Book Extract: Invisible by Heleyne Hammersley

I’m very excited to be welcoming Heleyne Hammersley to Novel Kicks and the blog tour for her book, Invisible.

An icy morning, a muddy riverbank.  The body of a promising swimmer is found in the River Don close to Thorpe.  Returning from a six-month absence, DI Kate Fletcher leads her first murder case since she nearly lost her own life to a desperate killer.

Grappling with her own doubts and insecurities, she has to negotiate a team transformed by differences in staffing and in attitude.  Everything has changed and nobody is comfortable.

A second body leads to a strong suspect, but the evidence is circumstantial and far from clear cut.  Kate’s ex-Detective Sergeant finds the breakthrough they need to help track down a cunning and meticulous murderer who has no conscience and no fear of consequences.

But can Kate act in time to prevent more deaths?

Heleyne has shared an extract with us today so grab that comfortable chair, the beverage of your choice and enjoy. 

(Trigger warning: description of crime scene). 

beginning of extract

This extract is from Chapter 17. After the discovery of a body in the River Don, DI Kate Fletcher is keen to establish any connection to a recent murder behind a pub in Doncaster.

An icy puddle marked the entrance to the alleyway, the surface a kaleidoscope of red and blue lights. A lone PCSO stood guard next to a line of blue-and-white tape which stretched from the corner of the pub to the wall opposite. He clutched a clipboard as though it were a talisman granting him permission to be there or warding off whatever evil lurked in the gloom behind the pub amid the overflowing bins and the graffiti.

Kate flashed her ID and signed herself into the scene, waiting until Warren had done the same before allowing the PCSO to lift the tape so they could duck under. The area was too narrow for a full tent to screen the body, so a gazebo-type structure had been erected. Three white-clad figures made notes, took photographs and measured distances.

It was a grim place to die – if the victim had died here – made worse by the biting wind and the smell of urine. Kate wondered if punters came out for a cigarette and used the alley as a makeshift toilet before going back inside. The reputation of the place suggested that could be a strong possibility.

She’d already dressed in Tyvek overalls at the outer cordon and felt self-conscious as she shuffled and rustled along towards where she could see the body of a young man, the faces of those surrounding him hidden by masks and hoods.

‘That’s a lot of blood,’ Warren whispered from too close behind and Kate took a further step to recover some personal space.

‘Femoral artery,’ Kailisa snapped from his position near the feet of the corpse. ‘He’d have died from exsanguination if he hadn’t been strangled. Perhaps he did. Too soon to tell.’

The pathologist fired off simple sentences like gunshots, but Kate knew he wasn’t being rude – economy with information avoided confusion and ambiguity.

A numbered yellow cone had been placed near a door into the alleyway from the pub and Kate squatted next to it, overalls crackling in her ears as she tilted her head to make sense of the mark on the ground.

More blood – this time spatter rather than a pool.

‘Do we think he was attacked here then dragged further down the alley?’ she asked.

‘Unknown.’ Kailisa glanced over to where Kate was pointing. ‘No obvious drag marks but there are signs of a scuffle that may have covered any sign of dragging. We haven’t found an injury that would account for the way those blood drips are angled. If it’s arterial blood from the thigh it would have spurted out and fallen more vertically – rounder drops. Those ones are more elongated, long tear shapes as if the blood had been shaken off something.’

It was a lengthy explanation suggesting Kailisa was certain of the science.

‘Could the killer have flicked the blade to get the blood off it after stabbing the femoral artery? Would that produce marks like these?’

‘Perhaps. If you look at the wall next to you there are some drips which would fit with the scenario you’ve described. Again, they’re too small and confined to be arterial spatter.’

Kate tried to imagine the sequence of events. Somehow the young man had been lured into the alley, stabbed in the groin, dragged or pushed further into the darkness then strangled. There was something cold about the attacker taking the time to give his weapon a quick shake before leaving the scene.

end of extract

About Heleyne Hammersley –

Heleyne Hammersley is a British writer based in Cumbria.  She writes psychological suspense thrillers and crime novels.

Heleyne has been writing since junior school – her first work was a collection of poems called ‘Give Them the Works’ when she was ten years old.  The poems were carefully handwritten on plain paper and tied together with knitting wool. 

When she’s not writing, Heleyne can often be found wandering on the fells or cycling the back roads of Cumbria in search of coffee and cake.

Say hello to Heleyne on Facebook, Threads and Instagram. 

Invisible is book six in the DI Kate Fletcher series and was released in September 2026. Click to buy on Amazon UK and Amazon US. 

Win a Kindle Copy of Invisible – 

Would you like to win a Kindle copy of Invisible?

Well, here’s your chance. We have five copies to give away to five lucky people.

For all the details on how to enter, head on over to Gleam.

This is open internationally and the prize will be distributed via Amazon.

*Terms and Conditions –

Worldwide entries welcome.  Please enter using the Gleam link above. 

The winner will be selected at random via Gleam from all valid entries and will be notified by Twitter and/or email. If no response is received within 7 days then Rachel’s Random Resources reserves the right to select an alternative winner. Open to all entrants aged 18 or over.  Any personal data given as part of the competition entry is used for this purpose only and will not be shared with third parties, with the exception of the winners’ information. This will passed to the giveaway organiser and used only for fulfilment of the prize, after which time Rachel’s Random Resources will delete the data.  

I (Novel Kicks) am not responsible for despatch or delivery of the prize.

by

Laura

I'm Laura. I started Novel Kicks back in 2009 as I wanted a place to discuss books and writing - two loves of my life. As someone who has anxiety, these two things give me, and I am sure countless others, a much needed escape.
There is a monthly book club, writing exercises, prompts, reviews, author interviews, competitions and guest posts. I cover many genres and I hope there is something for everyone.
I grew up by the sea in Dorset and currently live in Poole with my husband, Chris and three cats. I love writing and have a BA (Hons) in Creative Writing from Falmouth University. I am writing my first book. If only I could stop pressing delete. Chris has threatened to stop it from working. Haha.
I have always loved creative writing since I was in first school and would very much like to meet my teacher, Miss Sayers, to say thank you for all the encouragement she gave me then.
When not writing, I love reading, cats, Disney, singing (I can't sing but this doesn't stop me,) and falling into a good TV show or film. If I could step into any fictional world, it would be amongst the characters in ABC's Once Upon a Time.
I love reading many genres and discovering new authors.