We Play With Death

Detective Inspector Declan Walsh #23

by Jack Gatland

"Some games aren't meant to be played..."

When the body of a City banker is discovered with a soaking wet playing card pinned to his chest and a water pistol nearby, DCI Declan Walsh is thrust into a deadly game twenty years in the making. As more bodies appear, each staged with cards and water weapons, Walsh uncovers a chilling twelve friends who've been playing an elaborate game since university are now being hunted for real.

For two decades, "The Royal Court" has maintained their yearly tradition, stalking each other across London with water weapons and playing cards. But when the game evolves into something darker—with consequences spilling into real life—it creates a perfect breeding ground for secrets, resentment, and revenge.

Now, as the body count rises, Declan must navigate a maze where the line between game and murder blurs with each new victim. Everyone is both suspect and potential target, and behind the playing cards and staged crime scenes lies a labyrinth of toxic friendships, buried secrets, and psychological manipulation.

In this twisted tournament of deception, the most dangerous player isn't necessarily the one holding the weapon... It's the one you never saw coming.

Genres: Fiction

376 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 9, 2025

About the author

Jack Gatland is the pen name of #1 New York Times Bestselling Writer Tony Lee, who has been writing in all medias for over thirty years including comics, graphic novels, middle grade books, audio drama, TV and film for DC, Marvel, BBC, ITV, Random House, Penguin USA, Hachette and a ton of other publishers and broadcasters on licenses such as Doctor Who, Spider Man, X-Men, Star Trek, Battlestar Galactica, Doctors, Wallace and Gromit and Shrek. As Tony, he’s toured the country talking to reluctant readers with his ‘Change The Channel’ school tours.

He’s currently a member of the Writer’s Guild of Great Britain, the Society of Authors, The Worshipful Company of Stationers and Newspaper Makers and the Crime Writer’s Association.

As Jack, he’s writing a new series of Crime Thrillers starring Detective Inspector Declan Walsh, recently seconded to the City of London Police department known as the Last Chance Saloon.

The first twelve of these, LETTER FROM THE DEAD, MURDER OF ANGELS, HUNTER HUNTED, WHISPER FOR THE REAPER, TO HUNT A MAGPIE, A RITUAL FOR THE DYING, KILLING THE MUSIC, A DINNER TO DIE FOR, BEHIND THE WIRE, HEAVY IS THE CROWN, STALKING THE RIPPER and A QUIVER OF SORROWS are available now, with book thirteen, MURDER BY MISTLETOE released in December 2022 – with further adventures continuing throughout 2023.

In addition to that, the first book in a new series of Adventure Mysteries starring Robin-Hood style con-man forger-turned treasure hunter Damian Lucas, THE LIONHEART CURSE was released in January 2022, and he has both a new series of crime procedurals, spinning out of the DI Walsh series and featuring ‘Cop for Criminals’ Ellie Reckless including PAINT THE DEAD and STEAL THE GOLD, and a new spy series, spinning out of the DI Walsh series and featuring burned MI5 agent Tom Marlowe including SLEEPING SOLDIERS and TARGET LOCKED.

He can be found at www.tonylee.co.uk and www.jackgatland.com.

Reviews

[Jeff D. · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars...excellently written as always but there's a "beating a dead horse" in regards to the overall plot. repeating the overall arc of the cover up and how each characters fami.y profited just about every other chapter..and at the end with Nathan being a dupe and was manipulated with drugs..how many times did that need to be said in the last 4 chapters? it's rare I get this far into a series and was seriously going to make this my last book but now will read the next one due to the cliffhanger

[Jen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Too complicated to believe. An interesting game begun as students at Oxford becomes deadly when someone begins turning the game from a fun, once a year water gun battle into something more sinister and deadly. On that much of the plot, I can suspend disbelief. However, there is more to the origin and purpose of the game that simply pushed too far into the fantastic. Entertaining and fun to catch up with characters as always, but not as satisfying as so many in the series.

[Erin Gilmore · Rating 4 out of 5]

The latest Declan Walsh police thriller is a great continuation of one of my favorite series of all time. Declan and his team investigate a series of deaths that occur during a “harmless” assassin game that college friends have played for 20 years. An old case that Declan’s father worked, with massive political implications in the past and present, keeps rearing its head. The team has to figure out the past and present mysteries to save lives. Another great thriller!

[Mrs Maureen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh! What are declan and co upto this time😲

The 'last chance saloon' get involved in a complex deadly game, spanning back over the years. we're led through many twists and turns before we find out,'Who dun it!!' Once again, Jack Gatland has given us a masterpiece of mystery, a truly 5🌟 book once again 👌

[Lee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting case

Some of it was hard to swallow - nobody is that gifted at manipulation. And the ending was pretty far fetched. I doubt peeps would be so forthcoming with the admissions and details. A good read, though.

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another brilliant book featuring the Last Chance Saloon. Finished this in a day, definitely a must read. Start the series of Walsh and Co and enjoy 😊

[Sharon Richardson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read

I've read all of the Declan series and loved them all. After I started reading I didn't want to stop.

[paige · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gripping.

[Jeff Rusick · Rating 4 out of 5]

light detective story reading great for vacation!

[Maureen · Rating 5 out of 5]

We Play With Death by Jack Gatland is book 23 in the DCI Declan Walsh series. It is great to catch up again with the members of the Last Chance Saloon. A group of friends who went through Oxford University together 20 years ago, get together once a year to keep in touch. They play a game called Royal Court, which involves tagging the members with water pistols and the like. This year was to be the final year, but someone has changed the rules. In amongst this, is the Garden Collective. As always, a lot of research has been done, and I love the historical details throughout. Quite a lot happening through the story. Apart from the murders, Billy Fitzwarren is having issues with his family which is causing him some angst. The members of the Last Chance Saloon were originally misfits that didn’t belong anywhere else, but they are a cohesive group and work well together to solve some major and unusual crimes. A great story that certainly kept my interest. An intricate plot that weaves around and made it very hard to put down.