
138 Main Street
Every town has a Main Street. Now every one is a target.
Gavin Bell(Author)
Simon & Schuster Ltd (Publisher)
Published on 7. May 2026
Book
Hardback
416 pages
978-1-3985-4280-8 (ISBN)
Description
'A fantastic premise, brilliantly executed and a great new detective duo to cherish' Elly Griffiths
'A killer premise, beautifully executed' C. S. Robertson
'One of the most compelling concepts I've read in years' Robert Rutherford
'Taut, gripping, and ingenious' Tony Kent
Every town has a Main Street. Now every town is a target.
Four murders. Four weeks. One impossible connection: every victim lived at 138 Main Street.
FBI Special Agent Ben Walker and rookie officer Zoe Hill know the killer's next address. But with more than seven thousand Main Streets across America, they have no idea where he'll strike.
Then the Main Street Killer releases his manifesto - and the murders become a warning.
His threat is nationwide. His deadline is closing in. And unless Ben and Zoe can find him, the heart of every town in America will become a killing ground.
The ultimate needle-in-a-haystack thriller, perfect for fans of Harlan Coben and Linwood Barclay.
'A killer premise, beautifully executed' C. S. Robertson
'One of the most compelling concepts I've read in years' Robert Rutherford
'Taut, gripping, and ingenious' Tony Kent
Every town has a Main Street. Now every town is a target.
Four murders. Four weeks. One impossible connection: every victim lived at 138 Main Street.
FBI Special Agent Ben Walker and rookie officer Zoe Hill know the killer's next address. But with more than seven thousand Main Streets across America, they have no idea where he'll strike.
Then the Main Street Killer releases his manifesto - and the murders become a warning.
His threat is nationwide. His deadline is closing in. And unless Ben and Zoe can find him, the heart of every town in America will become a killing ground.
The ultimate needle-in-a-haystack thriller, perfect for fans of Harlan Coben and Linwood Barclay.
Reviews / Votes
Real readers are loving 138 Main Street:'I loved this story - I loved the characters and Zoe the underdog detective!'
'I devoured the book and it was such an easy read that kept me intrigued the whole way through'
'What can I say . . . I absolutely LOVED this book!'
'From the strong female investigator, Zoe, who was one step ahead of everybody else, to the fast paced storyline, this twisty thriller left you wondering what was going to happen next'
'It was really well written and the concept is so clever, the tension just builds and builds'
'A tense, slow-burn thriller where one address holds far more secrets than it should'
'Atmospheric, twisty, and quietly unsettling, it's a gripping read that proves some places never let go of their history'
'Murder mysteries are a dime a dozen, but every now and then you come across a plot so fiendishly clever that you can only admire the creativity of the author . . . This is one such #story!'
'This is a clever, slick, and original piece of story telling, which is also enormously entertaining'
'It will keep readers fully engaged throughout'
'A fast, high-stakes thriller with a killer premise: literally'
'The idea of a murderer targeting the same address across the entire country is such a clever hook, and Bell keeps the tension tight as the FBI races to predict where he'll strike next'
'This was a treat, a serial killer thriller with an added plot point of the same house being targeted all over the US'
'Definitely a book for all thriller fans'
'138 Main Street is a very good and thrilling read'
'I thoroughly enjoyed this book, it started off really well and grabbed my attention and interest straightaway and held it all the way through'
'The author certainly knows how to increase the tension and suspense in his writing and engage with readers'
'Gavin Bell's 138 Main Street is a high-concept, high-tension cat-and-mouse thriller built on a brilliantly simple but terrifying premise: a killer is targeting one address: 138 Main Street'
'Fast-paced, cinematic, and cleverly structured, it's a gripping 4/5'
'138 Main Street is a slick, addictive thriller with a killer concept and a propulsive execution'
'I was so engrossed in this that I had hardly anything to go on'
'This is a book you have to read for yourself'
'It had everything I expected from a thriller but it still felt unique and fresh and exciting'
'It's tense and uncomfortable and frightening and very clever'
'This was so brilliant'
'The tension is never out of the picture'
'138 Main Street is like no other book you have read before'
'This book had me on the edge of my seat most of the time and I loved that'
'Absolutely loved this FBI serial killer novel with a huge difference'
'Brilliantly woven plot and great characters, I hope we see more of this series'
'The thriller element sits cheek to jowl with the mystery surrounding the killer's motives and the razor sharp narrative make putting this book down nigh on impossible'
'A slam dunk read that feels fresh and edgy' 'Nail-biting and compulsive, this is thriller storytelling at its most tense'
THE SUN & SCOTTISH SUN (Pick of the Week)
'The plot is original and engaging, and it moves quickly and furiously with an Agatha Christie-worthy body count and an explosion rate that would make Michael Bay proud... a rollercoaster is what you get'
THE SCOTSMAN
'Gripping thriller'
MY WEEKLY
'A fantastic premise, brilliantly executed and a great new detective duo to cherish' ELLY GRIFFITHS
'A killer premise, beautifully executed. The ultimate needle-in-a-haystack thriller' C. S. ROBERTSON
'One of the most compelling concepts I've read in years. An absolute barnstormer of a book!' ROBERT RUTHERFORD
'A must-read for fans of Harlan Coben and Linwood Barclay' LISA HALL
'Taut, gripping, and ingenious. A blockbuster of a thriller' TONY KENT
'Brilliantly written... with so many twists and turns' NEIL LANCASTER
'A thrillingly original concept, executed flawlessly' ROD REYNOLDS
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Dimensions
Height: 163 mm
Width: 242 mm
Thickness: 32 mm
Weight
582 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-3985-4280-8 (9781398542808)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

E-Book
05/2026
Simon + Schuster LLC
€12.89
Available for download
Person
Gavin Bell is a thriller writer and author of the Carter Blake series published by Orion under the pseudonym Mason Cross. The first, The Killing Season, was published in 2014 and was longlisted for the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year award. It was followed by four further novels in the series, including the Richard and Judy Book Club selection The Samaritan. He has also written standalone thrillers as Alex Knight, including Hunted and Darkness Falls. He lives in Glasgow with his wife and three children.