Strike a Match 5: Thin Ice

Twenty years after the apocalyptic Blackout, steam-trains and the telegraph have replaced smartphones and satellites, but while some still fear technology, many dream of its return.


In France, winter has brought the terrorist insurgency to a frozen stalemate. On the home front, people act as if victory is inevitable. Thoughts turn to spring and the dream of a more peaceful future. The Houses of Parliament are finally relocating to a new permanent home in Highcliffe Castle on the British south coast. In the far north of Scotland, a new national gallery is set to open in Thurso, displaying re-discovered paintings looted from Edinburgh just after the Blackout. In Dover, despite the curfews and rationing, pubs, bars, and clubs are thriving, but the re-opening of the cinema is put on hold after all its seats are stolen for firewood.


Ten years ago, Henry Mitchell chased the gang known as the Loyal Brigade from the ruins of Sandringham. A decade later, the gang has returned. After his arrest for arms dealing and smuggling, the new leader of the Loyal Brigade has been confined to a prison hulk in Thurso’s frozen harbour. Despite being in isolation, he is still able to co-ordinate a wave of arson attacks in the new capital. Having rebranded himself as a cult leader, with each attack comes an apocalyptic warning of greater destruction to come. It is up to Ruth Deering, Anna Riley, and the Serious Crimes Unit to crack the code before more people are hurt.


Henry Mitchell knows a direct line can be drawn between the apocalyptic Blackout twenty years ago and the insurgency in France that almost became an invasion of Britain. Thanks to evidence gathered during the Second Siege of Calais, he finally knows where the terrorist leadership is based. As he and Isaac head deep behind enemy lines, they have one chance to end this forever war. For their plan to work, they’ll have to do the unthinkable on a mission from which they almost certainly won’t return.


The fate of the future is decided in Dover, Bournemouth, Thurso, Poland, and beyond…