The Chelsea Detective

Stonemason Andrew Knightley is pushed under a London Underground train during the morning rush hour. DI Max Arnold and his partner, DS Priya Shamsie, together build a picture of a lonely, devout, and troubled man who believed a spirit was leaving him vengeful Biblical messages. But the killer is flesh and blood, and a more earthly explanation may be found in the truth of Knightley's life.

Robyn Romano, social media sensation and wife of restaurateur Julia Romano, is reported missing. As the race to find Robyn alive pivots to a murder investigation, Max gets a taste of the combustible Romano clan, whose long-standing tensions and disagreements over the running of their eponymous Chelsea eatery may reveal how Robyn met her fate. 

A well-liked security guard is found stabbed to death, leaving behind his terminally ill wife. Could this pillar of the community have been killed in a drug deal gone wrong, as the evidence initially suggests? Max and Priya discover that the victim had an unsavoury past filled with violence, racism, and hooliganism, and that his death is the latest tragedy in a decades-old cycle of violence.

At first glance, Oliver Cowie — devoted family man, respected educator, all-round good guy — seems an unlikely murder victim, until he's found in a pool of blood, bludgeoned to death in his study. But scratch the surface and it turns out there's no shortage of suspects, ranging from his own wife to feuding colleagues, a vengeful ex-pupil, disgruntled parents, and a rather too-familiar family cleaner.

When an art gallery manager is strangled during the robbery of an exhibition, it appears he was in the wrong place at the wrong time. But as the team delve into the elite world of Chelsea's art scene, Max soon wonders if the victim was an accomplice.

A woman at a luxury retirement home dies mysteriously, and with no signs of forced entry, suspicion falls on the staff and residents. But tensions within her family point to another cause, harking back to their time in Apartheid-era South Africa.

The most likely culprit in the murder of a psychotherapist is an ex-patient with a history of erratic behaviour. As the team dig into the therapist's personal life, they uncover disturbing revelations that cast a new light on his killing.

Jack Felton, the charming owner of a fruit and vegetable delivery company, is found stabbed at home in what looks like a frenzied attack. The detectives must unravel romantic jealousies, family conflicts, and business rivalries to nab the killer.

Chloe Carmichael, former popstar and one-time darling of the tabloids, is found dead in her Chelsea mansion flat in the days leading up to Christmas. They first suspect a drug overdose, but forensics soon establishes that Chloe had been drowned in the bath. Max and the team must contend with a string of potential suspects, including her hard-bitten manager, a conniving journalist and a Tory MP. Each of them has a secret connecting them to Chloe, but who was it that killed her? 

When a dead body is unearthed, Max and Layla race to identify the victim. Their investigation takes them from a city estate to the US embassy, where powerful forces stand in their way. They must use every trick up their sleeve to catch the killer.

After antiques dealer Niall Hammond is murdered in his shop, Max and Layla zero in on a rare precious coin he recently purchased. The detectives must decipher the truth as secrets and lies begin to emerge and suspects multiply.

When climate scientist Archie Draper is found dead in a stolen car, Max and Layla search for answers. A secret file on his laptop reveals a trail of lies that leads to a shocking discovery and the exposure of a deep conspiracy.