Out now - Released 31st Oct

What is the secret of the forester living a hermit-like existence in the remotest part of the Wingate Estate? Is he a callous murderer? Is he now taking a terrible revenge on those who wronged him? Or, does the truth lie elsewhere?

A ruthless killer is on the rampage, one with a distinctive trademark. With resources decimated by a flu epidemic, Mike Nash is forced to use unorthodox tactics to expose a web of corruption and deceit spanning the years.

Evidence all seems to point to an inevitable conclusion, but will Mike be able to uncover the truth, and can he do so before it is too late for all concerned – be they innocent or guilty?

Released on October 31st 2011

..To read a longer extract from Back-Slash, click on the book cover below..

ISBN: 978-0-7090-9316-9

REVIEWS

The latest Mike Nash sees him battling to prevent more people being killed whilst struggling to remain within the confines of his brief - his number one sergeant is down with the 'flu (a shame, as they work so well together in Kitson's brilliant books....)

You won’t be disappointed – maverick cops really do it for me.... Nash is brilliant, and this latest one is easily up to his very high standard of storytelling.

To read the full review, visit: www.booksmonthly.com

                                                                                 Books Monthly online magazine. December 2011

If Back-Slash, Bill Kitson’s fifth title in his Inspector Mike Nash series, makes Kitson better known that will be no bad thing – it is rather good.

Moving quickly – many similar books locating their mastermind in New York City, Hong Kong or Zurich would take twice the length to no more effect....  Back-Slash? Recommended.

To read the full review, visit: www.shotsmag.co.uk

LJ Hurst. Shotsmag. Crime & thriller ezine. November 2011

Back-Slash took me by complete surprise. I’ve not had the pleasure of reading any of Bill Kitson’s previous work but on the strength of his latest Mike Nash adventure in crime solving I will have to make sure I go back to the very beginning and discover more about this maverick cop and what makes him tick.

If the others are half as good and entertaining as this novel then I highly recommend you check out the rest of the series.

The one thing I hadn’t expected was its fluidity. Back-Slash includes an incredibly fast paced narrative….

The story itself is well presented, intelligent and complex enough to satisfy the most ardent of whodunit fan. It works well and is, perhaps more importantly, believable.

A wonderful and engaging read Back-Slash is guaranteed to entertain and will leave you wanting more. I guess you can’t ask for more than that, this is a veritable winter warmer title that should be read in front of a heart-warming fire. Highly recommended.

To read the full review, visit: www.milorambles.com

Milo’s Rambles. November 2011

.... We like Nash! We feel safe with him in charge. He’s a straightforward honest copper. Shunning all the usual fiction-police clichés, he neither bellows at his colleagues nor seizes his suspects by the collar while snarling, ‘You’re nicked, sunshine!’ He just gets on with the job.

.... a grim catalogue of greed, lies and betrayal, told by an author who has expertly carved himself a niche in the crime thriller marketplace, a forum which has never been more crowded. He knows how to tease us with italicised transcripts of furtive phone conversations between code-named villains. He knows when to wrongfoot us. He knows how to twist the corkscrew.

This is a pyjama book – start it in your PJs on a weekend morning and you won’t get dressed all day.

                                                                     Jenny Drewery. Scarborough Evening news. January 2012.

The very tight plotting of this excellent police procedural shows the difficulties the police have when their numbers are reduced to the bare minimum and they have to cope with a very challenging crime epidemic. The story moves on at a frantic pace until the ultimate conclusion.

I thought this was a fantastic story with superb characterisation and there is a quote from a review in the Scarborough Evening News on the back cover saying "Don't read it on a bus, you'll miss your stop" which I thought was wonderful. I do not read on buses but I stayed up until 2.35am one night because I just could not put it down! This author has written four other stories in the "Mike Nash" series and I'm definitely going to look out for him as he deserves all the success he can get. If you want a book that once started you won't be able to put down, buy this one.

Terry Halligan, Eurocrime. January 2012

To read the full article, visit:  www.eurocrime.co.uk/reviews/Back-Slash.html

If you are tormented by the abundance of contemporary crime novels that invoke violence to the extent they verge on the horror genre, then Kitson’s series may be one for you.  The Mike Nash novels are contemporary police procedurals set in north Yorkshire, much in the tradition of Colin Dexter’s Morse and R D Wingfield’s Frost, and with a setting true to its heart.

Where Nash may not be a maverick copper per se, he is prepared to think creatively in his investigation and employ a ‘maverick’ approach. Back-Slash plays out a fine tune in this aspect which forms a great twist. Kitson also deserves applause..... for his depiction of a man’s (or woman’s) relationship to his (her) dog. Expect your emotions to be prodded in more ways than one here. .....series continues in the tradition of police procedurals that feed from the trough of realism over horror.  ......a satisfying and enjoyable read on all those fronts, plus a big ‘thumbs up’

to women depicted as strong characters and not victims only

to read the full review visit:

http://itsacrimeuk.wordpress.com/2012/01/31/back-slash-bill-kitson/#more-3638

Crimeficreader. 31st January 2012