Blood Roses

Longlisted for the 2025 CWA Historical Dagger

‘Jackson’s hero is the natural heir to Bernie Gunther’ Andrew Taylor, Sunday Times bestselling author of The Ashes of London

‘One of the UK’s finest crime writers’ Ben Kane, Sunday Times bestselling author of Napoleon’s Spy

‘A remarkable crime debut’ Maxim Jakubowksi, Crime Time

As the Nazis roll into Warsaw, a serial killer is unleashed

September 1939. A city ruled by fear. A population brutalised by restrictions and reprisals. Amid the devastation, another hunter begins to prowl. What are a few more deaths amid scores of daily executions?

Former chief investigator Jan Kalisz lives a dangerous double life, forced to work with the occupiers as he gathers information for the fledgling Polish resistance. Even his family cannot be told his true allegiance.

When the niece of a Wehrmacht general is found terribly mutilated, Jan links the murder to other killings that are of less interest to his new overlords. Soon, he finds himself on the trail of a psychopathic killer known as The Artist. But, shunned as a Nazi collaborator, can he solve the case before another innocent girl is taken?

A chilling serial killer investigation, perfect for fans of Simon Scarrow’s Blackout and the TV series Hannibal starring Mads Mikkelson.

Praise for Blood Roses

‘A compelling, evocative story of evil stalking amidst the chaos of war’ Giles Kristian

‘A dark, twisting thriller … Jan Kalisz, Douglas Jackson’s police officer hero, is the natural heir to the late Philip Kerr’s Bernie Gunther’ Andrew Taylor

‘A remarkable crime debut What raises the novel to another level is in the atmospheric evocation of a city in the process of being systematically obliterated by the Germans and brought to life again by Jackson’s pen Gripping stuff, a series that could develop into something impressive and a goldmine for Philip Kerr Bernie Gunther fans’ Maxim Jakubowski, Crime Time

‘Immensely powerful and vivid …. This is historical crime fiction at its best’ Chris Lloyd

‘The writing is scalpel-sharp, the unrelenting savagery of the Nazi occupation vividly painted With this book, Jackson will rightfully be regarded as one of the UK’s finest crime writers’ Ben Kane

‘A taut, tense thriller Gutsy and gripping, this is perfect for fans of Chris Lloyd and Robert Harris’ D. V. Bishop

‘Jackson has created a brilliant mash-up of WW2 thriller and a serial killer chiller, and in so doing brings a fresh perspective to both. Sharp, intelligent writing that makes for a compelling read’ Alison Belsham

‘Jan Kalisz is a dazzling addition to the canon of compromised heroes… A thrilling wartime adventure story’ Russ Thomas

‘Jackson brings the tension, brutality and paranoia of Warsaw of the period into murderous life. A knife-edge thriller’ Douglas Skelton

‘A dark story set against dark times, you practically need a torch to read it’ Alec Marsh, author of Rule Britannia

‘Jackson has written an utterly compelling novel … A remarkable piece of work, a fine piece of craftsmanship’ Scotsman