Daniel Barker: Author

Please find below a preview chapter of my crime novel MIND THE GAP. For a full synopsis please click  this link. Chapter One: The Morning Rush London moved like a beast in the morning. Millions of footsteps, thousands of train doors hissing open, and not a single face making eye contact. To most, it was just another weekday. To DS Chris Collins, it was the beginning of the most dangerous assignment of his career. He stood at the edge of the Piccadilly Line platform at Wood Green, dressed down in a scuffed leather jacket, worn jeans, and trainers that looked like they’d lost a few battles. A faded cap hid the unmistakably straight posture of a career officer. The polished silver watch on his wrist was the only thing that didn’t fit the image, his parting gift from the squad before he’d "resigned." Unofficially, Chris Collins was a disgraced detective sergeant, booted from the force after a violent altercation with a suspect. Officially, he was deep undercover, sent in to disma...

  In the shadows of the Underground, the line between justice and survival is razor-thin. When the Metropolitan Police need someone to go undercover, they rely on one man. Detective Sergeant Chris Collins.  As a gang of pickpockets tear their way through the London Underground system, the Met send Chris on a mission to infiltrate the gang. It's only when he gets deep within the group's inner circle that it becomes clear that these aren't some small-time petty thieves on the hunt for a quick buck. It's a slick and sophisticated cyber-crime syndicate with a faceless mastermind known only as Viper pulling the strings.  With the gang on the verge of pulling off the biggest job of their career, can Chris prevent the city he loves from falling to it's knees as the stakes become higher than anyone imagined at the beginning of the operation.  Perfect for fans of classic police procedural dramas, MIND THE GAP is a fast-paced, exciting read that forms the first part of the Lo...

Hello and welcome to my site.  If you already follow me on either TikTok or Instagram then it's welcome back.  If you have stumbled across my page then it's a case of hello, it's a pleasure to meet you.  My name is Daniel, I'm 34 years old and I live in the coastal town of Grimsby in the North/North East of England.  I've been an avid writer for many years and have written a number of non-fiction books centred around sports. In 2021, my first one Broken Time: A Written History Of Rugby League 1895-2000 went into publication and I have since followed that with Never Stopped Me Dreaming: England In The 1990s, From The Dock Tower To The Twin Towers: Grimsby Town In The 1990s and Remember The Name: Magic, Madness & Metatarsals. The Ultimate Book Of 2000s Football Nostalgia.  In 2025, I decided to take a different direction with my writing and decided to try my hand at creating a crime novel. Having always been a big fan of TV shows such as The Bill, Midsomer Mur...