Skip to product information
1 of 2

Goldsboro Books

9781804186077

A Violent Heart

A Violent Heart

by David Fennell

Publisher Zaffre

Genre: Crime

Publication date:

Available from:

  • Signed & Numbered
  • Limited Edition
  • Digitally Sprayed Edges


Regular price £24.99
Regular price Sale price £24.99
Sale Sold out
Rendering loop-subscriptions

In stock

Rendering loop-subscriptions

Limited Edition Copies

View full details
  • Professionally Packed

    All of our books that have a dust wrapper are covered in clear protective, removable film and are packed professionally in bubble wrap and a box for shipping so that they reach you in perfect condition.

  • Book Condition & Notes

    Deadline for number requests: 23rd August May 2024 (6pm UK time). Numbers for this book are being matched to Threadneedle. Please note, images of limited editions are digitally created by the publisher and finished copies may differ slightly due to the production process.

About the book

Elena Zoric, a sex worker and addict, is murdered, her body concealed and left near a stream in North London. Her phone lies nearby, the last number dialled was to a former NCA Investigator, a woman who had saved her from sex trafficking: Met DI, Grace Archer.

When questioned by North London police, a devastated Archer has no answer to why Elena would call her moments from her death. Archer wants to lead the investigation but its out of her catchment area and she is warned off it by her new boss, the charmless old school copper, Chief Inspector Les Fletcher.

The thirty year old remains of a woman are found in the attic of an abandoned house. Archer takes over the case and discovers the victim died in similar circumstances to Elena Zoric. Archer pushes for an alliance with her North London colleagues but it seems they have other priorities than looking into the murder of "a drugged up prostitute". An incensed Archer goes rogue and searches for proof that both women were murdered by the same man.

Collapsible content

About the Author

David Fennell

David Fennell was born in Belfast during the Troubles. Writing was his escape from Northern Ireland’s smothering political unrest.

As a boy, he read Sherlock Holmes, Ian Fleming and Tolkien; books he still loves today. He left school at 16 and trained as a chef at Rupert Stanley College. With youthful dreams of a new life, he left Belfast for London in 1985 with £50 in one pocket and a dog-eared copy of Stephen King’s The Stand in the other. He worked in bars and restaurants and later worked as a writer in the software industry.


David has played rugby for Brighton and was awarded the 2009 Player of the Year for the veteran’s team. He loves to cook and is learning to box. He lives in Brighton with his partner and their two dogs.

Collapsible content

GPSR EU Safety Information

1. Manufacturer Contact Information

Goldsboro Books Ltd - 23-27 Cecil Court, London, WC2N4EZ, enquiries@goldsborobooks.pro, 02074979230

2. EU Authorised Representative Information

Easy Access System Europe - Mustamäe tee 50, 10621 Tallinn, Estonia, gpsr.requests@easproject.com

3. Safety Warnings

Not applicable

  • Glass Bell Award - SHORTLIST 2026

    Glass Bell Award - SHORTLIST 2026

    Rebecca McDonnell

    Goldsboro Books is delighted to announce the shortlist for the 2026 Glass Bell Award, celebrating six exceptional novels chosen from a long list of twelve outstanding books. This year's shortlist...

    Rebecca McDonnell

    Glass Bell Award - SHORTLIST 2026

    Goldsboro Books is delighted to announce the shortlist for the 2026 Glass Bell Award, celebrating six exceptional novels chosen from a long list of twelve outstanding books. This year's shortlist...

  • Fresh Ink: November 2026 Revealed

    Fresh Ink: November 2026 Revealed

    Rebecca McDonnell

    Why We Chose Hope House by Joe Bond for Fresh Ink, November 2026 “A rare, brilliant, generous, bighearted book that mines hope from the darkest and most difficult human experiences.”—...

    Rebecca McDonnell

    Fresh Ink: November 2026 Revealed

    Why We Chose Hope House by Joe Bond for Fresh Ink, November 2026 “A rare, brilliant, generous, bighearted book that mines hope from the darkest and most difficult human experiences.”—...

  • PREM1ER: November 2026 Revealed

    PREM1ER: November 2026 Revealed

    Rebecca McDonnell

    For November 2026, we wanted to choose a novel that would bring something completely different to the PREM1ER collection: witty, original, wonderfully eccentric and utterly absorbing. Peck & Peck by...

    Rebecca McDonnell

    PREM1ER: November 2026 Revealed

    For November 2026, we wanted to choose a novel that would bring something completely different to the PREM1ER collection: witty, original, wonderfully eccentric and utterly absorbing. Peck & Peck by...

  • New Doors, New Readers, the Same Goldsboro

    New Doors, New Readers, the Same Goldsboro

    David H Headley

    On 27 August, I will be in Kuala Lumpur with Daniel to officially open Goldsboro Books’ first international shop. Even now, writing those words feels extraordinary. Goldsboro has travelled a...

    1 comment
    David H Headley

    New Doors, New Readers, the Same Goldsboro

    On 27 August, I will be in Kuala Lumpur with Daniel to officially open Goldsboro Books’ first international shop. Even now, writing those words feels extraordinary. Goldsboro has travelled a...

    1 comment
1 of 4