138 Main Street by Gavin Bell #BookReview #138mainstreet @southsidegav @simonschusteruk @randomthingstours #CrimeThriller

 

Every town has a Main Street. Now every town is a target.

Four murders. Four weeks. One impossible connection: every victim lived at 138 Main Street.

FBI Special Agent Ben Walker and rookie officer Zoe Hill know the killer’s next address. But with more than seven thousand Main Streets across America, they have no idea where he’ll strike.

Then the Main Street Killer releases his manifesto - and the murders become a warning.

His threat is nationwide. His deadline is closing in. And unless Ben and Zoe can find him, the heart of every town in America will become a killing ground.

The ultimate needle-in-a-haystack thriller, perfect for fans of Harlan Coben and Linwood Barclay.

138 Main Street by Gavin Bell was published on 7 May 2026 by Simon & Schuster.  My thanks to the publisher who sent my copy for review as part of this #RandomThingsTours Blog Tour 

 

I read a lot of thrillers, and I always wonder how on earth authors can come up with something original and thrilling. It's a massively crowded market, with everything from the cosiest of cosy crime to the darkest of dark on offer. It's always joy to find a novel that both surprises and entertains at the same time. A plot that is clever, characters that you can cheer for and a couple of twists to make you spin. 

Imagine being on a killer's hit list purely because of your address. Not the colour of your skin, or your gender, or your political beliefs, but just because you happen to live at 138 Main Street. 

Imagine then actually living at that address, and there are over seven thousand of them in the United States. Imagine wondering if you are next. Imagine the fear. 

Imagine you are FBI Special Agent Ben Walker and rookie Officer Zoe Hill and you are assigned to this case. There have been four murders so far and they know there will be another, they even know the street address, but which town or city? 

This is a fast paced and intricately plotted crime thriller that keeps the reader on their toes throughout. The premise is so brilliantly thought out with characters who are utterly believable. 

When the author introduces the killer's manifesto to the reader we realise that there could quite possibly be far more to come and following Ben and Zoe, accompanied by IT guy Brodie, on their desperate quest to track him down is just a great ride. 

The author also deals with some really socially relevant themes within his story, but these never bog down the plot or the action, it all feels so natural and incredibly realistic. 

An expertly woven mystery, with a clever, compelling plot and a great cast of characters, that I couldn't put down. A great premise, with assured prose. 138 Main Street is an absolute cracker of a novel.

Gavin Bell is the author of 138 Main, was published in 2026 by Simon & Schuster 

Under the pseudonym of Mason Cross, Gavin wrote the Carter Blake series of thrillers published by Orion. The first, The Killing Season, was published in 2014 and was longlisted for the Theakstons Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year. It was followed by four further novels in the series, including the Richard and Judy Book Club selection, The Samaritan. He has also written standalone thrillers as Alex Knight, including Hunted and Darkness Falls.

He lives in Glasgow with his wife and three children.