Frame 37

Ebook
On sale May 19, 2026 | 336 Pages | 9781037803154

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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 his life in danger. 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.
© Nicholas Shakespeare
NICHOLAS SHAKESPEARE is a novelist and biographer. His books include The Vision of Elena Silves (winner of the Somerset Maugham Award), Snowleg, The Dancer Upstairs (adapted for film by John Malkovich in 2001), Inheritance, Priscilla, Six Minutes in May, and acclaimed biographies of Bruce Chatwin and Ian Fleming. His most recent thriller featuring John Dyer was The Sandpit. He has been longlisted for the Booker Prize twice, was a Visiting Fellow at All Souls College, Oxford, and is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature. View titles by Nicholas Shakespeare
Advance Praise for Frame 37:

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, author of I Brought the War with Me

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

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

About

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 his life in danger. 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.

Author

© Nicholas Shakespeare
NICHOLAS SHAKESPEARE is a novelist and biographer. His books include The Vision of Elena Silves (winner of the Somerset Maugham Award), Snowleg, The Dancer Upstairs (adapted for film by John Malkovich in 2001), Inheritance, Priscilla, Six Minutes in May, and acclaimed biographies of Bruce Chatwin and Ian Fleming. His most recent thriller featuring John Dyer was The Sandpit. He has been longlisted for the Booker Prize twice, was a Visiting Fellow at All Souls College, Oxford, and is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature. View titles by Nicholas Shakespeare

Praise

Advance Praise for Frame 37:

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, author of I Brought the War with Me

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

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