A fast paced, elegant and warm-hearted debut thriller from award-winning writer and former Home Secretary, Alan Johnson.

Gary Nelson has a pretty uneventful life, even if he does live in London. That life gets turned on its head when, on his commute home, he has a chance encounter with Arina, a young waitress who he has noticed on the train each day but never spoken to. There is so much more to Arina than meets the eye, and when Gary does finally speak to her it sparks a chain of events that leads to him finding himself on the run from Russian secret agents, mobsters and even the Metropolitan Police. The Late Train to Gipsy Hill is a masterful thriller and the start of an exciting new direction for this highly respected writer and former politician.

‘Johnson’s writing style is easy, relaxed, self-deprecating . . . impressive’ Observer ‘Johnson writes wonderfully’ Telegraph

‘This boy can write . . .’ The Spectator.

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. Alan was a Labour MP for 20 years before retiring ahead of the 2017 general election.

Alan will be in conversation with Dave Sivers, Buckinghamshire crime writer, author of the popular Archer & Baines series and co-founder of the BeaconLit Book Festival.

Dave’s sixth book in the popular Archer and Baines series, Die in the Dark was released in March this year to brilliant reviews. Perfect for fans of Val McDermid and Peter Robinson