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The OLD RELIGION

Sometimes helping a stranger is the last thing you should do …

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About author

Martyn Waites

I was born in Newcastle upon Tyne. After leaving school I bummed around for a while doing the kind of jobs you’re supposed to do to make for an interesting CV: selling leather coats on the quayside market, assistant bar manager in pub, stand up comedy, stagehand and teaching improvisational drama to teenage ex-offenders. Following this job I went to drama school in Birmingham where, three years later, I emerged as a professional actor…. Read more.

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  • “One of the very best crime writers we have. I’ve been looking forward to this bok for a long time and, boy, it was worth waiting for”

    Mark Billingham

  • “I loved it. Every word. Superbly written, creepy as hell, and chilling to the bone. I can’t recommend it highly enough!”

    Luca Veste

  • “Waites brings all his storytelling talent and experience to this chilling tale, with results so spectacular I might never go to Cornwall again.”

    Lee Child

  • “Authentically spooky, thrillingly atmospheric and unnervingly relevant. It reads like The Wicker Man for the Brexit era”

    Chris Brookmyre

  • “A guaranteed thrill-ride … keeps you guessing until the end”

    Sarah Pinborough

  • “A chilling slice of country noir. Great stuff”

    Mick Herron

  • “A raw, deftly-plotted thriller with a dark heart and a real emotional punch”

    Simon Kernick

  • “A joyous new series with an adorable hero”

    Alex Marwood

Other Books

The Mercy Seat

Bone Machine

White Riot

Speak no Evil

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The Old Religion

Welcome to the Dark Heart of Cornwall

The Cornish village of St Petroc is the sort of place where people come to hide. Tom Killgannon is one such person. An ex-undercover cop, Tom is in the Witness Protection Programme hiding from some very violent people, and St Petroc’s offers him a chance to live a safe and anonymous life.

Until He Meets Lila

Lila is a seventeen-year-old runaway. When she breaks into Tom’s house she takes more than just his money. How wallet holds everything about his new identity. He also knows that Lila is in danger from the traveller’s commune she’s been living on. Something sinister has been going on there and Lila knows more than she realises.

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