In Keith Pulver’s Hit Series, D.C.I. Acton Investigates Gripping Crimes No System Can Contain

On The Table Read Magazine, “the best arts and entertainment magazine UK“, Keith Pulver’s D.C.I. Acton Investigates series delivers high-stakes thrillers where justice is fragile, power corrupts, and stopping the unthinkable demands a devastating personal cost.

At a time when public confidence in institutions is under growing pressure, Keith Pulver’s D.C.I. Acton Investigates series delivers a timely and intense look at power, corruption, and the fragile nature of justice. Following Detective Chief Inspector Chrissy Acton, the books escalate from personal betrayals to threats against national security and the monarchy itself, showing how quickly order can unravel when systems fail and influence overrides accountability.

The Heart of the Series: DCI Chrissy Acton and Her Team

DCI Chrissy Acton stands at the centre of the series as a determined and uncompromising investigator. She tackles cases that stretch far beyond standard police work, often involving abuse of power, hidden agendas, and high-stakes deception. Acton is supported by private detective Hannah Cozin, a network of computer specialists, and a dedicated police team that blends traditional detective methods with modern intelligence and technology.

Each novel explores the blurred lines between right and wrong, the limits of law and morality, and the personal cost of pursuing justice when institutions prove unreliable. The stories reflect contemporary concerns about corruption, security, and eroded trust, while building mounting tension across an interconnected narrative.

Revenge Is Better Than Murder (2023)

The series opens with a respected doctor’s devastating fall from grace. Dr. Emerson Noble, a world-renowned orthopaedic surgeon with a loving family and thriving career, becomes the victim of an insurance scam that destroys his professional reputation. Humiliated and disgraced, he embarks on a calculated campaign of revenge against those responsible.

What begins as a quest for personal justice quickly spirals into something far darker and more dangerous. As Noble digs deeper, he uncovers layers of corruption within his profession and realises he may be entangled in events far beyond his control. With DCI Acton and her team drawn into the unfolding chaos, the case reveals how quickly a search for retribution can escalate, leaving a trail of consequences and raising difficult questions about justice and revenge.

The Fly Past Murders (2024)

The second instalment shifts to a larger, more immediate threat. On the morning of a Royal flypast over Buckingham Palace, an RAF Red Arrows pilot is murdered and impersonated by a terrorist. The impostor plans to release sarin gas over London during the high-profile event, creating the potential for mass casualties.

Acton and her team race against time as communications falter and the plot unfolds. Hannah Cozin’s investigation takes her across the Atlantic, weaving together threads of lineage, historical grievances, and international connections. The story contrasts the grandeur of royal traditions and historic institutions like New Scotland Yard with urgent modern dangers, highlighting how personal vendettas and ideological motives can threaten public safety on a national scale.

Coma (2026)

The latest book expands the scope further into political conspiracy and institutional betrayal. After an eyewitness named Kate Horner is shot and left in a coma, she becomes the sole link to a dangerous plot that may target the King and Queen. Trapped and unable to communicate, her critical information remains locked away while the conspiracy deepens.

At the centre stands Amit Leek, a powerful business magnate fighting to save his brewing empire. In desperation, he forges a secret alliance with Lord Greenwood, an arrangement that draws in senior government figures including the Prime Minister and Home Secretary. As ambition, greed, and corporate power collide, honest officers risk everything to expose the web of lies and protect the monarchy and national stability.

The investigation tests the boundaries of loyalty and sacrifice at the highest levels of power, showing how far some will go when systems meant to serve the public instead serve private interests.

Why These Stories Resonate

The D.C.I. Acton Investigates series grows in scale and intensity with each book, moving from individual ruin to threats against the state itself. It examines what happens when protective institutions falter and ordinary people—or those in positions of authority—are forced into impossible choices. Readers are drawn into the human elements: the investigators who bear the personal toll, the victims caught in larger schemes, and the moral dilemmas that arise when justice demands bending or breaking the rules.

Keith Pulver

Keith Pulver is a British author and practising building surveyor based in Hertfordshire. Having lost both parents at the age of 20, he built and continues to run a successful surveying company while writing crime and thriller fiction in his spare time. His debut novel was inspired by a recurring dream, and the second drew influence from the Platinum Jubilee celebrations of Queen Elizabeth II. With the release of Coma, Pulver continues to develop the richly layered world of DCI Chrissy Acton and her ongoing fight against crimes that no system can fully contain.

Find more from Keith Pulver now:

Website: https://keithpulver.org/

Revenge Is Better Than Murder

Apple Books: https://apple.co/4vuKgb5

Kindle: https://amzn.to/426aW4z

Paperback: https://amzn.to/481ms4P

The Fly Past Murders

Kindle: https://amzn.to/4tRS716

Paperback: https://amzn.to/3OlLxAM

Coma

Paperback: https://amzn.to/4clysAN