The Hellfire Detective

He’s ex-Special Forces. They’re movie star elite. There is just one mission – save D-Day Dover, 1943. Suffering from undiagnosed battle fatigue, Chief Inspector Alex Sutherland is sent by Scotland Yard to find a killer. He unearths a world of black marketeering, clandestine tunnels and discovers a village layered with suspicion. At a glitzy clifftop hotel he falls for the glamorous Genevieve Avery and encounters the playwright Noël Coward and Hollywood film star David Niven – covertly primed by British Intelligence to help him in his mission. Sutherland uncovers a web of treachery threatening the very heart of Britain’s war effort. It soon becomes apparent that it’s much more than just a killer he’s chasing. With the success of D-Day hanging in the balance, Sutherland is increasingly haunted by the symptoms of his combat stress, and the secret way he copes. He must ultimately force himself to face his recent wartime horrors, risking his own sanity, and even his life, in a race to unmask a traitor. But when every secret could be deadly, and every ally might be the enemy…who are you going to trust?

Perfect for fans of Robert Harris and Ben Macintyre

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Welcome to The Sutherland WW2 Series For readers who want to be immersed in the wartime era, seeking a sweeping, heart-pounding ride with a complex yet thoroughly honourable hero, this is the Sutherland WW2 Series – stories which are a fusion of detective, espionage and action-packed thriller, melded with real-life characters who had real-life roles in the war. He’s ex-Special Forces. They’re movie star elite. There’s just one mission — save D-Day.

© 2026 C.A. Forbes (Audiobook): 9781066671625

Release date

Audiobook: 3 November 2026