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  • Published: 19 May 2026
  • ISBN: 9781787305229
  • Imprint: Harvill Secker
  • Format: Trade Paperback
  • Pages: 368
  • RRP: $34.99

Frame 37

  • Nicholas Shakespeare



In a world of lies, proof is power. Journalist John Dyer must take on a dangerous political conspiracy in order to bring his friend's killer to justice in this gripping thriller by an award-winning writer.

In a world of lies, proof is power. Ex-journalist John Dyer must take on a dangerous political conspiracy in order to bring his friend's killer to justice in this gripping thriller by an award-winning writer.

John Dyer is living a quiet life when he receives a call that changes everything: an old university friend, Lia, has been killed. Decades have passed since his last heartbreaking conversation with her, but Dyer finds himself driven to investigate.

What Dyer uncovers puts him in the path of a political conspiracy with one man at its heart. A man who forty years ago committed a crime witnessed by just four people. When another of the witnesses dies in suspicious circumstances, Dyer finds himself in danger of his life. To combat the forces arrayed against him, he needs incontrovertible proof – but will he find it in time?

As Dyer chases his leads from Tasmania to Argentina and finally to Michigan, where it all began, he unwittingly pits himself against an adversary more powerful than he could have imagined, in a race as heartstopping as tomorrow’s headlines.


PRAISE FOR NICHOLAS SHAKESPEARE:

'A remarkable contemporary thriller... A triumph' William Boyd

'An absorbing thriller with shades of John le Carré' Evening Standard

'One of our best and truest novelists' The Times

'Exciting... A page-turner' Daily Telegraph

‘Wonderfully well written... with an insidious escalation of menace, and paranoia that fairly shimmers off the pages’ Guardian

  • Published: 19 May 2026
  • ISBN: 9781787305229
  • Imprint: Harvill Secker
  • Format: Trade Paperback
  • Pages: 368
  • RRP: $34.99

Praise for Frame 37

A joy to read, the novel reflects John le Carré's genre-stretching influence on every page

Sunday Times on THE SANDPIT

Wonderfully well written...old school in the best possible way, with an insidious escalation of menace, and paranoia that fairly shimmers off the pages

Guardian on THE SANDPIT

A remarkable contemporary thriller – with shades of Graham Greene and Le Carré about it – but also a profound and compelling investigation of a hugely complex human predicament. Brilliantly observed, captivatingly written, grippingly narrated – a triumph

William Boyd on THE SANDPIT

One of the best English novelists of our time

Wall Street Journal on PRISCILLA

Shakespeare honours the best traditions of the novel

TLS

A world writer

Sunday Herald on SECRETS OF THE SEA

A beautifully considered, subtle exploration of Englishness, of betrayal, of social change and character – elegantly and engagingly wrapped in a classic spy novel

Rory Stewart on THE SANDPIT

A novelist who blends public and private lives persuasively in a way that is reminiscent of a master of this sort of novel, Graham Greene

Scotsman

This master of the meaningful thriller has again astounded me...reminiscent of the best of Graham Greene. If you want your thriller writer to be an accomplished novelist: Shakespeare's your man. If you want your thriller writer to let things rip: Shakespeare’s your man. He is an encompassing talent.

Thomas Keneally

Frame 37 is terrifyingly resonant at a time when allegations of high level corruption and sexual violence are shrugged off in Washington. With our hero in mounting danger, I was unable to put down this intelligently written thriller as I sped towards the denouement

Lindsey Hilsum, International Editor Channel 4 News, and author I BROUGHT THE WAR WITH ME; STORIES AND POEMS FROM THE FRONT LINE

Rich in atmosphere and foreboding and menace; from Buenos Aires to Washington DC, a group of friends are being hunted down by the unburied past. A thriller with chilling contemporary resonance, exploring shifting identity and the darkness at the heart of power. Can the innocent out-run the shadow of history?

Sinclair McKay
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