Murder at the Grindhouse - available now...

Murder at the Grindhouse, my new coming-of-age murder mystery thriller novel set during the last notorious years of New York City's 42nd Street, is now available to purchase in paperback and eBook formats worldwide via Amazon.

UK Paperback 

UK eBook

USA Paperback

USA eBook

Or just search for "Murder at the Grindhouse" on your home nation's Amazon website.

Set during the dying years of the most notorious street in America: New York's 42nd Street between 7th and 8th Avenues, Murder at the Grindhouse is a coming-of-age murder mystery thriller set against a backdrop of social upheaval, the encroachment of corporate America, and a sensational killing streak. The propulsive story is told primarily through Calvin, a scorned small town zero forever chasing to catch up only to arrive too late, who is drawn to the city by a stunning, morbid mystery: who was the second body hidden inside his Aunt's funeral casket?

Calvin enters this extraordinary land of outlaw film culture and illicit freedoms as a wide-eyed innocent seeking answers and personal redemption, drawing him into a world of copycat murders, temptation, and mob intrigue. Besieged by alluring distractions, he is guided by Angela, a hard-nosed punk rocker; Carol-Ann, a jocular dancer with Broadway dreams; and their coterie of misfit friends. However, when Calvin's amateur sleuthing puts him in the middle of one too many crime scenes, Detective Armstrong begins to like him as a prime suspect for 'The Devil of The Deuce' serial killer. Will Calvin be able to peel back the layers of secrets, lies, and sordid actions to unveil horrifying truths – and at what cost to his soul?

A vivid and gleefully lurid journey through society's edge during a bygone era, Murder at the Grindhouse consumes the reader in a world populated with humorous, vibrant, and emotionally flawed personalities cast against a mix of absurd fringe fantasia and sudden danger.

Murder at the Grindhouse - a little sample to read...

My new novel "Murder at the Grindhouse" is coming out August 7th 2026, available worldwide on paperback and eBook via Amazon - so here's a little sample to read: the prologue that kicks things off.

 

Murder at the Grindhouse

Copyright 2026 Nick Thomson 

PROLOGUE

January 1982

Granted, I've never rode behind a hearse before, but I don't think they're supposed to ride that low to the ground. Aunt Teresa was a robust woman, and yeah, she's only been present in occasional letters since sixty-nine, but there's no way she's put on this much weight since then.

The black Caddy up ahead wallows along the freeway, its undulating rear bumper scraping against the patchwork tarmacadam as the winter sun, wreathed in freezing clouds, slithers across the soft curves and sharp details of its gleaming body.

Uncle Gene's up front. He hasn't said a word since this morning at JFK, his frosty silence imposed upon everyone else in the limousine.

“At least the sun came out for her,” I say, disregarding the verbal embargo.

In the middle row of seats, Dad's gaze refuses to peel away from the world passing by, as Mom turns her head an inch or two, that all-too-familiar blankness on her face. Neither utter a word. The same goes for Angela, head to toe in black and keeping her distance. Despite the veil, there's a hint of a smile under the brim of her hat. She must like folks stewing in their awkwardness...

Click "READ MORE" below to contiue...

Murder at the Grindhouse - my new novel...

Murder at the Grindhouse - my new novel - is releasing on August 7th 2026 worldwide via Amazon.

The eBook is already up for pre-order worldwide (e.g. UK, USA) and the physical print edition of the book will go live for purchase on August 7th.

Set during the dying years of the most notorious street in America: New York's 42nd Street between 7th and 8th Avenues, Murder at the Grindhouse is a coming-of-age murder mystery thriller set against a backdrop of social upheaval, the encroachment of corporate America, and a sensational killing streak. The propulsive story is told primarily through Calvin, a scorned small town zero forever chasing to catch up only to arrive too late, who is drawn to the city by a stunning, morbid mystery: who was the second body hidden inside his Aunt's coffin?

Calvin enters this extraordinary land of outlaw film culture and illicit freedoms as a wide-eyed innocent seeking answers and personal redemption, drawing him into a world of copycat murders, temptation, and mob intrigue. Besieged by alluring distractions, he is guided by Angela, a hard-nosed punk rocker; Carol-Ann, a jocular dancer with Broadway dreams; and their coterie of misfit friends. However, when Calvin's amateur sleuthing puts him in the middle of one too many crime scenes, Detective Armstrong begins to like him as a prime suspect for 'The Devil of The Deuce' serial killer. Will Calvin be able to peel back the layers of secrets, lies, and sordid actions to unveil horrifying truths – and at what cost to his soul?

A vivid and gleefully lurid journey through society's edge during a bygone era, Murder at the Grindhouse consumes the reader in a world populated with humorous, vibrant, and emotionally flawed personalities cast against a varied mix of absurd fringe fantasia and sudden danger.

So begins the editing process...

After leaving "Murder at the Grindhouse" to 'age in the drawer' for a couple of months I've gone back to it in the last couple of weeks to start the first round of tweaking. Rather than going straight to the computer I've opted to go a bit old school - pen on the page...

Naturally, the majority of the pages now look like an explosion of colour (far more than the above) with new passages written long hand in an accompanying notebook. It's nice to actually apply the changes with a good old fashioned pen, and you get to give your edits their own tweaking - if that makes sense. If you just slap the changes on the document straight away it might be a bit too rushed and you could miss further opportunities to make improvements. Anyway, next up is actually applying those changes to the document itself!

The writing has begun...

Writing on my new book has begun. The title of it is: Murder at the Grindhouse. It's a coming-of-age murder mystery with a darkly comic tone set during the 1980s on New York's 42nd Street - aka "The Deuce" - between 7th and 8th Avenues (and the surrounding environs). This was movie paradise for cinema goers at the time who wanted unusual, outlandish fare to go along with their mainstream silver screen delights. It was a fascinating time and place to learn about as a movie fan and so I felt it was a great place to set a story.

Thus far I'm up to about 15,600 18,500 words deep* - no idea how long it'll all end up being as there's quite a way to go yet - but I'm off to a good start. It always takes a bit of getting going when you kick off a new writing project before you start feeling the groove, and this is quite a detailed project in many ways - detail oriented - hence the sheer volume of research and story prep that's gone into it.

This is going to be a fun little project...

*Updated on the 23rd.