betrayal that may well link the two murders, THE PRICE OF DARKNESS becomes a study of the desperate measures some people take when their friends and their society let them down.

Graham Hurley is an award-winning TV documentary maker who now writes full time. He lived in Portsmouth for 20 years. He is married and has grown up children. He now lives in Exmoth, Devon.