The Fallen

ARE YOU READY TO SAVE A LIFE?

WHY HER?

Becca Palmer has just lost her job as assistant to Simon Jones MP - the highly-regarded Policing Minister, tipped as a future Prime Minister. But Becca claims that Simon was more than her boss, that she is in love with him.

WHY HERE?

When a heartbroken Becca leaves the Home Office, she heads to Westminster Bridge, intending to take her own life. Which is where hostage negotiator Alex Lewis meets her for the first time. It is his job to try to talk her back from the edge.

WHY NOW?

In the negotiation that follows, Becca suggests that she may know something about the Policing Minister that she shouldn't. Something that could prompt a serious fall from grace were it to come out.

But can Alex save Becca - and get to the bottom of an alleged conspiracy that goes deep inside the highest levels of government - before it's too late?

Not only does The Fallen drip with authenticity and insider secrets (unsurprising, given Sutherland's background), it's also full of charm, compassion and emotion. Police negotiator Alex Lewis is a good man doing a tough job in all but impossible conditions; that he manages to rise above it without succumbing to the usual crime fiction tropes of rule-breaking and booze is testament to the author's skill. The plot is intricate, frighteningly plausible and superbly paced; I raced through it in two sittings. Recommended. M W Craven
One of the reasons this book is so readable is because you know you're in the hands of an expert. A man who understands the tension of dealing with someone who's intent on taking their own life; a man who has experienced these problems first hand and writes about them with great authority; introducing us to a world that makes the book fascinating and unputdownable. Jeffrey Archer
Breathtakingly tense... A firecracker of a book Neil Lancaster
Superb. An incredible blend of gripping characters, fabulous plot and chillingly authentic political corruption. John Sutherland's experience and eye on the world make this unmissable for all crime fiction fans Graham Bartlett
A compelling page-turner you'll struggle to put down Zoe West, Women & Home
Absolutely thrilling A LoveReading Star Book
Brilliant. A completely unputdownable page-turner...Your summer holidays are made with this book. If you like your crime fiction, you're going to love (The Fallen) Nihal Arthanayake, BBC Radio 5Live
Compassion is a rarer quality in thrillers than it should be. Superintendent Alex Lewis, a negotiator with the Metropolitan Police, has it in spades... John Sutherland used to do his protagonist's job. Finely constructed as The Fallen is, it is his palpable anger at the police being starved of resources and the toll the work takes that stays with you The Times - Best Thrillers of June 2023
Superbly authentic Peterborough Evening Telegraph
A compelling and timely tale of political corruption.Written with the authority of an insider, it exposes the challenges of modern policing, and the tension never flags in a hugely enjoyable thriller that marks out Sutherland as one to watch Daily Mirror
A compelling and timely tale of political corruption. Written with the authority of an insider, it exposes the challenges of modern policing, and the tension never flags in a hugely enjoyable thriller that marks out Sutherland as one to watch Daily Express

JOHN SUTHERLAND is a father of three who lives with his wife and children in south London. For more than twenty-five years he served as an officer in the Metropolitan Police, rising to the rank of Chief Superintendent before his retirement on medical grounds in 2018. John is a sought after public speaker and commentator on a broad range of issues, who regularly appears on TV and radio and writes for major newspapers. His first book, BLUE, written and published while he was still serving in the Met, was a Sunday Times bestseller. It tells the remarkable stories of his policing life and describes his long road to recovery following the serious nervous breakdown that ended his operational policing career.

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