Alan Johnson, Death on the Thames

Much-loved former politician turned award-winning author, Alan Johnson, makes a welcome return to Essex Book Festival to discuss his latest thriller, Death on the Thames.

The third novel in the Detective Mangan series sees the young Detective Constable Louise Mangan crossing the Thames one misty morning in pursuit of a killer. She finds a tranquil community on a leafy island close to Hampton Court Palace, but soon realises that all is not as it seems. There is something evil at play in this quiet suburb.

This event will include an audience Q&A. After the event there will be an opportunity to get your book signed by the author.

Wednesday 19 June, 7.00PM

Venue: Chelmsford Library, County Hall, Market Road, Chelmsford, CM1 1QH
Tickets: £8 / £7 concessions (Students, Under 27s and Unwaged)
Box Office: essexbookfestival.org.uk or Mercury Theatre 01206 573948

Death on the Thames by Alan Johnson

Published 28 March 2024 (Headline Publishing Group)

Order a copy of Death on the Thames at bookshop.org

There is blood in the water. And this is just the beginning…

1999. As London prepares for the Millennium, a serial rapist is stalking the River Thames. A junior female police officer in a world dominated by men, Detective Constable Louise Mangan is desperate for the chance to prove herself, and when she brings in the culprit almost single-handedly, she believes the people of Hampton Court can rest easy at last. But the worst is yet to come.

Soon word reaches the police of a deadly criminal operation at the heart of this leafy suburb. Now Mangan finds herself undercover, getting closer to answers each day. The truth is right there, hiding in plain sight on the water for all the world to see. But she needs to watch her step – the river runs deep, and no one will be there to catch her should she fall.

About the Author

Alan Johnson’s childhood memoir This Boy was published in 2013. It won the Royal Society of Literature Ondaatje Prize, and the Orwell Prize, Britain’s top political writing award. His second volume of memoirs, Please Mr Postman (2014) won the National Book Club award for Best Biography. The final book in his memoir trilogy, The Long and Winding Road (2016), won the Parliamentary Book Award for Best Memoir. In My Life – A Music Memoir was published in 2018 and his highly acclaimed first novel, The Late Train to Gipsy Hill was published in 2021. The sequel One of Our Ministers is Missing followed up in 2022. Alan was a Labour MP for 20 years before retiring ahead of the 2017 general election. He served in five cabinet positions in the Governments of Tony Blair and Gordon Brown including Education Secretary, Health Secretary and Home Secretary. He and his wife Carolyn live in East Yorkshire.

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