front cover of "A Body in London" by Michael G. Katakis

CROW BOOKS | 2026

A Body in London 

by Michael G. Katakis

Paperback with French flaps, 246 pages
Published January 20, 2026
Language: English

PRAISE FOR MICHAEL KATAKIS’ WORKS

“A Body in London is a great old fashioned thriller that’s impossible to put down.” Michael Palin

“Road Songs is a new American classic and a literary Jewel.” Sabrina Gabriele

“Dangerous Men is mesmerizing. These are wonderful, devastating stories, filled with dread and death, yet suffused with decency and love. I loved it.” Ken Burns


“. . . Michael travels as an American who, while never forgetting who he is and where he comes from, has the heart, intellect, and courage to explore and challenge the place of his country in the world. Reading his book is like going on a journey with a friend. . . . By the end, one is enriched, entertained, and gains renewed hope in the humanity we share with all other human beings, wherever they might be on our beautiful planet.” Raja Shehadeh

“His is a voice full of common sense and simple humanity that seem to have been lost in contemporary America.” Henry Marsh

“The prevailing characteristic of Michael Katakis’ travel writing is its humanity.” Susan Griffith

“Some of our finest nature writers . . . They reveal a marvelous variety of motivations for stewardship as an approach to living in nature.” Los Angeles Times Book Review

“The danger rests in the quiet ones who go unnoticed and wait patiently in the dark for your return. They are beyond confession and absolution. Their business is endings. I am one of those and I am here to make you the same.”

SIR THANATOS BOYD, OPENING LECTURE
TO RECRUITS OF SPECIAL OPERATIONS EXECUTIVE, 1940 

On September 21, 1948, a body is found near Borough Market. There are no signs of foul play. During the autopsy, the coroner finds a note in the deceased’s coat pocket:

My Dear Sir Thanatos,

Shall we play?

Yours, Makris 

The tall and brooding Sir Thanatos Boyd is considered England’s greatest detective and perhaps the country’s most dangerous man. He is taunted by a killer whose victims appear to have died from natural causes. So begins a deadly game that takes Thanatos back to memories of his own dark past, while challenging his brilliant, analytical mind. Makris is determined to show the world that Thanatos Boyd is no match for himself and in so doing never considers that his opponent could be a far more brutal killer than he.

Michael Katakis has authored a number of books including A Thousand Shards of Glass: There is Another America, Traveller: Observations from an American in Exile, and Dangerous Men. His work has been translated into multiple languages and his writing and photography have been collected by a wide range of institutions including, The National Portrait Gallery, Washington D.C., the Victoria and Albert Museum and the British Library in London and Stanford University’s Special Collections Department. In 1999, Michael was elected ‘Fellow’ of the Royal Geographical Society and in 2001 his, and Dr. Kris Hardin’s exhibition, A Time and Place Before War, opened at the Geographical Society in London. The British Library acquired Michael’s photographic work for their collection in 2008. The Library is now the repository for his entire work. He lives with his wife in France and England.

“A Body in London is a great old fashioned thriller that’s impossible to put down.”  — Michael Palin