JOHN SAXTON

John Saxton is a UK writer, born in the heart of Yorkshire, near the ancient and haunted town of Pontefract, where he still lives today. He enjoys walking and exploring the stunning countryside around his beautiful home county, as well as theatre, cinema, and, of course, reading! His debut crime thriller, a police procedural murder mystery, which is set in Yorkshire was released in May 2026.

As well as being a writer, John was also a teacher for many years. He has written a number of books for younger readers – under his real name, John Clewarth – aimed at Middle Grade and Young Adult readers. A number of these are available from Silver Quill Publishing.

John can be contacted via his Facebook page (John Saxton – Crime Writer), his Instagram page @johnsaxtonwriter, on Bluesky @saxtoncrime.bsky.social, where you can keep up with all his news on future projects.

The stage is set. The victims are chosen. The next act is murder...


When DI Dan Sutton returns to Pontefract - the small Yorkshire town he once called home – he expects a slower pace of life to the one he left behind. He is soon proven wrong.
When a charred, severed head is discovered at Pontefract Castle at the end of a performance of Henry VI part 1, Sutton and his new colleague DS Fox, are thrust centre-stage into a case that is as grotesque as it is baffling.
What appears to be a shocking one-off quickly spirals into something far darker when a second body emerges, revealing a horrifying connection to the first. Then a potential witness turns up dead.
As Sutton follows every lead, from embittered critics to a secretive theatre director and a volatile local addict, the lines between performance and reality begin to blur. Everyone has something to hide. Everyone has a motive.
And the deeper Sutton digs, the closer the truth cuts to home.
Haunted by his recent past, tested by a team he barely knows, and pushed to the brink by a superior who seems determined to undermine him, Sutton soon realises that, in a small town, secrets don’t stay hidden for long.
In Blood Stepped Deep is the electrifying first book in the DI Dan Sutton crime thrillers series. Perfect for fans of David J Gatward, LJ Ross, Wes Markin and Ann Cleeves.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Blood-Stepped-Deep-Sutton-Thrillers/dp/1804403512