Simon Kernick Books

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Simon Kernick is a British crime writer. Born in 1966 in Slough, Berkshire, he went to Gillotts School (Henley-on-Thames) and Brighton Polytechnic. His days at Gillots school were punctuated by moments during which he did all kinds of odd jobs, including picking fruit and uprooting Christmas trees.

At Brighton, where he got his humanities degree, the author started churning out short stories, having surrendered to his passion for crime fiction. By the early 1990s, Kernick had landed a position at MMT Computing (London) where he became a valued member of the sales team.

Despite his success at MMT Computing, he eventually left to pursue his writing dreams. However, even though some publishers expressed interest in his work, he never got the book deal he wanted. That should have been the end of his writing ambitions.

But Kernick persevered. After joining the sales team of an IT consultancy business (Metaskil plc, Aldermaston), ‘The Business of Dying’, Kernick’s first novel, came out. The book paved the way for further publishing success down the line.

As a child, the author read a lot of fantasy. He has fond memories of novels like The Lord of the Rings. Even though he abandoned fantasy, he cannot deny the impact it had on his life. The genre encouraged him to write longer stories. His earliest works were terrible. But they allowed him to hone his craft and to gain a better understanding of the storytelling process.

Once he discovered authors like Raymond Chandler, they sparked his obsession with the crime fiction genre. Kernick’s mother was somewhat skeptical of the author’s decision to pursue publishing.

Kernick started writing at a very young age. He knew, even at that age, that he wanted to tell stories for a living. But his mother kept reminding him that writers did not make money. The author stuck to his dream because writing was the one thing he was good at.

His hopes were dashed when every agent and publisher he approached rejected his first two books. He accumulated hundreds of rejection slips, more than enough to dissuade him from pursuing publishing as a viable career.

Kernick kept writing because he enjoyed telling stories. Finally, at the age of 35, he got his book deal. The author’s novels tend to revolve around organized crime. Organized crime fascinates the author. He is impressed by the fact that so many criminals run their illegal operations like ordinary corporations, and they do this in democratic nations like the UK despite the presence of large law enforcement bodies.

Kernick’s books feature ordinary people that have to react to extraordinary situations. He doesn’t plan the many twists and turns in his books. They just come to him while he is writing. He goes to great lengths to make his stories as unpredictable as possible.

The author has had the opportunity to talk to people in law enforcement, using the secrets he gleans to add an element of authenticity to his work.

Best Simon Kernick Books

Even though he has been writing novels for so long, it never gets any easier. If anything, it becomes harder over time. Kernick’s best books include:

Relentless: John Meron was an ordinary man living an ordinary life. All that changed when his friend, Jack Calley, called him. The high-flying lawyer was panicked. Moments later, he died, screaming. The last thing Calley said was Meron’s address.

Meron heard it all. He reacted by fleeing from his house with his children moments before a car pulled up. Now Meron is on the run. He knows that someone is hunting him but he doesn’t know why. His wife is missing. Someone left a body in her office. The police are looking at Meron as the prime suspect.

The Last Ten Seconds: John Cone, a former police officer, had a difficult task. Someone had asked him to kidnap Andrew Kent. But Andrew was a suspected serial killer. More importantly, he was in police custody.

Cone did the job. He got Andrew while he was being transported from one prison to another. But things went wrong. Andrew disappeared, and from what Cone discovered, the case against him wasn’t quite what he had been told.

Now people are dying. DI Tina Boyd was part of the team that arrested Andrew. She must find him before someone silences him for good.

When Does The Next Simon Kernick book come out?

Simon Kernick doesn't seem to have an upcoming book. Their newest book is The First 48 Hours and was released on November, 9th 2023.

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