Book Title: Beyond The Darkness (Basic Instincts Book 3)
Author: Thom Collins
Publisher: Entwined Publishing
Cover Artist: Kelly Martin
Release Date: October 7, 2025
Genres: Contemporary MM Romance, Crime and thriller
Tropes: Celebrity, murder mystery, Erotic romance, Suspense
Themes: Theatre, stalking
Length: 64 453 words/259 pages
It is a standalone story that is part of a wider series (Basic Instincts)
It does not end on a cliffhanger
A starring role in a new show could give Hudson the career boost he needs…
if he lives that long.
Blurb
American actor Hudson Rhodes enjoys working in the UK. After a successful career in film and TV in his twenties, he’s established himself as a bankable star in the theatre world. A month-long run in a new play at Blyham’s Empire Theatre has the potential to lead to a West End transfer and Hudson is ready for it. The only thing threatening to spoil it is a series of sinister letters that point to a role he would rather forget.
Rehearsals for the show are going smoothly until a local journalist, Luke Kamal, arrives to write a piece about the production. Luke is handsome and smart and highly regarded in his field, but Hudson hates reporters. He’s learnt the hard way that the press cannot be trusted.
When a member of the cast is murdered, the show is thrown into greater jeopardy. The victim is someone close to Hudson. As he struggles with his attraction to Luke, the menacing letters continue to arrive. The killer has Hudson in their sights, and he might not make it to opening night.
It was a beautiful Monday morning in late June. Hudson Rhodes decided he would walk all the way from his apartment in the heart of Blyham to the rehearsal studios on the other side of the river. He set off early, full of enthusiasm for the work ahead, stopping only to collect an Americano from the coffee shop on the corner.
Hudson drew the fresh air into his lungs and exhaled with a satisfied sigh. All was good. The first week of any rehearsal was always a stress, getting the words of the play fixed in his head, becoming acquainted with the rest of the cast and crew, but by the time they had quit last Friday, he’d known they were in a strong position.
He’d spent a few additional hours on Saturday working with Julian, a fellow actor who had a small supporting role in Darkest Blue. Julian was also understudying Hudson in the lead role of Alan, a morally ambiguous American tourist in 1970s Barcelona. Both from out of town, with little else to do with their weekend, they had put in overtime to work on the nuances of Alan’s character and nail the dialogue.
Yes, they were in a great place at the start of the second week. Hudson had insisted on growing his own 1970s style moustache for the play, and even that had filled out in the most impressive way over the last few days. The costume department had initially fitted him with a fake moustache, but he hated to wear it. So much easier and more authentic to sport the real thing.
The city streets were mostly in shade at that time of the morning, until he reached the waterfront. The sun reflected off the surface of the river and held the promise of a golden day to come. Hudson had known very little about Blyham before his arrival the week before. He’d been a New York resident for over a decade, but in the last few years he had spent an increasing amount of time in the UK, working in low-budget movies, TV and theatre. His work had mainly taken him to the major cities—London, Manchester, Birmingham and Edinburgh.
Blyham had come as a pleasant surprise. Much smaller and less metropolitan than he was used to. He’d spent the first few days getting around by Uber and bus, before realising that almost everything was in comfortable walking distance from the apartment. Although his face had started to appear around the city on advertisements for the upcoming play, so far he’d been able to wander without getting recognised too often.
Moving around unnoticed was a trick he’d learnt a long time ago. Invaluable to an actor.
When he reached the Millennium Footbridge, Hudson paused to drink the last of his coffee and enjoy the view. The quayside and waterfront area of the city was quiet and he spent a few moments appreciating the gentle scene. If the second week in the studio were anything like the first, there would not be a lot of time to spend outdoors, or much relaxing. The story and the character he had to play were full-on.
Hudson was ready to embrace it all.
Thom Collins is the author of the Jagged Shores series and the Anthem Trilogy as well as numerous standalone novels and novellas.
His new series Basic Instincts launches in spring 2025 with the novel Now Comes the Dark.
Thom has lived in the North East of England his whole life. He grew up in Northumberland and now lives in County Durham with his husband and two cats. He loves all kinds of genre fiction, especially bonk-busters, thrillers, romance and horror. He is also a cookery book addict with far too many titles cluttering his shelves. When not writing he can be found in the kitchen trying out new recipes. He’s a keen traveler but with a fear of flying that gets worse with age, but in 2013 he realized cruising is the best way to see the world.
Check out his website for news updates and a free ebook The Night.
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Yesss! Crime and thriller is my favorite. Thank you for sharing!
This sounds like a very interesting book and one that I would enjoy reading.