It isn’t unusual for crop circles to appear overnight on Hackpen Hill. In this part of Wiltshire, where golden wheat fields stretch for miles, the locals have got used to discovering strange mathematical patterns stamped into the earth.
But this time, it’s different. Not only because this particular design of dramatic spiralling hexagons has never been seen before. But because of the dead body positioned precisely in the centre of the circle. DI Silas Hart, of Swindon Police, is at a loss.
Only Jim, a scientist at the secretive military facility Porton Down, knows the chilling truth about the man on Hackpen Hill. And he wants Bella, a trainee journalist on her first ever story, to tell the world. But Silas has other ideas – and a boss intent on a cover up.
As Bella and Jim race against time, dark forces conspire against them, leading them to confront the reality of their own past and a world in which nothing is as it seems.
The Man on Hackpen Hill was published in the UK on 2 September 2021 by Head of Zeus. It will be published in paperback on 7 July 2022.
“Brilliantly plotted and original with not so much a twist as a seismic shifting of the ground under your feet – amazing.” – Rosamund Lupton, bestselling author of Three Hours
“A kind of Wiltshire Da Vinci Code, with crop circles, mathematical equations and shadowy figures from Porton Down. A real page turner written with beguiling wit.” – Tom Bradby, ITN presenter and bestselling author of Secret Service
“Impeccably researched… An unusual mystery told with exceptional skill” – Daily Mail
2021 Trailer for The Man on Hackpen Hill
Reviews for J.S. Monroe:
‘Full of unpredictable twists’ – The Times ‘Intricately woven and heart-stoppingly believable’ – Clare Mackintosh ‘The most ingenious thriller you will read this year’ M.J. Arlidge ‘Cunning, captivating and creepy’ – J.P. Delaney ‘A tightly coiled and crafted plot’ – Daily Mail ‘Pacy and propulsive’ – Daily Telegraph ‘You won’t be able to turn the pages fast enough’ – Heat ‘Clever, imaginative and unusual’ – Daily Mail
