Smart, tense, and full of ethical twists. A biotech breakthrough meets buried secrets, with revenge served scientifically.

In this taut and morally complex thriller, Martyn Pritchard draws upon decades of scientific insight to craft a story that is as intellectually provocative as it is emotionally charged. A Painkiller to Die For follows Will Jeavons, a brilliant pharmacologist whose meteoric rise—from a traumatic childhood to Cambridge lecturer to biotech CEO—is shadowed by a single, devastating choice: the concealment of critical safety data behind a revolutionary painkiller.

Pritchard’s prose is precise and quietly evocative, weaving together themes of ambition, grief, and ethical compromise. The novel’s tension lies not in explosive action, but in the slow, deliberate unraveling of trust—between lovers, between science and conscience, between past and present. Celeste Simmonds, enigmatic and alluring, offers Will a seductive escape from his former life, while Lydia Goldberg, driven by loss and scientific rigor, becomes the story’s moral compass.

What unfolds is a psychological chess match, culminating in a chilling ultimatum: confession or a deadly game of Russian roulette. Pritchard handles this descent with elegance, never sensationalizing, always probing the human cost of innovation and the fragile line between healing and harm.

For readers drawn to thrillers that ask difficult questions and linger long after the final page, A Painkiller to Die For is a compelling, cerebral read—one that balances clinical precision with emotional depth.

With thanks to MArtyn PRitchard, the publisher and Netgalley for the ARC.

I requested this book after it was published. I'm absolutely glad I did!! Brilliant writing! Definitely makes you stop and think while it leaves you on the edge of your seat!! A must read!!