Blackpool is the setting for most of the stories. It’s an unusual but appropriately symbolic backdrop which highlights the underlying themes of the novels; a glitzy tourist veneer masking an underbelly of vice and corruption. The novels are fast-moving and densely-plotted police procedurals. They cover a range of themes and topics:

Big City Jacks - When a murdered Manchester drug dealer is found to be a CID informant working for a small nucleus of corrupt detectives, Henry is plunged into a complex investigation which has far-reaching consequences for the police service.

Backlash - It is party conference week, and Blackpool is throbbing with politicians, media, demonstrators, hangers-on and spin doctors. The last thing Henry needs on top of that is a murder.

Nightmare City - One particular weekend generates a crime wave, including the murder of a prostitute, the wounding of a policewoman, a crazy car chase and the shooting of a gorilla. What Henry doesn't realize is that these incidents are linked.

One Dead Witness - A homicidal child-molester has broken out of jail and is heading for Blackpool to get even with one of Henry’s colleagues, DC Dannielle Furness, the police officer who had the child-molester jailed.

The Last Big Job - When three police cars are blown up, and elsewhere a building society heist goes terribly wrong, Henry investigates a case which will have devastating consequences for the whole force.

A Time for Justice - Carl Hinksman does not think twice when he embarks on a mission to bomb two Preston businessmen on a busy motorway, but the bomb causes carnage which sets every police force in the country after him.

Substantial Threat - When the brother of the country’s most notorious gangster is killed, Henry gets sucked in to the world of ultra-organized crime which knows no international or moral boundaries.

Dead Heat - One of his daughter's horse-riding friends asks Henry to investigate the mutilation of some very expensive blood-stock owned by her family. He agrees, but knows he is going against his better judgement.

Psycho Alley - A series of increasingly violent assaults is shrouding the happy-go- lucky resort of Blackpool in a veil of terror, and Henry finds himself pitted against a devious killer from his past, and his own inner demons.

Critical Threat - Henry investigates the brutal killing of an ex-cop turned sleazy private eye and faces his toughest challenge as he tries to head off a ruthless assassin who has never yet missed a target.

Screen of Deceit - When 14-year-old Mark Carter's sister Beth dies from a massive drugs overdose he agrees to become an informer for Henry, plunging them both into the world of teenage street gangs, brutal murder, drug turf wars and betrayal.

Crunch Time - Henry goes undercover to ingratiate himself with violent criminal Ryan Ingram. So the last thing Henry needs is the appearance of a man bearing a fatal grudge that will jeopardise not only himself, but also his family.

The Nothing Job - Whilst tracking down three dangerous criminals, Henry is asked to close down another of his investigations, into a fatal police shooting. However, he soon uncovers a number of worrying connections between the two cases.

Seizure - When disgraced ex-cop Steve Flynn’s son Craig is kidnapped by a dangerous criminal associate, Henry must team up with Flynn to not only save Craig’s life, but also to recover a million pounds in missing drug money.

Facing Justice - When DS Henry Christie sets off on a short winter break with his old friend FBI agent Karl Donaldson, he expects a pleasant hike through the countryside followed by an overnight stop in a picturesque village. But the hike turns into a fight for survival in the worst snowstorm for thirty years. And things only get worse when they stumble, exhausted and injured, into the village pub, only to find themselves in the middle of a blood-soaked stand-off between gangsters with deadly scores to settle .

Hidden Witness - When Detective Superintendent Henry Christie takes on the case of a brutal murder of a seemingly innocent old man, the investigation brings him into touch with old friend and FBI agent Karl Donaldson, who is trying to track down a hit man believed to have entered the UK illegally. It’s obvious the two cases are connected, but it soon becomes clear there’s more to the old man’s murder than simple underworld retribution .

"Gritty and Precise"..... The Times

"Chilling authenticity ... A gripping tale".....Manchester Evening News

‘A splendid British procedural, with complex storytelling’ .....Kirkus Reviews

‘Written by a police officer, so every detail in this gripping, fast paced story has the ring of truth.’.....Bradford Telegraph and Argus

'Sheer grab-you-by-the-throat readability ... Policeman Nick Oldham's high-speed thriller is the genuine article - a tale from the cutting edge of law enforcement that is utterly authentic'.....Mystery and Thriller Guild

‘Like everything good in life, a fast-paced, old-fashioned shoot-'em-up is hard to find. Fortunately, we have Oldham's latest novel to remind us what it's all about ... The reader should be prepared for some heartless brutality more in the American than the British style’.....Publishers Weekly

Oldham takes the taut pacing, gripping suspense, and hard-edged plotting that readers have come to expect from the best British procedurals and adds a fresh twist ... A touch of James Ellroy thrown into a John Harvey-style procedural makes a po-werful combination ... A flawed and very human hero, inside-the-cop-shop politics, heart-pounding suspense, and gritty realism are trademarks of Oldham’s excellent Henry Christie series’.....Booklist