Police investigations were something Damien Boyd became very familiar with during his 25-year career as a solicitor, which included a spell working for the Crown Prosecution Service. A crime fiction lover just like us, he began writing as a hobby and before long had begun the DI Nick Dixon series of police procedurals. Damien’s novels have proven a huge success and, now published by Thomas & Mercer, the series is about to hit book number 16 – Seeing Red – on sale from 11 August 2026.

Now an acting detective superintendent, Dixon faces the same challenges he always has, and then some. The case of a body found in a freshly dug grave which matches the pattern of a known serial killer is bound to be a complex case, but in Seeing Red our protagonist feels like he’s being railroaded towards the most prosaic explanation. It’s a case that will take him out of his usual territory of Somerset, and further out west to Plymouth and the Royal Navy’s Devonport barracks.

Wherever he goes, Dixon will feel under the watchful eye of Professional Standards, but he knows this case is anything but cut and dried and that the victim was likely killed to silence them. Fans of the series will know to expect a novel that hooks them in and pulls them deep into the intrigue, while for those new to Damien Boyd’s detective Nick Dixon, Seeing Red is the chance to discover a fresh character working in a unique, fascinating setting – one the author knows like the back of his hand.

We asked Damien to join us here on Crime Fiction Lover to find out more about DI Dixon, the county of Somerset, and the inspiration behind his work.

What are crime fiction lovers going to love about Seeing Red?

A fast-paced police procedural novel, with (I hope) an interesting insight into the closed world of HMS Drake, a Royal Navy shore establishment. At its heart is an entertaining whodunnit, but there are challenging questions about the leaking of classified information. 

For everyone new to DI Nick Dixon can you tell us about the inspiration behind the character, what he’s like and where he’s at right now?

Nick started life called Rufus Wixon, but I decided that name was too posh for the ordinary bloke I was aiming for. He’s not laden with baggage, and I was determined that his personal battles would not become the focus of the stories, or even a distraction.

He was 34 years of age at the start of the series, and Avon and Somerset Police’s youngest ever DCI, now risen to acting detective superintendent. The books follow on from each other, with only a few weeks between each, so 16 books on he’s 35 years old; recently married and with a new baby too.

What’s he up against in Seeing Red?

The establishment! Both in the form of the Royal Navy, and Devon and Cornwall Police. The Somerset murder is the fourth in a series, the previous three victims having been found on the edge of Dartmoor. 

Nick soon finds the Ministry of Defence breathing down his neck as well. 

Who are some of the other interesting characters we’ll meet in this novel?

Among the recurring characters are Assistant Chief Constable David Charlesworth, who is largely supportive of Nick, providing his own backside is covered! Police Constable Nigel Cole and PC Sarah Loveday make a return after their grievous injuries suffered in From the Ashes.

Then we have a selection of senior naval officers, including the base commander and a nuclear submarine captain.

London, New York and LA are all well represented in crime fiction, but your series is set in Somerset and the West of England, which isn’t. What makes this an appealing place to set a mystery and what will readers see of it in Seeing Red?

That’s an easy question to answer. Somerset has it all! From atmospheric locations such as the Levels, Cheddar Gorge, Exmoor and the beaches, to urban locations such as Bristol. What more could a crime author ask for?

Seeing Red is a little different in that much of the action takes place inside HMS Drake at Plymouth, but Nick still takes his dog for a walk on Berrow Beach.

It’s an amazing achievement reaching the 16th novel in the series. Is it a challenge to keep things fresh, or are the ideas still flowing? How do you do it?

It becomes more of a challenge with each book. The bar gets a little higher each time, and then there is the need to find new ways of handling even the simplest of plot developments. The finding of the body, for example; there is only so many times a crime author can rely on the poor dog walker! I’ve used gig rowers in Bridgwater Bay, magnet fishing, even officers out catching eel poachers on the River Parrett. In Seeing Red, gravediggers find the body in a newly-dug grave. 

Much like Nick, my best ideas come to me when I’m out walking my dogs!

Have you ever been tempted to start something new? If so, what?

I have, and I have! Deceived by the Light, the first in my new Bob Willis series was published in January 2025. Bob is an officer very much at the other end of his career, investigating cold cases in retirement. Book two in the series, Blast from the Past, was released in January 2026. 

His name is actually Mungo, but he likes cricket so his colleagues imaginatively nicknamed him ‘Bob’ after the fast bowler. The series is set in the 1980s, primarily to avoid any confusion with the Dixon series, but it also means there is no DNA, CCTV, ANPR cameras, internet and mobile phones, to worry about. I have just finished the third novel in the series, Deliver Us from Evil, which will be out in February 2027. 

How much has your professional background in the CPS fed into the storytelling and how much creative license have you taken?

Taking liberties with police procedure is essential for a crime author, if only because much of the day to day legwork is hideously boring, and some things just take longer in the real world; DNA tests, for example, or tracing mobile phones, and getting bank records. That said, I always try to be procedurally accurate when I can. Certainly my background in the legal profession helps!

Is this a novel we can enjoy standalone, or do we need to start with book one, As the Crow Flies?

All of my novels are standalones. They all have a beginning, a middle and an end, which means they can be read either in isolation, or out of order. Having said that, they are best read in order because of the character threads that run throughout the series; for example, Nick’s developing relationship with DS Jane Winter. 

The same applies with the Willis series and his blossoming relationship with his ex-wife, Shirley.

What other crime books/authors have influenced you and what are you reading right now?

Colin Dexter started it all for me. I was so taken with John Thaw’s Inspector Morse that I picked up the books and devoured them all. Mark Billingham’s Tom Thorne series too. 

I have just finished the simply wonderful Shardlake series by the late CJ Sansom, and am currently reading Heresy by SJ Parris. 

What’s next for Damien Boyd and Nick Dixon?

For Damien Boyd that is easy to answer. I am currently under contract to write two more Dixon novels, taking the series up to book 18, and one more Willis novel, taking that series up to four. It will be late 2028 by the time all of that is written and published.

As for the what the future holds for Nick Dixon, what I can say is that book 17 will take him back to his roots in Somerset, with the opening scene finding him in his favourite curry house in Burnham-on-Sea.

Is there anything important that needs to be mentioned?

Nick’s Staffordshire Bull Terrier, Monty. He’s the star of the show!

Seeing Red will be available from 11 August 2026, and you can order a copy using our Amazon buttons below.