Hi, I’m Paul Barrell a best selling UK based author . I am best known for my gritty, high-velocity
British crime thrillers inspired by real events. I blends authentic police detail
with vivid underworld storytelling, delivering the same pulse-pounding
energy found in Gangs of London, Top Boy, and modern noir crime novels.
When I’m not writing, I research organized crime cases, explore
London’s hidden corners, and develop complex, flawed characters like
Marc Madison—heroes who fight their demons as fiercely as their enemies.
THE BLEED was released in 2025.
My USP is that all my story lines are based on, or inspired by true accounts. All my novels are available on Amazon kindle, in Paperback and Audio.
MY LATEST NOVEL ‘THE BLEED’ IS OUT NOW.
BUY NOW :
THE BLEED – A GRIPPING NEW CRIME THRILLER. SET IN SOUTH LONDON, INSPIRED BY REAL EVENTS.
MARC MADISON IS A GHOST
AND YOU CAN’T KILL A GHOST
This is PAUL BARRELL at his best. A Pedal to the Metal Thriller with a side of supernatural. HILARY MANDER
GOODREADS REVIEW
The Bleed is gritty, gripping, and completely unrelenting from start to finish. Paul Barrell pulls no punches in this explosive British crime thriller, and I couldn’t put it down. Set in the raw, electric streets of South London, the story follows Marc Madison one of the most fascinating and conflicted characters I’ve read in a long time. He’s a brilliant mix of chaos and charm: a man battling his own demons while trying to take down a drug empire from the inside.
What hooked me wasn’t just the action (though there’s plenty of it), but how real and human Marc feels. He’s not your typical hero, he’s flawed, battling addiction, and still reeling from a painful past, but that’s exactly what makes his journey so powerful. When the supernatural twist comes in, it’s subtle but adds this eerie layer that made everything feel even more intense and personal.
The pacing is relentless, and Barrell’s writing doesn’t waste a word. Every chapter ramps up the tension, especially when Eva Chan enters the scene. Their chemistry is electric, and the Bonnie-and-Clyde dynamic between them adds both danger and heart to the story. You never really know who to trust, and the stakes keep getting higher as Marc digs deeper into both the criminal underworld and the mystery of his brother’s murder.
This isn’t just another crime novel. it’s raw, stylish, and full of soul. If you’re into gritty, character-driven thrillers with a touch of the supernatural and loads of London flavor, this one’s a must-read.
5/5 – Intense, emotional, and seriously addictive. Paul Barrell has created a standout crime series that deserves all the hype.
Great plots, great characters, great action. PHILIPPA NICHOLSON
Gangs of London meets Top Boy. SHEENGATE PUBLISHING
Marc Madison is a loveable rogue, with a flawed addictive personality but no one ever got sacked for smoking a little too much weed or nursing the hangover from hell. He is, unbeknown to others, also one of the Mets best undercover cops and his current assignment is to bring down the drug Kingpin of south London.
With the help of bad boy dealer Christian, Marc has successfully infiltrated a local maintenance firm and is getting ever closer to the Duke Of York, the head of the OCG.
Until, one evening on the way home he suffers a massive heart attack, and as he drifts between life and death, a strangers touch brings him back to life. Although from that moment something in Marc changed. Something that went all the way back to his childhood and his twin brother.
When a chance encounter introduces him to Eva Chan a high-class Chinese masseuse, Marc feels strangely drawn to her, but has no idea she is embedded deep within the jaws of the drug gang.
With Eva a willing Bonnie to his Clyde, Marc is dragged deeper into the south London drug world, a place where, in the search for the truth about his brother ‘s murder, the stakes escalate with every crime he is forced to commit.
The Bleed is a triumph. I loved it. ED BURMESTER
A hand from beyond the grave. A brothers bloody revenge. Exceptional. SURREY MAGAZINE
A modern day ‘Bonnie and Clyde’.Visceral. unrelenting. THE CRIME FILE
For fans of KATE LONDON, LEE CHILD, SIMON KERNICK, RJ ELLORY, AJAY CHOWDHURY, HARLAN COBEN andd LINWOOD BARCLAY, and with the gritty, stylish characterisation seen in GANGS OF LONDON and TOP BOY.
‘EIGHTEEN’ RELEASED 2022 -Stephen King Meets the Sixth Sense
The latest offering from Paul Barrell is a sure fire winner. Inspired by a true story this is toe curling, heart pumping, edge of the seat stuff.
A very successful departure from his usual genre.
Pacy, atmospheric and surely the stuff of nightmares.
Hilary Mander
___________
PRAISE FOR EIGHTEEN
If this story doesn’t scare you then you are probably already dead. Highly recommended.
Sheengate Publishing
Nerve shredding. This novel is so fast paced, it will leave you breathless. Part 2 is one heart stopping twist after another.
Surrey Magazine
If you call for the devil. He will surely come. A British horror classic.
Amazon Reviewer
Ice filled my veins every time someone ventured upstairs to The Eyrie.
Philipa Nicholson
An edge of your seat read, an unputdownable ghost story that will leave you sleeping with the lights on. A genuinely frightening well written modern twist on a classic genre.
Dan Twisleton- The Battersea Blogger
Surely the stuff of nightmares.
Amazon Reviewer
Check under your bed, before you turn the light out.
Amazon Reviewer
Cornwall 1974
It’s Halloween, and against their parents advice three teenage friends decide to hold a séance. At first it seems the dead don’t want to talk but slowly shadows of the past start to emerge. The contact begins – a Roman legionnaire, a Polish boy and a famous cellist all come through with messages. As the teenagers concentrate on the process, keyed up with excitement, exhilaration and fear, aspects of the three teenagers personalities start to appear. Jeff, and Jo, both have demons of their own. While JP, the youngest, appears to be the most vulnerable and most affected by the strange energy that moves the glass. However their innocent fun is curtailed when a new spirit arrives. Despite their efforts the uninvited will not divulge its name and there is something sinister and threatening about it’s tone. They soon realise that IT knows their inner most secrets. How? Is one of them duping the others? Or are they in contact with a much darker force. When a disturbing truth abruptly ends their evening, they presumed IT would leave them alone. They were wrong…
Buy today and join thousands of readers who have read ‘Eighteen.’ Remember, If you call for the Devil, he will surely come.
‘THE GIRL IN THE WHITE DRESS.’
The Girl in the White Dress is quite simply unforgettable and unputdownable. It is based on a true story .
Every Family has secrets. Imagine discovering you were guilty of something you can’t remember.
1974
A young family from London take a trip of a lifetime to the Caribbean aboard the cruise liner Oriana.
2005 The Peak District.
Following the death of his wife, Paul finds a menu card from the Oriana covered in personal messages from the ghosts of his childhood.
One particular address catches his eye , and memories are stirred as he begins to dream about a girl in a white dress.
Gradually with his mothers help he starts to unravel the identity of a long forgotten childhood sweetheart, and the disturbing truth about an incident that took place on the ship. Something that would implicate his whole family, a Pandoras box of lies and deceit.
Paul never saw the girl again after the cruise . Their shared guilt had remained hidden for 30 years. That was until today…
It is a remarkable story about loss and grief, and one persons quest for the truth. Sometimes in life things happen to us that are beyond our control; you don’t need to believe in ghosts or the supernatural, just believe in the Universe and the threads of random chance that link us all together.
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MAGNETIC NORTH
Everyone dreams of finding paradise. What if you find it ? Will you stay forever or will it destroy you? A young couple, a Priest an an escaped prisoner. Who can you trust when everyone has something to hide. For centuries people had been drawn to a mysterious island in the Coral sea.In search of a new life a young couple swopped their mundane existence in England for a land steeped in ancient aboriginal folklore. At first luck seemed to be on their side and within weeks they secured much needed employment, however when two strangers sailed into one of the bays their idyllic life began to shatter. Rumours of an escaped prisoner and an ancient burial site were the catalyst for a chain of events that became ever more sinister.
Buy Now: Magnetic North
POSTCARDS FROM PIMLICO
3 College friends from 2 different backgrounds and 1 dark secret.
From wild times in 1980’s London, 25 years later to a reunion in Cheshire.
Reunited by tragedy for an evening they will never forget.
A novel about belonging,loyalty and the fragility of friendship.
Looking for investors to share in my publishing journey. My aim to set up a UK publishing company for my books.
Buy now: Postcards From Pimlico
Paul Barrell Author 