DEADLOCK series, Book 1

Synopsis:

Haiti is plagued by collaborating gangs. The national justice system is powerless due to corruption, a lack of resources, and the intimidation of officials. Thanks to their flexible, secretive organizational structure and cooperation, the gangs manage to evade arrest and expand their power worldwide.

Now that the ruthless gangs are expanding their market area internationally, an international Joint Investigation Team (JIT) has been established. The team's priority is to halt the influx of new gang members in Europe by targeting one of the gang leaders: the recruiter. A hard-to-trace key figure who recruits young people with promises of luxury, money, and protection.

The JIT gathers intelligence, collaborates across borders, and protects informants. But the risks are high. Previous attempts to reach the recruiter ended violently. In Europe, too, the gangs manage to dominate the drug world and evade justice through their aggressive methods.

With the arrival of two new agents, the JIT is trying to turn the tide. But the members of the JIT have more problems…

Genre: Thriller / Mystery

Type: Full length Story

Words: 45,670

Released: May 12, 2026

Manuscript finished: September 2025

Inspiration: 

In the series Delft Blue Crimes (a police soap), I have woven together multiple storylines. One of them forms the basis for this spin-off.

Two characters from DBC are added to the international JIT in a last-ditch effort to put a stop to a ruthless gang of Haitian criminals. The JIT team is facing multiple problems and is essentially at an impasse (= "deadlock").

Although DEADLOCK is a sequel to DBC 5, it is not necessary to read the books in the DBC series. (You can, of course, ha!). Unlike DBC, which is set in the historic city center of Delft, the Netherlands, DEADLOCK takes place in various, primarily Western European countries.

List of characters

Characters alphabetical by last name. Nicknames and characters only known by their first name or their last name, are given underneath this list. Unnamed characters are not listed!

• Michel Armanet - Eurojust
• Manley Adé - criminal
• Kelly Bacha - JIT member
• Joshua Blythe - JIT member
• Olivier Brousseau - son of chief
• Etienne Chambon - criminal
• Antoine Cotteril - bookkeeper
• Hannah Courbois - secretary JIT
• Kristoff Daems - JIT member
• Gianluigi Facchetti - JIT member
• Yvonne Govertsz - JIT member
• Rayan Koné - JIT member
• Franz Lambrecht - JIT member
• Maxime Lamotte - captain JIT
• Gabriela Muñoz Durán - JIT member
• Chloe Perrin - friend of Chambon
• Bernard Pinault - criminal
• Marvin Ramsay - JIT member
• Wim (Bill) Romeyn - JIT member
• Gareth Sturridge - former JIT
• Weston Yates - DEA
• 
  
• Brousseau - Chief of Police

Remarks:

• This series is a spin-off of Delft Blue Crimes (a sequel to DBC book 5). It can also be read independently.