Psychopath or agent of justice? John Nicholl’s compelling narrator in his new book Killing Evil is a victim of devastating childhood abuse who sets about hunting down and killing abusers. A cunning loner who uses her job in the probation service to find her victims, Alice Granger gives each his own “trial” and punishment – but as she continues with her mission, she descends further into darkness and her crimes become harder to comprehend.

Told through the killer’s eyes, the tale is dark and gripping, with a satisfying twist at the end. It asks important questions about the rehabilitation of offenders, the plight of victims and the dangers of taking justice into your own hands.

Like his previous 10 bestsellers, Nicholl’s book draws on his own experience in his previous roles in the police and child protection. In a long career that saw him start out as a police officer, move into social work and become a head of child protection services, Carmarthenshire-based Nicholl experienced many harrowing cases. He was left with PTSD and started writing fiction after a psychologist recommended writing as a form of therapy.

Nicholl self-published his first book, White is the Coldest Colour, in 2015. It sold 150,000 copies on Amazon; this led him to him getting signed by an agent and a publisher, and he has written prolifically ever since.

John Nicholl says:

“What I’m always trying to get across is the rage and the anger that survivors often feel – and it’s a rage that’s often shared by the professionals trying to protect them. I worked with so many people who had been through those sort of awful experiences – some even worse than what Alice goes through. There’s a lifelong effect from that. One thing which has surprised me is the number of people who messaged me after reading Killing Evil saying they went through similar experiences. I don’t think a lot of people realise how many predatory offenders there are out there. This is the first book I’ve written through the eyes of the killer. As with all my books, I hope people find it a gripping read, but also that it gets people thinking. It’s been surprising how people have said they sympathised with Alice and wanted her to get away with it until she crossed the line.”