Standalone Novels
| Title | Published | Buy on Amazon |
|---|---|---|
| The Good Liar | 2016 | Buy |
| A Traitor in the Family | 2017 | Buy |
| A Fatal Game | 2019 | Buy |
Nicholas Searle grew up in Cornwall and studied languages at the Universities of Bath and Gottingen. After four years of teaching, he joined the British Civil Service and spent decades in security-related positions before taking a similar role with the New Zealand government. He returned to the UK in 2011, left government work, and began writing fiction.
His debut novel, The Good Liar (2016), tells the story of Roy Courtnay, an octogenarian conman who targets a wealthy widow he meets through an online dating site. The book spans nearly a century, moving between present-day scheming and buried wartime secrets. It was shortlisted for the John Creasey First Novel Award and adapted into a 2019 film starring Ian McKellen and Helen Mirren.
Searle followed up with A Traitor in the Family (2017), which explores the legacy of Northern Ireland’s Troubles through a family harboring dangerous secrets, and A Fatal Game (2019), a thriller set against the backdrop of counter-terrorism. His novels draw on his professional background in security to build stories where deception, loyalty, and hidden identities drive the plot.