Stench: The Axe in The Head Murder

by G.M. Barden

‘Stench is a literary Molotov cocktail – blistering, paranoid, and all too plausible.’ Londonopia

South London, 1987. A car park. A man lies dead, an axe buried in his skull. His name is Morgan Daniels — private detective, occasional drunk, and now, the spark that will ignite a national reckoning. His murder sets off a chain reaction that pulls in bent coppers, tabloid hacks, and, before long, the highest ranks of the British establishment. One killing. One cover-up. Corruption everywhere you look.

Inspired by true events, Stench is a startling crime debut from the new voice of Brit noir.

“The soul of a poet living in the body of a crime writer.”
Katie Isbester, Claret Press

“A vivid, hardcore recreation of murder, conspiracy and corruption… Read it and be thrilled by the darkness that surrounds us.”
Jon Hotten, author of The Years of The Locust

336 pages, Unknown Binding

Published January 1, 2026

About the author

G.M. Barden is the pen name of award-winning documentary filmmaker and journalist Glenn Barden.

His debut crime novel Stench: The Axe In The Head Murder was inspired by the Daniel Morgan murder, one of London’s most notorious unsolved murders.

He spent years meticulously researching the murder of private detective Daniel Morgan and its links to organised crime, corrupt police, freemasonry, the tabloid press, the murder of Stephen Lawrence and the emerging rave scene. He felt the best way to get to the truth was to fictionalise it.

Reviews

[Rustic_Reads_ Donna · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was immediately pulled into its dark, atmospheric world. Barden draws heavily on the real-life case that inspired the story - giving it a sharp, unsettling edge that makes the tension feel authentic and urgent. The novel dives deep into corruption, secrecy, and institutional rot, and I found myself genuinely unsettled by how convincingly the story portrays the moral complexity of its characters.

Some sections of the writing feel slightly rough, and at times the pacing in the early chapters can feel slow, which made it a bit harder to settle in at first. That said, the rawness of the prose actually adds to the noir, gritty atmosphere, and the tension ramps up beautifully in the second half, keeping me invested until the end.

Emotionally, this book left me feeling both uneasy and fascinated. There is a lingering sense of dread that stays with you long after the last page. Overall, Stench is a gripping, morally complex crime novel that will appeal to readers who enjoy realism, conspiracy-driven plots, and characters that exist in shades of grey.

[Kat M · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a strong start to the Dark Thames Trilogy series, it had that historical thriller concept that I was looking for and was expecting from the description. The overall feel worked well in this universe and enjoyed figuring out what was happening to the mystery concept. The characters were so well written and had that feel that I wanted from the first page. G M Barden has a strong writing style and was glad I read this.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Thomas Trang · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was on the CrimeTime FM podcast last year and made an offhand comment that James Ellroy has become his own subgenre of crime fiction. You can take his blending of fact and fiction in a historical setting, the moral torpor and jagged punchy prose, the erosion of law & order as corruption sets in, and the relentless bleak view of the world, then apply it to another place or era. The nature of man is consistent in so many ways. Bad people with little hope of redemption, conflicted law enforcement officers and compromised citizens doing unspeakable things.

David Peace brought the formula kicking and screaming to Yorkshire, Jordan Harper remained in the City of Angels but updated it to modern times, and Iain Ryan took that LA Quartet sensibility and labyrinthine structure to sunny 1980s Queensland and the Gold Coast during the days of rampant police corruption leading up to the Fitzgerald Inquiry (possibly my favourite version of this so far, adding some larrikin Aussie humour to the proceedings).

Now we have STENCH by GM Barden, which unfolds in London at the turn of the 80s into the 90s. The perfect setting for a saga of moral decay. It is also the perfect title for a grubby epic of dirty cops and criminals.

I don't know much about Barden but he is a documentarian by trade - and it shows. Real life events have been repurposed to protect the innocent (and the guilty), but there is enough historical flavour here to make the reader feel like they are in the trenches. You have - take a deep breath - Brink's Mat, David Mellor, Rupert Murdoch, Nigel Benn, Princess Diana, Stephen Lawrence, plus the IRA and many others all in the mix. This is a messy and ugly book by design, and it captures the moral corrosion of the police and the press during the peak days of Thatcherism as money corrupts everything it touches. The birth of rave culture also shows up - how could it not? Everything starts with an E.

We get a front row seat to the debauchery and hypocrisy of the British tabloids and their links to the underworld. All of it overseen by a tainted political system. This is London Confidential. This is Ellroy in Eltham. Dostoyevsky in Deptford. I know writers like Derek Raymond have written about the Big Smoke - the capital of Capital - with appropriately pitch black noir style before, but STENCH pushes the envelope into real Heart of Darkness insanity terrain, with the murky waters of the Thames providing the backdrop here.

Multiple characters and plot lines snake out like tendrils across South London and over the years to paint a horrifying portrait of a city enthralled and infected by greed. Even with a Dramatis Personae, the reader might very well get lost in the thicket of cops and crooks and various other hangers on - not to mention the dense and interlinked history of the era. It doesn't matter. It's perhaps sort of the point. How could anyone keep this straight in their head without losing their mind?

I think this is the first part of a series, or at least I am hoping so, because the effects of these years still reverberate around London today. Fiction at its best is the lie that tells the truth.

[Tee loves Kyle Jacobson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was not what I expected to read and I was surprised how it was written. It is about corrupt police and criminals and the news media outlets. The story unfolds as the corrupt police decide they are going to hide a crime where someone is murdered. The story starts out with the corruption of the police and the tabloids that report only the most news worthy news like celebrity's drug use and the corrupt criminals that try and get away with their crimes. It also talks about the corrupt criminals who do their crimes with the help of the police.

I have to say that I was a little weary reading it at first but then it started to pick up and I had to know what was going to happen next and if the corrupt police could recruit other police to be corrupt and help them do crimes in the name of money. The police were paid for their cover up by the other police and at times I couldn't figure out who was corrupt and who was clean but the murder that happened really caught my attention and I was so sure I knew who did it and why but I was wrong.

This book dives deep in the under belly of crime and crime syndicates.

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's the mid-1980s and south-east London is a melting pot of crime and corruption. This debut novel takes you back to a time of striking printers, immoral journalists, unprincipled freemasons, corrupt police and a well-documented murder. The concise fast-paced direct prose serves to heighten the unfolding drama. This work draws heavily on actual events, and as the narrative unfolds the line between fact and fiction becomes increasingly blurred. This meticulously researched work gives an impression that you're a senior investigating officer reading the available evidence. The author's Mickey Spillane writing style makes a refreshing change from the flowery language overused by today's authors. Published by micro indie Black Rat Books. Highly recommended.

[Neil Root · Rating 5 out of 5]

This novel's plot stems from the gruesome murder of Daniel Morgan in southeast London in 1987, and then its tentacles spread out to take in both low-level and heavy criminals, on-the-make middlemen and corrupt police officers, with a heady dose of reality included. It reads as if you are there, back in the murky underworld of the late 1980s, the stench (a perfect title for the novel's content) overwhelming. Few crime novels can transport you to a time and place so well. As well as being truly atmospheric and an accurate rendering of that world, the writing is sharp and punchy. Barden is in the tradition of London noir fiction greats Derek Raymond and Mark Timlin, with some Jake Arnott thrown in for good measure. A great read, and highly recommended.

[Ash Clifton · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a gripping, epic crime novel about London in the 1980s, during the height (depths?) of Thatcherism. It’s a world so bankrupt—politically, morally, socially—that it corrupts everyone in it, even the formerly good cops who fight the drug war. Barden shows us a cross-section of this world, from drug dealers to cops to P.I.s to ruthless tabloid journalists. Everyone is crooked, yet everyone knows they should do better. Not since “The Friends of Eddie Coyle” have I read such an entertaining, gritty, believable exploration of the underworld.

Oh, and it’s all based on a true story!

[Christine · Rating 2 out of 5]

The writing style has made this book really difficult for me to read! Either telegraphic, or just too many swear words. Even though this style does fit the characters in the novel, it was not pleasant to read.
I received a digital copy of this novel from BookSirens and I have voluntarily written an honest review.

[MISS SUSANNAH D WILKINS · Rating 5 out of 5]

An intricately plotted, compelling and atmospheric journey into the world of hacks, blaggers, grasses and bent coppers set at the end of the Thatcher era with enjoyable historical context around the birth of rave culture, the Poll Tax Riot and the Battle of Wapping.

The first of a trilogy. Bring on the next instalment!

[Gregory Van Den Berg · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mr. Barden has written a superb historical fiction book. The book is actually classified as a historical neo-noir crime novel. This is an interesting mixture of several well known genres. The story combines the 1940's-1050's atmospheric tropes with a modern explicit story telling. The main characteristic of the genre is how characters commit violent crimes, but without the motivations and narrative patterns.

The neo-noir characteristics are usually defined by moral ambiguity, intense cynicism, and deep seated alienation. In fact, as one reads the book, one may come to the conclusion how Daniel Morgan's gruesome murder may have been justified by the under handed actions of his firm, Southern Investigators.

Daniel Morgan was an anti-hero. This means he lived in a world which does not have clear cut lines between good and evil. The systems in which he operated his and the Metro police were both corrupt in nature.

It seems Mr. Barden chose to write a historical fiction in order to allow him to have literary license. This type of genre adds to the readability of the novel. Historical fiction allows us to have a better comprehension of the back story involved in this murder.

I was unable to put this book down once I started the narrative. The author is a model for all other neo-noir historical fiction. This is a first rate thriller which will engage the reader from beginning to end. Mr. Barden brings to light the dark world in which we live our everyday lives. Unfortunately, not everything is cut and dry or black or white. However, one of the many lessons brought forth in this book is how institutions attempt to protect the institution from collapsing then finding the truth regardless of the consequences.

[Tee loves Kyle Jacobson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was not what I expected to read and I was surprised how it was written. It is about corrupt police and criminals and the news media outlets. The story unfolds as the corrupt police decide they are going to hide a crime where someone is murdered. The story starts out with the corruption of the police and the tabloids that report only the most news worthy news like celebrity's drug use and the corrupt criminals that try and get away with their crimes. It also talks about the corrupt criminals who do their crimes with the help of the police.

I have to say that I was a little weary reading it at first but then it started to pick up and I had to know what was going to happen next and if the corrupt police could recruit other police to be corrupt and help them do crimes in the name of money. The police were paid for their cover up by the other police and at times I couldn't figure out who was corrupt and who was clean but the murder that happened really caught my attention and I was so sure I knew who did it and why but I was wrong.

This book dives deep in the under belly of crime and crime syndicates.

[Brian Popli · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a remarkable book. It takes the real-life murder of Daniel Morgan as its starting point and weaves a compelling tale to explain who killed him and why. It draws connections between the Brink’s-Mat robbery, freemasons, dirty cops, rave culture, the dark arts of the tabloids and the murder of Stephen Lawrence.
How much is based on facts and how much is artistic licence only the author knows but some of the characters seem to be based on real life characters - Barden’s Terry Boyle clearly being Kenny Noyles,
His brutal style can be a shock at first but it feels totally appropriate for the subject matter
The author appears to have been influenced by James Ellroy, Jakes Arnott and David Peace. There are also elements of Dominic Nolan.
For those who like reading about London’s gangland this is a must. Dark, brutal and compelling.

[Teresa Collins · Rating 3 out of 5]

I couldn't find a likable character in the entire book. Granted, since it was based on actual events, the author was limited in what he could do unless he created a totally fictional character to add to the story. Because I couldn't find anyone even semi-likable, it made it difficult for me to engage with the story. Then, to make it harder, Mr. Barden uses more UK slang than one could shake a stick at, and unfortunately, my Kindle dictionary doesn't have UK slang. There were many times I found myself totally lost. Sometimes I could figure it out based on context, but sometimes, no way. So, would I read something by Mr. Barden? I think so. His writing was not difficult to read, other than the things already mentioned, so I think I would try something else of his. I received a review copy from the author via BookSierns, and this review reflects my honest and voluntary opinion.k

[Kathryn Read · Rating 3 out of 5]

Having finished the book, I can say that I enjoyed the story, BUT I found it tough to read.

That's probably partly because the subject matter is often disturbing, but also because of the writing style. Whilst I enjoy books that are often quite convoluted, I found it hard to keep track of who was who, and which of the threads fitted together in which way.

That left me feeling vaguely dissatisfied even at the end.



I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Katrina Freckleton · Rating 3 out of 5]

Be prepared for lots of violence, graphic details and some images that I would rather not remember.

I did not enjoy the authors stilted writing and it took me many starts to complete, but complete it I did. I could only read a chapter or two at any given time. I did adjust to the writing style but I found it jarring, but I guess thats part of the shock value.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Tanya · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is based on a true story about a murder of a private detective with a axe in his head. Things are going to bring to light dishonest police which will go to the highest in the country. See where the investigation leads to and if it is solved
I received an advance copy from hidden gems and a brilliant murder mystery