Split Second Books in Order

The Split Second books are near future political thrillers set in a Britain struggling with deep cuts, unemployment and unrest. They centre on Charlie and Nat, two teenagers whose lives are blown apart by a bomb at a London market.

Charlie loses her mum in the explosion. Nat’s brother is left in a coma. Months later the two meet again at college, drawn together by shared trauma but divided by secrets about what really happened that day.

As Charlie grows closer to Nat and his family she starts to suspect he knows more than he admits about the group behind the attack. Nat, meanwhile, is pulled towards the League of Iron, a radical organisation that promises justice but hides a much more ruthless agenda. The first book forces both of them to choose between revenge, loyalty and the law.

In Every Second Counts Charlie and Nat are on the run after the events of the first novel. The charismatic politician Roman Riley is riding a wave of public fear towards high office, and the teens are convinced he is not who he seems. With nowhere safe to go, they have to decide whether to infiltrate his campaign from the inside or stay hidden, even if that means losing their chance to expose him.

The series uses short, alternating chapters from Charlie and Nat’s points of view to keep the pace high and the moral lines blurred. It feels close to the news, but anchored in very personal stories about grief, anger and first love.

If you like your thrillers grounded in politics and protest as much as action scenes, this sequence offers plenty to discuss as well as to race through.