Plain Record

Plain Record is a grounded British crime novel about how cases actually move-scene work, interviews, warrants, court-and the small choices that add up.

DI Mara Kellett’s team catches a run that shouldn’t touch: fires in a stairwell, a cashpoint skimmer, diverted post, a warehouse fall that isn’t just “accident,” and five artworks lifted from a storage unit without breaking the lock. The joins are quiet-mailboxes, unit codes, vans, donor shells-but the same hands sit behind them. To prove it, the unit keeps the corridor tight: fix what’s in front of you, keep the record straight, let the evidence speak.

No flashy tech. No speeches. Just method-and people doing the job until the web shows itself.

What you’ll get

A lean, procedural investigation set in contemporary Britain

Focus on method over spectacle: scenes, interviews, court days

A connected case that runs from street level to paper fronts

Plain language, minimal metaphor, no bloat

For readers who enjoy Jane Casey, Eva Dolan, the slow-burn detail of Tana French’s team work, or the procedural texture in Mick Herron’s investigations-told without gloss.

Standalone. First in a planned run of work-led cases with DI Mara Kellett’s unit.