Count the Dead
Published on 1. November 2025
Book
Paperback/Softback
398 pages
978-1-6625-3253-5 (ISBN)
Description
Crack the code. Stop the sequence. Catch the killer.
"A wonderfully pacy crime thriller with a deadly mystery at its heart - I loved it!"-T.M. Logan
"Smart, sharp and gripping. T.M. Payne's writing never fails to thrill"-A. J. West
When homeless man Bobby Stover insists his friend's suicide was really murder, DI Sheridan Holler is sceptical-until she uncovers a series of deaths, all of them in Liverpool, all ruled as suicides, that suddenly look like anything but. The killings span years, each one chillingly staged, the truth buried beneath an illusion of despair. This murderer is following a mysterious pattern-and there seems to be no end in sight.
Sheridan and her team find themselves in a race to crack the killer's code, but when a crucial piece of the puzzle falls into place, they realise the next five victims have already been marked.
They don't know who. They don't know where. But they know it won't stop here. Can they get one step ahead of a calculating killer?
"A wonderfully pacy crime thriller with a deadly mystery at its heart - I loved it!"-T.M. Logan
"Smart, sharp and gripping. T.M. Payne's writing never fails to thrill"-A. J. West
When homeless man Bobby Stover insists his friend's suicide was really murder, DI Sheridan Holler is sceptical-until she uncovers a series of deaths, all of them in Liverpool, all ruled as suicides, that suddenly look like anything but. The killings span years, each one chillingly staged, the truth buried beneath an illusion of despair. This murderer is following a mysterious pattern-and there seems to be no end in sight.
Sheridan and her team find themselves in a race to crack the killer's code, but when a crucial piece of the puzzle falls into place, they realise the next five victims have already been marked.
They don't know who. They don't know where. But they know it won't stop here. Can they get one step ahead of a calculating killer?
Reviews / Votes
'T.M. Payne is rightly becoming the rising queen of crime. This DI Holler series is fresh, funny, and deeply clever. It has TV series written all over it and Count the Dead is yet another put-it-down-if-you-dare mark of excellence.' -Graham Bartlett'Smart, sharp and gripping. T.M. Payne's writing never fails to thrill.' -A.J. West
'A razor-sharp thriller packed with jaw-dropping twists. It hits the ground running and doesn't let go until the final page.' -John Marrs
'A wonderfully pacy crime thriller with a deadly mystery at its heart - I loved it! DI Sheridan Holler - frank, funny and fearless - might just be my new favourite detective.'-T.M. Logan
More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
Seattle
United States
Publishing group
Amazon Publishing
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Dimensions
Height: 131 mm
Width: 198 mm
Thickness: 32 mm
Weight
360 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-6625-3253-5 (9781662532535)
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
Person
T. M. Payne was born in Lee-on-Solent, Hampshire, and now lives on the Wirral with her wonderful partner.
She is the bestselling author of the Detective Sheridan Holler series. Her debut novel, Long Time Dead, went to number one in crime fiction in both the UK and Germany.
She has spent most of her working life in the criminal justice system, starting out as a store detective (where she once got thrown in a river) before becoming a prisoner custody officer (where she once carried a prisoner out of the courtroom single-handedly when he started hallucinating butterflies).
She has worked in practically every London court, including the Old Bailey and Court of Appeal, and has been handcuffed to murderers, rapists, and dealt with some of the most violent prisoners to pass through the court system. In 2001, she joined Norfolk Police as a detention officer, working in the custody suite, before joining the Domestic Violence Unit as a police case investigator. In her fourteen years in that role, she dealt with thousands of victims of domestic abuse, with one of her cases earning her a chief constable's commendation. She now writes full-time.
T. M. Payne is crazy about animals and if you walk past her with your dog she will probably ask if she can pat it on the head. Or take it home with her. Or both.
She hopes to one day have seven dogs, fifteen cats and a penguin (or three).
She loves laughing, Christmas, playing golf (badly), walking along New Brighton Beach (not walking her dog because she hasn't got one yet), snow, sunshine, sunsets, family and friends.
She dislikes beetroot.
She is the bestselling author of the Detective Sheridan Holler series. Her debut novel, Long Time Dead, went to number one in crime fiction in both the UK and Germany.
She has spent most of her working life in the criminal justice system, starting out as a store detective (where she once got thrown in a river) before becoming a prisoner custody officer (where she once carried a prisoner out of the courtroom single-handedly when he started hallucinating butterflies).
She has worked in practically every London court, including the Old Bailey and Court of Appeal, and has been handcuffed to murderers, rapists, and dealt with some of the most violent prisoners to pass through the court system. In 2001, she joined Norfolk Police as a detention officer, working in the custody suite, before joining the Domestic Violence Unit as a police case investigator. In her fourteen years in that role, she dealt with thousands of victims of domestic abuse, with one of her cases earning her a chief constable's commendation. She now writes full-time.
T. M. Payne is crazy about animals and if you walk past her with your dog she will probably ask if she can pat it on the head. Or take it home with her. Or both.
She hopes to one day have seven dogs, fifteen cats and a penguin (or three).
She loves laughing, Christmas, playing golf (badly), walking along New Brighton Beach (not walking her dog because she hasn't got one yet), snow, sunshine, sunsets, family and friends.
She dislikes beetroot.