Nick Stephenson Books In Order

Publication Order of Leopold Blake Books

Publication Order of Short Stories/Novellas

Publication Order of Non-Fiction Books

Nick Stephenson is an English best-selling author of mystery, thriller and suspense novels. He was born and raised in Cambridgeshire, England. His novels are a mixture of action, mystery, and humor and he is popularly known as the author of Leopold Blake series. Stephenson was first published in 2013 when his first novel Panic the first novel in Leopold Blake thriller series was released. The books in Leopold Blake thriller can be read in any order, and one does not have to read the novels in the order in which they were published.

Paydown

This is the first novel (in chronological order) in Leopold Blake Thriller series. After a Wall Street investment banker is found brutally murdered, what started out as just a straightforward fraud case turns out to be one of the most complicated and first murder case for criminologist Leopold Blake.

Now with the financial world about to collapse, Blake must set aside his differences and work for hand in hand with New York Police Department detective Mary Jordan to hunt down the killer before it is too late. As the allure of Wall Street is pulled down by a series of shocking discoveries, Blake will have to decide to the extent to which he is prepared to risk his life to reveal the truth- and whether it is a price that he is willing to pay.

The first novel in Leopold Blake thriller is an interesting read. Stephenson’s has created an interesting lead character- he is rich, a smart aleck, and drinks too much and doesn’t follow protocol. You will get to like him as the author develops him and at times sympathize with him as well.

Overall, Paydown is a fast paced novel; the plot is driven by the story of a criminal element created during the predecessor to the financial crisis in the year 2007 and its set in New York City. The action and the details that the author adds to this first installment are believable. This novella storyline is direct and features some of the memorable characters you will ever encounter thus making it a perfect introduction to a brilliant series.

Wanted

In Wanted, the second novel in Leopold Blake series, Blake, Jerome and the NYPD cop Mary Jordan are united once more in Paris, France for an entertaining thriller/mystery.

Blake has been hired by Jean Dubois, an art director of Louve to critique the security for the valuable art in Louve. Blake is good at his job and ends up finding the problem right away.

His investigations reveal that one of the paintings is a fake. In the meantime, Dieter Reiniger, a hired hit man has killed five people and a cop at Notre Dame Entrance. One of the hit man’s victim is the owner of Louve, Jean Dubois. Without any hesitation, the Paris police soon suspect Blake of the shooting because of his trick with the fake art canvas, and because his fingerprints are found at the scene where the killer was camped. Things take a twisted turn for the NYPD cop Mary Jordan who thinks that she is having a quiet and peaceful vacation with Blake after she discovers that they are in pursuit by the Paris police. Soon, Blake and one of the workers from Louve are forced to sneak around the city of Paris searching for clues which could result in the truth being finally revealed.

On the other hand, Captain Rousseau also known as The Wolf is always after Blake at every step he makes. You will love the pace of the plot and the storyline of this fascinating novel.

The general plot is fast paced and filled with lots of suspense; it is also quite entertaining and will grip you from the first page to the last.

The story is told from different points of view that converge nicely toward the last pages. The main character, Blake is intelligent, witty and realistic; his interactions with other characters such as Sophie and Mary are well developed. Even though at first Mary seems to be more of a sibling to Blake rather than a potential love mate, her conversations with Blake reveals so much about her character as well as that of Blake.

Panic

Meet Leopold, aka Leo, Jerome, his bodyguard. Leo has a body guard since he is wealthy and spends most of his life fighting the bad guys. Jerome is a trained fighter and also possesses an arsenal of weapons that would send shame to most law enforcement agencies.

Then meet Mary, a cop, but she has a connection between her and Leo, the two seem pretty chummy, but it is funny since they do not actually act anything like girlfriend or boyfriend or loves for that matter.

When three USA senators are brutally killed, and their deaths made to resemble a suicide, Leo is tasked to conduct an investigation to these three deaths. His investigative skills are one of the best. Moments later a senators daughter is kidnapped and the senator request Leo to have a look at the case, and as expected, he assembles his team ready to track down the kidnapper and bring back home the senators daughter alive.

Panic is an interesting story to read, Leo, the main character is intelligent, and this makes him have a different approach to cases somehow different than your everyday investigator- in fact, the novel has some Sherlock Holmes-ish feel to it. However, unlike Sherlock Holmes, there are lots of actions in this book as well.

There are plenty of nifty exploding devices, and lots of hands to hand combat, the bad guys are mercenaries and show no mercy to anyone, but fortunately, the good guys do their job and ensure that the bad guys do not triumph.

You will like Leo, he is tenacious and never backs down from a fight and also never likes being intimidated by circumstances. He is a brilliant strategist, and you will find him coming up with brilliant ideas that will leave other characters wondering whether he actually had lost his mind. However, despite this, they always trust him and follow through with his “weird” plans.

On the other hand, Mary is an interesting character. Even though she is answerable to both his superiors and the law, she is also willing to bend somehow when it comes to Leo. Her primary objective is to get the kidnapped girl back home alive, and she stands ready to do whatever it takes to succeed. Panic is an entertaining read, featuring intriguing characters and a well-developed plot.