Welcome to Biba's Newsletter on Substack

Biba Pearce — Mon, 20 Jul 2026 15:17:22 GMT

Welcome! I’m Biba Pearce, bestselling author of the DCI Rob Miller, Kenzie Gilmore and Shrap Nelson crime thriller series.

Once a month, I send a free newsletter straight to your inbox with new release news, behind-the-scenes peeks at what I’m writing, exclusive giveaways and book recommendations for crime and thriller lovers.

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Hot Sand and Inspiration

Biba Pearce — Wed, 15 Jul 2026 10:00:25 GMT

A quick note before we begin.

Welcome to my newsletter's new home on Substack! Nothing changes on your side – I'll still land in your inbox once a month, just as I always have. The only difference is that these emails now come via Substack, so if this one found its way into your spam or promotions folder, please drag me back into your inbox so we don't lose each other.

And there's a bonus. You can now leave a comment under any newsletter instead of having to email me. Of course, you can still email, I love hearing your thoughts, but this is probably easier. In addition, you can also browse past editions in the archive. With that out the way, let’s get on with this month’s newsletter.

Hello from a sweltering Jersey in the Channel Islands,

I was hoping to escape the extreme heat in London on this beautiful temperate island, but alas, it seems to have followed me here. At least I have the sea on my doorstep, and I’m currently spending more time in it than out of it.

My plan was to switch off and catch up on my reading (I’m currently enjoying Ironwood by Michael Connelly), but writers are terrible at taking holidays. Somewhere between coastal walks and sea swims, I decided Jersey deserves a starring role in an upcoming spin-off series, so every outing has quietly turned into a research trip.

It’s impossible not to imagine stories here. Hidden coves. German bunkers left behind from the Occupation. Narrow lanes hemmed in by granite walls. Dramatic tides that reveal, and conceal, evidence. Tiny harbours where everybody knows everybody else’s business. And perhaps my favourite discovery so far... this has to be the prettiest police station I’ve ever seen. Surely that belongs in a crime novel?

Right, enough sightseeing. Let's talk books.

A Savage Season

Savage Season continues to do well on Amazon, and I'm absolutely thrilled that it's become an international bestseller. Even more amazing, you've already left more than 1,900 reviews, averaging 4.7 stars across Amazon and Goodreads. Thank you so much for every preorder, purchase, review and recommendation. Dalton Savage, L.T. Ryan and I couldn't have done it without you.

The Plot

When a retired couple are executed in their home on Halloween night, Sheriff Dalton Savage is faced with a murder that feels unnervingly precise. Then another body turns up, killed in the same cold, methodical way, and it becomes clear these aren’t isolated crimes.

As Savage digs deeper, he uncovers old loyalties, buried secrets and a conspiracy reaching back years. With political pressure mounting and even trusted allies falling under suspicion, he must uncover the truth before a killer hiding in plain sight strikes again.

If you enjoy atmospheric crime fiction, complex investigations and twists that keep you guessing until the very last page, Savage Season is waiting for you.

SHOP NOW

A Cold Witness

Earlier this spring, Avril Dahl returned in Cold Witness and the response has been superb. Readers called it gripping, complex, dark and twisty, and while I know Avril’s version of dark, Scandinavian noir doesn’t appeal to everyone, those that enjoy the genre loved this new instalment. Set between the glitz of Monaco and the cold, bleak city of Stockholm, it follows former FBI Special Agent Avril Dahl as she tries to find a kidnapped influencer with ties to a Swedish mob boss under witness protection.

The Plot

When a notorious crime boss is murdered outside a Stockholm courthouse, his daughter—the prosecution's key witness—vanishes without a trace. Tasked with finding her, former FBI agent Avril Dahl uncovers a conspiracy that reaches back to one of her own unsolved cases. As the body count rises and trusted allies become suspects, Avril must stop a killer who's spent years hiding in plain sight before the truth is buried forever.

SHOP NOW

What’s Next?

Fans of Rob Miller will be happy to know that I’m currently working on the next book in the series. I can’t believe we’re on book 9 already. The title, that nobody guessed, is The Fulham Pier Murders.

Fun fact… this book is inspired by two detectorists that I met at one of my book launches in London, and who are avid fans of the series. They trawl the banks of the Thames for buried metal objects like coins, jewelry, and historical artifacts. Amateur historians, they trace the origins of their finds, and the stories that told me were so fascinating that I starting thinking. . . What if one of those discoveries wasn't just historical, but evidence of murder?

The Plot

The only witness to the murder was there to commit a crime of his own.

On a rain-lashed night in Fulham, a burglar peers through the window of an elderly man’s home — and watches him die. He calls it in. No one believes a word he says.

Then a second pensioner is found dead in her cluttered flat, and DCI Rob Miller knows this is no burglary gone wrong. Someone is hunting the elderly of West London, except the victims seem to have nothing in common.

Meanwhile, a detectorist pulls something from the banks of the Thames. The police dismiss it. They shouldn’t have.

Still haunted by the Putney Bridge case, Rob is questioning everything. His instincts, his future, the job itself. But when a botched arrest lets a killer walk free, he must dig up long-forgotten secrets to stop the next murder.

Because the past doesn’t stay buried on the Thames foreshore. It just waits for the tide to turn.

I can’t wait for you to read Rob’s new adventure. I'll be revealing the cover, full description and preorder details in the upcoming months, so keep an eye on my social media—or stay subscribed, since I’ll be announcing it all here too.

Should She Or Shouldn’t She?

I’ve also got plans for a third book in the Shrap Nelson series set in London. Shrap is toying with the idea of taking over her late-friend’s private investigation firm in London. A step up from the streets, but still living in a homeless hostel, is Shrap ready to take on this next challenge? Or will it all prove to be too much for her fragile state of mind?

Should Shrap stay on the streets where she's comfortable... or take a chance on running a detective agency? Let me know in the comments. I genuinely haven't decided yet.