Book Club: Two thrillers to get the blood pumping

Not Dark Yet is Peter Robinson’s latest Alan Banks crime novel, which opens with a gruesome double murder at a property developer’s luxury home. With a clear link to the notoriously vicious Albanian mafia, it should be an open-and-shut case for Superintendent Banks and his team. But when they find a cache of spy-cam videos in the house, the investigation pivots to the rape of a young girl, and the murders are cast in an entirely different light. Hodder and Stoughton.

When no-one knows you exist, you don’t have to play by the rules.

In Tom Marcus’ Defend or Die, former MI5 officer Matt Logan is part of a totally deniable government organization, with full licence to do whatever it takes to neutralize threats to the UK’s national security.

Licenced, he takes full advantage when intelligence comes through about plans by the Kremlin to launch a terror attack in London, one which could tear the nation apart. Marcus – not his real name – writes with complete authority … he was handpicked from the army to be a surveillance officer for MI5, where he spent a decade on the front line protecting his country before leaving due to PSD.

His first book, Soldier Spy, was the first true ground-level account to be told about the fight on the streets – and had to be vetted and cleared by for publication by M15. Due to threats, his identity is hidden, and he continues to work with the Security Service and other agencies to ensure he stays safe. Macmillan.